Zagreb Marathon: 42 km from Ban Jelačić Square every October

At 9:00 on a Sunday in October, several thousand runners leave Ban Jelačić Square for the Zagreb Marathon. The race has run since 1992, and every distance starts and finishes on the main square of Zagreb. The Zagreb Athletics Federation (Zagrebački atletski savez) organises it. Powerade is the title sponsor, so the official name is Zagrebački Powerade maraton. The programme has four races for adults: the marathon, the half marathon, a 10 km race and a relay for teams of four. On the Saturday before, children run on the same square.

The first Zagreb Marathon in 1992 drew a few dozen runners, the organiser says. The field has since grown into the thousands. In 2023 almost 4,500 runners took part, tportal reported. In 2025 HRT counted more than 5,000 runners from 78 countries, and in 2026 the field again passed 5,000. The list of winners on the official site has no entry for 2020. The 2026 race was the 34th edition.

The course records date from 2017. Wycliffe Kipkorir Biwot of Kenya ran 2:09:55, and Stellah Jepngetich Barosio ran 2:30:15. Biwot has won Zagreb four times, in 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2019. Svetlana Tkach also won four times, in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999. In recent years Croatians have often won at home: Ivan Dračar in 2021 and 2024, Tea Faber in 2021, 2024 and 2026.

The Zagreb Tourist Board says the course holds a World Athletics and AIMS certificate. Results run here count toward qualifying standards for the Olympics and for world and European championships. The race also belongs to the Abbott World Marathon Majors age group qualification, which leads to the marathons in Boston, Chicago, New York, London, Berlin and Tokyo.

Zagreb Marathon 2027

As of 20 October 2026, the organiser has published no date for the 2027 Zagreb Marathon. The official site, zagreb-marathon.com, still shows the 2026 edition. The last four editions all fell on the second Sunday of October:

• 2023: the 31st Zagreb Marathon on Sunday 8 October, with almost 4,500 runners, according to tportal.
• 2024: the 32nd edition on Sunday 13 October, according to Dnevnik.hr.
• 2025: the 33rd edition on Sunday 12 October, according to the Zagreb Tourist Board.
• 2026: the 34th edition on Sunday 11 October, together with the World Masters Athletics Marathon Championships.

The 2026 date already appeared in the organiser's press release of 15 April 2026. Registration runs online through the official site and closed in late September in 2025 and 2026. Other dates already fixed for next year are in our Croatia 2027 festival calendar.

Four races start on the main square

The 10 km race starts first, at 8:45. The marathon, the half marathon and the relay follow at 9:00. In 2026 the organiser expected the first 10 km runners at the finish at 9:15, the first half marathoners at 10:00 and the first marathoners at 11:15. The marathon closes at 14:30, five and a half hours after the start. The half marathon has no separate limit because it runs together with the marathon field.

The start is split into three zones by expected finish time. Zone one holds the elite runners, the Croatian championship field with bibs 1 to 200, half marathoners under 1:20 and marathoners under 2:50. Zone two takes half marathoners up to 1:50 and marathoners up to 3:30. Everyone slower lines up behind the third start arch. Pacers with clear markings run in all three races: from 3:30 to 4:30 in the marathon, from 1:40 to 2:15 in the half and from 50 to 70 minutes over 10 km.

The course turns on Ksaverska and on Maksimirska

The half marathon is one lap of 21 km. From the square it runs through Jurišićeva and Draškovićeva, then north via Ribnjak and Medveščak up Ksaverska cesta to Gračanska cesta. There the runners turn and come back the same way. Next comes Vlaška ulica and Maksimirska cesta out to the INA petrol station at number 150, a second turn, and a return through the Lower Town. Martićeva, Zrinjevac park, Teslina, Masarykova and Ilica lead back onto Ban Jelačić Square.

Marathon runners complete the same 21 km lap and then two laps of 10 km. The 10 km lap is also the course of the Garmin 10K. It heads east along Vlaška and Maksimirska to Sermageova, then back through Martićeva, Smičiklasova, Zrinjevac, Masarykova, Prilaz Gjure Deželića and Ilica to the square. Each lap passes through Ban Jelačić Square.

The relay takes four runners of any gender. Runner A starts with the marathon field. Runners B, C and D wait in the exchange zone at the corner of Vlaška and Vončinina. The organiser gives the legs as roughly 7, 15, 10 and 10 km.

Start packets, changing rooms and the pasta party

• Start packets in 2026: Wednesday to Friday from 13:00 to 19:00 at Atletska dvorana Zagreb, Pavilion 1A of the Zagreb Fair, Avenija Dubrovnik 15/1. On Saturday from 10:00 to 20:00 and on race morning from 7:00 to 8:30 at the marathon office tent by the Manduševac fountain on the square.
• Anyone collecting a packet for another runner needs a copy of that runner's ID or the payment confirmation.
• Changing rooms and bag storage are in Kurelčeva ulica. Toilets stand there, in Cesarčeva ulica and at three points on the course.
• Refreshment stations stand at km 4, 7, 14, 18, 22, 25, 29, 32, 35 and 39 and at the finish. The first one serves water only. All the others add an isotonic drink and fruit.
• Every finisher receives a bottle of water, an isotonic drink and fruit. Kurelčeva ulica and Europski trg then host the pasta party with beer, water and fruit.

Children run on Saturday

The day before the main race belongs to the children. In 2026 their races started at 12:00 on Ban Jelačić Square. Kindergarten children ran 100 m, pupils in grades 1 and 2 ran 200 m, grades 3 and 4 ran 400 m, and grades 5 and 6 ran 600 m. Entry is free, registration runs through the marathon website, and every child who finishes receives a medal. Children report to the registration centre at least 30 minutes before their start to collect a number, a drink and a T-shirt.

Trams take detours on race morning

Race day reshapes traffic in the centre. In 2026 Ban Jelačić Square closed to traffic from 7:30, and the whole course closed from 8:30, trams included. The northern section reopened at about 10:00, Vlaška and Maksimirska at about 10:40, and the centre at about 15:00, zagreb.info reported. Ambulances and fire engines on call may still cross the course.

ZET, the city transport company, ran almost all tram lines on altered routes from 7:30 to 15:00. Lines 9 and 15 kept their normal routes, and line 13 stopped until the marathon ended. Three extra bus lines covered the gaps: Dubrava to Borongaj, Črnomerec to Magazinska and Kaptol to Mihaljevac. Several buses on the northern hills ran shortened or paused, among them line 106 to Mirogoj. In 2024 the pattern was similar, with line 9 as the only tram on its usual route. ZET publishes the detours on zet.hr before race day.

Watching from the square and the boulevards

Ban Jelačić Square holds the start and the finish. Marathon runners pass it four times: at the start, after the 21 km lap, after the first 10 km lap and at the finish. The two turning points, on Ksaverska cesta and on Maksimirska cesta, bring the field past twice on the same road. Zrinjevac park and Masarykova lie on the 10 km lap, which the marathon runs twice. With the 10K starting at 8:45 and the marathon closing at 14:30, the course stays busy for most of the day.

For the day before or after the race, the upper town, the cathedral and Mirogoj are in our guide to what to see in Zagreb. A two-day plan is in Zagreb in a weekend, and the transfer from the airport is in our airport to city guide.

Zagreb Marathon 2026 in review

The 34th Zagreb Powerade Marathon ran on Sunday 11 October 2026 on a sunny day, HRT reported. It also hosted the World Masters Athletics Marathon Championships for runners aged 35 and over. Masters entries ran through a separate site, with an entry fee of 75 euros, and closed on 1 September. More than 5,000 runners took part in all races, from 71 countries according to HRT.

Nahashon Ndegwa Gathingi of Kenya won the marathon in 2:20:56. He told HRT it was the first marathon of his life. Croatians Ivan Dračar (2:24:51) and Tomislav Novosel (2:25:16) took second and third. Tea Faber won the women's race in 2:46:33, ahead of Ana Martinović (2:47:06) and Nataša Šustić (2:47:54). The result also made Faber Croatian champion and world masters champion. Manuel Ángel Fernández took the men's world masters title.

Gábor Karsai of Hungary won the half marathon in 1:02:21. Loise Wambui Kiarie of Kenya was the fastest woman in 1:16:57. Dorian Miškulin from Zagreb won the Garmin 10K in 31:13, and Matea Parlov Koštro was the fastest woman. Heavy rain fell on the Saturday, so the children's races ran as a run for fun, and every child received a finisher's medal.