Santa Pola half marathon 2027
Sunday 24 January, and there is a 10K the evening before. Two things will cost you if you find them out late: the entry fee climbs on fixed dates, and there is no airport bus on the Sunday you race.
Race weekend at a glance
- 10K — Saturday 23 January 2027, 17:00
- Half marathon (21K) — Sunday 24 January 2027, 10:30
- Entry — from €27 for the half, climbing to €40 on fixed dates (RFEA licence not included)
- Getting there — Alicante airport is 15 km away; the airport bus does not run on race Sunday
The Saturday night is the one that sells out first: the 10K is Saturday evening and the half is Sunday morning.
It is a two-day event
Most listings mention the half and stop there. There are two races, and the gap between them is what decides where you sleep.
| Race | Day | Start |
|---|---|---|
| 10K | Saturday 23 January 2027 | 17:00 |
| Half marathon (21K) | Sunday 24 January 2027 | 10:30 |
Dates and start times from mitjasantapola.com, the organisers' own site, checked in August 2026.
The entry fee goes up on fixed dates
This is not a vague «book early». It is a published ladder, and every step is a date. For the half marathon:
| Entry | Window | |
|---|---|---|
| €23 | First 1,000 entries | Sold out |
| €27 | Until 31 August 2026 | |
| €30 | Until 31 October 2026 | |
| €33 | Until 31 December 2026 | |
| €40 | Until 18 January 2027 | Last window |
An RFEA licence is compulsory and is not included in the entry fee. If you are not licensed with the Spanish federation you buy a day licence on top, and it is the detail foreign entrants most often miss. Ask before you pay, not after.
Ladder taken from the official 21K entry page in August 2026, when the €23 tier had already sold out. Prices move, so confirm there before paying — that page is the only one that is always current.
Why people come here for a personal best
The 21.097 m course is homologated by the Spanish athletics federation. It starts on Avenida Pérez Ojeda, runs through the town and along the seafront, and has almost no elevation change at all. That is the whole appeal: it is known across Europe as one of the flattest and fastest halves on the calendar, and the organisers put the field at close to 10,000 runners.
The one variable is the wind. You are running beside the sea in January on a stretch of coast known for it — the same wind that makes Santa Pola a windsurfing town. Flat does not mean sheltered.
We do not reproduce the course map: the official route page publishes it as an image, and a route redrawn from memory is worse than no route at all.
Getting there, and the Sunday problem
The direct bus from Alicante airport does not run on Sundays. Not a reduced service — none at all. And the half marathon starts on Sunday at 10:30. If you fly in on race morning you cannot reach the start by bus.
Which leaves three sane options: fly in on the Saturday and take the bus, take a taxi, or hire a car. The airport is close — about 15 km — so a taxi is not the disaster it would be elsewhere.
A hire car makes more sense for this trip than for a normal visit, and the reason is the race and not the town: you land on a January Saturday, you need to be somewhere at 10:30 on Sunday morning, and you may want to get to the start without depending on anything.
No bus times on this page, on purpose. The timetable changes by season and the one we have verified is the summer one. Closer to the date, the winter times will be in our airport guide, with the fare and the taxi alternative.
If you drive: do not aim for the start
On race morning a good part of the town is closed to traffic — by the course itself. And here is the detail nobody puts together: the start is on Avenida Pérez Ojeda, which is the best place to park in Santa Pola on any other day of the year. On this one it is the start line.
Head instead for one of the three free municipal car parks, which sit away from the seafront and are reached from the Elche road: Mercadillo Viguetas, calle Sevilla with Juan Sebastián Elcano, and the one between the secondary schools. All three are free — the council has confirmed they will stay free — and they have counting sensors, so the signs tell you how many spaces are left before you turn in.
One caveat worth knowing if you arrive the day before: the Viguetas car park is the street market site on Mondays and Saturdays, and the 10K is on a Saturday. That afternoon it will not be a car park.
We do not publish which streets close or when: it changes from year to year and we have not verified it. Check with the organisers the day before. Everything else about parking here — including why the bays on Pérez Ojeda get people fined — is in our parking guide.
Where to stay, and why the Saturday night matters
Look at the two start times again. The 10K goes at 17:00 on Saturday and the half at 10:30 on Sunday. Whichever you are running, the night you need in Santa Pola is the Saturday — and if you are doing both, there is no alternative to it.
And then the arithmetic that catches people out. The organisers describe a field of close to 10,000 runners. Santa Pola is a town with a handful of hotels and hostales, most of them small. The beds do not appear because the race does: whatever exists in January is what there is, and the walkable ones go months ahead. This is the one race weekend where booking late genuinely means staying in another town.
The second link is our own guide, in English, to the areas and the actual hotels — it earns us nothing, but the useful question is which part of town, and the start line is on the seafront: within walking distance of it is worth more on a race morning than any other feature.
In short
Enter through the official site before the next price step. Come in on the Saturday, not the Sunday, because the bus does not run on race day. Book a bed within walking distance of the seafront, early. And sort the RFEA licence before you turn up.
If you are making a weekend of it, the boat to Tabarca island is the obvious day out — but in January do not count on it: the crossings thin out in winter, so check that the boats are running before you plan a Saturday morning around it.
Closer to home, there is more on what to do with a free afternoon — or with whoever is coming to watch you — in things to do in Santa Pola. The start and finish are on the seafront promenade, so watching the race from there is free.
Quick questions
When is the Santa Pola half marathon 2027?
Sunday 24 January 2027, starting at 10:30. There is also a 10K the evening before, on Saturday 23 January at 17:00, so the event covers two days.
How much does it cost to enter?
The entry fee climbs on fixed dates. For the half marathon the first 1,000 places at €23 sold out; then €27 until 31 August 2026, €30 until 31 October, €33 until 31 December and €40 until 18 January 2027. An RFEA licence is compulsory and is not included in the entry fee. Prices checked on the official site in August 2026.
Is there a bus from Alicante airport on race day?
Not on the Sunday. The direct Vectalia bus, line 8, does not run on Sundays at all, and the half marathon starts on Sunday at 10:30. If you are flying in for the race, arrive on the Saturday or plan for a taxi or a hire car. Timetables also change by season, so check the winter one closer to the date.
Where should I stay for the Santa Pola half marathon?
In Santa Pola itself, and book early. The 10K is on the Saturday evening and the half on the Sunday morning, so anyone doing either wants the Saturday night in town rather than a drive on race morning. The organisers describe a field of nearly 10,000 runners, and Santa Pola is a town of a few hotels and hostales, so the good places go months ahead.
Where can I park for the Santa Pola half marathon?
Not near the start. A good part of the town is closed to traffic by the course itself, and the start is on Avenida Perez Ojeda, which is the usual best place to park in Santa Pola. Use one of the three free municipal car parks instead: Mercadillo Viguetas, calle Sevilla with Juan Sebastian Elcano, and the one between the secondary schools. They are away from the seafront, reached from the Elche road, free, and fitted with counting sensors that show the spaces left. Note the Viguetas one is the street market site on Mondays and Saturdays, and the 10K is on a Saturday.
Is the Santa Pola course fast?
Yes. The 21.097 m course is homologated by the Spanish athletics federation, starts on Avenida Pérez Ojeda and runs through the town and along the seafront with almost no elevation change. It has a reputation across Europe as one of the flattest and fastest half marathons on the calendar, which is why elite fields come here for times.
Race dates, start times and entry prices come from the organisers' own site and were checked in August 2026 — confirm them there before paying, and expect the price ladder to have moved on. Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you book through them we earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. The entry itself is not one of them, and neither is the guide to the areas.