My marathons

Empúries Marathon

The organiser has not published a date. L'Escala
Empúries
© OpenStreetMap Empúries. Photograph by David Mateos García (Wikimedia Commons), CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

The course

Pick a place, or drag along the profile

Flat to km 26, a slow rise of 10 m to km 34, then flat home.

StartFinish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

  2. Photo: Jorge Franganillo, CC BY 3.0

km 14.6mile 9.1

L'Escala

The organiser says the race runs through "els nuclis urbans de L’Escala i Sant Martí d’Empúries"; the line passes the town near km 15.

Photo: Jorge Franganillo, CC BY 3.0

Height drawn many times taller than life. Heights: GEDTM30.

Course elevation profile, 8× vertical exaggeration Elevation along the course from km 0 to km 42. The trace runs between 1 and 13 metres, a range of 13 metres, drawn at 8 times vertical exaggeration so the shape is legible. Smoothed over 1 km before this profile was derived. An unsmoothed urban surface carries the buildings and would assert a climb that is not there.
0 10 20 30 40 km
0 10 20 26.2 mi

  • flat to 26
  • slow rise to 34
  • flat home

Your 5 gels, at the orange marksFor a 4:00 finish, one every 40 minutes

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

Get them on AmazonAmazon partner link

The course in short 3 lines
  • One homologated circuit, starting at the Empúries museumA homologated 42.195 km circuit from the Empúries museum; in 2026 the limit was five hours.
  • Between 0.8 m and 13.4 m the whole wayBetween 0.8 m and 13.4 m above sea level the whole way, a coastal course.
  • Past the Greek and Roman ruins, then the town of L'EscalaThe Empúries ruins near km 11, the town of L'Escala near km 15.
Course notes 3 short reads on the course
km 0 to 42.2GeometryOne homologated circuit, starting at the Empúries museumA homologated 42.195 km circuit from the Empúries museum; in 2026 the limit was five hours.

The organiser’s page for the 21st Marató d’Empúries, run on Sunday 19 April 2026, reads “Museu Arqueologia d’Empúries”, “Sortida a les 8:30 hores”, “Circuit homologat 42,195 km” and “Temps límit, 5 hores”. The same page runs the half marathon, the 10 km and the 5 km from the same museum, and says aid stations stand “cada 5 km”.

This is the 2026 edition. The page gives no date and no course for 2027 yet.

Sourced

km 0 to 42.2GradientBetween 0.8 m and 13.4 m the whole wayBetween 0.8 m and 13.4 m above sea level the whole way, a coastal course.

The course is a coastal one. The lowest point is 0.8 m at km 9.2 and the highest 13.4 m at km 21.7, so the whole marathon spans 12.6 m of height. A second high of 13.0 m comes at km 38.0, about 4 km from the finish, which comes in at 3.7 m.

Counted over a 1 km window the marathon climbs 56.5 m in all. That counts sustained rises only, so a runner’s own watch will read much higher; the organiser’s own route record counts about 230 m of ascent.

Measured

km 10.9 to 15LandmarkPast the Greek and Roman ruins, then the town of L'EscalaThe Empúries ruins near km 11, the town of L'Escala near km 15.

The organiser’s page promises “de les ruïnes d’Empúries, porta de la cultura grega i romana a la península Ibèrica”, and describes the Empòrion of the Greeks and the Roman Emporiae, founded on an old military camp, with its mosaics, the sculpture of Asclepius and the Roman Forum.

On the 2026 course the runners pass about 90 m from the ruins near km 11 and go by the town of L’Escala near km 15, about 270 m from its centre. The organiser also names Sant Martí d’Empúries as part of the route.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for L'Escala, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, the orange marks on the profile. L'Escala stays within 13 m43 ft of height, so they go by the clock:

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.
distance
42.2 km26.2 mi
climb
56.5 m185 ft
cut-off
5:00 h

The Empúries Marathon is a course of 42.2 km with 56.5 m of climbing. Its lowest point is 1 m and its highest 13 m above sea level.

Trip

Getting a place

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

Sources and licence

Last checked.

Course line matched onto OpenStreetMap road geometry: (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License 1.0 (ODbL). Elevation sampled from GEDTM30, Global Ensemble Digital Terrain Model at 30 m (v1.2): Elevation: GEDTM30 (Ho & Hengl, OpenGeoHub), CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

Elevation gain computed by us from that line, smoothed over 1 kmsmoothed over 0.6 mi.

The line is drawn on the roads and measures 0.53% shorter than the certified distance.

Date and entry information from the organiser.

Every source and licence behind them →

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