The Race
| Next Race Date | Sunday 6 December 2026 |
|---|---|
| Course type | To be Confirmed |
| Registration | Open, online |
| Ballot opens | Not applicable |
| Start | Pian di Poma athletics track, Sanremo, 09:00 |
| Finish | Pian di Poma athletics track, Sanremo |
| Total finishers | To be Confirmed |
| Avg race-day temp | To be Confirmed |
| Cutoff time | 6 hours |
| Free race-day transport | No |
| Course certification | FIDAL homologated, type A (national calendar) |
History
An organiser retrospective says a first race was held on the developing coastal cycle path in 2007. The organiser's 2026 numbering conflicts with FIDAL's, so no edition number is given here, and the years should not be read as continuous. The race is organised by Ass. Pro San Pietro Sanremo and sits beside a half marathon, a 10K, a 5K in Ospedaletti and a family run.
The course uses the former coastal railway line, now the Riviera dei Fiori cycle and walking path. FIDAL lists the race as 42.195 km, type A, on the national calendar. No World Athletics label was found, so none should be implied. The 2025 medal was themed around the Primavera statue, which is not necessarily the 2026 design. The marathon pays no cash prizes. The course record and past winners were not found, and the 2007 course may not match today's alignment.
The course
The marathon starts at 09:00 at the Pian di Poma athletics track in Sanremo and finishes on the same track. It follows the Riviera dei Fiori coastal cycle and walking path, a former railway line beside the Ligurian Sea. The organiser describes an almost flat course with wind as the principal hazard.
The 2025 route is two laps of an out-and-back circuit of about 21 km. Each lap runs east from the track along the waterfront and the old railway line through Poggio and Bussana to the Arma di Taggia tunnel, about 8.6 km from the start, and returns the same way. The chart stays between about 6 and 33 m.
The organiser's course page announces a changed route, but older text on the same page and the current rules describe a longer single route towards Santo Stefano al Mare. Check the organiser's map before you plan splits or where your supporters stand. The organiser gives no figure for climb.
Kilometre by kilometre
Positions come from the 2025 route and are approximate to about half a kilometre. If the organiser confirms a different 2026 route, they will move.
The start. The gun fires at 09:00 at the Pian di Poma athletics track, with Sunday bib collection from 07:00 and bag drop closing at 08:30. The half marathon starts at the same time, so check your direction at the first junctions. The path is narrow in places and a concurrent half marathon could make passing harder, but no width or wave data was found.
Km 0 to 10: east along the old railway. The 2025 route leaves the track through the Capo Nero gallery, reaches the waterfront and the old railway station at 2 km and Via Nino Bixio at 3 km, then joins the Riviera dei Fiori cycle path at 4 km. It continues through Poggio di Sanremo at 5 and 6 km and Bussana on Corso Mazzini at 7 and 8 km, then Castelletti at 9 km and the tunnel at Arma di Taggia, about 8.6 km from the start, at 10 km.
Km 10 to 21: back to the track. The turn at the Arma tunnel brings the field back the same way, passing Bussana at 13 km and Poggio at 15 and 16 km. The path returns to the old station at 18 km and the Lungomare Vittorio Emanuele II at 19 km, and reaches the track at about 20 km, where the second lap begins. The half marathon finishes there.
Km 21 to 42: the second lap. The second lap repeats the first, with the turn at the Arma tunnel at about 31 km and the return by Poggio at 35 and 36 km and the Lungomare at 40 km. You come back to the athletics track for the finish. The 6h limit puts the closing time at about 15:00 from a 09:00 gun. Bags are collected at the track.
On an out-and-back, the wind that helps on the way out can hold you back after the turn, so do not assume a tailwind on any stretch. Carry your own familiar fuel. No pacer table, gel brand or coeliac detail is published.
The waterfront, the cycle path and Bussana to the turn at the Arma di Taggia tunnel. Check your direction at the first junctions, because the half starts at the same time.
The same path in reverse, with the wind on the other side. The half marathon finishes at the track and the lap ends there.
The same out-and-back again, with a thinner field. The finish is on the athletics track.
Course Map
The map shows the 2025 edition route. Tap a marker for the start, finish, bib collection and the places on the course, and scrub the slider or press play to move the orange marker along the two laps with the elevation profile beneath it.
Pacers
The 2026 rules and programme do not publish a marathon pacer table.
The organiser calls the climb almost nil and wind the principal hazard. On a path beside the sea, the wind that helps you in one direction will hold you back in the other.
The organiser's course page describes a changed route of two laps of an out-and-back circuit from the Pian di Poma track, but older text on the same page and the current rules describe a longer single route towards Santo Stefano al Mare. The line on the map is the 2025 course. Check the organiser's map before you plan splits or where your supporters stand.
Friday and Saturday bib collection is at La Piccola in Ospedaletti, and Sunday collection is at the Pian di Poma field in Sanremo from 07:00 to 08:30. Plan which day you collect before you book a room.
Early December on the Ligurian coast can be mild, windy or wet, and no sourced race-day temperature was found. The gun is at 09:00 on an exposed cycle path beside the sea. Wind is the stated hazard, so a light windproof layer is worth more than extra warmth.
Bring a throwaway layer for the wait in the track area and a dry change in the bag, which you collect at the track. Check the forecast in race week. No discard policy was found, so ask the organiser before leaving a good jacket.
Entry
Entry is online and open, with no ballot. The 2026 fees for the marathon are in the table below. Earlier tiers were €45, €50 and €55. Add a 6% secretariat charge and any bank or card costs. At about €1 to £0.858 the four late tiers are roughly £51, £56, £60 and £64 before the charge. There is no race-day entry. The technical top is guaranteed to runners who pay online by 19 November.
The marathon needs the runner to be 20 or over by birth year. The competitive route needs a 2026 FIDAL card, a RunCard or RunCard-EPS with a valid competitive athletics medical certificate, or a card from a foreign federation recognised by World Athletics, with the self-declaration signed in the original at bib collection. A RunCard Mountain & Trail alone is not accepted.
A foreign runner who is not a resident can take a tourist-sporting, non-competitive route instead, with a different bib, an alphabetical arrival list and no prizes. It needs a fitness form signed and stamped by a doctor. For a foreign RunCard certificate the rules ask for an equivalent exam set of a medical exam, urine test, rest and exercise ECG and spirometry, with athletics wording. Ask the organiser for the form and send your proof early, because no final submission deadline is stated. Entries are non-transferable and the fee is not refunded for absence.
| Registration window (2026) | Marathon fee |
|---|---|
| To 30 September | €60 (about £51) |
| To 31 October | €65 (about £56) |
| To noon on 4 December, online by card (bank transfer until 30 November) | €70 (about £60) |
| On site on 4 and 5 December | €75 (about £64) |
Fast runner standards
There are no guaranteed-entry or qualifying standards.
Sanremo Marathon: official site →Race Weekend
Bib collection
Bib collection is split across two towns. On Friday it runs from 14:30 to 18:30 and on Saturday from 10:00 to 13:00 and 14:30 to 18:30 at La Piccola, an old goods yard on Via Cavalieri di Malta in Ospedaletti. On Sunday it runs from 07:00 to 08:30 at the Pian di Poma athletics field in Sanremo.
Ospedaletti is a separate town to the west, about 2.4 km from the track in a straight line, so a Friday or Saturday collection needs a short bus or train ride or a flat walk along the cycle path from Sanremo, which might be restricted by race-weekend events. Bring your confirmation letter and your documents. A friend can collect your bib with the confirmation and the required documents.
Getting to the start
The start and the finish are at the Pian di Poma athletics field on Via Grande Torino in Sanremo. Sunday bib collection opens at 07:00, bag drop closes at 08:30 and the gun is at 09:00. A room in western Sanremo near the track keeps the walk short. A base in Ospedaletti makes the Friday and Saturday bib collection easy, but you will need a Sunday transfer to Pian di Poma. A room by the centre of Sanremo suits a train arrival but is not at the start.
The Saturday 5K and family run start at La Piccola in Ospedaletti, not at the Sunday field. Sunday first trains and buses, any strike on race day, road closures and the Sanremo traffic-restricted zone are not published. Check municipal and operator notices, and allow a buffer.
Nutrition on course
The rules list course and finish aid, but there is no marathon station table, no brand and no coeliac detail. Carry familiar fuel, because the aid plan depends on a route that is not settled.
Spectating
The Pian di Poma athletics track is the start, the finish and the bag area, so a spectator can see both without a transfer. On the 2025 route the field passes the track at about 20 km, so a supporter at the track sees the runners three times.
Public access to the cycle path could give repeat sightings, but cycling access, road closures and the rules for the active path are not published. Do not travel to Santo Stefano al Mare expecting a race pass. A live tracker was not found.
- Watch the 09:00 start at the Pian di Poma track
- Walk or ride to the nearest public point on the cycle path once the organiser confirms the route
- Return to the track for the finish
Post-race food
The rules promise finish refreshments. For a proper meal, look in Sanremo or Ospedaletti. Ligurian cooking runs to focaccia, farinata, a chickpea pancake, and pesto, which is made with the local basil.
Winter seaside restaurants keep shorter hours, so book a table and ask whether the kitchen is open on Sunday afternoon.
Where to Stay
Stay in western Sanremo near Pian di Poma if you want the shortest walk to the gun and the bag area.
Pian di Poma and western Sanremo
The best base for race morning. Check that your hotel is open in December and serves an early breakfast.
Ospedaletti
Easy for Friday and Saturday bib collection at La Piccola, but Sunday needs a transfer to the track. Confirm the transfer before you book.
Sanremo centre
Practical if you arrive by train, but not at the start, about 2 km away. Plan a taxi or a walk on the morning.
The organiser publishes a convention hotel page. Book a cancellable room once your entry is confirmed, and do not assume breakfast or a last-mile shuttle.
Booking timeline
The €65 tier ends on 31 October, bank-transfer entry runs to 30 November and online card entry to noon on 4 December. The technical top is guaranteed if you pay online by 19 November. Sort your federation card, your athletics medical certificate or the tourist-route form first, because none has a stated final deadline.
Reserve a cancellable room near the Sunday field, and check that it is open in December. Nice is a plausible airport, but cross-border trains and Sunday connections need checking. Resolve the route and your transport before you buy a fixed ticket, and revisit the weather in race week.
See & Do
Distances are straight-line from the Pian di Poma track. Check December opening hours.
Riviera dei Fiori cycle path
A flat former railway line above the sea, good for a recovery walk. It may be restricted on race day.
Sanremo waterfront
A flat promenade by the harbour, with the Casino and Forte Santa Tecla nearby. Check access.
Sanremo old town
A steep hill quarter of narrow lanes above the centre. Take it slowly after the race.
Ospedaletti seafront
A small seaside town west of Sanremo and the Friday and Saturday bib collection venue.
After the Race
The race is on a Sunday in December, so recovery days start on the Monday. Ospedaletti and Bordighera are flat trips, and Menton and Nice are a short train ride across the border.
A small seaside town west of Sanremo, reached along a flat former railway line that is now a cycle and walking path above the water.
A garden town on a headland, with a long palm-lined promenade, a medieval upper quarter and a night in the winter quiet.
One night in the last Italian town on the coast and one in the first French one, with a short train ride between and a border that needs a passport.
Three nights in the biggest city on the French Riviera, with a flat seafront, a small old town and an airport that takes you home.