Málaga Marathon 2026: flat, fast and by the sea

In 2025 a Kenyan runner named Mande Bushendich crossed the finish line on Paseo del Parque in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 7 seconds, wiping out a record that had stood for four years. Nobody who has ever strolled that palm-lined boulevard with an ice cream in hand, in no hurry at all, would guess you could run that fast there. That's the joke the Málaga Marathon plays every November on anyone who doesn't know it yet: it looks like a city built for walking slowly, and it turns out to be one of the fastest in Spain to run 42 kilometres.

One city, two marathons

Málaga actually has two races with their own personality: the half marathon, run every spring since 1991, and the full marathon, younger — it was born in 2010 — but one that has grown as fast as its own winners. Its most recent edition brought together more than 22,000 runners across both distances, with 65% travelling in from outside Spain, from as many as 75 different countries. By now it's less a local race than an international gathering: it's run in Spanish, but celebrated in a handful of different languages at every water station.

The course: sea on one side, city on the other

The great advantage of a marathon by the Mediterranean is that the sea sets the gradient: practically none. Start and finish are on Paseo del Parque, in front of the University of Málaga's Rectorado building, and the route hugs the port for more than 800 metres before heading into the city. That flat profile — combined with November's mild weather, well clear of summer heat — is exactly what draws elite runners chasing personal bests every year, and why the course records keep falling edition after edition: Bushendich's in the men's category and, the same year, Ethiopian runner Misgane Alemayehu Wolteji's in the women's, at 2 hours, 24 minutes and 43 seconds.

Where to sleep if you're running (or just cheering)

If you're racing, logistics rule everything: the closer to the start, the less room for error on race morning, and Paseo del Parque sits right by the old town. If you're there to cheer, the advantage is different but just as real: you can walk your runner to the start line and still have time for an unhurried breakfast before heading out to whichever kilometre marker you like best. Any of our central apartments covers both, without needing a taxi at seven in the morning.

Apartment 300 m from the old town

The centre, without the downsides

4.82(95)View apartment

City-centre Oasis, 3 bedrooms & patio

Slowchic design and a patio to switch off

4.80(54)View apartment

Some cities get run just to prove they exist; Málaga gets run on the off-chance that, someday, someone breaks another record by the sea. In 2026 that day is 8 November. The rest of the year, the same Paseo del Parque is still right there, waiting for someone to walk it slowly again.

• To fill the rest of the weekend: our Málaga guide and Málaga in 3 days.