My marathons

Maratona di Palermo

08:308:30 AM Palermo
Teatro Massimo
Teatro Massimo. Photograph by Vitoparisi92, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The course

Every runner needs a valid medical certificate for competitive athletics, and foreign runners who are not club members can enter as non-competitive tourist runners from age 20.

The course in short 2 lines
  • A medical certificate for athleticsCertificate worded for athletics, not running; foreign non-members enter unranked, 20 and over.
  • A fee that doubles through the year25 euros from 15 January, 30 from 15 April, 40 from 15 June, 50 from 15 September in 2026.
Course notes 2 short reads on the course
Whole courseConditionsA medical certificate for athleticsCertificate worded for athletics, not running; foreign non-members enter unranked, 20 and over.

The rules for the 15 November 2026 race ask for a certificate that says “idoneità sportiva agonistica alla pratica dell’ATLETICA LEGGERA”. A certificate issued for another sport, or worded “corsa”, “podismo”, “maratona” or “mezza maratona”, is not valid. A runner shows the original certificate, and the Runcard where there is one, when collecting the bib.

Foreign residents of other countries who belong to no athletics club can run the marathon or half marathon “in maniera non competitiva” as tourists, from the year they turn 20 (born 2006 or earlier). They sign a release at bib collection, get a marked bib and appear in a separate alphabetical finish list with their time. They are not eligible for prizes. A certificate issued abroad must rest on the same tests as the Italian one: a medical examination, a full urine test and an ECG at rest and after effort. The organiser links an English and a French form for the doctor.

Sourced

Whole courseConditionsA fee that doubles through the year25 euros from 15 January, 30 from 15 April, 40 from 15 June, 50 from 15 September in 2026.

For the 2026 race the marathon fee stepped up with the calendar: 25 euros from 15 January, 30 from 15 April, 40 from 15 June and 50 from 15 September. The half marathon ran 20, 25, 30 and 45 euros on the same dates, and the 4x10.5 km relay 60, 65, 70 and 80 euros per team.

Entries went through the ENDU platform and paid by card or bank transfer. The rules closed entries on 15 October 2026; the organiser then extended them to 30 October 2026. The fee is not refundable, and moving an entry to the next edition or to another runner costs 7 euros extra.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Palermo, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, 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.

Order now to test one on your last long run.

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
cut-off
5:30 h

Race week

Timetable

Sunday 15 November Race day

  1. 07:307:30 AM

    Briefing for the jury and runners Meeting of the jury and competitors at 7:30 on race morning.

  2. 08:308:30 AM

    Marathon and half marathon start One start time, 8:30, for the race on Sunday 15 November 2026.

  3. Time not published

    Marathon time limit 5 hours 30 minutes for the marathon, 2 hours 50 minutes for the half marathon; after that the organiser no longer guarantees closed roads. 5:30 limit: 7:49/km for 42.195 km5:30 limit: 12:35/mi for 26.2 mi

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

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Palermo 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.

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