Ávila Monumental Half Marathon 2026: Jiménez and Cordero win

Diego Jiménez Rodríguez and Raquel Cordero Morales won the Ávila Monumental Half Marathon, held on Sunday 8 November in Ávila. The Grupoempleo Pamplona Atlético runner won in 1:07:23, while the CD Atletismo Tarancón athlete took victory in 1:28:29.

The 12th edition attracted 2,000 entrants across the individual half marathon, the relay and the fourth 10-kilometre race. Cold weather accompanied a morning that began at Los Cuatro Postes and ended on the esplanade at Lienzo Norte.

Jiménez wins again as Cordero leads from the start

Jiménez claimed his second consecutive win and improved his time from the previous edition by more than a minute. He shared the lead in the opening kilometres with the eventual 10K winner, until the latter turned towards the finish on the first pass through Lienzo Norte.

From that point, the Ávila runner continued alone. The race ended with a final kilometre downhill along the old road beside the city walls. In the women’s race, Cordero led from the start and was around 12 seconds ahead of her closest challenger at the four-kilometre mark.

The remaining half marathon podium places were:

• Men, second: Vicente Viciosa Villa (Vicky Food Atlétic), 1:09:35.
• Men, third: Alberto Domínguez García (Independent), 1:11:46.
• Women, second: Salomé Gigorro Delgado (Club Triatlón 28300 de Aranjuez), 1:31:07.
• Women, third: Sara Pomar Solana (Independent), 1:35:06.

A 10K decided by two seconds

The fourth 10-kilometre race shared its opening stages with the longer event. The men’s standings ended with a two-second gap between the first two finishers, while the women’s winner retained her title and improved her previous time by 33 seconds.

These were the 10K podiums:

• Men, first: Alejandro Hernández Domínguez (Atlético Salamanca), 31:46.
• Men, second: Álvaro Jiménez Álvarez (Independent), 31:48.
• Men, third: Diego Zazo Sáez (Puente Romanillos), 32:00.
• Women, first: Katia Mazarías Álvarez (Independent), 38:14.
• Women, second: Oiahe Lodeiro Moreno (Diego Teams), 38:58.
• Women, third: Leti Budillo Ventura (Agoteam), 39:22.

Relay winners and participation

The second half marathon relay brought together 48 pairs, of which 44 teams completed the course. Victories were awarded in the men’s, women’s and mixed categories:

• Men: Alejandro Ramiro García Alfayate and Alberto Blázquez Martín (Alberto y Ramiro Teams).
• Mixed: Alberto Masa Calvo and Maricruz Parras Morcillo (CA Miajadas).

Club de Atletismo Ecosport closed entries ahead of schedule after race numbers sold out. Of those registered, 1,249 chose the half marathon, 655 the 10K and 96 the relay. The finish line was crossed by 947 runners in the longer race, 510 in the 10K and 88 in the relay.

A race among walls and hills

The race started at 10:30 a.m., after a minute’s silence for the victims of the Urda railway accident and footballer Javier de Miguel. Ávila mayor Jesús Manuel Sánchez Cabrera gave the start. Military personnel from the Intendencia corps also took part, carrying the Spanish flag and their corps flag.

The half marathon follows a certified urban course of 21.097 kilometres, paved and closed to traffic. Its rolling profile, climbs and changes in gradient accompany runners through the historic centre, past the city walls and convents.

The event forms part of the Heritage Cities circuit and is the highest-altitude race in the series. Cold weather was a defining feature of this edition, as the three race formats came together on Ávila’s streets.