Nantes Marathon

Course & Elevation

The Marathon de Nantes, presented as the Abalone Marathon de Nantes, is an urban marathon held on a Sunday in late April as part of a two-day running weekend. The race was created in 1981 at the initiative of the athletics section of the Nantes Étudiants Club, with 104 participants at the first edition; the 2027 race is billed as the 45th edition. The marathon starts at 09:15 under the Nefs of the Machines de l'Île and finishes at the Parc des Expositions de la Beaujoire. The organiser lists a route that goes through Place Graslin and Place Royale, the Parc de Procé, the Jardin des Plantes and the Île de Versailles, then follows the banks of the Erdre. A few kilometres before the finish, runners cross the Erdre on La Traversante, a 324-metre floating bridge first used in 2025. The half marathon starts at 08:00 from the same place, and the Foulées de l'éléphant 10K is run on the Saturday evening. The course is measured by FFA judges and carries the FFA Silver label, and the marathon qualifies runners for the French championships. The limit is 7,000 bibs and the time limit is 5 hours 45 minutes.