The Race
| Next Race Date | Sunday 31 January 2027 |
|---|---|
| Course type | Point-to-point, start and finish 2.4 km apart |
| Registration | Open online entry, three price bands |
| Ballot opens | No ballot |
| Start | Estrada Monumental at Rua do Gorgulho, Lido, 07:00 |
| Finish | Avenida do Mar opposite Casa da Luz, by Praça da Autonomia |
| Total finishers | 203 (marathon, most recent edition) |
| Avg race-day temp | 14 to 20°C (IPMA January normal: average daily minimum and maximum) |
| Cutoff time | 6 hours |
| Free race-day transport | Yes at the most recent edition: Horários do Funchal buses to the start |
| Course certification | AIMS member race; no World Athletics label |
History
Madeira has almost no flat ground, which is the problem the Funchal Marathon was built to solve. AARAM, the athletics association of the Autonomous Region of Madeira, has run it every January since 2015, apart from a pandemic gap in 2021, on the one long and fairly level corridor the city has: the Estrada Monumental and Avenida do Infante above the western seafront. The course runs it four times before dropping into the old town for the finish.
The weekend grew into three races, the marathon, a half marathon and a mini marathon of about 8 km. The most recent edition was the 11th, with close to 2,000 runners across the three distances and 203 marathon finishers.
Heat has shaped the timetable. At one edition the organisers moved the start an hour earlier, to 07:00, specifically to beat rising temperatures. The most recent race was the exception: Portugal's presidential election pushed it to the Saturday afternoon, with a 15:00 start. The next edition returns to 07:00 on a Sunday.
Funchal has become a championship venue. It hosted European Masters Athletics marathon racing in 2023 and the Portuguese Marathon Championships in 2024 and at the most recent edition. José Sousa won both of those: in 2:21:14 in 2024, and in 2:23:36 at the most recent edition, his fourth national title.
The course
The marathon starts on the Estrada Monumental at Rua do Gorgulho, in the Lido hotel district, and finishes 2.4 km east on the downtown waterfront, opposite Casa da Luz by Praça da Autonomia. For 30 km it runs laps of the Estrada Monumental and Avenida do Infante: a short stub east to a turn near the Madeira Congress Centre at km 1.4, then four laps between that end and the ASSICOM roundabout in the west, reached at km 5.1, 11.9, 19.3 and 26.5.
Each lap climbs to ASSICOM and falls back from it. On the chart each climb is 21 to 24 m over about 1.2 km, an average of 1.8 per cent, to a high point of 72 to 76 m, and the rest of the corridor rolls between about 50 m and 60 m. At km 30 the route leaves the corridor and drops 44 m in two kilometres, an average of 2.1 per cent, down Avenida do Infante and Avenida Arriaga to the Sé at km 31.1.
The last 11 km are on the waterfront, between 10 m and 22 m above the sea. The course passes the Mercado dos Lavradores and the finish area at km 31.5 to 31.8, then runs out and back along Avenida do Mar and Avenida Sá Carneiro: three times west to the roundabout by the port, at km 33.1, 37.0 and 40.8, and twice east to the Jardim Almirante Reis, at km 34.9 and 38.8, passing the finish area five times before it is allowed to stop. The surface is tarmac and city paving.
Kilometre by kilometre
Km 0 to 8.5: the first lap, in the dark. The gun goes at 07:00 on the Estrada Monumental, and in late January the sun does not rise until about 08:00, so the first hour is run under streetlights. Runners head east to the first turn near the Congress Centre at km 1.4, then back west past the start. From km 3.7 the road climbs 21 m in 1.2 km to the ASSICOM roundabout at km 5.1, then falls back east. Take the climb easily: it comes round three more times.
Km 8.5 to 30: laps two to four. The pattern repeats: east to the Casino end, west and uphill to ASSICOM at km 11.9, 19.3 and 26.5, back down. The last two climbs are the steepest on the chart, 23 and 24 m over 1.3 km. The turnarounds are tight, and each one costs a few seconds of braking and re-accelerating; run them wide and smooth. The repetition is the hardest part of Funchal for many runners. The upside is that the corridor passes the Lido hotels, and a supporter can see you eight times without moving. By the third lap the sun is over the sea and the temperature is climbing. Drink at every station.
Km 30 to 32: the drop. After the last pass of the Congress Centre the route leaves the corridor and falls 44 m in two kilometres down Avenida do Infante and Avenida Arriaga into the old centre, reaching the Sé at km 31.1. On tired legs a descent like this hurts the quadriceps more than a climb would. Shorten your stride, stay upright and let the pace come.
Km 32 to 42.2: the waterfront. The course winds past the Mercado dos Lavradores and Praça da Autonomia, then runs west along Avenida do Mar and Avenida Sá Carneiro past the marina to the roundabout by the port at km 33.1, east to the Jardim Almirante Reis at km 34.9, and repeats: west at km 37.0, east at km 38.8, west at km 40.8, then back to the finish. It is flat, busier with spectators and cooler if the sea breeze is up. You pass the finish area five times, at km 31.8, 34.5, 35.6, 38.3 and 39.5, before you are allowed to stop, so count the turns. The finish is in the bus parking area opposite Casa da Luz.
Timing uses a MyLaps BibTag on the back of the bib, which must not be folded or damaged. No blue line is published. Missing a turnaround or a timing control is grounds for disqualification.
A 07:00 start in the dark, east to the Congress Centre turn, then 21 m uphill to ASSICOM at km 5.1. Learn the turns and keep the climb easy.
ASSICOM at km 11.9, 19.3 and 26.5, each climb 21 to 24 m at about 1.8 per cent, with tight turnarounds at both ends. Drink as the sun comes up.
44 m down in two kilometres to the Sé. Short strides; protect your quads.
Out and back along Avenida do Mar five times, past the finish area five times before you are allowed to stop at Casa da Luz. Count the turns.
Course Map
Four laps of the corridor above the western seafront, a drop into the old town and a series of out-and-backs along the waterfront to the finish. Tap a marker for the start and bag drop, the finish and the turns, and scrub the slider or press play to move the orange marker along the course with the elevation profile beneath it.
Pacers
Four pacing groups ran at the most recent edition, at 3:00, 3:30, 4:00 and 4:30, from a single start with no published pens. Confirm the list when the regulations for the next edition appear.
Funchal in January is not a winter marathon. The IPMA normal for the city gives an average minimum of 14.3°C, an average maximum of 20.0°C and a monthly mean of 17.1°C. At 07:00 the air is usually in the mid-teens. By 10:00, with the sun on the Estrada Monumental, it can feel like 20°C or more, and humidity on the coast is often high.
Race in warm-weather kit: singlet, shorts and a cap or visor. A thin old top is enough for the wait at the start, and many runners will not need one. No clothing collection has been published, so anything discarded should be something you do not want back. Rain is part of a Madeira winter, but showers are usually brief and not cold; a cap keeps rain out of your eyes, and a jacket is not needed. Use sunscreen even for an early start: a three-hour runner finishes around 10:00, a five-hour runner around noon, and the waterfront has little shade.
The shape of this course is set by the island. The corridor above the western seafront is the one long stretch of road in Funchal without a serious gradient, so the race uses it four times, with 21 to 24 m to climb on every lap, and then drops 44 m in two kilometres to the waterfront. By road-marathon standards that makes it slow. It is also a measured road marathon in the middle of the European winter at around 15°C, on an island better known for levada walks and mountain trails.
Entry
Entry is direct and open, with no ballot and no qualifying time. Registration is on the official site, madeiramarathon.com, and the marathon price rises in three steps: €70 (about £60) until 31 October, €75 (about £64) in November and €90 (about £77) in December. Registration closes in late January. The race does not sell out, so the reason to enter early is the €20 gap between the first band and the last.
At the most recent edition the fee included personal accident insurance, a bib with a MyLaps chip, a pasta-party voucher for marathon runners, transport of your own bag from the start to the finish, a premium marathon T-shirt, free Horários do Funchal buses to the start, pacing groups, food and drink on the course, first aid and a finisher medal. Check the list when the new regulations appear.
The rules were flexible by European standards. Runners could switch distance until 31 December, paying any difference but receiving no refund when moving down. A bib could be transferred to another runner by email until 31 December for a €10 fee. Runners withdrawing through injury or illness could claim a 50% refund with a medical certificate up to a deadline in early January.
There is no good-for-age route. Portuguese federation athletes enter the national championship through a separate process when Funchal hosts it, and Madeira-affiliated runners can earn free entry through the regional “Madeira a Correr” series; neither applies to visitors. No charity-place scheme or tour-operator allocation was found. For a winter-sun island, flights and hotels are the larger cost.
Fast runner standards
There is no fast-runner or good-for-age entry route for visitors. Everyone enters the same way.
Official Funchal Marathon site →Race Weekend
Bib collection
There is no large expo. Bibs come from the race secretariat, whose venue and hours are announced close to race month. Plan to collect on the Friday or Saturday before the race, and bring a passport, national identity card or driving licence: the rules accept those documents and nothing less formal. Proxy collection is not described in the rules, so international runners should collect in person.
The pack holds the bib with its MyLaps BibTag and the event T-shirt; marathon runners have received a premium shirt and a pasta-party voucher. No kit bag is handed out, which is worth knowing because of the bag-transport service: bring your own labelled rucksack or holdall to leave at the start.
Getting to the start
The marathon starts at 07:00 on the Estrada Monumental at Rua do Gorgulho, in the Lido district west of the city centre, and finishes 2.4 km away on the downtown waterfront. That split decides the morning. The mini marathon starts at 08:30 and the half marathon at 09:00, so the marathon has the corridor to itself early.
Getting there. From Lido hotels, walk: the start is in the middle of the district. From downtown or the Old Town, use the free Horários do Funchal race buses included with entry at the most recent edition, or book a taxi for about 06:15. Walking up from downtown means a climb of about 45 m in the dark.
Bags and the start. Leave your own labelled bag at the start; the organiser transports it to the finish. Pack a dry top, a phone and money for the trip back. There are no published pens or waves, and the pacer groups are the reference points. Toilet and warm-up arrangements have not been published; hotels on the Estrada Monumental are the obvious fallback for runners staying there.
The finish. The line is in the bus parking area opposite Casa da Luz, near Praça da Autonomia, with first aid, drinks, food and your bag. Downtown hotels are walkable. Lido runners can take a taxi from the rank near Praça da Autonomia or the marina, or a westbound Horários do Funchal bus once the road reopens; the walk back is about 3 km and uphill.
From the airport. Madeira Airport (FNC) is on the east coast, about 14 km from the finish in a straight line. The SIGA Aerobus links it with central Funchal and the hotel zone; check the timetable for your arrival date.
Nutrition on course
Aid stations were placed about every 5 km at the most recent edition, with extra drinks-only points about every 2.5 km when the weather justified them. Stations served water and an isotonic drink in cups, and the food stations had bananas, nuts and energy bars. No gel was listed, so carry your own, enough for the whole race.
Because the first 30 km are laps of the same corridor, you pass the same stations again and again: note where they are on the first lap and plan around them. Drink early. January in Funchal is warm by marathon standards, humidity is often high and the sun reaches the corridor during the second lap, so a runner who feels cool at 07:00 can be losing a lot of fluid by 20 km. First-aid points were at the Casino end of the corridor and at the finish.
Spectating
Funchal is an easy marathon to watch. A supporter standing on the Estrada Monumental in the Lido sees a runner eight times in the first 30 km without moving, and the waterfront out-and-backs bring the field past the finish area at km 31.8, 34.5, 35.6, 38.3 and 39.5 before the line. The best single spot for repeated sightings is near the Congress Centre turn at the eastern end of the corridor: runners pass in both directions, and it is a 15-minute walk down to the finish.
For a 4-hour runner, each pass of a given point on the corridor comes round roughly every 40 minutes between 07:00 and about 09:50; the drop into town comes at about 09:55, and the waterfront section runs until the finish at about 11:00. For a 3-hour runner, the waterfront section starts at about 09:15. No live-tracking details were published.
- Watch the 07:00 start on the Estrada Monumental
- Walk east to the Congress Centre turn for repeated passes in both directions
- Walk down to Praça da Autonomia for the waterfront laps and the finish
- Stand near the ASSICOM roundabout for the passes at km 5.1, 11.9, 19.3 and 26.5
- Take a taxi or bus to the centre once traffic allows
- Walk to Avenida do Mar for the finish
- Skip the start and have breakfast in the old town
- Stand on Avenida do Mar near the marina for the out-and-backs from km 32
- Walk to Casa da Luz for the finish
Post-race food
The finish is in central Funchal, so food is close. The streets around the Mercado dos Lavradores and Rua Dr. Fernão de Ornelas, which the course passes in its last 11 km, and the Old Town (Zona Velha) east of the market have the most restaurants within a short walk. Sunday lunch runs from about 12:30, which fits a finish between 10:00 and noon.
Madeiran food suits a runner who needs salt and carbohydrate. Bolo do caco, a flat garlic-butter bread, is on every table. Espada, the black scabbardfish caught in deep water off the island, is usually served grilled or fried with banana. Espetada, beef on a laurel skewer, is the island's grill dish. Poncha, the rum, honey and lemon drink, belongs to the evening. Runners staying in the Lido can eat downtown first and take a taxi back afterwards.
Where to Stay
Staying near the finish is still the right call in Funchal, but it has a cost: the start is 2.4 km west and about 45 m higher, at 07:00 in the dark. Free race buses to the start and bag transport to the finish, both included at the most recent edition, are what make a downtown base work. The choice is between an easy morning in the Lido and an easy afternoon downtown, with the Casino district in between.
Downtown and the Sé
Downtown Funchal, around the Sé, Avenida Arriaga and Praça da Autonomia, is closest to the finish and the restaurants. Hotel Madeira, on Rua Ivens, is 700 m from the line. Race morning needs the race bus or a taxi. Saturday nights can be lively on the central streets. Price tier: ££ to £££.
The marina and Avenida do Mar
The marina district sits on the waterfront section of the course. The Pestana CR7 at its western end is 40 m from the roundabout where the course turns three times, and 900 m from the finish, so supporters can watch the last 10 km from the door. Price tier: £££.
The Casino and Avenida do Infante
The Casino district is the compromise, 1.2 km from the finish and a similar distance from the start, beside the eastern turn of the corridor laps. The Pestana Casino Park is here. It is the best base for runners travelling with supporters, who can watch the laps and walk down to the finish. Price tier: ££££.
Lido and the Estrada Monumental
The Lido is the hotel district around the start, about 3 km from the finish. The Hotel Alto Lido is on the course itself, 700 m west of the start, and the Enotel Lido is 110 m below it. Race morning is a short walk; afterwards you need a taxi or bus back up the hill. It has plenty of restaurants and a sea-water pool complex. Price tier: £££ to ££££.
Old Town (Zona Velha)
The Old Town, east of the market, is a few hundred metres from the finish and the liveliest area in the evenings, with the lower station of the Monte cable car at its edge. It is the furthest district from the start. Price tier: ££ to £££.
Hillside Funchal
Hillside hotels have views and quiet nights, but a hotel 1 km from the finish on the map can be 150 m above it. Check the gradient as well as the distance.
There is no ballot and the race does not fill the city, but late January is winter-sun season, and the Lido and the marina fill with holidaymakers regardless. Book a refundable room when you enter.
Recommended hotels
A smaller hotel on Rua Ivens, the closest of these to the line and to the old-town restaurants. Take the race bus or a taxi to the start.
By the marina, 40 m from the course where the waterfront laps turn at km 33.1, 37.0 and 40.8, with a short flat walk back after the finish. Race morning needs the race bus or a taxi to the Lido.
Between the start and the finish, about 130 m from the eastern turn of the corridor laps, so supporters can watch several passes and then walk down to the finish.
About 700 m from the start and 110 m below the course, with full resort facilities. After the race you need a taxi or bus back up the hill.
On the Estrada Monumental itself, 700 m west of the start: the course passes the door eight times in the first 30 km. The same post-race trade-off as the rest of the Lido.
Booking timeline
Enter by the end of October to pay the lowest fee, and book a refundable hotel at the same time; there is no ballot result to wait for. Madeira's hotels respond to the tourist season more than to the race, and late January brings steady demand from northern Europe, so the best-placed rooms in the Lido and by the marina fill regardless of race weekend.
Flights are the constraint. Madeira Airport is served directly from the UK by several airlines in winter, and from Lisbon and Porto many times a day. Book weekend flights early. The airport is known for wind-related diversions and delays, so arrive on Friday. The most recent edition moved at short notice because of an election; no clash is known for the next one, but flexible fares and rooms cost little and cover the unexpected.
See & Do
The finish is on the edge of the old town, so the first three of these are a few minutes' walk from the line and the downtown hotels. The last two are closer to the Lido or up the hill.
Mercado dos Lavradores
The covered market sits beside the course near the finish, with fish, fruit and flower stalls. Its opening days vary, so check before planning a Sunday or Monday visit.
The Sé and the waterfront
The cathedral, which the course passes at km 31.1, Avenida do Mar and Praça da Autonomia are within a few minutes of the finish, and the waterfront is flat for a slow walk the day after. January showers pass quickly.
Monte cable car
The cable car climbs from the Old Town to Monte in about 15 minutes and removes the climb. Monte itself involves slopes and steps, and cloud can close the view in January.
Madeira Botanical Garden
The island’s botanical garden is on the hillside above the city, with slopes and steps. Go by taxi or bus, before the race or two days after, not the same afternoon.
Lido bathing complex
Sea-water pools below the start, open all year with listed hours of 09:30 to 17:30. Pool access depends on the weather and sea state in January.
After the Race
Late January is Madeira's quiet season: mild, green and often cloudy on the heights, with the Atlantic swell at its biggest on the north coast. The island is steep almost everywhere, so the trips below lean on cable cars, buses and cars, and the walking in each is kept to harbours, promenades and gardens. Monte and Câmara de Lobos are half-days from Funchal; Machico sits by the airport and suits a departure day; Porto Moniz earns its night.
The cable car lifts you out of the Old Town to Monte’s church and gardens, and a wicker toboggan brings you part of the way back down. January cloud can hide the view.
A fishing harbour west of Funchal where Winston Churchill painted in 1950, and a glass platform on one of Europe’s highest sea cliffs a short drive above it. Almost no walking required.
The bay where Portuguese navigators first landed in 1419, with a flat promenade, a sandy beach and a small fort, close to the airport.
Natural lava-rock pools on Madeira’s north-west tip, reached through the island’s mountain tunnels. In January the Atlantic swell often closes the pools, and the waves over the rocks are the spectacle.