My marathons

Malaga Marathon

08:308:30 AM Malaga
A frame from the Malaga Marathon course film Watch the course 3:50

Imagery: Google Earth and its imagery providers

The course

Pick a place, or drag along the profile

A slow rise of 15 m from km 20 to km 25, downhill to km 27, then flat home.

Start, finish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

  3. Photo: Tdn70, CC BY 4.0
  4. Photo: Ricardo Ricote Rodrí…, CC BY 3.0
  5. Photo: Olaf Tausch, CC BY 3.0
  6. Photo: Hidalgismael, CC0
  7. Photo: Ricardo Ricote Rodrí…, CC BY 3.0
  10. Photo: Angelmersaenz, CC BY 4.0

km 7.3mile 4.5

La Farola, Málaga

The port lighthouse, passed near km 7.3 on the out-and-back along the harbour wall.

Photo: Tdn70, CC BY 4.0

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 3 and 21 metres, a range of 18 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. The dashed stretches are bridge decks: Puente de Tetuán, km 0.9 to 1; Puente de Tetuán, km 22.4 to 22.5; Avenida de Valle-Inclán, km 25.2 to 25.2; Avenida de Luis Buñuel, km 25.8 to 25.8; Puente de Antonio Machado, km 39.9 to 40. A bare-earth model reads the ground or the water beneath a bridge, not the deck the runner is on, so those runs are interpolated between the ground either side rather than measured, and they under-report the real climb across a span. Marked points: Cut-off at km 5; Cut-off at km 10; Cut-off at km 15; Cut-off at km 20; Cut-off at km 25; Cut-off at km 30; Cut-off at km 35; Cut-off at km 40.
0 10 20 30 40 km
0 10 20 26.2 mi

Dashed: bridge upright dashes: cut-offs

  • slow rise to 25
  • downhill to 27
  • 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
  • Start and finish on the Paseo del ParqueOne place for the gun and the finish line, in front of the rectorate on the Paseo del Parque.
  • Eight checkpoints, one paceEight timed checkpoints keep a 5:30 finish in reach; the slowest allowed pace is 7:49 per km.
  • Drinks every 2.5 to 5 kmTwelve drink stations, closer together after halfway, with solids from 15 km on.
Course notes 4 short reads on the course
Whole courseFinishStart and finish on the Paseo del ParqueOne place for the gun and the finish line, in front of the rectorate on the Paseo del Parque.

The 2026 start was set for 08:30 on Sunday 8 November, on the Paseo del Parque, in front of the University of Malaga’s rectorate, and the marathon finishes in the same place. The half marathon is run the same morning and finishes at Plaza del General Torrijos instead, so the two distances part ways at the end.

Sourced

km 5 to 40TacticsEight checkpoints, one paceEight timed checkpoints keep a 5:30 finish in reach; the slowest allowed pace is 7:49 per km.

The time limit is 5 hours 30 minutes, counted from the last official start, and it is enforced on the road. The rules set compulsory passing times at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 km: 0:39:05 at the first, 1:18:10 at the second, and 5:12:40 at the last. Divided out, every checkpoint sits on the same pace of about 7 minutes 49 seconds per kilometre, so a runner who is inside the first checkpoint and holds that pace stays inside all of them. Runners who miss one are taken off the course.

Measured

km 5 to 40ConditionsDrinks every 2.5 to 5 kmTwelve drink stations, closer together after halfway, with solids from 15 km on.

The organiser lists drink stations with water and isotonic drink at 5, 10, 15, 18, 21, 25, 27.5, 30, 32.5, 35, 37.5 and 40 km. The spacing tightens after halfway, from 5 km between stations early on to 2.5 km between them from 25 km. Some of the stations from 15 km on also hand out solid food. Another aid area waits beyond the finish line.

Sourced

km 0 to 42.2GradientNever more than 21 m above the seaA sea-level loop: 34.7 km under 10 m, and the only rise worth the name tops out near km 25.

The organiser calls its courses “más rápidos, más llanos y con menos curvas”, and the 2025 course it publishes bears that out. The road runs between about 3 m and 21 m above the sea, and 34.7 of the 42.2 km sit below 10 m. The one stretch of rising ground comes in the middle of the race: from about km 22 the road climbs gently to its highest point near km 25, then drops back to near sea level by km 27.5. The whole marathon climbs 63.2 m.

Measured

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Malaga, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, the orange marks on the profile. Malaga stays within 18 m59 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.

Only the gel you trained with. 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.

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
63.2 m207 ft
cut-off
5:30 h
first held
2010

A loop along the Costa del Sol through Malaga, starting and finishing on the Paseo del Parque in front of the University of Malaga rectorate.

The Malaga Marathon is a loop of 42.2 km with 63.2 m of climbing. Its lowest point is 3 m and its highest 21 m above sea level. Next race: Sunday 8 November 2026, starting at 08:30.

Race week

Bib pickup at Palacio de Congresos de Málaga

Timetable

Friday 6 November Bib pickup

  1. 10:0010:00 AM–20:008:00 PM

    Expo and bib pickup Palacio de Congresos de Málaga. Bibs are collected in person with an ID card or passport; none are handed out on race day.

Saturday 7 November Last bib day

  1. 10:0010:00 AM–20:008:00 PM

    Expo and bib pickup Palacio de Congresos de Málaga. Bibs are collected in person with an ID card or passport; none are handed out on race day.

Sunday 8 November Race day

  1. 08:308:30 AM

    Marathon start Paseo del Parque frente al Rectorado de la Universidad de Málaga. The first start is at 08:30 and the waves follow it.

  2. Time not published

    Finish limit Paseo del Parque. Five and a half hours from the last official start. 5:30 limit: 7:49/km for 42.195 km5:30 limit: 12:35/mi for 26.2 mi
Cut-offs (8)

  1. Time not published

    Cut-off at km 5 Counted from the last official start. 0:39:05 limit: 7:49/km for 5 km0:39:05 limit: 12:34/mi for 3.1 mi

  2. Time not published

    Cut-off at km 10 Counted from the last official start. 1:18:10 limit: 7:49/km for 10 km1:18:10 limit: 12:34/mi for 6.2 mi

  3. Time not published

    Cut-off at km 15 Counted from the last official start. 1:57:15 limit: 7:49/km for 15 km1:57:15 limit: 12:34/mi for 9.3 mi

  4. Time not published

    Cut-off at km 20 Counted from the last official start. 2:36 limit: 7:48/km for 20 km2:36 limit: 12:33/mi for 12.4 mi

  5. Time not published

    Cut-off at km 25 Counted from the last official start. 3:15:25 limit: 7:49/km for 25 km3:15:25 limit: 12:34/mi for 15.5 mi

  6. Time not published

    Cut-off at km 30 Counted from the last official start. 3:54:30 limit: 7:49/km for 30 km3:54:30 limit: 12:34/mi for 18.6 mi

  7. Time not published

    Cut-off at km 35 Counted from the last official start. 4:33:35 limit: 7:49/km for 35 km4:33:35 limit: 12:34/mi for 21.7 mi

  8. Time not published

    Cut-off at km 40 Counted from the last official start. 5:12:40 limit: 7:49/km for 40 km5:12:40 limit: 12:34/mi for 24.9 mi

Times as published by the organiser, in Malaga time, checked .

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Malaga time

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.

Make your postcard

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Questions about the Malaga Marathon

Is the Malaga Marathon course flat?

Not entirely. It has 63.2 m of climbing over 42.2 km. The highest point is 18 m above the lowest.

When is the Malaga Marathon 2026?

Sunday 8 November 2026. The start is at 08:30.

How do I enter the Malaga Marathon?

Entry is through the organiser. Entry fee: €140 (for the 2026 race). Entry details on the organiser’s site

3 more questions
What is the time limit at the Malaga Marathon?

Runners have 5 h 30 min to finish.

Where does the Malaga Marathon start?

Start: Paseo del Parque frente al Rectorado de la Universidad de Málaga.

Is there a video of the Malaga Marathon course?

Yes. A 3D flyover film of the whole course, start to finish (3:50), plays at the top of this page.

In the news

All race news →

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 follows the road down its middle, so it measures 1.85% longer than the certified distance, which is measured on the shortest legal line through every bend.

Date and entry information from the organiser.

Film built from Google Earth imagery, credited on screen.

Rendered from GEDTM30, Global Ensemble Digital Terrain Model at 30 m (v1.2) (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)), OpenStreetMap (Open Database License 1.0 (ODbL)).

Every source and licence behind them →

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