Mezza Maratona di Palmanova

The Mezza Maratona di Palmanova starts and finishes in Piazza Grande, the central square of Palmanova’s star-shaped fortress city, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This 21.097 km half marathon takes place in November, organized by Eventi Sportivi Palmanova. The race attracts over two thousand participants, ranking it as the busiest half marathon in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and among Italy’s twenty largest races by finishers. The route commences in the square, covers the full half-marathon distance, and provides runners with a three-hour time limit. The participants are both local and international: more than a thousand runners hail from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, with a significant contingent from Udine province, while others travel from 14 Italian regions and 24 countries. Approximately one in four runners is from abroad, including athletes from neighboring Austria and Slovenia, as well as Brazil, South Africa, and the United States. Women constitute about 30% of the registered field.