Your plan in four answers
San Sebastián Marathon is on November 22, 2026, under four weeks away, so we have set next year's race in November. Change the date below if you are running this one.
- Distances
- 10K, Marathon
- Terrain
- Flat
- Field
- 7,000 marathon places, sold out for 2026 (11,500 runners across both races in 2025)
Course
The San Sebastián Marathon course
The marathon starts at 9:00 on Calle Hernani, beside the City Hall and the Alderdi Eder gardens, and finishes on the Boulevard after a dead-flat home straight of more than a kilometre from Gros with the Kursaal in view. In between it winds through the Centro, Antiguo, Amara and Gros neighbourhoods, along the promenade of La Concha bay and past the Teatro Victoria Eugenia, Anoeta, the Buen Pastor cathedral and Plaza Gipuzkoa.
Read the full course notes
The organisers describe it as fully urban, flat and at sea level, with the 2022 redesign made even flatter, and the wide middle section through Amara and Anoeta is ideal for locking into rhythm. A separate 10K starts at 8:15 on its own route, and the marathon has 35 pacers covering eight target times from 2:45 to 5:00.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- 10K, Marathon
- Field
- 7,000 marathon places, sold out for 2026 (11,500 runners across both races in 2025)
- Weather on race day
- Late November in San Sebastián is usually cool and damp, around 8–16 °C, and it is the wettest time of year with rain on roughly half the days. Wind off the bay makes the Concha promenade and the Kursaal stretch feel colder than the thermometer says, so bring a throwaway layer and gloves for the start.
What to train for
This is a pure rhythm course, so build the block around marathon-pace work: progress from 3 × 5 km to 2 × 10 km at goal pace inside your long runs.
Train through the autumn weather rather than around it, and run at least two long runs in rain and wind to test kit, chafing and gels with cold hands.
The cutoffs (1:10 at km 10, 2:20 at km 20, 3:30 at km 30, 5:00 overall) are worth knowing if you are aiming near five hours, and the flat final kilometre rewards anyone who saved a gear for it.
Sample week
A sample San Sebastián Marathon training week
A week from the middle of the build, about six weeks out. Your plan sets the real distances and paces from your own fitness and adjusts them every week as you train.
- Monday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Tuesday Key session
- Intervals: 5 × 1.5 km at 5K to 10K effort, easy jog between
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 10–11 km
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 16 km with 10 km at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 6 km, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 26–29 km, the last 6 km at race pace
- Sunday
- Easy run, 6 km, then 6 relaxed strides
Taper
Tapering for the San Sebastián Marathon
Start the taper two to three weeks before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week.
Also in Claude
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Build me a training plan for the Zurich Maratón Donostia-San Sebastián (Marathon) in November. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
San Sebastián Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the San Sebastián Marathon?
Most runners give a marathon sixteen to twenty weeks of focused training on top of an existing base. The plan above counts back from your actual race date, so if you have less time than that it builds the best plan the remaining weeks allow rather than pretending you have longer.
Is the San Sebastián Marathon course hilly?
Flat. The marathon starts at 9:00 on Calle Hernani, beside the City Hall and the Alderdi Eder gardens, and finishes on the Boulevard after a dead-flat home straight of more than a kilometre from Gros with the Kursaal in view.
What is the weather usually like at the San Sebastián Marathon?
Late November in San Sebastián is usually cool and damp, around 8–16 °C, and it is the wettest time of year with rain on roughly half the days. Wind off the bay makes the Concha promenade and the Kursaal stretch feel colder than the thermometer says, so bring a throwaway layer and gloves for the start.
When should I start tapering for the San Sebastián Marathon?
Start the taper two to three weeks before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week.
Do I need an account to get a San Sebastián Marathon training plan?
No. The plan above builds in your browser with no account, no email, and no card. Make a free account only if you want to keep it, log your runs against it, and have the coach keep adapting it as your training goes.