The San Sebastian Zurich Marathon, the second oldest marathon in Spain and one of the most popular and prestigious in Europe, will take place this November. The race is completely urban, flat and at sea level. Ideal to beat your personal record! One of the main novelties of this edition …
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The San Sebastian Zurich Marathon, the second oldest marathon in Spain and one of the most popular and prestigious in Europe, will take place this November. The race is completely urban, flat and at sea level. Ideal to beat your personal record!
One of the main novelties of this edition will be the celebration of the Zurich Half Marathon, an ideal race to set a personal best or to enjoy the atmosphere of big races.
On the same day as the Marathon, you will also have the 10K, an ideal race to set a personal best or to get started in the world of running.
New circuit! More central, more touristic, faster and even flatter. Perfect to enjoy as a runner and feel the warmth of public. The Marathon will start from the privileged situation of Hernani Street, in the heart of the city close to the City Hall and the Alderdi Eder gardens, and will finish in the emblematic Boulevard. The route will have 3 laps, a short one two long asymmetrical laps. The first kilometers will run through the main streets of the city center and the promenade along the Urumea river before heading Avenue Libertad towards the La Concha and the Antiguo neibourghood. On the way back from La Concha’s bay, the race will pass through the neighborhoods of Amara, Anoeta, downtown and Gross, passing in front of such emblematic buildings as the Victoria Eugenia Theatre, the Anoeta Stadium, the Cathedral of Buen Pastor, the Kursaal or Place Guipuzkoa. At the end of the third lap, you will enjoy a fantastic straight of more than 1 kilometer completely flat to the finish line, always surrounded by the warmth of local public.
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Venga atletas!
Muy buen camino. Los más importante, 2014 (el año pasado) el 68% de los participantes consiguieron mejorar su marca personal. Las tres carreras, maratón y medio maratón y 10K, son … MORE
Muy buen camino.
Los más importante, 2014 (el año pasado) el 68% de los participantes consiguieron mejorar su marca personal. Las tres carreras, maratón y medio maratón y 10K, son ideales para la marca personal y este año es el mismo, los más de 6.800 atletas inscritos son muy rápidos. La gente de San Sebastián son amables, la ciudad es bonita y los atletas son una inspiración. Sólo es… venga atletas. Ojalá volver por muchos años más.
Flat, fast course in a beautiful city
Well, after running the San Sebastian marathon, you're stuck in one of the most beautiful cities in Spain filled with culinary delights. The town has 185,000 inhabitants, 17 Michelin-rated restaurants … MORE
Well, after running the San Sebastian marathon, you’re stuck in one of the most beautiful cities in Spain filled with culinary delights. The town has 185,000 inhabitants, 17 Michelin-rated restaurants and 600 pintxo (tapas) bars. Bilbao is 1 hour away. France is 20 minutes away. La Rioja wine region is 2 hours away. And beautiful coastline stretches out in all directions. So make a vacation out of it and enjoy a wonderful place!
As for the race, it’s about as ideal as I can imagine. Will definitely repeat. It is flat, very flat. It is at sea level. The weather in northern Spain can be more like Ireland/Scotland so expect 55F and drizzle. That is what we had and it was lovely to run in. Not heavy rain, light drizzle. It is a very fast field with lots of top runners; Spain’s best competes here. In 2013, 91% of runners finished <4h; 63% finished 3:30h. Marathon cut-off is 5 hours. Course is a not ideal double loop but scenery of course more than make up for that. You run through the picturesque old parts of town and then out and back twice along the most beautiful and world famous La Concha beach. Best part about the race is in spite of its population, the city comes out to support the run. Absent a few stretches at the end of La Concha beach, it feels as if the entire town is out cheering you on and screaming "Vale! Vamos! Andimo!" to motivate and support you. Pace groups every 15 minutes from 2h 30 to 4h is nice. Logistics are easy given small, quaint size of the city. We took a 10 min free-for-runners city bus to the start the morning of, and it is I must say so civilized starting a marathon at 9am with minimal logistics/travel to organize. The extra sleep was nice. Marathon is capped at 3,200 runners so easy to get in to a pace from the get go. Volunteers are wonderful. Aid stations every 3km to 5km throughout the course, well-stocked. They do plastic water bottles, not paper cups if that matters to you. You can pre-position your own fluids, gels if you prefer to roll that way. Start, finish and mid-point at the Anoeta Stadium where the city's La Liga team plays. Go Real Sociedad! Finish line is on the track in the 32,000 seat stadium.
Highly recommend and we will repeat in a heartbeat. Not the easiest place to get to from the U.S. but worth it in every way for a PR and for a lovely part of the world to visit.