Race Date: Sunday 8th March 2026

The EDP Lisbon Half Marathon is extremely popular, and many runners must enter via a ballot to secure a spot. I was lucky to get in! For those who aren’t successful, there’s also a 10K option. 

After reading through countless hotel reviews, I chose to stay at the Mercure Lisboa Almada. The hotel is located on the Almada side of the bridge, and is just a five-minute walk from the start line. Nearby, there are convenient stores like Lidl and Staples.  

I wanted to avoid the chaos on the Fertagus trains. Luckily, on race day, they’re free for participants who show their bibs. 

Chris Smith stayed at the other Mercure Lisboa hotel. His hotel was located in Lisbon’s business district. 

On Saturday, I met up with Chris at the Sport Expo Village to pick up our bibs and goodie bags. Sport Expo is located at the Lisbon Congress Centre, in Junqueira, Lisbon. The queues were calm and well-organized—much better than the experience at the Malaga expo. Sadly, there were not many stores selling merchandise. We both purchased a super half passport (€6), and queued to get the Lisbon stamp.  

On Sunday, the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon started at 9.30am. The time limit is 3hrs. The start area is located on the Ponte 25 de Abril. 

I planned to run with Chris Smith — just as I had intended for the Palma and Benidorm Half Marathons—but this time I didn’t get carried away and stuck to the plan. I was originally assigned to the Red Wave 4, but chose to join Chris in Orange Wave 5 instead. The marshals were fine with people moving back a wave. We had a good view of the Cristo Rei statue. 

There weren’t any pacers in for the orange wave, but the atmosphere was lively and upbeat. Fortunately, there were plenty of toilets available, which made things much more comfortable. The weather was pleasantly surprising. We enjoyed clear blue skies for the race, a welcome change from the forecast of rain and wind.  

After a few minutes, the orange Wave was allowed to cross the start line. The first 4 km across the Ponte 25 de Abril was pure hell for me — I really hate heights. To make matters worse, my Garmin watch needed to be reset, I hadn’t checked before the start — a rookie mistake. 

I moved toward the middle of the bridge so I could not see the drop, plus I kept Chris in sight. Halfway across, I finally managed to reset my watch, which helped me settle into a more comfortable rhythm. I then decided to catch up with Chris 

There were plenty of drink stations along the route, and we were handed bottles, so there was no need to wear a rehydration vest. I also managed to pick up some energy gels along the way. Unfortunately, by the time we reached the station with energy drinks, they had already run out. 

The next 7 km weren’t much easier. But we were back on terra firma. We ran down and back along the dual carriageways of Avenida da Daponte and Avenida 24 de Julho. This part of the race reminded me of the Great North Run and the old Doncaster Half Marathon. The views did little to lift my spirits.  

We didn’t actually pass any of Lisbon’s landmarks, and the rest of the race continued up and down the Avenida da Índia. More dual carriage ways. The race ended on a blue carpet. 

We crossed the finish line and received a bottle of water, our medal and a questionable flavoured ice lolly. 

Chris is scheduled to run the Berlin and Copenhagen Super Halfs this year, while I’m still undecided about tackling the other five races. The Torremolinos Half Marathon only cost €20 to enter, and had a significantly better goodie bag.  

The male race was won by Jakop Kiplimo in a world world time of 57.20. The female race winner was Tsigie Gebreselama in 1.04.48.  

Striders results;