Lucena San Silvestre 2026: date and memorial details

Plan your race pace

Lucena is scheduled to host the second edition of its San Silvestre on Dec. 27, 2026, a popular race connected to the memorial for José Carlos Hurtado Marjalizo. The date places the event near the end of the Christmas holidays and extends an initiative launched in 2025 to bring runners, families and residents together through sport and in remembrance of someone deeply loved in the city.

Available information points to an urban course of about four kilometres and an entry fee of 7 euros, although operational details for the 2026 edition — including the start time, exact starting point and final registration deadline — still need confirmation in the relevant event announcement. The inaugural race offers a sense of the event’s character: an accessible course, categories for different age groups and a social dimension alongside the sporting one.

A Christmas date with local meaning

The race joins Lucena’s year-end calendar with an aim that goes beyond adding participants. Its name honours José Carlos Hurtado Marjalizo, a runner and resident whose connection to sport and local community life gave the memorial its purpose. The tribute turns a morning of physical activity into a shared celebration, bringing competition together with the memory that inspired it.

The inaugural edition took place on Dec. 28, 2025, at noon and was presented by Club Maratón Lucena with support from the town council and Enerplus as the main sponsor. Club president Pedro Díaz described the personal meaning of the initiative, while Sports Councillor Ángel Novillo highlighted its open, human character. Those details explain how the race began, but they do not establish every detail of the 2026 event.

The date supplied for the second edition is Sunday, Dec. 27, 2026. Taking place between Christmas and New Year’s gives the race a familiar feel: festive hats, groups of friends and families can share the streets at a time of year when many events focus less on performance. In Lucena, that atmosphere is paired with a specific tribute and the intention of making the gathering open to a broad range of participants.

What is known about the 2026 edition

Published information about the second edition gives an approximate distance of four kilometres and an entry fee of 7 euros. It also describes an urban course and an event intended for people of different ages. These details help convey the scale of the race, but the available information does not yet confirm every practical aspect of the 2026 event. Conditions from the previous edition should not automatically be assumed to carry over.

For the inaugural race, the start and finish were at the Caseta Municipal, a venue that also hosted activities afterward. Another event listing mentions the fountain in the former fairground as the start and the Caseta Municipal as the finish. That difference is a reason to wait for the organisers to publish the final course map before planning travel or choosing where to meet other runners. The exact 2026 venue should not be treated as confirmed based only on first-edition information.

The start time for the next event has also not been stated unambiguously. The first race began at noon, but that historic schedule does not prove the same time will be used again. The registration period is similarly unclear: the inaugural race was listed as closing on Dec. 22, while information about the second edition mentions Dec. 21 without specifying the year. The deadline and registration channel should be checked once final details are released.

The short distance suggests a format built for sharing the experience, not just for racing. Four kilometres can serve as a quick session for regular runners and an achievable route for occasional participants, provided they take their fitness into account. A short course still calls for common-sense preparation: arrive with time to spare, follow organisers’ instructions and avoid starting at a pace that is hard to sustain. The priority in a community race is to enjoy it while keeping safety in mind.

A short course designed to bring people onto the streets

The course announced for the second edition is urban and around four kilometres long. This kind of route takes the race through Lucena’s streets and brings the event closer to people who may not follow the athletics calendar during the rest of the year. Instead of being confined to a sports venue, the town becomes part of the course: the atmosphere comes from the passing group, residents watching from the roadside and a shared finish.

A circuit of this length can accommodate very different paces. Regular runners may treat it as a short race, while others can choose a comfortable pace or take part with company. Its brevity does not remove the need to prepare sensibly: participants should arrive in good time, listen to organisers and avoid starting at a pace they cannot maintain. Enjoying a community event safely matters more than chasing a result.

The urban setting also makes it useful to know the start and finish locations in advance, particularly when planning access or meeting family members. The Caseta Municipal played a central role in both the route and post-race activities during the inaugural edition. The next event may use the same venue or make changes; until the route is confirmed, it would be unwise to assign a detailed course or specific surface to the 2026 race.

The San Silvestre can bring together experienced runners, young people taking up running and residents drawn by its festive atmosphere. That mix is part of its appeal: not everyone is chasing a time or tackling the course in the same way. Organisers described the inaugural race as open to both runners and walkers, a format that encourages people to share the course. The short route thus acts as a meeting point for athletics and community participation.

The first edition established the memorial’s format

The inaugural race brought together several features common to San Silvestre events in December 2025: an accessible route, a Christmas atmosphere and recognition for different age groups. The announced entry fee was 7 euros, and registered participants received a technical T-shirt, a Santa hat, drinks, snacks and fruit. These details describe that first event; they should not be read as guaranteed benefits for 2026 unless its conditions confirm them.

On the sporting side, the inaugural edition offered cash prizes of 150, 100 and 50 euros for the top three in the overall standings. Trophies were also planned for several categories, from Peques, ages 0 to 10, and Jóvenes, ages 11 to 17, through Senior, Máster A, Máster B and Máster C, as well as a functional-diversity category. The age ranges published at the time placed Senior at 18 to 40, Máster A at 41 to 50, Máster B at 51 to 60 and Máster C above 60.

The range of categories reflected a simple idea: a popular race is not measured only by who crosses the finish line first. Recognising different ages and participant groups can help more people find a place in the event and keep the tribute from being limited to the overall standings. For 2026, the continuation of those categories and prizes needs to be confirmed through the organisers’ official event information, since race rules can change from one edition to another.

The inaugural event also included a charity bar in aid of Infancia Solidaria at the Caseta Municipal after the trophy presentation. Music by the group Caporu, from Puente Genil, accompanied the gathering. The race therefore extended beyond the minutes spent on the course and made room for people to meet. The social side was part of the first edition’s programme, although the full event schedule should not be assumed to repeat in 2026.

The tribute and its charitable dimension

The memorial began as a way to remember José Carlos Hurtado Marjalizo through a language rooted in his community: running together, meeting in the streets and sharing an open event. At the presentation of the first edition, his brother Alejandro Hurtado, Enerplus’ general manager, described the initiative as a celebration of life and a message of support for people facing cancer. That dimension explains why the memorial’s name is not merely ceremonial; it is the event’s organising idea.

Club Maratón Lucena launched the race with municipal support and sponsorship from Enerplus. The partnership brought together the local sporting community, public institutions and a company connected to the honouree’s family. The roles of those organisations are part of the known context of the first edition; the exact support arrangements for 2026 should be checked in that event’s announcement or rules, rather than assumed to be unchanged.

Sport and charity also need to be described precisely. In 2025, proceeds from the post-race bar went to Infancia Solidaria, while comments at the presentation referred to supporting people fighting cancer. These are related but distinct references; they do not necessarily describe the same fundraising effort, nor do they establish that the next edition already has a confirmed beneficiary. The 2026 charitable destination requires a specific announcement before it can be reported as settled.

In an event of this kind, a tribute depends on more than speeches or symbols. It is expressed through varied participation, the presence of people who knew José Carlos and the chance for new residents to join a tradition that has only just begun. The race offers a shared setting for remembrance without requiring everyone present to have the same personal history. That openness is part of its civic value and of keeping alive a memorial tied to a particular community.

Registration and details still to be confirmed

Information about the second edition points to a 7-euro entry fee and mentions the Masatletismo website as a channel used for the previous event or associated with the race. The inaugural edition also allowed in-person registration and submission of details by email. However, the channels, final price, deadline and registration process for 2026 should be checked in an updated announcement; 2025 details do not replace the conditions for the new race.

Before registering, participants should check the rules and confirm what the entry includes, whether there are age limits or requirements for minors, and how categories will be managed. The inaugural event listed a technical shirt, a festive hat, drinks, snacks and fruit, along with prizes and trophies. Those items have not been confirmed for 2026 in the information provided, so presenting them as guaranteed would get ahead of the event announcement.

The start time, final route and exact start and finish locations also remain to be confirmed. In an urban race, these details affect transport, road closures and the plans of people accompanying participants. The main activities of the first edition centred on the Caseta Municipal and took place around midday, but there is not enough information to guarantee the same arrangement in 2026.

The planned Sunday, Dec. 27 date gives runners a clear calendar reference, but it is not a complete race profile. The official announcement will need to fill in the details required for planning: registration, rules, timing, categories and accompanying activities. Until then, the most accurate approach is to distinguish between details already reported for the second edition and information that belongs to the inaugural event.

A tradition beginning to take shape

The second San Silvestre in Lucena has a scheduled date and a recognisable framework: around four kilometres on an urban course, an indicated entry fee of 7 euros and a memorial connecting popular sport with the memory of José Carlos Hurtado Marjalizo. The 2025 edition also set a precedent of participation across generations, age-group prizes and charitable activities. Together, those elements explain the identity the race is building, although some parts of the next event’s programme still need confirmation.

Popular races become established when they do more than occupy a morning in the calendar. In Lucena, the possibility of bringing together experienced runners, families and people who prefer to walk gives the event a local reach that does not depend on long distances or fast times. The memorial provides a shared purpose; the short course offers an entry point; and the December setting makes it easier for people to gather. The combination of sport, community and remembrance is the event’s most distinctive feature.

With Dec. 27, 2026, on the calendar, the next step is to learn the final participation conditions. Until they are published, the first edition’s details provide context, not a promise that they will be repeated. That distinction matters to prospective participants and to accurate reporting: the memorial already has a history, but each edition needs its own confirmed details for the tradition to develop without confusing remembrance with an announcement.

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