Elche - Alicante International Marathon 2025

Do you know what is the oldest half marathon in the world? 🤔 Don't look towards the United States; instead, think of Europe 🇪🇺. More specifically, head to southern Europe, where potatoes are enjoyed as tortillas and where appetizers mean tapas! 🌮 It seems that the Elche Half Marathon is considered the oldest on the planet, dating back to 1968! 😳 It's undoubtedly one of the grand dames of road racing! 👏 However, the marathon linking Elche to Alicante is far from an old event, with its first edition taking place in November 2025. A newborn 👶 in the prolific running calendar, but a promising infant! 🏃 Just one distance, the best one: the marathon!

This new road race is incredibly attractive with its ideal geographic location 🌴, in the southeast of Spain, in the province of Alicante, along the Costa Blanca ☀️. The Elche to Alicante Marathon offers you the chance to run in shorts and a t-shirt under the bright sun of the Bajo Vinalopo region over the iconic distance for any self-respecting runner. Tempting, isn't it? 😏

If you need a few more reasons to convince you to fly just 2 hours from Paris ✈️, know that Elche boasts a UNESCO World Heritage Site: an incredible palm grove with 200,000 palm trees (😯 !) that forms a lush green belt around the city 😍. The city also features numerous parks and a rich historical heritage: the Alcudia archaeological site, the narrow streets of Vila Murada, the Calahorra Muslim tower, the Altamira Palace, the Santa Maria Basilica, the Casa de la Festa, the Raval neighborhood, and the Mercé Convent. The inventory is as dense as it is fascinating in this city that retains significant remnants of its Muslim past and baroque architecture. Once in Alicante, you can enjoy a stroll on the famous Esplanade of Spain, soak up the sun on one of the city's beaches (San Juan, San Gabriel, La Calita… 🏖️), or take a hike up Mount Benacantil to reach the Santa Barbara Castle where the views are incredible 👀.

Since you'll definitely want to fuel up properly before your race, we're excited to tell you that the local specialties will help you load up on carbs 😋. Rice dishes are abundant, but you can also indulge in a variety of fish and seafood 🦞 fresh from the Levant coast. And to reward yourself after the athletic effort, you can dive into ice creams and nougat… 🍨