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Lisbon Half Marathon: One of the Superhalfs Series
- Feb 25
- 4 min read
Portugal is a great country for runners. It's often the location for winter running camps due to its great climate when much of the rest of Europe isn't so good. It also has some great events, including the Lisbon Half Marathon, one of the SuperHalfs half marathon series. So what's it like, worth the trip?
The Destination
Easy to get to from most European hubs, Lisbon has plenty of accommodation to suit most budgets and thankfully plenty of availability, even a week before the race. In some event cities accommodation providers get greedy but here that wasn't the case. I made a mistake choosing the hotel location as I didn't read the event instructions in detail (the biggest mistake of race prep!). I knew I wanted to be near the 25 de Abril Bridge which is where the race starts but I didn't realise it's closed to pedestrians on race morning. That meant i had to get a cab to the train station at Campolide and then take a 10 min train to Almada and walk about a mile and a half to the other end of the Bridge. A basic error, but one that cost me well over an hour on race morning. I had been hoping to roll out of bed, stroll to the start and run. With big city events like this it's rarely the case and I should have known better.
History
First held in 1991, the race has consistently delivered fast winning times. However, many of these times have been unratifiable for record purposes due to factors including: the course being too short (1991–93), excessive tailwinds, as well as there being an excessive drop in altitude, which boosted athletes' performances (1996, 1998, 2000–01, 2004, and 2006).[3][4]
The course was judged as non-permissible for records until 2008, in which year the organisers changed the elite course to allow for records. The new course begins at sea level on the north side of the river Tagus, a change which made the course entirely flat. The course for the mass participation race, which has attracted almost 30,000 runners in previous years, remained unchanged and begins by crossing the Ponte 25 de Abril suspension bridge before linking up with the new elite course.[5][6]
The current elite course of the half marathon begins in a small town on the north bank of the Tagus, no longer crossing the bridge,[7] and the course is wide and flat from there on. Heading eastwards towards the city centre, the course passes the docks and traces a route alongside much of the city's historical architecture, including the Belém Tower and Jerónimos Monastery.[6]
From 2008 onwards, the organisers set aside a €50,000 prize pot for any athlete breaking the world record over the half marathon distance. This led to the participation of a number of prominent athletes, with marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie winning the 2008 edition, while Charles Kamathi and Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot followed behind.[8] Another strong field was assembled in 2010 and Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea broke both the 20 kilometres and half marathon world records in his winning run.[2]
Race Organiser
Maratona Clube de Portugal, with the support of the local governments of Lisbon, Oeiras and Almada.
When?
The event weekend is held annually in March.
Distances
Half Marathon and 10k.
Is there an Expo?
The Sport Expo it will take place on the three days before the event and it's where the bibs
and t-shirt are collected. It's at the Belém Cultural Center (Praça do Império / Rua Bartolomeu Dias, 1449-003 Lisbon) between 10am and 8pm.
How many runners?
30,000 across all distances
Course
Arriving at the start (below) you do get a feel for the scale of the event and of the Bridge that absolutes dominates the first couple of miles. The 10k also starts here so there are plenty of people around. There were no specific areas by time zone so you just join once you see people start running. It's all very flexible.
Be careful when you start running that you go extreme left or extreme right. As you can see on the photo below there is a grid down the middle on both sides and it's extremely uncomfortable. Twenty minutes of that isn't a great way to get your race underway.
The views from the Bridge are stunning and you can see for miles. After about 9 miles there is more to see as you head into the City The race continues along the river shore passing by Alcantara, Cais de Sodré, Algés and Dafundo, finishing at .but then there is a long out and back leg to the finish of 4 miles which seemed to go on forever, as these always do, especially at the finish.
The finish itself is Mosteiros dos Jerónimos near Belém, a stunning part of the City and a great place to hang around afterwards soaking up the atmosphere. There aren't many better places to be than at the finish of an endurance event and this one is no different. It makes all the pain that went before seem worthwhile. Say hello to the guys in the SuperHalfs are as you pass through the finish zone.
A highlight of any race finish is getting presented with your finisher medal. This one is pretty good, with the Bridge taking centre stage.
What's unique?
That run over the Bridge. Superb.
Do charities benefit?
There are official charities linked to the SuperHalfs but not specifically designated for this event. Charity running is not common locally, but if you can support a charity it would make a real difference to them.
Our verdict
The race doesn't include much of the city centre but the run over the Bridge and the finish area are both very memorable.
How to register
Online via the website. It will sell out in the weeks leading up to the race but there is no lottery. Entries are also available via partner charities in exchange for an agreed amount of fundraising.
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