Málaga Marathon 2026: your final days before November 8, one workout at a time on your Garmin

Start and finish on Paseo del Parque, a course billed as flatter

The start and finish are on Paseo del Parque, opposite the University of Málaga's rectorate, according to the 2026 rules; the half marathon starts at the same time and finishes on Plaza del General Torrijos. The organizer bills its new courses as "faster, flatter and with fewer turns," pending certification.

The map on the official website (the 2025 one, until the 2026 course is posted) goes through the port and La Farola, heads east past La Malagueta and Pedregalejo to El Palo, comes back to the center, goes north to La Rosaleda stadium, then west along Misericordia beach to the Ciudad de Málaga stadium, before returning to Paseo del Parque. Time limit: 5 h 30 after the last start, with intermediate cutoff times.

Three workouts for a flat seaside marathon

A flat course, with long seafront straights in the last third (Misericordia beach, out and back): you need to hold pace on your own, with nothing to aim at. Ten days out, three workouts are enough; ask your assistant for them, and it builds them and sends them to your watch.

• — Ten days out (Thursday, October 29): 7.5 miles with 2 × 2.5 miles at marathon pace, 3 minutes easy between, on a flat, straight stretch if you can.
• — One week out (weekend of October 31): 1 h 10 easy, with the last 15 minutes at marathon pace, following the pace shown on your watch rather than how it feels.
• — Race week (Wednesday, November 4): 30 minutes easy including 3 × 0.6 mile at marathon pace, 2 minutes of jogging between.

The final days: registration, distance and the unexpected

Race day is November 8: the training is done, now comes the taper. According to the rules, registration closes on Monday, November 2, at 8 p.m., unless extended, with a cap of 12,000 bibs. Until November 2, you can also switch from the marathon to the half, with no refund, if your training fell short: your assistant then adapts your last workouts to 13.1 miles.

A skipped session, a trip: tell your assistant. It reads your Garmin activities and reschedules your workouts up to November 8, without catching up. The day before, it can send a 26.2-mile race workout with your pace range to your watch. For the 2027 edition, the full Running Workout plan will line up with the date as soon as it is announced.

Race day

The first start goes at 8:30 a.m., followed by the various waves, for both the marathon and the half. The time limit runs from the last official start: 5 h 30, with intermediate cutoffs (you must reach the 40 km mark, mile 24.9, within 5:12:40). After the finish, your assistant reads your watch's activity: mile-by-mile pace, heart rate, how well you held pace along Misericordia beach.

Frequently asked questions