My marathons

Maratón León

The organiser has not published a date. León
Arco de la Calzada
© OpenStreetMap Arco de la Calzada. Photograph by Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

The course

Pick a place, or drag along the profile

A slow rise of 19 m from km 12 to km 20, another slow rise of 20 m from km 24 to km 31, then downhill to km 38.

Start, finish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

  1. Photo: Lin Mei from Los Angeles, USA, CC BY 2.0

km 6.9mile 4.3

Arco de la Calzada

The arch stands within 50 m of the marathon route at about km 6.9.

Photo: Lin Mei from Los Angeles, USA, CC BY 2.0

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 1794 and 1819 metres, a range of 25 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

  • slow rise to 20
  • slow rise to 31
  • downhill to 38

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
  • A loop at 1,800 m that barely risesA loop at about 1,800 m: 62.4 m of climbing, between 1,794 and 1,819 m.
  • Past the Arco de la Calzada at km 6.9 and the cathedral at km 27.4The Arco de la Calzada at km 6.9, the cathedral near km 27.4, the river malecón at km 33.
  • Water and Gatorade every 2.5 km, a six-hour limitWater and Gatorade alternate every 2.5 km; six-hour limit on the 2026 route page.
Course notes 3 short reads on the course
km 0 to 42.2GradientA loop at 1,800 m that barely risesA loop at about 1,800 m: 62.4 m of climbing, between 1,794 and 1,819 m.

The whole course stays within about 25 m of the same height. The highest point is 1,818.6 m at km 30.9, the lowest 1,793.7 m at km 38.4, and the start and finish are both near 1,797 m. The organiser’s route page gives an altitude ceiling of 1,821 m, from its own route data.

Measured

km 6.9 to 33.2LandmarkPast the Arco de la Calzada at km 6.9 and the cathedral at km 27.4The Arco de la Calzada at km 6.9, the cathedral near km 27.4, the river malecón at km 33.

Two of León’s best-known sights sit on or near the marathon: the Arco de la Calzada, the triumphal arch topped by a lion, about 6.9 km in and within 50 m of the route, and the Catedral Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Luz, a few blocks from the route at km 27.4. The only bridge or deck on the course is the Avenida Malecón del Río de los Gómez at km 33.1 to 33.2.

Measured

Whole courseConditionsWater and Gatorade every 2.5 km, a six-hour limitWater and Gatorade alternate every 2.5 km; six-hour limit on the 2026 route page.

The organiser’s route page for the 2026 marathon lists the services along the course: “Puntos alternados de Agua y Gatorade cada 2.5K”, medical stations at key crossings and toilets along the route. The page gives the distance as 42.195 km and the time limit as 06:00 hours. The 2026 race was run on 20 September.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for León, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, the orange marks on the profile. León stays within 25 m82 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.

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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.

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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.

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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
62.4 m205 ft

The Maratón León is a course of 42.2 km with 62.4 m of climbing. Its lowest point is 1,794 m and its highest 1,819 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 follows the road down its middle, so it measures 2.11% longer than the certified distance, which is measured on the shortest legal line through every bend.

Date and entry information from the organiser.

Every source and licence behind them →

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