Benidorm Half 2025 breaks all records with 9,132 registered runners to compete this Saturday in the 10K and 21K races

The streets of Benidorm will host another edition of Benidorm Half this Saturday. This event, which combines 10K and 21K races, is set to break its participation record this year with a total of 9,132 registered runners, making it "the largest race in the province of Alicante." Meliá Benidorm hotel hosted the official presentation of the race today, an event attended by the acting mayor, Ana Pellicer; the Councillor for Sports, Javier Jordá; and other members of the City Council, along with Fernando Brotons, race director and manager of Tour-Sport; athletes Fermín Cacho and María Fuentes; as well as collaborators, local athletes, and sports clubs.

The race will take place this Saturday, November 22nd, in both the Half Marathon and 10K distances, in an afternoon/evening session. The shorter race starts at 5:00 PM, while the 21K race begins at 6:00 PM. Fernando Brotons announced that, in addition to significantly surpassing last year's record, increasing from 6,500 participants in 2024 to 9,132 this year, the Benidorm Half Marathon will once again achieve a milestone in 2025 that will be difficult for other races in Spain to match: 44.4% of the participants will come from a single country outside of Spain, namely the United Kingdom.

“This weekend, Benidorm is fully committed to sport, to running. We are once again supporting the organisers,” stated the Councillor for Sports, who also highlighted “the spectacular nature and growth” of this event, which he described as “the race, the ultimate event.” Jordá also emphasised “the strong connection between the Benidorm Half and Benidorm, with activities that extend beyond the purely sporting aspect and a tremendous commitment from the city and the volunteers to ensure everything runs smoothly, which I am certain it will.”

For his part, Fernando Brotons reminisced, recalling that “since we took over the organisation of the Benidorm Half in 2017-2018, with Ana Pellicer as Councillor for Sports, we have achieved key objectives for Tour-Sport, such as promoting sport, internationalising events, creating positive experiences for participants, and generating sports tourism.”

He pointed out that from the nearly 2,000 runners who participated in that first edition, “and even with everything the 2020 pandemic meant, this event has grown steadily, with the number of runners increasing with each edition. Last year at this same event, we announced a record 6,500 registered participants, but this year we're even higher with 9,132, and, significantly, 50.5% of them are coming from outside Spain,” added the race director.

Thus, this race “becomes the leading race in terms of registered participants in the province of Alicante,” and, in addition to breaking the nine thousand runner mark, it is noteworthy that a total of 4,616 participants, 50.5%, will be from abroad; and, of these, 4,043 runners will be British, representing 44.4% of the total number of registered runners.

The growth of this race doesn't stop there, surpassing itself year after year in a key metric: internationalisation. Benidorm Half will have participants from 37 countries. Spain, with 4,516 runners (49.5%), and the United Kingdom, with 4,043, will be the most represented. Alongside these, Ireland (108), Norway (74), Belgium (72), the Netherlands (72), Poland (42), Italy (38), Germany (23), France (22), and Sweden (18) also stand out.

Looking at the figures in detail, of the 4,516 registered Spanish participants, 1,934 will be from the province of Alicante (42% of the total number of Spanish participants), and the remaining 2,582 will come from 46 other provinces. A top five in this case, with Alicante leading the way, would be completed by athletes from the provinces of Valencia (704), Madrid (463), Albacete (424), and Murcia (184).

The details of the data are even more significant when considering the event's impact as a generator of tourism and economic benefits for the city. Thus, of the total participants (9,132), 7,198 runners will arrive in Benidorm from various parts of Spain and other countries, ensuring a significant boost to tourism for the city. According to the economic impact study prepared by the Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences at the University of Valencia regarding the 2024 edition, the average number of companions per runner was 2.6. Extrapolating this data to the 7,198 runners expected to arrive from outside Alicante in 2025, 18,714 companions are anticipated, totalling 25,912 visitors, with a projected tourist expenditure of €7,382,580, a business volume of €15,097,259, and a gross value added (GVA) of €8,195,837.

Regarding the distribution of participants by distance, 49.2% of registered runners will run the Half Marathon and 50.8% the 10K. By gender, participation will be 58.7% men and 41.3% women, although in the 10,000-meter race, there will be a very balanced proportion, with 50.3% men and 49.7% women. As for the Half Marathon, the percentages will be 67.8% men and 32.2% women.

Marathon route and road closures

It is worth noting that the course, which this year incorporates some changes to the route, is certified for both distances, and the race is included in the national calendar of the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation (RFEA). The 21K (21,097 meters) and 10K (10,000 meters) races will start on Avenida Comunidad Valenciana (corner of Calle Bélgica) heading west along Alfonso Puchades, and finish in Plaza de Sus Majestades los Reyes de España, below the City Hall. Avenida Comunidad Valenciana will be closed to traffic two hours before the start of the first race, from 3:00 PM, while the entire course will be closed at 4:30 PM. The streets will then be reopened as the runners progress.

Furthermore, regarding the personnel working to ensure the safety and smooth running of the Benidorm Half, there will be a deployment of 89 police officers, a mobile intensive care unit, six ambulances, a field hospital, twelve doctors, ten paramedics, and 35 Red Cross members. A large team of volunteers will also be present at aid stations and along various sections of the course, including members of the Horizontes Scout Group, the Playas de Benidorm Volleyball Club, the Neptuno Swimming Club, the Benidorm Handball Club, the Benidorm Basketball Club, and the PS Water Artistic Swimming Club. Finally, Benidorm Athletics Club and the Benidorm Cycling Union will also have a significant presence.