Maratón del Santo Grial

The Race

History

The Maratón del Santo Grial was first run on 22 May 2022. It follows the Vía Verde de Ojos Negros, the trackbed of a mineral railway that carried iron ore from the mines of Ojos Negros in Teruel to the steelworks at Sagunto, now a path for walkers and cyclists. The race takes its name from the Camino del Santo Grial, a pilgrimage route that traces the traditional journey of the chalice kept in Valencia Cathedral, and its first edition marked the twentieth anniversary of the association that promotes that route.

The format has not changed since. The marathon starts in Barracas, on the high plateau on the border of Castellón and Teruel, and runs down the greenway to the village of Navajas. A half marathon joins from Caudiel and a 10 km and walk from Jérica, and every distance finishes in Navajas’s Plaza del Olmo. The organiser, Atlos Eventos, runs it with the four town councils along the route and the Navajas athletics club.

It remains small. 172 runners finished the 2026 marathon, 15 of them in under three hours. Ángel Folch won in 2:30:34 in 2025, and Kilian García Ruiz and Mercedes Monzón Gimeno won in 2026 in 2:34:41 and 3:11:12, in heavy rain from halfway. The course is not certified and the organiser calls the distance approximate, so those times are not comparable with road records.

The course

The race is point to point. It starts outside Barracas Town Hall at 08:00, at about 1,000 m, and finishes in the Plaza del Olmo in Navajas, at about 400 m, 23 km away in a straight line. The distance is about 42.1 km, and the organiser says the kilometre markers are approximate. The surface mixes asphalt and compacted earth, and the organiser recommends road shoes.

Almost all of it follows the Vía Verde de Ojos Negros, a former railway, so the gradients are gentle and the direction is almost always down. After a short 18 m rise out of Barracas to the high point, 1,003 m at km 0.9, the first 14 km across the plateau fall only about 170 m, around 1 per cent, and barely feel downhill. The steepest stretch is the middle: 307 m down over 15 km between km 15.5 and km 30.6, about 2 per cent, as the line drops through cuttings, tunnels and viaducts past Viver, Benafer and Caudiel into the Palancia valley.

At Jérica, about km 32.6, the route leaves the greenway through the town and falls another 100 m by km 35.6. The last 6 km are nearly level, with a 17 m rise at km 38, before the final 1.5 km drop 35 m into Navajas. The path is not closed to the public: walkers, cyclists and other runners can be on it, and much of it is narrow.

Kilometre by kilometre

Km 0 to 1: Barracas. The start is outside the town hall at 08:00, at around 1,000 m, and it can be several degrees colder here than in Navajas. The route climbs 18 m out of town to join the greenway; in 2026 the lead bicycle took the front runners the wrong way within the first 300 m. Download the organiser’s GPX and know the first turn.

Km 1 to 15: the plateau. Once on the old railway line the running settles. The gradient falls gently, about 1 per cent, too slight to see but enough to make a comfortable pace feel easy. It is exposed country with long sightlines and little shade. The danger is going out too fast: every kilometre of downhill is a kilometre of braking for the quadriceps, and it shows after 30 km.

Km 15 to 31: into the valley. The steepest section: 307 m down over 15 km, about 2 per cent, through cuttings, tunnels and viaducts past Viver and Benafer. GPS pace readings drift in the tunnels; run by effort. The half marathon starts from Caudiel at 09:00, an hour after the marathon, and from the Caudiel stretch the marathon catches the back of its field on a path often a single track wide. Call out before passing and stay off soft edges. In 2026 the leaders met the half-marathon field at about km 25 and the earth sections turned to mud in the rain.

Km 31 to 42: Jérica and home. The route crosses Jérica, with its Mudéjar bell tower, where the 10 km and walk started at 09:00, and drops another 100 m. The 2026 cutoff here was 12:00. Then the descent stops helping: the last 6 km are nearly level, and a 17 m rise at km 38 costs more than it would have early on. The final 1.5 km falls into Navajas and the Plaza del Olmo.

Timing controls are compulsory; missing one means disqualification. There is no painted line. Follow the marshals and signs, especially where the path meets roads and at access points with bollards.

Course Map

One way down the old Ojos Negros railway, from the plateau at Barracas to the Palancia valley at Navajas. Tap a marker for the start, the finish, the villages and the station, and scrub the slider or press play to move the orange marker along the course with the elevation profile beneath it.

Pacers

No pace groups were advertised for 2026.

Entry

Entry is open online through the organiser’s timing partner, with no ballot, and places have not been scarce. The next edition’s entry page had not opened in late September 2026. In 2026 the marathon cost €43 until 12 April, including a fitted sweatshirt; from 13 to 26 April it was €40 without the sweatshirt. Registration closed on 26 April, a week before the race.

Add the shuttle when you enter. In 2026 the bus from Navajas to the start in Barracas cost €8 and had to be booked at registration. For anyone staying at the finish it is effectively part of the entry.

Until 12 April, a medically supported withdrawal was refunded less €3 and any other withdrawal received 50%; optional cancellation insurance cost €6. Entries could not be transferred. If the race is cancelled by the authorities or for bad weather, the 2026 rules offered the merchandise but no refund. Every finisher receives a medal. Marathon runners must be 18 or over.

Fast runner standards

There is no good-for-age, charity or tour-operator route. The course is not certified, so a time here cannot be used as a qualifying time elsewhere.

Race Weekend

Bib collection

There is no expo. In 2026 bibs could be collected in advance at the Intersport shop in the Parque Ademuz shopping centre in Burjassot, near Valencia, on 29 and 30 April and 1 May until 15:00. For visitors staying in Navajas that is an hour away.

Most visiting marathon runners collect on race morning outside Barracas Town Hall, where marathon bibs were issued from about 30 minutes before the 08:00 start in 2026: tight after a dawn bus journey. Bring your DNI, passport or other photo ID. Someone else can collect for you with a photocopy or phone photograph of your ID.

Getting to the start

The marathon starts at 08:00 outside Barracas Town Hall, about 40 km by road from the finish in Navajas. The half marathon starts at 09:00 in Caudiel and the 10 km and walk at 09:00 in Jérica.

Getting there. Stay in Navajas and take the organiser’s shuttle. In 2026 it cost €8, was booked at registration, and one runner boarded at 06:45. The pick-up point was not named in the rules; confirm it on Saturday. Driving to Barracas leaves a car at the start and a 40 km problem after the race.

Breakfast. Navajas has very little open at dawn. Choose accommodation with a kitchen or buy breakfast on Saturday.

Bags. The 2026 rules did not describe bag transport from Barracas to Navajas. Ask the organiser before race day; until it is confirmed, carry keys, phone and medication and leave everything else at the hotel.

Rules and cutoffs. Every control point is compulsory. Dogs are not allowed. Headphones are not banned, but the greenway is shared, so keep the volume low enough to hear a bicycle. In 2026 runners had to pass Caudiel by 10:45 and Jérica by 12:00, and the finish closed 5 hours 30 minutes after the start.

The finish. The Plaza del Olmo in the centre of Navajas. Every finisher gets a medal. In 2026 showers were at the Navajas sports pavilion opposite Camping Altomira, 10 to 15 minutes’ walk from the square.

Nutrition on course

The rules promise an aid point roughly every 5 to 7 km, and one 2026 runner found water every 5 to 6 km. The organiser did not publish where each station stands or what it serves, so plan to be self-sufficient: carry all your gels, and consider a soft flask and electrolytes, because the gaps are longer than at most city marathons and the upper greenway has little shade.

There is no personal-bottle service. Litter goes in the marked zones at each station; the route runs through protected countryside.

Spectating

Spectating takes a car and some planning, or a decision to stay put in Navajas. The greenway is closed to following vehicles, so move between villages on public roads and meet runners at Caudiel, Jérica and the finish. With about 170 marathon runners, expect quiet stretches, not crowds. Mobile coverage along the greenway is patchy.

Post-race food

Navajas is a small village with a handful of places to eat, so book lunch before race day. Restaurante Altomira, at Camping Altomira opposite the pavilion used for showers in 2026, is the most practical choice: shower, then eat without walking further.

For a wider choice, Segorbe is 3 km south. The restaurant at the Hotel Martín el Humano serves full meals. The finish-area refreshments were not itemised in 2026, so treat them as a snack.

Where to Stay

Stay in Navajas, at the finish. The race is point to point and the shuttle to the start leaves from Navajas, so the finish village is where the bus, the bed, the shower and lunch all come together. Barracas and the start are 40 km away by road.

The field is small but Navajas has far fewer beds than the field. Book the day the date is published.

Recommended hotels

Booking timeline

Wait for the organiser to publish the next date, usually an early-May Sunday, before paying for anything non-refundable. Then enter, add the shuttle at checkout and book Navajas straight away.

Fly to Valencia (VLC). Navajas is about 45 minutes by car, and a hire car makes the weekend far simpler; a slow local train runs from Valencia through Sagunto and Segorbe but infrequently. In 2026 the sweatshirt, cancellation and distance changes all closed on 12 April, and entries shut on 26 April. In race week, check the forecast for both Barracas and Navajas, confirm the shuttle stop and ask whether bags are carried to the finish.

See & Do

The finish is in the centre of Navajas, a small village in the Palancia valley with the river, the greenway and Segorbe close by.

After the Race

Early May in the Alto Palancia is green and mild. Segorbe is ten minutes away, Sagunto, where the ore on the greenway was going, half an hour, and Teruel and Valencia, home of the chalice that gives the race its name, earn a night or two.