Italy·2026

Taranto

Taranto's running and cycling scene centres on the Ionian coast and the Murge plateau inland. The II^ Due Mari Marathon traces the two-sea route around the city's Mar Grande and Mar Piccolo, while the Strataranto Half Marathon del Mediterraneo offers a flatter Mediterranean-side course; inland, the Gran Fondo Alberobello e delle Murge climbs ~400m through the limestone hills and whitewashed villages of the Puglia interior. The terrain swings sharply from sea-level flatness to rolling uplands within 30km, making Taranto a split personality for endurance athletes—coastal marathoners run at elevation 0–20m, while cyclists heading north gain significant altitude to around 400m in the Murge valleys.