RacesIndependent race preparation guide

Chania, Crete, Greece · 42.195 km road marathon

Crete Marathon 2027

Sunday 11 April 2027

A single loop from Chania's stadium through the Venetian harbour and out along the old Kissamos road to a U-turn near Tavronitis, with a six-hour limit from the gun.

Crete Marathon at a glance

Start: 07:00 (2026 time), one start on Eleftheriou Venizelou outside the Chania stadium
Finish: Inside the National Sports Centre stadium, Chania
Course: One loop, low and coastal, with a long out-and-back west of Chania
Elevation: From about sea level to 25 m
Time limit: 6 h from the 07:00 gun; the course closed at 13:00 (2026)
Cut-offs: None published
Entry: Not yet open for 2027; in 2026, 600 places from 25 euro, rising to 40 euro
Bib pickup: Registration centre at the National Stadium, Friday and Saturday (2026); no race-morning desk
Aid stations: Water and isotonic drink every 2.5 km; personal drinks every 5 km from km 5

Checked against the organizer's pages on 24 September 2026. Facts for the next edition can still change; the organizer's page is the final word.

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Crete Marathon course map and elevation

One loop, low and coastal, with a long out-and-back west of Chania. Map, elevation profile and 3D flyover.

Loading topographic map…

running direction two lines: out and back on the same road race kilometresCourse: TrailSplits reconstruction; map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Flat (<5%)

Route drawn by TrailSplits from published race information; approximate. For illustration, not navigation.

What to expect on the course

The Venetian harbour and Talo square at about km 1
U-turn 200 m short of the Tavronitis junction, at roughly km 21
A loop by the sea through Agioi Apostoloi and Chrysi Akti from km 36 to 39
The biggest climb, about 35 m, comes out of Nea Chora around km 4 to 6

The map shows the course as the organizer has described it since 2024, drawn along the streets from its published course file and street list; the 2027 route is not yet confirmed.

Read the full course description

A single loop from the National Sports Centre in Chania, certified by AIMS, on the layout the organizer has used since 2024. The first kilometres tour the city: west on Eleftheriou Venizelou past the covered Market, down Chalidon to the Venetian harbour at about km 1, round Talo square, along Akti Kanari and Akti Papanikoli through Nea Chora, then up Monis Gonias, Selinou and Georgiakakidon to the Kladisos junction near km 4. From there the course follows the Mikis Theodorakis avenue, the old road to Kissamos, west past Agioi Apostoloi, Stalos, Agia Marina, Platanias and Maleme to a U-turn 200 m short of the Tavronitis junction at roughly km 21, and comes back the same way. Near km 36 it leaves the avenue at Kalamaki for a loop by the sea through Agioi Apostoloi and Chrysi Akti, rejoining it near km 39, then enters town by Kissamou and Skalidi, passes the Market again and finishes in the stadium. The organizer's profile stays between about 3 and 38 m: the biggest climb, about 35 m, comes out of Nea Chora around km 4 to 6, with rises of about 20 m near km 15 to 17 and km 37 to 39. Water and isotonic drink come every 2.5 km; no pacers are announced.

Source, licence and file

TrailSplits reconstruction of the published route. Course: TrailSplits reconstruction; map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL · original source · Download reference GPX (42.3 km in the file). Approximate terrain-model heights added by TrailSplits, sampled and smoothed at roughly 100 m intervals. Buildings, bridges and small road gradients are not surveyed road elevations.Produced using Copernicus WorldDEM-30 © DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018 provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA; all rights reserved.

Three decisions to make before race day

Enter as soon as 2027 entry opens

Only 600 places in 2026, and the fee rose from 25 to 40 euro in four steps; enter before the first step once 2027 entry opens, as there is no race-day entry.

More detail
The 2026 marathon was capped at 600 runners and the individual fee climbed from 25 euro to 40 euro in four date steps, with refunds only until 31 January. There was no race-day entry and bibs could not be transferred. Once the 2027 platform opens, entering before the first price step saves 15 euro and secures one of the few places.
Be in Chania on the Friday or Saturday for your bib

In 2026 bibs came only from the stadium registration centre on Friday and Saturday; no race-morning desk was listed for the 07:00 start.

More detail
In 2026 bibs and timing chips were issued only at the registration centre in the National Stadium, Andrea Papandreou 59: Friday 17 April 10:00 to 15:00 and 16:00 to 20:00, Saturday 18 April 10:00 to 15:00 and 16:00 to 19:00. No race-morning desk was listed for the 07:00 start. Chania city buses were free for runners on race day.
Decide whether a helper will hand you your own drinks

Stations every 2.5 km, gel and cola at km 20 and 32.5, and a companion may hand you personal drinks every 5 km from km 5.

More detail
The 2026 stations came every 2.5 km with water and isotonic drink, bars at km 7.5, 17.5, 25 and 35, bananas at km 12.5, 20, 30 and 37.5, gel and cola at km 20 and 32.5, and sponges at km 10, 17.5, 32.5 and 40. A companion could also pass you personal drinks every 5 km from km 5, which suits runners using their own gels.

Your race-day sheet

Even elapsed splits for 42.195 km. All clocks are local to Chania.

Target finish time, including stops

HoursMinutes

Total stopped minutes Your start time (local)

07:00 is the 2026 start time. The organizer's 2027 countdown also runs to 07:00 on 11 April, but the 2027 rules are not yet published. The marathon has a single start; in 2026 the 10 km followed at 07:30. Europe/Athens.

Time limit: 6 h from the 07:00 gun; the course closed at 13:00 (2026)

How this sheet applies the limit

In 2026 the organizer allowed six hours from the scheduled 07:00 start, so the course closed at 13:00; the limit runs from the gun, not from your own crossing of the line. No intermediate cut-offs were published, although timing mats sit at the start, at the km 21.1 turnaround, at km 37.9 and at the finish. The 2027 rules are not yet out, so treat the 13:00 close as last year's figure.

A timing comparison, not a fitness assessment. Intermediate cutoffs, queues, weather and terrain are not modelled. Stops are spread evenly in the illustration; actual checkpoint times will differ.

ESTIMATED FINISH

11:00:00

MOVING PACE BUDGET

5:34/ km

ELAPSED PACE

5:41/ km

120 min below the modelled finish limit

Distance markers, not aid stations or guaranteed arrival times.
Distance	Elapsed	Local clock
5 km	00:28:26	07:28:26
10 km	00:56:53	07:56:53
15 km	01:25:19	08:25:19
20 km	01:53:45	08:53:45
Halfway	02:00:00	09:00:00
25 km	02:22:12	09:22:12
30 km	02:50:38	09:50:38
35 km	03:19:05	10:19:05
40 km	03:47:31	10:47:31
Finish	04:00:00	11:00:00

Training plan for Crete Marathon 2027

A free week-by-week plan dated to this race. It starts from a stated default (weekly distance, longest recent run, days a week) that you can change; nothing is read from your watch or training history. It does not use the finish-time target above.

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Entry, bib pickup and rules

Entry:: Not yet open for 2027; in 2026, 600 places from 25 euro, rising to 40 euro
Bib pickup:: Registration centre at the National Stadium, Friday and Saturday (2026); no race-morning desk

Read the full entry and pickup rules

Entry for 2027 has not opened: the organizer's entry platform still carries the 2026 race and no 2027 rules are published. In 2026 the marathon was capped at 600 runners and the individual fee rose by date from 25 euro (until 30 September) through 30 and 35 euro to 40 euro from 1 March, with 5 euro less for club, team, student, unemployed and disabled entrants and an optional 12 euro pack with a backpack. Online entry closed on 9 April; a few places were then sold for cash in Chania, never on race day. Refunds, less bank charges, ran to 31 January, bibs could not be passed on, and runners had to be born in 2008 or earlier.

Sources

Checked 24 September 2026; next review due 2026-11-06. Event facts come from the organizer; the pacing sheet, decisions and plan are TrailSplits' own. Independently prepared by TrailSplits, not endorsed by the organizer.

What each source confirms

Organizer home page: The 11 April 2027 date and 07:00 countdown, the race in Chania since 2016, and the organizer's office at Sfakion 4, Chania.
2026 marathon page: The 07:00 start, the 600-runner cap, start and finish at the National Sports Centre, the full street list, the six-hour limit from the start, the birth-year rule, timing mats, kilometre signs, the course map image and the 2025 altitude profile.
2026 proclamation (English): AIMS certification, the organizer (Chania Health Runners Association), the 13:00 close, the fee bands and deadlines, refunds to 31 January, the registration-centre days and hours, clothing storage, aid-station contents and personal drinks every 5 km. 2026 facts, not 2027 confirmations.
Registration fees page: The 2026 fee table by date and category and the 9 April 2026 entry deadline.
Travel page: Free city buses for runners on race day in 2026 and the 2026 flight, ferry and coach discounts.
Course map image: The loop, the U-turn before Tavronitis, the Agioi Apostoloi and Chrysi Akti loop, and the station table with timing at km 21.1 and 37.9.
2024 announcement: The same street list in 2024, so the current layout dates from that edition.
Organizer course file (2019): The older course file behind the map line for the harbour, the Kladisos junction and the whole avenue out-and-back; the 2024 changes at the start, finish and Chrysi Akti follow the organizer's street list.