Jaén’s Noche de San Antón 2027: date and course

Plan your race pace

Jaén will host the next edition of its popular San Antón night race on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2027, during the weekend of the religious festival. The date is listed as confirmed, but verified details about start times, registration, prices and capacity for that edition have not yet been published. The event usually includes a children’s race of about 4 kilometers and a 10-kilometer adult race through the city streets.

Organized by Jaén’s Municipal Sports Board, the event is much more than an urban running competition: spectators’ torches, bonfires and the atmosphere of January are part of a tradition recognized across Spain. Specific information for 2027 must be kept separate from details of previous editions, particularly registration and start times, which may change from year to year.

What is known about the 2027 edition

The date given for the next event is Jan. 16, 2027, the feast day of San Antón. Some race websites say the event takes place on the Saturday closest to the festival; in this case, both references coincide, as Jan. 16, 2027, falls on a Saturday. The event is scheduled for Jaén, but the announcement of a date does not mean the full program has been released.

For now, no confirmed details are available for this edition on start times, when registration opens, entry fees, participant limits or bib pickup hours. The 2026 edition, held on Jan. 17, featured a 10-kilometer adult race and a children’s event of about 4 kilometers. Those details help explain the usual format, but they do not guarantee that the same conditions will apply again.

Caution is especially important with figures circulating on third-party websites. Some repeat prices from past years or outdated calendars, and may mix projections with official announcements. Until the City of Jaén or its Municipal Sports Board publishes the 2027 rules, all details that have not been explicitly announced should be treated as pending.

A race born alongside the bonfires

The race was first held in 1984, organized by the Municipal Sports Board to add a popular sporting event to the San Antón celebrations. The inaugural edition had 180 runners. Over time, it grew into a large gathering and one of Jaén’s most recognizable winter sporting scenes.

The event established its international profile through the participation of elite Spanish and overseas athletes. Names associated with various editions include Abel Antón, Martín Fiz, Fabián Roncero, Marta Domínguez, Rui Silva and Moses Tanui. The race is also included in the Spanish Athletics Federation’s road racing calendar, recognition that accompanies its popular appeal and sporting history.

In 2019, the San Antón festivities and race received Spain’s National Tourist Interest designation. That recognition is not based solely on sporting participation: the race shares its calendar and setting with a local celebration in which neighborhoods light bonfires, gather outdoors and maintain traditions specific to Jaén. The race grew without losing its connection to that neighborhood celebration, and that connection continues to define it.

The city course and its two distances

Available information describes two races of different lengths. The event for younger runners covers about 4 kilometers, while the main race is 10 kilometers. The shorter race usually includes children’s and cadet categories; the longer distance is for youth and adult athletes. Exact ages, categories and participation rules for 2027 will depend on that edition’s official regulations.

The longer race runs on asphalt, linking avenues and central streets. Previous routes have passed places such as Plaza de Santa María, Plaza de la Constitución, Plaza de San Francisco and Carrera de Bernabé Soriano before heading back toward Avenida de Andalucía. The mix of wide stretches and narrower streets creates changes in pace and a different profile from a straight course, though the route can be revised.

The start and finish have been located on Avenida de Andalucía, near the Glorieta de Blas Infante, but the exact location and 2027 route must be confirmed using the organizer’s course map. Start times from previous years should not be treated as final either: the children’s and adult races typically take place in separate time slots, and the longer event may use wave starts. The official map will be the reference for turns, road closures and service locations.

Torches, lights and atmosphere in the streets

After nightfall, the course takes on an unusual look for an urban race. Christmas lights may still decorate the streets, and spectators line the route to cheer on participants. Near the finish, spectators’ torches form a ribbon of fire and light that has become the event’s most recognizable image.

The custom is linked to the San Antón bonfires, which are lit in neighborhoods across Jaén. After the race, torches may accompany neighborhood celebrations, where people sing melenchones and share rosetas, traditional popcorn. The evening is not limited to the runners passing by: it is also a gathering that brings sport into the festivities and neighborhood life.

This atmosphere sets the race apart from other road events. The sound of voices, the glow of torches and the January chill create a scene that changes as the pack moves through the city. For competitors, the cheering can make the kilometers feel easier; for spectators, runners arriving beneath the lights offer a brief, intense spectacle rooted in local tradition. The bonfires are not an extra decoration: they explain the cultural meaning of the evening.

Registration, entry fees and services: details still to come

The 2027 registration process, opening date and cost of each entry have not been confirmed in the available information. As a reference, the organizer listed a 15-euro fee for the adult race in 2026. That figure belongs to a previous edition and does not establish the 2027 price; conditions for the children’s event may also differ.

For the 2026 adult race, the entry included services and items such as a one-day license, accident insurance, timing chip, T-shirt, thermal gloves, neck warmer, sports bag and medal. The event also announced capacity for 10,000 runners in the 10K and 2,000 in the children’s race. These figures describe the 2026 event and should not be taken as confirmed terms for 2027.

Once the rules for the new edition are published, they should specify registration dates, fees, capacity limits, required documents and bib collection arrangements. They should also clarify whether start corrals will be used, what times are required to enter them and what options are available for younger participants. Until then, any detailed schedule or price attributed to 2027 should be treated as a projection, not a final announcement.

A popular event with a competitive history

The festive side of the race goes hand in hand with a long sporting record. Spanish athletes dominated the early editions, while many international runners won during parts of the 1990s. The balance shifted again around the turn of the century, with Spanish and overseas athletes sharing the spotlight. That alternation reflects the event’s ability to attract both top-level runners and recreational participants.

Individual records include Juan José Rosario, who won the men’s race four times, and Gennet Georgis, who recorded three consecutive women’s victories, according to available historical data. Carla Sacramento and Marta Domínguez also won three times, though not in consecutive editions. These are names from the race’s history, not athletes announced for 2027.

The balance between competition and mass participation helps explain the event’s appeal. Elite athletes race for the standings, while thousands of runners turn the avenues into a shared celebration. Commemorative medals and other gifts have featured in previous editions, and a tradition has seen the overall winners of the longer race receive an amount of olive oil equal to their body weight. The prize links the competition with one of the province’s most distinctive products.

Jaén in January, between sport and celebration

The race offers a distinctive way to experience Jaén: not at the pace of a quiet sightseeing trip, but in the flow of a crowd moving through the center at night. Passing through plazas and historic streets gives the route character, while the return toward Avenida de Andalucía brings runners back to a wider area where the finish and spectators are often concentrated.

The celebration continues beyond the course. Neighborhood bonfires, gatherings and traditional food are part of the same evening, helping explain why the race draws visitors as well as runners. Still, the precise experience will depend on Jaén’s 2027 program, possible traffic restrictions and how activities are arranged around the city.

Saturday, Jan. 16, is therefore the confirmed date for the 2027 event; the rest of the practical schedule still requires official information. Once the route, start times and registration terms are released, it will be possible to know exactly how the two distances will be organized and what services will be available at the start and finish. For now, the event’s essence is clear: a night race that turns Jaén’s streets into part of its San Antón festivities.