Lisbon Half Marathon
Lisbon, Portugal
- Half Marathon, 10K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Welcome to the biggest half marathon in Portugal. The Lisbon Half Marathon EDP offers you the only possibility to run on the bridge, giving you one of the most beautiful view of Lisbon. The Lisbon Half Marathon race course is very flat and it has a different point of start … MORE
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Poorly organised lacked customer care
As others said, it started at the poor Expo, not much happened there! Limited information, but we thought it was just us. Then the race day train, dangerously cramped, poor … MORE
As others said, it started at the poor Expo, not much happened there! Limited information, but we thought it was just us. Then the race day train, dangerously cramped, poor support at the station where everyone was stuck. It was a great example human co-operation, walking up stairs slowly together in disbelief, oddly brilliant. We were all energised and ready to run 21.1 K, prepared, fuelled for the event, cafined and sugared up! Then no help, no signage, no direction, no clue!!! Following others to gates/barriers that had no point, security is always welcome but it has to help, this did not, second fence near the start was even worse, why was that even in place, shocking and dangerous. Made us later for any start, not that there was any announcement at the start, soulless and unbelievable. The course ok for the first 10K, second 10K was long and boring, not much to see, but there was things around, we just did not see it on the route, doubling back is not a good thing, but if its a nice view it seems ok, not on this route. We did this as part of Superhalfs and they recommended it, shame on them too, someone needs to help them sort this. We pay for it and anticipate support to achieve a great run, celebrating together. The on route water and things were good, thanks, however it is was so badly organised that it a disappointing event, not recommend. Lisbon or Liboa, is a great place to visit, people were helpful and supportive, we even got a free tourist bus trip just because the driver wanted yo help us, realy lovely, but the run has left us in disbelief, many others have said the same. Shame!
Shocking organisation - dangerous
Prior to the event itself, communication was excellent and very professional. When it came to practicalities, it was completely shambolic. At the bib pick up there were far too few … MORE
Prior to the event itself, communication was excellent and very professional.
When it came to practicalities, it was completely shambolic.
At the bib pick up there were far too few people on site to help organise the queues – 100’s were slowly baked in the courtyard waiting to go through and get the t-shirt.
Race day started badly when the trains were absolutely jam packed full of people and there were no officials to explain whether or not more trains would come and at what time. I think that was the first occasion when I thought somebody could easily get hurt.
Then at reaching the starting train station, the crowds were equally as bad and no direction or announcements whatsoever in terms of where to go, how much time etc. This was the second occasion when people coudl easilly get hurt as the crowd to go down in to the station was huge and equally to come out of the exit at the other side.
I was gobsmacked that the organisers had not made use of the PA system at the station to move people on.
At this point I can’t remember seeing any representative of the race. Just police officers with seemingly no idea of what they should be doing.
The next big crush was ‘security’ – nowhere near enough people to handle the participants – yet another disaster waiting to happen.
Then trying to get in to the correct starting position was impossible and no help from the officers, no announcements, nothing!
I reached the start point some 20 minutes after the race had actually started.
The course is straight forward enough and the drinks/food was great although the advance signage of that could be better.
The roads had plenty of potholes (not unusual these days) but maybe some effort could have been made to fill them with sand or paint rings round them.
Many many people were passing out due to heat exhaustion not helped by the amount of time they had spent in a crowded train, station and then trying to get to the start.
The race route was pretty narrow and very difficult to make progress because the paces of all runners was mixed up.
Then at the finish it was (have a guess) yet another huge squeeze to get the finishers through.
On the plus side, the citizens are very helpful and Lisbon itself really is worth the visit. Just a real shame that whoever organised the physical logistics didn’t do enough.
Not recommended
I echo what other reviewers have said. Personally, I do not recommend this race and will not do it again. The start was chaotically organised. There was poor public transport … MORE
I echo what other reviewers have said. Personally, I do not recommend this race and will not do it again.
The start was chaotically organised. There was poor public transport link to the start line – the Fertagus train service was overloaded and Pragal, the arrival station, could not handle the influx of runners – it took 15 minutes just to exit the station. The 30 minute walk to the bridge toll plaza was interrupted by two security checks which were completely swamped the crowd. As others have noted, the gear check truck left early and some had to run with gear – the start line was also littered with abandoned gear. At the start line, the crowds were such that I and many runners could not join their correct start zone. Shortly before start, fences were opened which mixed the start groups anyway.
The bridge has a great view, but it causes crowding and due to the mixed paces it means faster runners lose time, stuck in the dense pack. I lost 1 min off target time on the bridge crossing alone. The rest of the course is flat, but uninteresting.
Transport links from the finish line were also completely overwhelmed. I ended up running 3km back to my accommodation.
Positives:
Great water stations – frequent, well-staffed, and plastic bottles easier to grab than paper cups. (Note this race does not seem very ‘green’ – plastic bottles everywhere, portable generators powering all the inflatable arches.)
Good supplies at finish line – water, ice cream, bananas, beer (regular and no-alcohol).
Lisbon itself! Good value, lots of history and character – I’ll come back, but not for this race.
The bridge was the only highlight
The organization was terrible, the start and finish are in different places so either you leave your house/hotel with the outfit you will run on (it was super cold in … MORE
The organization was terrible, the start and finish are in different places so either you leave your house/hotel with the outfit you will run on (it was super cold in the morning and extremely hot during and after the race) or you have to pay extra to have your stuff carried to the finish line, but the truck left quite early and there were no signs where to find it…. I saw some fellow runners having to run with their plastic bags I cant even imagine how tough that was beacuse they couldn’t find the truck or didn’t get there on time.
But the WORST part for me was that there was not a single instruction/sign or person to guide you to the starting line it was total chaos. For me it meant that when I reached the starting line the race had started a long time ago, my pace group was nowhere to be found or maybe long gone and it was a chaotic and emotionless start. Fair to say that I was in the area more than 1 hour before the start and still I didn’t make it on time.
There were 0 toilets in all the area before the starting line so there were people peeing all over.
Because of the chaos all paces were mixed up and it was very hard to find a rhythm because you had to stop continuously or zigzag to pass other runners.
The beginning of the race at the bridge was the only fun part!!! And Im glad there is something positive to say about this race.
There was almost nobody cheering on the streets which was adding to the extremely dull scenery, after the bridge there is nothing interesting about the course.
On the positive side the water stations were super frequent and the volunteers were very nice.
For me was one of my worse times in the half, it was too hot (which is nobody’s fault) and because of everything I just wrote it was a weird mood for me and everyone around me.
Having run in many countries, this race scores the lowest in my personal ranking
The worst race organisation possible
It was just a disaster! I felt that it's gonna be epic the day before race, during collecting my race kit. It was pure chaos there in Centro Cultural. I … MORE
It was just a disaster!
I felt that it’s gonna be epic the day before race, during collecting my race kit. It was pure chaos there in Centro Cultural. I came home and checked the T-shirt I received – it was way too thick for such weather. Good that I had clothes from previous runs and was able to dress according to the weather.
Th show started the next day when hundreds of people were trying to pack into trains that were one of the two options to get to the start of the race. There were also buses departing from the finish location, but according to other reviews it was the same mess there with enormous crowds and just a few buses. I was lucky to squeeze in and observe disappointed people on every station we passed that were not able to get in. After train arrived to the final station thousands of people had to walk another 30 mins to the race start. At some point of time the road was blocked with a fence and security guys were checking everyone. There were 7 gates. 7 gates for thousands of people. You can imagine how long did it take to pass through this stage.
After passing the security check you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, without any visual navigation, so just follow the crowd. The crowd however also doesn’t really know what’s going on. Same as orgs – no damn clue about anything! I had to put my stuff in a locker and not a single person knew where they are. And no signs, no navigation, NOTHING. Just people peeing in the bushes all around, as there were only a few toilets there.
After getting really annoyed and lost, I bumped into a girl who said that lockers are gonna leave soon. She pointed the direction. I ran there. There was a huge truck (without any signs saying that that’s the place where you can leave your stuff) and people were just throwing their belongings into there. Pure medieval madness and chaos. There were dozens of people and as soon as I arrived the guy in the truck shut the doors and it left. Everyone was shocked. And orgs didn’t react to any requests, didn’t provide any help or any solution. Just ignored the problem. People were shouting and it felt like a protest at some point. Wow. In the end all these people (including myself) had to run with these shitty bags. Oh boy was that a torture!
Another sweet moment is that race starts at 10:05! All other races I took part in were starting 8:00-8:30 tops. It was 23 degrees Celsius in Lisbon, not a single cloud and the sun was violent, people were running with their stuff on their backs, the route was passing through sea docks and industrial hangars. No shadows, no views, and a bag slowly cutting your body. Pure nightmare!
“The fastest half marathon in the world” they said. My time was much worse than my time on easy long runs (and I run almost the same route, as I live in Lisbon), because I had to run with a damn 2kg bag swinging on my back under a sun in zenith!
Wow, I can’t imagine how this completely retarded level of organisation is even possible. And it happens every damn year! I’ve found reviews from 2016 and 2019 – it was just identical! How on Earth can you keep so unbelievably awful level of organisation without any improvements FOR YEARS! It’s either extreme cretinism or extreme misanthropy. Probably both.
All in all, I got sunburns, the bag’s ropes cut my shoulders, I achieved the worst imaginable time for half-marathon (again, worse then my training time), and my IQ has dropped after just participating in this shit show.
Please don’t register for this event and don’t give money to this organisation. It’s a scam and it’s a crime. Better just come to Lisbon, enjoy your vacation and go for nice and rewarding run along the Tejo river in the morning/evening. Spend these marathon money on nice local cuisine and support people that do their job and deserve being paid.
Fast, but has some drawbacks
Pros: Fast course. Cool start at the suspension bridge. Generally well organized. Upbeat atmosphere. Well priced. Great opportunity to visit a fantastic city. Cons: No corrals or wave starts. Parts … MORE
Pros: Fast course. Cool start at the suspension bridge. Generally well organized. Upbeat atmosphere. Well priced. Great opportunity to visit a fantastic city. Cons: No corrals or wave starts. Parts of the course a bit monotonous, especially with out-and-backs. Latish start potentially makes for warmer temperatures. Not the simplest race morning logistics. Not a lot of crowd support. Sum-up: Pros outweigh the cons. See my full race review here: https://www.flyrun.fun/p/edp-lisbon-half-marathon-2023-race
Flat and fast, but quite boring!
Lisbon Half is a very popular flat and fast race. As part of the SuperHalf Series it‘s a must run race in Europe. The start is spectacular running over the … MORE
Lisbon Half is a very popular flat and fast race. As part of the SuperHalf Series it‘s a must run race in Europe. The start is spectacular running over the beautiful bridge of 25th April reminding of Golden Gate Bridge. Weather was beautiful with fog clearing right before the start. After crossing the bridge the race becomes quite boring and no spectators along the course. The finish at the beautiful monetary of Belém is great! Water and iso drinks were offered every 2,5km. There were no start waves so the fast runners should be at the start early to line up in the front as slow runners will also do so!
Course ok but total lack of organisation
The logistics of getting to this race were really difficult and crowded.350000 people had to get to far side of bridge in crowded trains. Took ages and station was packed. … MORE
The logistics of getting to this race were really difficult and crowded.350000 people had to get to far side of bridge in crowded trains. Took ages and station was packed. 15 mins queue to leave station. Hardly any toilets at start. Nearly everyone went in the bushes. No packers or waves according to time. 7k and 21k started more or less together. Got stuck behind walkers for 3k many of whom were walking in big groups and stopping to take photos on the bridge. Very few stewards at start or along the way. Some in need of medical attention unable to get it. Fabulous city but the race was a disaster in terms of organisation. Crowds felt quite scary at times.