My marathons

Sofia Marathon

Run on 11 October 2026. Next race: date not out yet. Sofia
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
© OpenStreetMap Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Photograph by Plamen Agov ( user:MrPanyGoff ), CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

The course

Pick a place, or drag along the profile

Downhill from km 9 to km 18, downhill again from km 30 to km 39, then a climb of 25 m home.

Start, finish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

  2. Photo: Rfeijor0930932dcn, CC0
  8. Photo: Deensel, CC BY 2.0

km 0.4mile 0.2

Statue of Sveta Sofia

The course passes the statue in the first kilometre; it is one of the two landmarks on the 2026 finisher's medal.

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 529 and 572 metres, a range of 43 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: Мост Чавдар, km 17.3 to 17.8; Мост Чавдар, km 18.7 to 19.2; Мост Чавдар, km 38.4 to 38.9; Мост Чавдар, km 39.8 to 40.3. 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.
0 10 20 30 40 km
0 10 20 26.2 mi

Dashed: bridge

  • downhill to 18
  • downhill to 39
  • climb 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
  • Two laps from Battenberg SquareTwo identical laps of about 21 km out of Battenberg Square.
  • The turns at the western endTwo short out-and-backs on Tsaritsa Yoanna Boulevard near the Lyulin Tunnel.
  • Chavdar Bridge, crossed four timesOut and back over the bridge on each lap, about half a kilometre of deck each time.
Course notes 4 short reads on the course
km 0 to 42.2GeometryTwo laps from Battenberg SquareTwo identical laps of about 21 km out of Battenberg Square.

The 2026 route ran west from the square along Tsar Osvoboditel and Knyaginya Maria Luiza boulevards, crossed Lions’ Bridge Square and followed Todor Alexandrov and Tsaritsa Yoanna boulevards out to the Lyulin Tunnel. It came back to the centre by Vitosha Boulevard, Rakovski Street and Vasil Levski Boulevard, crossed Chavdar Bridge and returned to the square by Oborishte Street and Alexander Nevsky Square. The marathon runs that lap twice.

This is the 2026 course.

Sourced

km 7.6 to 9.3GeometryThe turns at the western endTwo short out-and-backs on Tsaritsa Yoanna Boulevard near the Lyulin Tunnel.

Past the Lyulin Tunnel the 2026 route turned right at the intersection with Dr. Petar Dertliev Boulevard for 100 m and returned, then carried on along Tsaritsa Yoanna Boulevard to a traffic light a little further out and ran back. Both turns are the far end of the lap, so the marathon reaches them twice.

Sourced

km 17.3 to 40.3GradientChavdar Bridge, crossed four timesOut and back over the bridge on each lap, about half a kilometre of deck each time.

The route runs along Dondukov Boulevard over Chavdar Bridge to Todorini Kukli Street, turns, and crosses the bridge again on the way back. Each crossing is about half a kilometre of deck. The course is flat apart from small gentle climbs at bridge crossings.

Measured

km 0 to 42.2GradientThe same rises on both lapsA 43 m spread from the highest point, near km 8.4, to the lowest, near km 39.3.

The course starts at about 549 m, tops out at 572 m near km 8.4 on the way to the Lyulin Tunnel and drops to 529 m near km 39.3, then climbs back to a finish at about 554 m. The organiser’s FAQ puts the marathon’s climbing at about 50 m; counted over every small rise on both laps it comes to about 146 m, the total climb on the race card. The course is certified by World Athletics and runs on asphalt with a small section of cobblestones.

Measured

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Sofia, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, the orange marks on the profile, 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
145.6 m478 ft
cut-off
5:30 h
finishers
850
first held
1983

Two laps of a 21 km course from Battenberg Square: west along Tsaritsa Yoanna Boulevard to the Lyulin Tunnel, then back through the centre by Rakovski Street, Vasil Levski Boulevard and Chavdar Bridge.

The Sofia Marathon is a hilly multi-lap course of 42.2 km with 145.6 m of climbing. Its lowest point is 529 m and its highest 572 m above sea level.

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Questions about the Sofia Marathon

Is the Sofia Marathon course flat?

No, it is a hilly course: 145.6 m of climbing over 42.2 km. The highest point is 43 m above the lowest.

How do I enter the Sofia Marathon?

Entry is through the organiser. Entry fee: €60 (for the 2026 race). Entry details on the organiser’s site

What is the time limit at the Sofia Marathon?

Runners have 5 h 30 min to finish.

1 more question
How many runners finish the Sofia Marathon?

850 runners finished in 2024.

In the news

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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 2.04% longer than the certified distance, which is measured on the shortest legal line through every bend.

Date and entry information from Sofia Marathon.

Every source and licence behind them →

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