Venice Marathon 2026: tracking, the Ponte della Libertà and the 14 bridges

The Venicemarathon runs on Sunday 25 October 2026, its 40th edition (official rulebook). Press and race calendars also list it as the Wizz Air Venice Marathon. The course is unusual: not a loop but one long line, from the villas of the Brenta canal across the mainland and over the lagoon to St Mark's Square. If someone you care about is running it, this guide covers how to know where they are right now, and how to get your voice to them at the moment they need it most.

Independence notice: Cheerlify is an independent service. It is not affiliated with the Venicemarathon organisers or sponsors, and it is not the event's official application.

The race at a glance

The rulebook calls the start times "approximate", and the Italian and English versions give slightly different corral times. Check the official race page in race week.

Mind the clocks: daylight saving time ends in the early hours of race day (3:00 becomes 2:00). Make sure your runner's alarm and yours are on the new time. If you're following from the UK, Venice is one hour ahead of you.

1. Official tracking: Evodata–ENDU, checkpoint by checkpoint

Timing is by Evodata with a disposable chip on the bib, with timing mats at km 5, 10, 15, halfway, 25, 30, 35, 40 and the finish (rulebook). On race day you can follow each runner from those readings: in 2025 the organisers pointed supporters to the Evodata–ENDU live tracking on the official site, the race was listed live on ENDU, and the 2026 race is there too. Look your runner up by name or bib number, ideally before Sunday.

Worth knowing:

• It updates at the timing mats. At marathon pace there are 25–35 minutes between two mats, and in between you only see the last split. It won't tell you whether your runner is on the bridge right now or already on the Zattere. Every chip system works this way; more here: chip timing vs GPS tracking.
• It's accurate and official. At the mats the chip reading is the most precise data there is, and it becomes the official split and finish time.
• The course is point to point. It starts in Stra and finishes in Venice, almost 42 km apart with water in between. Whoever waves at the start won't make it to the finish, and inside Venice you move by train, waterbus and on foot, through crowds. That's why knowing when your runner reaches the next point matters so much here.

2. Live GPS on the map, between the checkpoints

The stretch between two mats is covered by GPS tracking from the runner's own phone: Strava Beacon, Garmin LiveTrack, plain location sharing or Cheerlify. We compared them here: marathon tracking apps compared. Cheerlify snaps the dot to the course, so you see which kilometre they're on and get an arrival estimate for any point. In Venice that matters: it tells you when to leave the Zattere for the Riva.

Tip: use both. At the mats the chip data is exact; GPS fills the 25–35 minutes in between.

The course, stage by stage

From the organisers' description (rulebook) and runners' reports from earlier years, so treat the kilometres as approximate:

The organisers mention 3–4 short climbs of about 100 m between km 25 and 35, and 14 small bridges in the last 3 km, with wooden ramps over the steps. The surface is stone slabs with cobbles only in the last 100 m, plus tram rails between Mestre and Venice.

The Ponte della Libertà decides the race. It's long, flat, monotonous, and if the wind blows, it blows in their face. In 2025 the winner made his move right there (Sportface). For most runners this is where the wall arrives, between km 32 and 37, roughly three hours in.

Where to watch

The organisers don't publish a spectator guide, so this is our suggestion:

• Venice, the Zattere (about km 37–39): a long, wide quay along the Giudecca canal. Runners are off the bridge here, and many start to hurt.
• The pontoon bridge and Punta della Dogana (about km 40): spectacular but narrow and crowded. Go early.
• The finish, Riva Sette Martiri: the nearest waterbus stop is Arsenale. Agree on a meeting point outside the finish area, because finishers move on towards the Giardini della Biennale.
• Mestre and Parco San Giuliano (about km 22–31): from here you could take the train or a waterbus into Venice for the finish. The organisers promise nothing and everything is busy on race day, so only plan on it if your runner is on the slower side and you're watching the arrival estimate.
• The start in Stra: there are official buses from Mestre and Tronchetto, but from here you won't reach the finish in time. Only choose it if you're happy to miss the finish.

If you can't travel, you miss nothing at home: GPS tracking and voice cheers work the same from anywhere.

Weather

On late-October race days Venice has typically been somewhere between 8 and 21 °C, with rain in roughly one year in three (racecast, unofficial data). Out on the lagoon the wind is the main factor, and then there's acqua alta, the high tide: in 2025 there was water at the finish, and in 2018 flooding took St Mark's Square out of the course. If you'll stand on the quay for hours, wear layers and waterproof shoes.

Be in their ears on the bridge

The four kilometres of the Ponte della Libertà have no crowd. Just the lagoon, the wind and a straight line that doesn't seem to end. That's exactly where something has to break the spell.

With Cheerlify you record a voice or video message in advance, pick the kilometre, and it plays in the runner's earbuds right there. Their music dips, your voice comes in, and the music comes back. Good spots:

• km 34, mid-bridge: "This is the last straight before Venice. One foot, then the other."
• km 38, on the Zattere: "You're in Venice. Bridges and stones from here, but the finish is right there."
• km 41, before St Mark's: something only you can say to them.

You don't need an app or an account: a link and a code in your browser. If there are several of you, everyone can record their own for a different kilometre. Not sure what to say? Here are 30+ cheering lines for every stage of a race.

Race-week checklist for supporters

1. Your runner's bib number and start time saved. The marathon starts at about 9:40, the half at 8:45. Your runner looked up in the official Evodata–ENDU tracking.
2. Clocks go back one hour in the early hours of 25 October.
3. Your runner has sent you their GPS tracking link, and you tested it on Friday or Saturday at the expo.
4. Their phone starts fully charged, battery saver off, location permission set to "Always". In the underpass after km 24 and on the bridge the signal can drop for a moment; that's normal.
5. Cheers recorded: at least one for the Ponte della Libertà (km 32–37) and one for Venice.
6. If you're there: you've picked your spot (Zattere, the pontoon bridge or the finish), you know which waterbus gets you there, and you've agreed on a meeting point outside the finish area.

Frequently asked questions