RacesIndependent race preparation guide

Pisa, Italy · 42.195 km road marathon

Pisa Marathon 2026

Sunday 20 December 2026

A flat road marathon from the Duomo to the coast at Tirrenia and Marina di Pisa and back along the Arno, finishing beneath the Leaning Tower, with 6 h 30 from the 09:00 gun.

Pisa Marathon at a glance

Start: 09:00, in front of Piazza Daniele Manin; corrals open 08:00 to 08:45
Finish: Piazza del Duomo, beneath the Leaning Tower
Course: One flat loop to the coast and back along the Arno, all on asphalt
Elevation: From about sea level to 13 m
Time limit: 6 h 30 from the 09:00 gun; the race closes at 15:30
Cut-offs: Halfway in 3 h 15 and km 30 in 4 h 35 (about 13:35)
Entry: Open; 69 euro plus fees until 30 November, then 79 euro to 14 December; 2,200 places
Bib pickup: Expo Village, Viale Duomo: Friday 18 December 12:00 to 20:00, Saturday 10:00 to 22:00; none on race day
Aid stations: Every 5 km; pacers from 3:00 to 6:00

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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Pisa Marathon course map and elevation

One flat loop to the coast and back along the Arno, all on asphalt. Map, elevation profile and 3D flyover.

Loading topographic map…

running direction two lines: out and back on the same road race kilometresCourse: 1063AD / Pisa Marathon; source GPX created with Openrunner

Flat (<5%)

Organizer-published 2025 course file; the next edition's route may differ. For illustration, not navigation.

What to expect on the course

An opening loop of about 5 km on the lungarni, crossing the Arno several times
San Piero a Grado near km 10, then Via Bigattiera through the San Rossore pine woods
The coast road through Tirrenia to a turnaround near km 21.8, then north to Marina di Pisa at about km 29
About 9 km back along the Arno on Viale D'Annunzio to Porta a Mare
Via Roma and Via Santa Maria to the finish in Piazza del Duomo

The organizer links an Openrunner file explicitly named 2025. Some long straight-road sections have sparse vertices; use the preview for the course overview, not as a surveyed turn-by-turn route or confirmed 2026 course.

Read the full course description

One road loop on asphalt throughout, measured by FIDAL and AIMS-World Athletics, from in front of Piazza Daniele Manin to a finish in Piazza del Duomo beneath the Leaning Tower. On the 2025 course file the first 5 km wind along the lungarni, crossing the Arno several times, before the route leaves through the Porta a Mare district near km 6 and heads south-west past La Vettola to San Piero a Grado around km 10. The half marathon shares the road as far as its km 13 turnaround. Via Bigattiera then runs through the pine woods of the San Rossore park to the coast road at Tirrenia near km 18.5, which goes south to a turnaround at about km 21.8 and back north, reaching Marina di Pisa around km 29. From the river mouth Viale D'Annunzio follows the south bank of the Arno for about 9 km to Porta a Mare near km 39, and the last 2 km recross the river, by the Ponte della Cittadella in the rules, and head north up Via Roma and Via Santa Maria. The file stays below about 13 m above sea level, so the only rises are bridge ramps, but roughly km 18 to 38 is open coast and riverbank. Aid stations come every 5 km, with pacers from 3:00 to 6:00.

Source, licence and file

2025 reference course. Course: 1063AD / Pisa Marathon; source GPX created with Openrunner · Source and attribution · original source · Download reference GPX (42.2 km in the file). Approximate heights supplied in the source file, not a certified climb measurement.

Three decisions to make before race day

Near the limit, pace for about 6 h 25, not 6 h 30

Even 6 h 30 pacing reaches km 30 about two minutes after its 4 h 35 limit, so run 9:05 per km or faster from the 09:00 gun.

More detail
The race closes at 15:30, 6 h 30 after the 09:00 gun, and staff stop anyone reaching halfway after 3 h 15 or km 30 after 4 h 35. Even 6 h 30 pacing reaches km 30 in about 4 h 37, two minutes late, so run 9:05 per km or faster, timed from the gun. Slower than 8:30 per km, you share reopening roads under traffic rules.
Collect your bib by Saturday night with the right papers

Bibs are issued only at the Expo Village on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 December, with ID, the confirmation letter and your category's documents.

More detail
Bibs are issued only at the Expo Village in Viale Duomo, Friday 18 December 12:00 to 20:00 and Saturday 19 December 10:00 to 22:00, never on Sunday. Bring identification, the confirmation letter released a week before and the membership card or medical certificate your category needs, and check online that your entry shows as regular. A proxy may collect one other runner's bib with a signed delegation and ID copy.
Drop your bag by 08:30 and be in your corral by 08:45

Bag drop closes at 08:30 and the corrals at 08:45; there are no showers or changing rooms.

More detail
Bag drop near the Duomo opens at 07:00 and closes at 08:30, and the colour-coded corrals open at 08:00 and close at 08:45; latecomers start from the back. The marathon and half marathon leave together at 09:00, and there are no showers or changing rooms, so arrive dressed to run and settle into pace after the crowded lungarni loop.

Your race-day sheet

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

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. Europe/Rome.

Time limit: 6 h 30 from the 09:00 gun; the race closes at 15:30

How this sheet applies the limit

The 2026 rules allow 6 h 30 for the marathon, and the race closes at 15:30, six and a half hours after the 09:00 gun. Two intermediate limits apply: halfway within 3 h 15 and km 30 within 4 h 35, and staff stop anyone who passes later. The schedule ties the half marathon's 3 h 15 to 12:15, so the checks appear to run from the gun, which puts km 30 at about 13:35. Anyone slower than 8:30 per km must follow traffic rules.

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

13:00:00

MOVING PACE BUDGET

5:34/ km

ELAPSED PACE

5:41/ km

150 min below the modelled finish limit

Distance markers, not aid stations or guaranteed arrival times.
Distance	Elapsed	Local clock
5 km	00:28:26	09:28:26
10 km	00:56:53	09:56:53
15 km	01:25:19	10:25:19
20 km	01:53:45	10:53:45
Halfway	02:00:00	11:00:00
25 km	02:22:12	11:22:12
30 km	02:50:38	11:50:38
35 km	03:19:05	12:19:05
40 km	03:47:31	12:47:31
Finish	04:00:00	13:00:00

Training plan for Pisa Marathon 2026

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:: Open; 69 euro plus fees until 30 November, then 79 euro to 14 December; 2,200 places
Bib pickup:: Expo Village, Viale Duomo: Friday 18 December 12:00 to 20:00, Saturday 10:00 to 22:00; none on race day

Read the full entry and pickup rules

Entry is open through ENDU for up to 2,200 marathon runners, in bands rising by date or entrant count: the 49 and 59 euro bands are past, 69 euro applies until 30 November 2026 or 1,700 entries, then 79 euro from 1 to 14 December, also listed as the expo fee, plus service fees. Runners must be born in 2006 or earlier and enter as FIDAL or EPS members, Runcard holders with an Italian competitive medical certificate, or members of a foreign World Athletics club; foreign non-members may run unranked. Fees are not refunded, but by 9 December a place can move to 2027 or to another runner for 10 euro. Bibs are issued at the Expo Village in Viale Duomo on 18 and 19 December, never on race day.

Sources

Checked 24 September 2026; next review due 2026-10-22. 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

2026 marathon rules (Italian, which take precedence): Date, 09:00 start, entry categories and age, the 2,200 cap, transfers by 9 December, bib pickup, corral and bag-drop times, the three time limits, the route list and aid every 5 km.
Useful information 2026: Race-weekend schedule, the Expo Village in Viale Duomo with no Sunday pickup, confirmation letter and proxy rules, colour corrals, pacers from 3:00 to 6:00, the 12:15 and 15:30 limits and staff stopping late runners.
Registration fees 2026: The marathon bands of 49, 59, 69 and 79 euro, each ending at a date or entrant count, with the last band running from 1 to 14 December 2026.
ENDU entry platform: Entries open on the check date with the marathon at 69 euro plus service fees, the unranked option for foreign non-members, and optional cancellation protection at checkout.
Courses page: The start in front of Piazza Daniele Manin by the race village, the route through the San Rossore park to the sea and back along the Arno, and the half marathon's turn at km 13.
Official course download: Organizer-linked ZIP holding the 2025 marathon course file behind the map and the kilometre points above; it is last year's route, not a confirmed 2026 line.