RacesIndependent race preparation guide

Paphos, Cyprus · 42.195 km road marathon

Cyprus Marathon 2027

Sunday 28 February 2027

A rolling point-to-point from Aphrodite's Rock to the medieval fort at Paphos harbour, with a halfway check at 3 h 15 and a flat seafront finish.

Cyprus Marathon at a glance

Start: 07:00, Petra tou Romiou (Aphrodite's Rock) on the coast road east of Paphos
Finish: Paphos Medieval Fort square (Pafos Castle) at the harbour
Course: Point to point, AIMS certified, sea level to 56 m, about 200 m of ascent; 2027 route unconfirmed
Time limit: Six hours, from the gun or your own start not stated; chip time is official
Cut-offs: Halfway within 3 h 15 or you are disqualified; road closures end from 12:00
Entry: Open; 60 euro, deferral requests by 15 January 2027, no refund or transfer
Bib pickup: En Plo expo by Pafos Castle, Fri 26 and Sat 27 February 09:00 to 18:00 (midday break); none on race day
Getting to the start: Official coaches from Kato Paphos main bus station, 05:30 to 05:50; bags go to the finish by van
Aid stations: Water every 2.5 km; electrolytes and sponges every 5 to 7.5 km; caffeine gel at 32.75 km

Checked against the organizer's pages on 23 September 2026. Facts for the next edition can still change; the organizer's page is the final word.

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Cyprus Marathon course map and elevation

Point to point, AIMS certified, sea level to 56 m, about 200 m of ascent; 2027 route unconfirmed. 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

A rise from about 10 m at the rock to about 40 m within the first km, below the Aphrodite Hills resort
A loop of about 6 km south of the main road between km 12.7 and 18.8
An out-and-back of about 4 km each way from about km 23, turning at the km 27.5 marker
Nearly 40 m of climbing from km 30 to the high point near km 33, then down to the sea by km 36
The last 6 km flat along the seafront, including Poseidonos Avenue, to the castle

The map follows the 2025 course matched to the streets; its loops, turnaround and kilometre markers agree with the organizer's current course map, but the 2027 route is not yet confirmed.

Read the full course description

A point-to-point road course, AIMS certified and run under World Athletics rules, from Petra tou Romiou on the coast to the medieval fort at Paphos harbour. The opening kilometres rise from about 10 m at the rock to about 40 m within the first kilometre and pass below the Aphrodite Hills resort, then the route follows the main road north-west, with the organizer's map placing Kouklia beside the km 7.5 station. Between km 12.7 and 18.8 it makes a loop of about 6 km south of the main road, entered and left along the same short stretch, so the organizer's map puts both markers on one spot; the closures page places the course on the left lane of the B6 between Mandria and Timi. Halfway falls before Acheleia, and from about km 23 an out-and-back of roughly 4 km each way turns at the organizer's km 27.5 marker and returns to Acheleia near km 31, again with a shared 24.8 and 30 km marker. From there the course climbs to its highest point, about 56 m near km 33, drops about 50 m to the shore at the organizer's km 36 station below Geroskipou, and runs the last 6 km flat along the seafront, including Poseidonos Avenue, to the castle. The organizer publishes no climb figure; the terrain model gives about 200 m of ascent and 200 m of descent, with everything between sea level and 56 m. Fluid stations come every 2.5 km, with water at each and electrolytes and sponges every 5 to 7.5 km; the current map also lists cola, energy drink, bananas, medics and toilets at stations, the FAQ puts a caffeine gel at 32.75 km, and pacers run for 3:30, 4:00 and 4:30.

Source, licence and file

TrailSplits reconstruction of the published route. Course: TrailSplits reconstruction; map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL · original source · Download reference GPX (42.1 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

Stay near Kato Paphos and take the 05:30 coach to the start

The only published way to the start is the official coach from Kato Paphos main bus station, 05:30 to 05:50, for the 07:00 gun. Expect about an hour at an open coastal start: bring a layer for your bag, which vans take to the finish.

More detail
The start at Petra tou Romiou is a point-to-point marathon away from the finish at the castle, and the only published way there is the official coaches leaving Kato Paphos main bus station, about 300 m from the castle and expo, between 05:30 and 05:50 for the 07:00 gun. That means about an hour at an open coastal start in the early morning, so bring a layer you are happy to leave in your bag: the DHL vans at the start carry bags to the finish. The course passes below the Aphrodite Hills resort in its first 3 km, but no pickup there, no coach price or booking rule and no start parking are published, so ask the organizer before booking accommodation outside Kato Paphos.
Keep something for the climb from km 30 to 33

From km 30 the course rises nearly 40 m in about three kilometres to its high point near km 33, then drops to the sea by km 36. Save something for it, and take the caffeine gel at 32.75 km near the top.

More detail
Most of the course rolls gently between about 10 m and 40 m, but from km 30, on the return leg of the out-and-back towards Acheleia, the route rises nearly 40 m in about three kilometres to its high point near km 33, then drops about 50 m to the sea by km 36 before six flat kilometres along the seafront. The caffeine gel at 32.75 km sits near the top of that climb, which is the natural place to take it. Pacers run only for 3:30, 4:00 and 4:30, and the tight U-turn at the organizer's km 27.5 marker costs a few seconds of rhythm just before the climb starts.
Near six hours, plan against the halfway check and the road reopening

Six hours needs about 8 min 32 per km and the halfway check about 9 min 15. Road closures end between 12:00 and 12:45, before a 13:00 gun-time finish, so if you expect more than about 5 h 30 ask the organizer how the course is run.

More detail
Six hours needs about 8 min 32 per km over the whole distance, and the halfway check at 3 h 15 needs about 9 min 15 per km, so an even six-hour runner clears it with about 15 minutes in hand. The tighter constraint is the roads: the published closures end at 12:00 on the B6, 12:30 between the Koloni and Eratous roundabouts and 12:45 on Poseidonos Avenue, all before the 13:00 that six hours from the gun would give, and the organizer does not say whether the limit runs from the gun. A runner expecting more than about 5 h 30 should confirm with the organizer how the course is managed after the roads reopen.

Your race-day sheet

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

Target finish time, including stops

HoursMinutes

Total stopped minutes Your start time (local)

The initial value is the first published start, not your assigned wave. Asia/Nicosia.

Time limit: Six hours, from the gun or your own start not stated; chip time is official

How this sheet applies the limit

The organizer gives the marathon six hours and does not say whether that runs from the 07:00 gun or from each runner's own crossing of the start; its terms make chip time the official time, and only one marathon start is published, with no waves. There is one intermediate check: a marathon runner who has not passed the halfway point at 21.0975 km within 3 h 15 is disqualified and driven to the finish. If both run from the gun, halfway closes at 10:15 and the finish at 13:00. The published road closures for race day end earlier, between 12:00 and 12:45, and the organizer does not say what happens to runners still on the course when roads reopen.

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 Cyprus 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.

View my training plan

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Entry, bib pickup and rules

Entry:: Open; 60 euro, deferral requests by 15 January 2027, no refund or transfer
Bib pickup:: En Plo expo by Pafos Castle, Fri 26 and Sat 27 February 09:00 to 18:00 (midday break); none on race day

Read the full entry and pickup rules

Entry for 2027 is open on the organizer's registration platform at 60 euro for the marathon on the check date; no later price rise, closing date or field limit is published. Runners must be 18 on race day, and the fee covers the medal and post-race refreshments. Entries are not refundable and not transferable to another runner; a deferral to the next edition must be requested by 15 January 2027 at the latest, and moving down to a shorter race after 1 February 2027 costs 10 euro. Bibs are collected at the Marathon Expo in the En Plo exhibition hall, about 100 m from Pafos Castle, on Friday 26 February 2027 09:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00 or Saturday 27 February 09:00 to 12:30 and 13:00 to 18:00. No race-day pickup is published; the organizer asks runners arriving too late for the expo to contact it about alternative arrangements, and collection on behalf of another runner is not addressed.

Sources

Checked 23 September 2026; next review due 2026-11-04. 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

Official home page: The 27 and 28 February 2027 weekend, with the marathon on Sunday 28 February at 07:00 from Aphrodite's Rock and the shorter races from Pafos Castle; the Saturday is the 5 km Sunset Run.
Entry details: Sunday 28 February 2027, the 07:00 start and six-hour limit, the minimum age of 18 and what the fee includes.
Marathon page and course map: The 42.2 km AIMS-certified course from Petra tou Romiou, coaches from Kato Paphos at 05:30 to 05:50, DHL bag vans at the start, fluid-station spacing, pacers, the 21 km check at 3 h 15, expo hours and the linked course map image with its kilometre markers and station contents (https://cyprusmarathon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/marathon-map.png).
FAQ: The six-hour limit, the halfway disqualification rule and car transfer, the bus station 300 m from the castle, the 45-minute arrival advice, expo location and hours, contact for late arrivals, no refund or transfer, the 15 January 2027 deferral deadline and 10 euro downgrade fee after 1 February, the finish at the medieval fort, the caffeine gel at 32.75 km and pacer times.
Race-day road closures: Closures dated Sunday 28 February: Poseidonos Avenue 07:30 to 12:45, the B6 left lane from Mandria to Timi and from the airport turn to Koloni roundabout until 12:00, and two lanes from Koloni to Eratous roundabout until 12:30.
Event terms: Chip time as the official time, the age rule, and entries that are personal, non-transferable and not refundable.
Registration platform: The marathon listed for 28 February 2027 at 07:00 (UTC+2) at 60 euro on the check date.