San Silvestre Vallecana 2026: Route, Start Times and Tips

A food tour in Madrid, off the route

Off-route: a Madrid food tour, unrelated to the San Silvestre. Check the start time and duration on the listing before you book.

The popular start, wave by wave

The popular race does not start all at once. It is split into six staggered starts, from 4:50 pm for handbikes and wheelchairs to 6:20 pm for the last wave of runners. Each runner wave is capped at 8,000 participants, and the overall cap for the popular race is 42,000 (popular race regulations 2026, articles 2 and 3).

Source: popular race regulations 2026, article 3, checked on 23 October 2026.

You choose your wave at registration, and it cannot be changed on the day: the regulations say so explicitly. The criterion is your certified time over a validated 10 km race. Runners with a time under 50 minutes start at 5:00 pm, those between 50 and 60 minutes at 5:15 pm, and the others in waves 3, 4 and 5, at 5:35 pm, 5:55 pm and 6:20 pm.

The international race is a separate event. It starts at 7:55 pm in a single start, reserved for qualified runners: under 39 minutes for men and under 45 minutes for women over 10 km. It has 2,000 places. It finishes inside the Estadio de Vallecas, where the last 150 metres are run on the pitch, and the overall prize ceremony begins at 8:00 pm in the stadium (international race regulations 2026, articles 2 to 4, checked on 23 October 2026).

• The popular start is split into six waves, from 4:50 pm to 6:20 pm, and each wave has a cap of 8,000 runners.
• You choose your wave at registration based on your certified time, and it cannot be changed on the day.
• The international race starts at 7:55 pm and finishes in the Estadio de Vallecas, for qualified runners only.

An urban route, almost entirely on asphalt

The popular race starts on avenida, or calle, Concha Espina, at the corner of Plaza Sagrados Corazones. This is the official start point in the regulations. Several guides, including Time Out and Planomato, nevertheless place the start at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. That information is not in the regulations and should not be used to plan your journey.

The course is described as « certified 10-kilometer urban course, entirely on asphalt ». It then runs through much of central Madrid: Serrano, República Argentina, Puerta de Alcalá, calle Alcalá, Plaza de Cibeles, the Paseo del Prado, Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo (Neptuno), Plaza Emperador Carlos V in Atocha, then avenida Ciudad de Barcelona. It passes Albufera, Sierra del Cadí, Carlos Martín Álvarez and Martínez de la Riva before reaching calle Candilejas. The neighbourhoods crossed run from Chamartín to Puente de Vallecas, through Salamanca, the centre and Retiro.

The course is fast: esMadrid and spain.info say that most of the route is slightly downhill.

Source: popular race regulations 2026, article 3 and international race regulations 2026, checked on 23 October 2026.

The regulations say nothing about where spectators can stand. The guides consulted mention Alcalá, Cibeles and the Paseo del Prado: these are suggestions, not an official recommendation. The nearest station depends on where you stand (see section 6).

The 2025 city council notice lists Serrano, Alcalá, Cibeles, the Paseo del Prado, avenida Ciudad de Barcelona and Puente de Vallecas as roads closed to traffic. The 2026 notice had not been published when we checked, and its list of roads may change.

Register on the official site before 23 December

Popular race entries are open, and international race entries have been open since 5 October 2026. You can only register on the official site, sansilvestrevallecana.com (popular race regulations, article 6). Popular entries close on 23 December 2026 at 11:00 pm, or earlier if the 42,000 cap is reached.

Source: popular race regulations 2026, articles 6 and 7, and international race regulations 2026, checked on 23 October 2026.

The popular race regulations 2026 (article 7) list what the entry includes: a bib and a timing chip to attach to your shoe; a commemorative T-shirt, whose size cannot be changed after registration; the official results; accident insurance, which only covers the race itself; water at the start and the finish; medical services; and the virtual race.

The real budget is therefore more than the bib price alone. A runner in the first tier, with a fixed bag at Vallecas, pays €28.80 (€27, a €0.80 fee and €1 for the bag). In the third tier, with a mobile bag at the start and home delivery, the bill rises to €41.80 (€31, €0.80, €5 for the bag and €5 for delivery).

No lottery appears in the 2026 regulations checked on 23 October 2026. The sources consulted describe sales by price tier, until the cap is reached. If you wait for a draw, you risk missing the deadline: it is better to register now.

If you are aiming for a time, there is a corral option. A corral wristband for under 60 minutes is issued at registration, with proof of a time over a validated 10 km race (article 9). Without valid proof, you are placed in the last available corral. For the international race, a one-day licence costs €3 if you do not hold a licence from the Madrid regional federation or the RFEA.

You must be at least 16 on 31 December 2026 to enter the popular race. Runners under 18 bring a signed parental consent form to bib collection.

Collect your bib before the 31st, drop your bag on the day

Bibs are collected at the Centro Deportivo Municipal Daoiz y Velarde, avenida Ciudad de Barcelona 162, from 26 to 30 December 2026, from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm. There is no collection on race day: the regulations are explicit (article 8). Bring your photo ID, your registration confirmation and, if you chose a timed corral, your proof of time. Collecting someone else’s bib requires written authorisation and a copy of their photo ID.

Bags must be reserved at registration, not on site or at bib collection (article 7). The fixed bag, at €1, is dropped at the tents set up at the corner of the Estadio de Vallecas, on calle Arroyo del Olivar and calle Payaso Fofó, on 30 December from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm, or on 31 December from 10:00 am. It accepts a plastic bag of 40 × 50 cm at most. The mobile bag, at €5, is dropped at the start, Paseo de la Habana, corner of Paseo de la Castellana, on 31 December from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm. It is transported to the finish and collected from the vans on calle Payaso Fofó.

The timing chip attaches to your shoe. Incorrect use means there is no official result (article 7). This detail is rarely mentioned in guides, but it affects your official ranking.

A virtual race is included with the popular entry. You can run it at any time from midnight on 28 December 2026 to 11:59 pm on 31 December 2026, under the legal terms published by the organiser.

Source: popular race regulations 2026 and international race regulations 2026, checked on 23 October 2026.

Take the metro, not the car

For the popular race start, guides mainly cite Santiago Bernabéu station (line 10). Several guides name Nuevos Ministerios (lines 6, 8 and 10) as the starting point for commuter trains. Concha Espina station (line 9) is also mentioned, without confirmation. These are secondary sources: the regulations do not name any station.

For the finish, Portazgo station (line 1) is close to the Estadio de Vallecas, according to footballgroundguide.com (secondary source). Cercanías trains stop at Asamblea de Madrid-Entrevías, on lines C2 and C7 according to the sources, with line C8 cited by other guides. The lists differ: check them on the transport network’s website before you leave.

Extra metro services announced in previous years do not apply to 2026. In 2022, the Comunidad de Madrid announced up to 31% more trains between 3:00 pm and 9:00 pm on lines 1, 8 and 10. A later press release (2023 or after) planned up to 67% more from 10:00 pm on lines 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. The 2026 extra service had not been published when we checked: look out for Metro announcements in December.

Sol station was closed from 6:00 pm in recent years, according to the press in 2023 and 2025. Nothing is confirmed for 2026. If you are heading to Puerta del Sol for the twelve grapes, do not assume the station will be open. Our guide covers the evening: New Year’s Eve Madrid 2026: Twelve Grapes at Puerta del Sol.