How to Track and Watch the 2026 Valencia Marathon: The App, Nine Waves, Split Times by Street and the Finish on the Water

The 46th Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso Zurich starts at 8:15 a.m. on Sunday, December 6, and the last of its nine waves leaves at 9:35. The field is capped at 36,000, per the 2026 regulations. The route starts at Plaça de la Marató and ends on a footbridge over the water at the City of Arts and Sciences, the race's presentation page says, so the finish photo every runner wants is of a blue carpet floating on a lake in front of the Hemisfèric.

All times below are local time in Valencia, Central European Time. That's six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern, so the first wave goes at 2:15 a.m. in New York and 7:15 a.m. in London.

Track runners in the official app

Tracking runs through the official app, called Maratón Valencia, free on iPhone and Android. Search for a runner by name or bib number. The regulations explain how it works: the bib chip pings sensors along the course, and between sensors the app estimates position from the runner's average speed, so the dot on the map is a guess until the next mat. A runner carrying a phone can switch on GPS tracking for a more accurate position.

Ask your runner one question before Sunday. Under "LiveTracking Privacy Info" in the app, each runner chooses whether anyone can follow them, only people with a PIN they hand out, or nobody. If they pick the PIN, you need it.

Broadcast plans for 2026 hadn't been posted as of November 13. Last year the organizer streamed the race on its own website in Spanish and English from 8:00 a.m., and in Spain it was on #Vamos, Teledeporte, Eurosport and À Punt. Expect a similar page in race week.

Start times and waves

Each runner's wave is set by their accredited time and printed on their bib, and the race emails it in advance. From the regulations:

Wheelchair athletes start early in the third wave. Box changes cost 25 euros until November 26, and from November 27 nothing about an entry can be changed.

The time limit is 5 hours 30 minutes from crossing the start line, and the race finishes by 3:15 p.m. There's one hard cutoff to know about: anyone reaching km 25 after 12:57 p.m. has to stop and take the sweeper bus.

Where to watch: the split-time table

The most useful document for spectators is the organizer's 2026 split-time table (also as a PDF). For every kilometer it names the street and the window when runners pass, from the leaders to the back of the race. It doubles as the road-closure schedule. A selection:

Two roads appear twice. Avenida Tarongers carries km 5 to 7 and again km 19 to 20, and Paseo Alameda carries km 14 and km 26, so a spectator who stays put on either can see a runner twice.

To find your runner inside those windows, start from their wave. A 4:00 marathoner in the 9:25 wave runs about 5:41 per kilometer: halfway around 11:25, km 30 around 12:16 and the finish around 1:25 p.m. A 3:30 runner in the 8:55 wave runs about 4:59 per kilometer: halfway around 10:40, km 30 around 11:24 and the finish around 12:25. Add the minutes it takes them to reach the line once their wave goes.

The organizer's cheer points come from Valencia's Falla associations, the neighborhood groups behind the Fallas festival, and through the Running Fallero program they compete for the best cheer station. The cheer points page says the full 2026 list is coming. The table already there, which the race hasn't labelled as this year's, has a dense run of stations along Avenida del Puerto from km 22 to 24, another on Fernando el Católico around km 31 to 32 and a cluster on Avenida Tres Cruces near km 36.

Getting around on race day

The race's public transport page points to Metrovalencia Line 10, whose stops are the closest to the City of Arts and Sciences for both the start and finish areas. Many EMT bus lines are affected until 4:00 p.m., so check the EMT app before relying on a bus. For driving, the race sends people to the city's traffic management center, and the road closures page says a map of affected zones is coming.

Coming from elsewhere in Spain, Renfe gives runners and their companions 15% off AVE and long-distance trains to Valencia for travel between December 1 and 13, using a code from the Runner's Area, per the organizer. Hotels booked through the official travel service, Welcome to Valencia, include race-day transfers to and from the start for runners and companions if the hotel is more than 2 km away, plus late checkout to 4:00 p.m., per the trip page.

The finish

Runners finish at the lake in front of the Hemisfèric, on what the course page calls "the spectacular blue carpet, floating over the water." The race hadn't published spectator access, a meeting area or bag drop details for 2026 as of November 13, so check the race site in race week.

One rule matters to families: the regulations list entering the finish carrying a child or holding a child's hand among the things that can get a runner disqualified. Meet them past the line instead.

Race weekend

• Expo 42K and bib pickup, Feria Valencia, Av. de les Fires: Thursday, December 3, 5:00 to 9:00 p.m.; Friday, December 4, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; Saturday, December 5, 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. There's no pickup on race day. A runner can authorise someone else to collect their bib through the Runner's Area, per the regulations, which misprint Thursday's date as "4rd December".
• La Placeta talks at the expo, Thursday to Saturday, free and open to anyone, including the presentation of the elite athletes, per the La Placeta page. The page still shows last year's programme, when the international athletes were presented on Friday at noon in English and Spanish. Last year's programme also had Rookies' Corner by Serrano, a talk for first-timers with coach José Garay. Check the page for 2026 times.
• Bimbo Valencia Breakfast Run, Saturday, December 5, 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.: an easy 30 to 45 minutes, about 5K, through the Turia gardens, finishing on the finish walkway at the Hemisfèric lake, with breakfast after. Sign up through the event page and the Breakfast Run page. It's the closest thing to an official shakeout.
• Mini Marathon MSC, Saturday, December 5, from 11:00 a.m. on Paseo de la Alameda between the Monteolivete and L'Assut de l'Or bridges. Five age groups run between 300 and 1,200 meters, the last at noon, and the 3-euro fee goes to the race charity, Casa Caridad Valencia, per the organizer. Bibs are collected on the day. Most categories showed as closed on the race page on November 13.
• Paella Party La Fallera, Saturday, December 5, in the expo's outdoor area: Valencia's answer to the pasta party, with paella, bread, fruit, a drink and ice cream. Buy a ticket in advance; at the door it's 10 euros cash while portions last, per the Paella Party page. The race can cancel it for bad weather.
• Medal Party, Sunday, December 6, 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. at the Mya nightclub in the City of Arts and Sciences. Ticketed, 18 and over, one drink included, per the Medal Party page.

Brand shakeouts and pop-ups hadn't been announced as of November 13. Sponsors usually post them in race week, and we'll add them here with an updated date.

The elite field

The organizer announced on November 13 that Yomif Kejelcha, the half marathon world record holder, is out injured. He had headlined the international field the organizer announced on July 2, which also brings back last year's winners, John Korir (2:02:24) and Joyciline Jepkosgei, whose 2:14:00 is the women's course record. The rest of that men's list: Alexander Mutiso (2:03:11), Dawit Wolde (2:03:48), Nibret Melak (2:04:00), 2018 winner Leul Gebreselassie (2:04:02) and Norway's Awet Kibrab (2:04:24). The men's course record is Sisay Lemma's 2:01:48 from 2023.

Fotyen Tesfay (2:10:52) leads the women, with Emily Sisson (2:18:29), Lilian Kasait (2:19:35), Aberu Ayana (2:20:20), Finland's Alisa Vainio (2:20:39), Ejgayehu Taye and debutant Winnie Jepkosgei. The July announcement said the full international list would come in October; none had appeared on the race's news pages as of November 13.

The Spanish field, announced October 13, has Ibrahim Chakir (2:07:21) back as the 2025 national champion and Yago Rojo (2:07:47) aiming under 2:06, plus the marathon debut of Adel Mechaal. Laura Luengo (2:22:31) and Meritxell Soler (2:23:49) lead the women, and steeplechaser Irene Sánchez-Escribano makes her debut.

Weather and the course

The organizer puts typical race-day temperatures between 12 and 17°C. Drinks come at roughly km 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 32, 35, 37.5 and 40, with food and drink at the finish, and the course page adds three Enervit gel points.

Results

We'll post the official results link and the winners on our Valencia Marathon results page as soon as they go up.