Seville Half Marathon honest review. Is it still the flattest half in Europe?

I took part in the Seville Half Marathon (Medio Maratón de Sevilla) in January 2023. Thinking of entering the next edition? Here’s everything you need to know about this super flat and fast half-marathon race!

Seville Half Marathon / Medio Maraton de Sevilla: key information

The Seville Half Marathon is traditionally held every year in January and attracts thousands of runners from Spain and abroad. We were about 12500 runners this year!

I took part in the 2023 edition and I am talking about my experience, please keep in mind that some things may change for future editions of this race.

Is Seville Half Marathon still the flattest half-marathon in Europe?

Seville is a very flat city and both the half-marathon and marathon are known to be the flattest in Europe.

However, the Malaga Half Marathon held every year in November revealed a brand new course for its latest edition (which I attended, check out my review here) and interestingly, they are saying that this new course has been recognised as the flattest in Europe.

So, which one is the flattest? It’s a little uncertain, with both claiming that they are, but what is sure is that both races are extremely flat and fast with very little difference in elevation.

How much does the entry cost?

I paid 37€ when I signed up in November, but if you sign up much earlier you could pay as little as 22€.

Very often with Spanish races, the earlier you register the cheaper the price, so if you’re sure that you’re going to take part in this race I’d recommend buying your entry as soon as possible.

Start time and cut off time

The race starts at 9:00. You have 3 hours to complete the half marathon distance, with 12pm being the cut-off time.

Where are the start and finish lines?

In 2023 the race started and finished on Paseo de las Delicias, next to Maria Luisa Park. Each wave was assigned a different street to arrive from to avoid congestion.

How to collect your race number?

You need to collect your race number and goody bag at the expo which is held at the Centro Deportivo San Pablo on the Friday or Saturday.

Bring your ID and make sure to have your entry confirmation + assigned bib number on your phone. Once you’ve been given your bib, go pick up your goody bag and Tshirt.

In 2023 the goody bag contained: the race Tshirt, 1 snack (some sort of chorizo sticks), 1 can of Monster and some shampoo samples.

Seville Half Marathon: on race day

How to find your starting pen

A few days before the race they emailed us our race numbers and starting pens. Each or “cajones de salida”. You could then check on the website which street you needed to arrive from to get to the start line.

On race day, the entrance to each starting pen was clearly indicated.

What is the bag drop situation?

There are different bag drop locations for each starting pen, based on the street you’re meant to arrive from. You just need to attach the bag drop tag that matches your race number on your bag.

Are there pacers?

Yes! The pacers for the 2023 edition were for 1h20, 1h30, 1h40, 1h45, 1h50 and 2h

Where are the water and fuel stations?

There are water stations at 5km, 10km, 14.3km and 17km. It’s bottles of water, not cups. They were apparently giving isotonic drinks in cups at 14km but I personally had water in my cup, not Aquarius.

What do you get at the finish line?

You receive your medal and a bag containing a bottle of water, a bottle of Powerade and a can of beer. You can also grab a banana.

What is the course like?

In a nutshell: flat and fast! There are only a few turns and most of the course is run on wide roads. The course takes you on a couple of impressive bridges and you can also check out some sights, such as the Cathedral.

Things get a little tricky in the last few kilometres, as you leave the smooth tarmac and get on the cobbled streets that also have tram rails. You may want to pay more attention to where your feet land on this uneven surface, to avoid tripping up.

The start was rather congested, but things cleared up after the first km.

You can check the course map below (taken from Seville Half Marathon website) or check my Strava for more insights on the course!

If you find these race reviews helpful, a coffee would be very much appreciated :) And if you have any questions, feel free to get in touch via the contact form.

Can you get a PB at Seville Half Marathon?

Absolutely! It’s an incredibly fast course and plenty of runners come away with a PB. This is a great race to take part in, whether you want to set a new half marathon PB or use it as a tune up race for the Seville marathon a few weeks later.

I personally got a new PB at this course, beating my previous PB from the Malaga Half the previous month by over one minute and I finished in 1:32:47.

Seville Half Marathon race review

These are my honest thoughts about the 2023 edition. Please keep in mind that things might change for future editions!

The positives

I enjoyed most of the course, it was one of my favourite half marathon races.
It was very well organised. I don’t think they could have done anything to prevent the congestion at the start.
Great support on the course, especially in the last couple kms
Your name is printed on your bib number and it makes a real difference. It was nice to hear “vamos Chloe” from the crowd.
I liked that the start and finish were at the same place, and in a very central location so it was easy to get there and get back to my airbnb quickly.

Any negatives?

It was very cold on the day! Seville may be sunny, but it’s not warm in January. It was 3 degrees when I started and 5 degrees when I finished.
Despite the organisers setting up dedicated entrances to each wave, many runners simply decided to disregard these and to move fences to get closer to the start line. The issue is, many were meant to start further back because of their expected pace, and they only contributed to make the start more congested.
We were supposed to get Aquarius on the course, but I only got water.
Water was given in bottles which were not pre-opened. With the cold, my fingers were frozen and I really, really struggled to open the bottles.
It would have been nice to have some more food options at the finish line, maybe some flapjacks.
I would have loved a better goody bag. The goody bag of the Total Energies Malaga Half Marathon in November was much better.

Just FYI, the race photos are not included in the entry, you can buy your race photo pack for 18.99 euros. I had over 40 photos, so although you have to pay extra, you’ll get plenty of photos for the memories and social media posts.

Would I recommend doing the Seville Half Marathon?

If you’re looking to set a new half-marathon PB at the beginner of the year on a fast and flat course, the Seville Half Marathon is one of the best options for you.

Despite some minor negatives mentioned, I’ll keep great memories from this race and I would like to do it again in the future.