Course guide · December
Map, elevation profile and km-by-km guide to Europe's fastest marathon course. Where it goes, where the start and finish are, and what makes its route through the heart of Valencia so special.
Course · 42.195 km
The Valencia Marathon route is one of the great draws of the race. Not just because it's fast — and it is, so fast that some of the best times in history have been run here — but because it crosses the best of the city: from the green Turia riverbed to the historic centre, from the port to the spectacular finish over the water at the City of Arts and Sciences.
Whether you're running it for the first time or reliving the course you already ran, this guide explains where it goes, what its profile looks like and what you'll find in each section.
Above all, the Valencia Marathon route is fast. No climbs, no hills and barely any tight corners. Every metre is designed to help runners hold their pace, which is why national and international records fall here with a regularity that no longer surprises anyone. If you ran Valencia, you ran one of the five fastest courses on the planet.
Much of the course runs alongside the Turia Gardens, the old riverbed turned into one of the longest urban parks in Europe. It's Valencia's green lung and the thread that connects the historic centre with the modern City of Arts and Sciences. Running beside the Turia, with its centuries-old bridges crossing overhead, is one of the images every Valencia finisher remembers.
The course crosses the historic centre, passing Town Hall Square, the Modernista Estación del Norte, the bullring and the area around the Central Market and the Silk Exchange. These are the kilometres with the biggest crowds, where the roar of Valencians cheering becomes a wall of sound that pushes you through the hardest moments of the race.
The end of the Valencia Marathon is one of the most photographed finishes in the world. The final metres run across a blue bridge built over the lake of the City of Arts and Sciences, with the Ágora and the Museu de les Ciències behind. Crossing that line, with the water reflecting the December sky, is the moment that makes Valencia unforgettable.
Free · downloadable PDF
The full course as a PDF plus the tips that actually matter: what to do the days before, how to plan race morning (breakfast, gels, timings) and how to recover afterwards. We'll email it to you.
The course runs through the heart of Valencia: it starts beside the City of Arts and Sciences, follows the Turia gardens (the old riverbed turned into a park), passes through the historic centre (Town Hall Square, the Estación del Norte, the bullring), skirts the El Carmen old town, reaches the Marina and port area, and loops back to finish on the iconic blue bridge over the lake at the Ágora. It's an urban course blending monumental and modern Valencia.
The Valencia Marathon profile is practically flat. Total elevation gain is minimal and there are no significant climbs anywhere on the course. That absence of hills, combined with December's cool weather and fast asphalt, is why Valencia is one of the best courses in the world to chase a personal best.
Both the start and finish are around the City of Arts and Sciences. The finish is one of the most spectacular in the world: a blue bridge built over the water, in front of the Museu de les Ciències and the Ágora, producing one of the most recognisable finisher photos on the international calendar.
The Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso is held on the first Sunday of December. It holds World Athletics' Platinum Label — the highest category — and gathers over 30,000 runners from around the world each year in what's known as the City of Running.
Yes. At Ubyssal the Valencia Marathon route is already preloaded. You just add your name and finish time, choose a colour and format, and you get a personalised poster with the exact course you ran. Available as a downloadable PDF from €14.99.
Your route on the wall
The route is already preloaded. Add your name and your finish time and create your personalised Valencia Marathon poster. From €14.99.
Create my Valencia poster →Usamos cookies propias y de terceros para analítica y publicidad personalizada. Puedes aceptar todas o . Más info en nuestra política de privacidad.