Saitoti and Baumová win the Gran Carrera del Mediterráneo 2026

Nicholas Saitoti Munke and Nikola Baumová won the Gran Carrera del Mediterráneo 2026, held on Sunday 8 November between Alicante, Elche and Santa Pola. According to Alicante Provincial Council, the seventh edition brought together more than 6,000 runners, with the men’s winner finishing in 1:04:55 and the first woman in 1:20:08.

The Gran Carrera Mediterránea 21K was due to start at 9:00 in front of Alicante’s Provincial Palace. From early in the morning, runners from around the world gathered near the Provincial Council building before setting off towards the finish in Santa Pola.

Provincial councillor José Antonio Bermejo fired the starting gun at an event attended by Alicante’s mayor, Luis Barcala. The race was promoted by Alicante Provincial Council alongside Club Atlético Montemar and the councils of the three municipalities on the route.

Bermejo highlighted the event’s impact: “Our commitment to this type of event is absolute, not only because of its sporting importance, but also because of its significant impact on tourism, media and the economy.”

Saitoti leads the men’s podium

Kenyan Nicholas Saitoti Munke, of Runners Montemar, completed the half marathon at an average pace of around 3:05 per kilometre. Argentina’s Marcelo Fabián Manrique was second in 1:06:58, 2:03 behind the winner.

Third place went to Kenyan Hillary Kipkosgei Rutto, who finished in 1:09:30, 4:35 behind Saitoti. Runners Montemar thus had two athletes on the men’s podium.

• 4th Sebastian Conrad (Norway): 1:11:04, first in M-35.
• 5th Quentin Le Corre (Spain): 1:12:06.

Baumová finishes among the top 32 overall

Czech runner Nikola Baumová, of AK Sokol Nehvizdy, was the first woman and finished 32nd overall. France’s Anne-Laure Roux came second in 1:21:25, 1:17 behind the winner.

Spain’s Marta Belmonte Molina completed the women’s podium in 1:22:28, 2:20 behind Baumová. The next two finishers also took the top places in the under-23 category:

• 4th Guro Grenan-Grimstad (Norway): 1:25:26, first under-23.
• 5th Sára Hradilová (Czech Republic): 1:26:28, second under-23.

From the Provincial Palace to Varadero beach

The certified 21,097.5-metre course, with 150 metres of elevation change, started on Avenida de la Estación and headed towards Avenida de Elche. The race is certified by the Royal Spanish Athletics Federation.

The route passed El Palmeral park and continued through Urbanova, Arenales del Sol, Carabassí beach and Faro de Santa Pola. The finish was on Varadero beach, on Avenida Santiago Bernabéu.

The weather forecast for Alicante put the temperature at around 16 degrees at 9:00 and rainfall at 0 mm for the day as a whole.

The Runners’ Fair had been announced in the gardens of the Provincial Palace for race number and runner’s bag collection: Friday 6 November from 17:00 to 20:00, Saturday 7 from 10:00 to 20:00 and Sunday 8 from 7:00 to 8:30.

SUP Race takes place alongside the race on the coast

The eighth Gran Carrera del Mediterráneo SUP Race was held alongside the half marathon. The stand-up paddleboarding competition began at around 9:00 on the Alicante coast and was organised in collaboration with Club Deportivo Parres.

The event at sea brought together high-level sport, public participation and social inclusion on a day shared with the running race.