Venice Marathon 2027 : the course km by km, race week and travel

Venice is a flat road marathon for about 37 km and a city of bridges for the rest. The whole course lies between 1.2 m and 7.6 m above sea level, with 25.2 m of climbing in all, and most of the distance is a run from the Riviera del Brenta to the lagoon. Then, after almost 4 km on the causeway into Venice, the road gives way to stone quaysides, a floating bridge over the Grand Canal and 14 small canal bridges in the last 3 km. The numbers say a fast course; the last 5 km say keep something back.

The race is point to point, from Villa Pisani in Stra to the Riva dei Sette Martiri in Venice. The kilometres and heights below are measured along the organiser’s 2026 course map, matched to the streets, on a bare-earth elevation model. The organiser has not published a 2027 course, so check its 42K page before you plan your pacing.

Km 0 to 19: the Riviera del Brenta

The start is in front of Villa Pisani in Stra, whose park opens its gates on race morning, as an exception, to take in the marathon field before the start. The first part of the course follows the Riviera del Brenta, the canal lined with villas, along its north bank from Stra towards Malcontenta. At about km 5.3 it passes through Dolo, on Riviera Ventinove Aprile and Via Mazzini, past the old watermill; the first aid station, at km 5, is here. At about km 12.2 it rejoins Via Nazionale at Mira Porte, between Villa Widmann and Villa Valmarana.

The road starts at about 6 m and drifts down to about 2 m by km 14, and it stays between 1 and 4 m until about km 25. This is the longest stretch of the race, through the towns of the Riviera rather than city streets, and the place to settle into goal pace rather than bank time.

Km 19 to 29: Marghera and Mestre

The course crosses a bridge on Via Malcontenta at about km 19.2 and heads for the mainland edge of the lagoon, through Marghera, where km 23.5 is one of the two pick-up points for runners who stop. It then runs into Mestre and through the M9 museum quarter at about km 25.6, between the museum’s tiled buildings: Via Pascoli, then north through Corte Brenta Vecchia and a covered passage onto Via Poerio.

From about km 25 the organiser’s only difficulties begin: three or four short rises of 100 m or a little more, spread between km 25 and km 35. None of them climbs more than a few metres.

Km 29 to 32.9: Parco San Giuliano

The course enters Parco San Giuliano, the park on the lagoon edge of Mestre, over a cycle bridge and runs more than 2 km inside it, looping south and back. At about km 29.8 it is at 1 m, among the lowest ground of the race. The 2026 expo stood here, and km 29.5 is the second pick-up point for runners who stop. The course then runs out and back on Via San Giuliano and climbs the Cavalcaferrovia San Giuliano, the overpass at about km 31.8, before turning onto the causeway.

Km 32.9 to 36.6: the Ponte della Libertà

The Ponte della Libertà carries the course across the lagoon to Venice on a flat straight of almost 4 km, from about km 32.9 to km 36.6. It is the longest straight of the race, and it arrives at the point in a marathon where long straights feel longest. Run it on rhythm rather than on the next landmark.

Km 36.6 to 40.2: the port, the Zattere and the Grand Canal

At the end of the causeway the course enters the port area and then the old city. The Zattere take it about 2 km along the Giudecca Canal, with the water beside it, to Punta della Dogana at about km 40.0. There the runners cross the Grand Canal on a floating bridge almost 170 m long, built for the race from Punta della Dogana to the Giardinetti in front of San Marco.

Km 40.2 to the finish: San Marco and the Riva

The course runs through Piazza San Marco, water permitting, past St Mark’s Campanile at about km 40.6. It leaves through the Piazzetta along the Molo, past the Doge’s Palace at about km 41.2, and over the Ponte della Paglia, from which the Bridge of Sighs is in view, onto the Riva degli Schiavoni. The finish is on the Riva dei Sette Martiri, facing the Bacino di San Marco, about 110 m past the Ponte de la Veneta Marina.

The last 3 km cross 14 small bridges over the canals. Every one carries a wooden ramp, so nobody has to take steps, but each is a short rise and fall after 39 km of flat road. The paving in the old city is large rectangular stone slabs, the masegni, and there are no cobbles until the last 100 m before the line. One runners’ site, finishers.com, sums the course up as flat and fast for 85% of the way and “frankly brutal at the end”.

The race-week details for 2027 are not out yet. This is how race week ran in 2026, from the 2026 regulations and the organiser’s Useful Info page. Check them again for 2027.

The expo and your bib

Bibs were handed out only at the Exposport Venicemarathon Village in Parco San Giuliano, Mestre, on the Friday and the Saturday before the race, from 9:00 to 20:00 both days. They are never posted, and they cannot be collected on race day, so plan to be in the area by Saturday evening. Bring the final confirmation letter, emailed about a week before the race, on your phone (the organiser asks you not to print it), an identity document and any paperwork the letter asks for; without complete documents you cannot race. The timing chip comes attached to the back of the bib, and the official T-shirt is collected with the race pack.

On both expo days in 2026, an official shuttle ran to the village from 9:00 to 19:30, from near the Tronchetto stop in Venice and from about 100 m from Mestre railway station.

Getting to Stra

The start is on the mainland at Stra, and the organiser strongly advises the free shuttle buses because the start is hard to reach otherwise. In 2026 they left from Mestre railway station, to the right of the exit, between 6:40 and 7:20, and from Venezia Tronchetto, opposite the vaporetto stop and 5 minutes’ walk from Piazzale Roma, between 6:50 and 7:20. They are for runners only; take a bus signed 42K.

Bags, corrals and the start

Use the official bag handed out at bib collection, closed and with its number sticker, and hand it to the staff at your truck in the start area at Villa Pisani by 8:55. The trucks are numbered 1 to 6 and your truck number is on your bib and bag sticker. Bags travel to the finish; a late bag goes to Venezia Tronchetto instead, to be picked up on the way back.

There is one start, at about 9:40, with the field placed in colour-coded corrals by declared best time: white, green, yellow, light blue, red and purple. Your corral is the colour on your bib. The corrals were open from 9:10 to 9:25, and anyone arriving after 9:25 starts at the back of the race.

Pacers, aid and the cut-offs

The pacing team ran finish-time groups from 3:00 to 6:00 in 15-minute steps. Aid stations with water and sports drink stand every 5 km, from km 5. The 2026 regulations put solid food from the km 20 station on; the English page says from km 15.

The cut-offs are elapsed times: 2 hours 45 minutes to pass halfway, 3 hours 50 minutes to pass km 30 and 6 hours to finish. A runner past a limit is considered withdrawn, and from then on no service, the safety of the course included, is guaranteed. Sweeper buses gather withdrawn runners at Marghera (km 23.5) and Parco San Giuliano (km 29.5) and take them to Tronchetto, where a boat goes on to the finish area, not before 12:30.

The half marathon starts in Mestre and shares the last part of the course. In 2026 its runners had to pass the Ponte di San Basilio in Venice by 11:15 so that the marathon could come through.

After the finish

Free boats for runners ran from Venezia Giardini to Venezia Tronchetto from 12:15 to 16:00 in 2026, with buses from Tronchetto to Mestre station or back to Stra. Companions could buy a boat ticket at the expo Info Point for 3 euros or at boarding for 5 euros, but could not use the buses.