Barcelona Marathon
Barcelona, Spain
- Marathon
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Discover the course of the Zurich Marató de Barcelona. The course is one of the most attractive in Europe. The favorable climatology that characterizes Barcelona combined with a fully urban circuit that passes through the main landmarks of great interest for the runner. Enjoy running in Barcelona and participate in … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Mar 15):
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| H (°C) | 18 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 15 |
| L (°C) | 4 | 6 | 12 | 9 | 13 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Beautiful Tour of Barcelona
I was trying to find a flat and fast spring marathon I hadn’t done in the United States, and then I decided to broaden my search to Europe and I’m … MORE
I was trying to find a flat and fast spring marathon I hadn’t done in the United States, and then I decided to broaden my search to Europe and I’m glad I did. I made the trip in to a vacation which probably killed my time a bit. 8-10 miles walking a day for a week before a marathon isn’t ideal. I wouldn’t trade that though, this course was beautiful.
The expo had quite a line to get in to on the day I went (Saturday around 11am). Once in, I unfortunately didn’t have much time to spend there so I got my bib and left. It looked pretty sizable (the race is 30,000 people). My race goal was 2:48 and I have run 2:49 five times, but still I was placed in the 3 hour corral. No big deal, when I arrived the next morning, I was able to move up.
Pre-race was like any other race. No one was checking your bib when you got to the corrals so if you wanted to move up, you could. I stayed in a hotel specifically close to the start and finish so I didn’t need port-a-johns which was nice and made race morning very stress free.
The race course itself is beautiful. It starts in the middle of the city and has a lot of straightaways. If your friends and family come to the race, they could easily see you 7-8 times the way the course is run. You get to run past amazing sights like the Sagrada Família and several other cool churches and sites. Over half way, you go down towards the water which provided less shade. The day I ran, it was a beautiful sunny day, but that sun probably took its toll on me later.
The finish line is the best I have ever run, you go right under their version of the Arc de Triomf and finish maybe 100 meters later. Overall, it was a cool race and definitely worth coming to Barcelona for. The race used to be a lot hillier but I believe they changed the course 3 years ago and now it’s flat.
Post race was a nice atmosphere but everything was a little crowded. They gave me a bag with some snacks and a Gatorade in it. As far as during the race, they have lots of water stops and some. Erosion of Gatorade and nutrition as well. My body wasn’t feeling up to another sub 2:50 but I held on to get my 16th sub 3 hour run and 13th in my last 14 races. I loved the race, maybe the crowds could have been a little bigger, but all in all, a big thumbs up.
Decent production
Back in Europe for another marathon. This race tends to sell out so it's best to sign up early if you can. Expo: Held at the Fira de Barcelona pavilion … MORE
Back in Europe for another marathon. This race tends to sell out so it’s best to sign up early if you can.
Expo: Held at the Fira de Barcelona pavilion Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before the race which was a short walk away from the hotel I was staying at (I went on Friday). Packet included bib, tech shirt, timing chip (to be tied to shoe) and a drawstring bag for the gear check and was supposed to include a one-way transit ticket, but I noticed mine was missing so I stopped by the information booth to pick it up (note: always check your packet before leaving!).
Weather: Started in the 40s and eventually reached the 50s. Perfect running weather – nothing to complain about.
Race Start: Took the subway to Arc de Triomf to drop off gear (also where the finish line is) and then walked about 15 min to the startling line at Catalunya. This arrangement is way better than dragging your tired self after the race to pickup gear (ahem Vegas marathon).
Course: Pretty flat; there were small inclines here and there but nothing major. There were some out and back segments but much of the course was point to point.
Scenery: Passed by Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo, and the Columbus Monument and the rest were mainly residential areas, finishing at Arc de Triomf.
Aid Stations: Fuel every 5k for the first 10k then every 2.5k after. Water and Aquarius (my favorite sports drink) at every station and gels/bananas/oranges were provided at latter stations occasionally. Porta-potties were there but not enough – I had to wait for 7-8 minutes to use one about half way through the race which put a damper on my time.
Crowd Support: Spectators throughout the race which was much appreciated.
Post-Race Refreshment: Bottled water, energy bars, and bananas.
Swag: Not much – white tech shirt and the drawstring bag for gear check. Medal was nice and colorful though.
Final Thoughts: My time was not ideal due to long wait for the porta-potties mid-race, but the production was fine overall and a race worth running if visiting Spain.
Nice run
Difficulty: there were some inclines. Nothing significant. But it was at the beginning at end! The road was super slippery… then sticky when going through the aid stations. Elevation map … MORE
Difficulty: there were some inclines. Nothing significant. But it was at the beginning at end! The road was super slippery… then sticky when going through the aid stations. Elevation map uploaded. Nothing technical.
Scenery was nice. Right through downtown Barcelona. You can see the course map. It is a city, so more historically scenic than greenery
Production. Expo was small. The typical sale stuff: clothes, gels, etc. they don’t reserve tshirt sizes so by mid day on the last day of the expo there were no more medium shirts. The shirts themselves were quite nice. Very lightweight. Didn’t like that they were white though. That’s about all that came with the registration. Also a one way metro/ bus pass. But perhaps they ran out of those too bc my friend who picked up packet on the last day didn’t get one.
During the race there were plenty of aid stations with water & electrolytes. Further on they had gels, bananas and oranges. I think they had every km marker posted which I really liked. Miles they had 5 mile increments (I think).
The crowd support was great. Lots of people yelling your name. It was so good i would run during when I was supposed to walk!!
After, they had the medal and a cloth bag with fruit and vitamin drink.
I stayed at hostel 360 which was GREAT location. A block from start line, and Literally right by the finish line. But if you have a car/ need a cab, be careful- bc you’ll have to walk to an accessible point as the road in front of the hotel was blocked.
But the hostel will store your stuff for you after check out if you are not staying another night, and you can still shower.
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I also did the Bimbo breakfast run. 3k.
There was 2k people on a 3k course. Lots of stop and go points bc it got congested. This isn’t a run you’re going to PR on unless you’re in the very front maybe. Decent amount of incline. The post run breakfast was a cup of coffee and a half a sandwich. But they did have vegetarian arms gluten free option. The line was long but moved decently quick. Took me 15 min to get through. But… the run and breakfast were free. Packet pick up was at the expo. Came with a loaf of bread and some bread sticks. Scenic.
(That run was not accounted for in the ranking).
Beautiful, fun, truly International race
This was one of my best races internationally as a result of a flat course with reasonably cool weather. It was colorful and vibrant, but the organization could have been … MORE
This was one of my best races internationally as a result of a flat course with reasonably cool weather. It was colorful and vibrant, but the organization could have been slightly better. It was challenging to stand in the rain to await bib pickup, but the actual expo (once you got indoors) was not bad. There was some odd issue with a bump in the road at the finish that should definitely be addressed. The encouraging crowd was spectacular!
Relatively flat and fun
Relatively easy and flat course with lots of crowd support along the majority of the route. It was great to run through the city and see the historical sites like … MORE
Relatively easy and flat course with lots of crowd support along the majority of the route. It was great to run through the city and see the historical sites like Casa Batllo and La Sagrada Familia. The race was well organized and I liked how they increased the frequency of hydration stations near the end to ensure you’re well fueled to finish the race strong. The race shirt was ok, a dry fit but it was white so not my favorite color since it’s easy to get dirty.
Seeing the City on Foot!
IT was an amazing race and a beautiful way to see the city. It was had lots of false flats and a few punchy short climbs. Mostly flat so you … MORE
IT was an amazing race and a beautiful way to see the city. It was had lots of false flats and a few punchy short climbs. Mostly flat so you can really have a great time and push the pace!