Running Night Los Toruños 2026: course and times

Plan your race pace

The Marisma de Los Toruños and Pinar de La Algaida Metropolitan Park will host a new night race on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026. The event starts at 10 p.m., covers a flat 9-kilometer route and begins at Casa de los Toruños in El Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz.

Organized by Club Deportivo Solsport with support from the Junta de Andalucía and El Puerto de Santa María City Council, the event combines a popular race, hiking and environmental awareness. Registration remains open until Aug. 20, while the competitive and hiking options share the park but start at different times. Similar events can be found in the popular races calendar published by Running Valencia.

A nine-kilometer night race in the Bay of Cádiz

The 2026 event will be the eleventh edition of a race that has become established on the summer sports calendar in the Bay of Cádiz. The route crosses a natural area with compact dirt paths, pine trees, marshland and tracks near former salt-making areas. It is not a fully lit urban circuit: the landscape and darkness are central to the experience.

The course is designed as one loop with an almost entirely flat profile. From the start, runners enter the park and cross the wooden bridge over the San Pedro tidal channel before heading toward Pinar de La Algaida. The route returns beside Salina de los Desamparados and finishes near the starting area.

The official distance is 9,000 meters, an intermediate distance that allows a lively pace without requiring half-marathon preparation. Night running on dirt nevertheless changes familiar references. The surface may feel less predictable, corners appear later and pace management depends more heavily on the headlamp and on reading the ground.

Date, times and starting location

The race takes place on Aug. 29, 2026, in El Puerto de Santa María. The competitive start is scheduled for 10 p.m., when the afternoon heat should have eased and the area will be lit mainly by headlamps, moonlight and course markers.

The noncompetitive hiking option starts at 9:30 p.m. This gap helps distribute participants and allows both groups to use the park without concentrating everyone in the opening section. The last participant is expected to finish at 11:15 p.m., while trophies and results are scheduled from approximately 11:30 p.m.

The event hub is Casa de los Toruños at Avenida del Mar, 7, postal code 11500. The start, finish, technical office and several services will be located there. Bib collection is scheduled on race day from 7 to 9:30 p.m., so arriving with enough time is advisable.

What the Los Toruños route is like

The main attraction is the contrast between sporting effort and a landscape normally visited in daylight. Runners leave the busy start area, cross the wooden bridge over the San Pedro tidal channel and enter paths where footsteps, coastal air and vegetation become especially noticeable.

The surface is compact dirt, not asphalt. Under normal conditions it provides a relatively stable stride, although the feel can change with heat, moisture or the number of participants. Road shoes with a sound outsole may be enough for many runners, but heavily worn or very smooth models should be avoided.

The route does not have the climbs associated with mountain racing. Its demands are different: limited visibility, pace changes when passing other runners, natural ground and the need to stay focused for the full loop. On darker sections, looking several meters ahead helps anticipate small irregularities without stiffening the neck or compromising a natural stride.

The course will be marked and cleaned after the event. The park connects El Puerto de Santa María and Puerto Real, and its marsh and pine landscape gives the race an identity unlike night events held on city streets.

A headlamp is mandatory

Headlamps are not optional in this race. Every participant must carry a working headlamp throughout the course, both for individual safety and for group visibility. The light helps runners identify changes in the surface and makes them easier for volunteers and support services to see.

For a race lasting about an hour, a fully charged battery is generally enough, although actual endurance depends on output and battery condition. The lamp should be adjusted so it does not bounce with every stride. A unit that moves, blinds oncoming runners or creates excessive shadows can become a distraction over 9 kilometers.

Night vision does not depend only on brightness. Eye adjustment, safe spacing and reducing speed in poorly lit areas matter just as much as equipment. On a natural path, caution is part of performance: losing a few seconds is preferable to forcing a stride that could lead to a fall.

A race with a hiking option

The 2026 edition again includes a noncompetitive hiking option. Starting at 9:30 p.m., it broadens the range of participants and allows people to enjoy the landscape without the pressure of a result. It uses the same natural setting but offers a different way to experience the night at Los Toruños.

The presence of hikers requires awareness and respect for different paces. Faster runners should pass carefully, particularly on narrow or unevenly lit sections. Hikers can help by keeping a predictable line and following the organizers’ directions.

The event also retains the Master 70 category, recognizing veteran athletes in a race open to different levels. Experience, consistency and the ability to manage a warm August night can matter as much as pure speed.

Self-sufficiency and finish-line services

The organizers describe the course as a self-sufficient event. There will be no aid stations along the route, so each runner must decide what liquid or solid food to carry. Over 9 kilometers, many participants will not need food during the race, but hydration may matter if temperatures remain high or preparation before the start has been inadequate.

The main refreshment station will be at the finish in the park’s event tent. Medical services, the technical office and the trophy area will also be there. A finish-line station reduces waste points on the paths and concentrates support in one accessible location.

The race pack includes a chip-timed bib, a commemorative technical shirt and gifts from partner companies. Every finisher receives a finisher medal. The entry fee for both the competitive and hiking options is 18 euros according to the event information available.

Registration and practical details

Registration closes Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. The call opened Dec. 1, 2025, and includes competitive running and hiking. It is managed by C.D. Solsport, a nonprofit sports organization based in El Puerto de Santa María that has promoted outdoor activities since 2014.

The start area is at Avenida del Mar, 7, beside Casa de los Toruños. Travel should account for bib collection, parking and headlamp preparation. Arriving just before the start can create more pressure than the course itself, particularly in an event that begins after dark.

The headlamp is the obvious item, but it is not the only one worth considering. Comfortable shoes with good support, sweat-managing clothing and a reusable bottle can all be useful. August on the Cádiz coast may remain warm even after sunset.

A race connected to its natural setting

Los Toruños is not an interchangeable backdrop. The event takes place in a metropolitan park with marshland, pine forest, tidal channels and trails that serve environmental as well as recreational purposes. Participants therefore have a direct effect on a space that remains open after race night.

The event follows a zero-waste policy that includes reducing single-use plastics, using reusable containers at the finish and collecting waste separately. Recyclable materials will also be used for signs, and the course will be cleaned immediately after the race.

Sustainable travel is part of the organizational approach. Car sharing reduces pressure on access roads and limits the impact of a one-night concentration of hundreds of people. In this type of race, caring for the setting is not decoration; it is what makes future sporting activities possible.

Inclusion beyond the results

The 2026 event includes collaboration with Afanas El Puerto y Bahía, an organization connected with support for people with disabilities. The initiative aims to encourage inclusive participation in a safe and accessible environment, placing the race within a wider view of sport than times and trophies.

Inclusion requires coordination, volunteers and spaces adapted to different needs. A natural route with dirt sections and changing light requires particularly careful planning. Accessibility includes registration, toilets, information and movement around the event area, not only the finish line.

Trophies will go to the first three male and female finishers in each category. Yet the value of the event also lies with those who come to complete the loop, walk under the moon or share a sporting evening in a distinctive area of Cádiz.

Sporting references and the atmosphere of the eleventh edition

The previous edition attracted approximately 800 participants, confirming the event’s place in the Cádiz summer calendar. Organizers expect a similar turnout in 2026, with runners from different parts of Andalusia. The size of the race keeps a popular atmosphere while retaining timing, categories and basic services.

The 2025 reference times were 29 minutes and 27 seconds for José Ángel Sánchez Páez, the men’s winner, and 38 minutes and 14 seconds for Hassania Barrhous, the women’s winner. These are demanding marks for 9 kilometers, but they are competitive references rather than expectations for most participants.

The race takes place under August’s full moon, although natural light never replaces the mandatory headlamp. Footsteps, volunteers, the wooden bridge and the finish area create a distinctive atmosphere. At night, the landscape changes scale: a familiar path can seem longer, quieter and more immersive when runners can see only the section reached by their own light.

What sets the event apart

The race’s identity does not depend on extreme distance or mountain climbs. It comes from the combination of a flat dirt route, a night start, marshes and pine trees, a hiking option, environmental commitments and a popular field that feels substantial without becoming an urban mass event.

For road runners, the 9 kilometers offer a useful change of surface and rhythm. For first-time night racers, the challenge is learning to use a headlamp, accepting a slightly more controlled pace in certain areas and maintaining attention throughout the course. The terrain has no major climbs, but every meter deserves to be read.

The event also has a tourism and social dimension. El Puerto de Santa María becomes a meeting point for runners, families and visitors who come to the park. The race presents a natural area from an unusual perspective and shows how popular running can help people discover a region while respecting the place that hosts them.

A night of sport with the park at the center

The eleventh edition arrives at the end of August with a familiar formula: 9 kilometers, a 10 p.m. competitive start, hiking from 9:30 p.m., mandatory headlamps and a finish near Casa de los Toruños. The entry fee is 18 euros and registration remains open until Aug. 20, 2026.

Beyond time and distance, the race creates a specific relationship between sport and landscape. The moon, wooden bridge, compact paths and Bay of Cádiz breeze belong to an experience that cannot be moved to an urban avenue. It is a popular race with its own identity, where running fast matters but moving carefully through a natural area matters too.

The popular races map helps locate other events, while Los Toruños prepares for a night in which the stopwatch will share the stage with the silence of the pine forest and moonlight on the marsh. That balance between competition, inclusion and sustainability explains why the race remains a notable part of Cádiz’s summer sports calendar.

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