Zurich Marató de Barcelona
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Mar 14, 2027
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The Zurich Barcelona Marathon (Zurich Marató de Barcelona) is the city's annual marathon, held on a Sunday in March and rated an Elite Label road race by World Athletics. It is run under the Institut Barcelona Esports with RPM Sports as executive organiser,. The race starts at 08:30 on Passeig de Gràcia, from Plaça Catalunya, with staggered starts by expected pace. The fully urban course runs along the Gran Via, down Avinguda del Paral·lel to the port at Passeig de Colom, along Passeig Picasso and the seafront at Avinguda Litoral, and up Avinguda Diagonal to a turn at Ciutat de Granada. It then returns through Eixample to Ronda de Sant Pere and Passeig de Sant Joan, and finishes on Passeig de Lluís Companys. The marathon was first held in 1978 as Catalunya 78 in Palafrugell, moved to Barcelona in 1980, and took its present name in 2012. The time limit is six hours after the last runner crosses the start line. The course records are 2:04:13 for men (Tesfaye Deriba, 2025) and 2:10:51 for women (Fotyen Tesfay, 2026), and the 2026 edition set a record turnout of 32,000 runners.
Typical climate for the race month — an estimate, not a forecast or a race-day record
March in Barcelona is mild: highs average about 16°C and lows about 10°C, with rain on around four days of the month.
The Race
Barcelona
The race was started by Catalan chemist Ramón Oliu, who ran the New York City Marathon in 1976 and found no marathon in Catalonia. He could not get a permit in Barcelona, so the first race, called 'Catalunya 78', was held in Palafrugell in 1978, and again there in 1979. It moved to Barcelona in 1980 and has been called Zurich Marató de Barcelona since 2012.
On 15 March 2026 Ethiopia's Fotyen Tesfay ran 2:10:51 in her first marathon, the fastest women's debut on record and the second-fastest women's marathon ever according to World Athletics. She won by almost eight minutes, with Abel Chelangat of Uganda taking the men's race in 2:04:57 and a record 32,000 runners taking part.
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02:04:13
Tesfaye Deriba (2025)
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