“We have athletes who guarantee a very interesting race. We would be very happy if we could beat those times. They are very good and would put us in the elite of European half marathons,” said Tiago Teixeira, head of Run Porto, the event organiser.

This year in Prague, Owen Korir Kapkama finished in 58 minutes and 58 seconds, earning him third place in a season in which he has already finished second in Seville and third in Naples.

In the women's sector, Ethiopian Tsige Haileslase Abreha, with 1:08.30, is the most highly regarded, alongside Kenyan Emmy Jepkemoi Mutai, with 1:09.09, who won the Madrid half marathon in 2025.

Zersenay Tadese, from Eritrea, with 59:30 in 2011, and Enatnesh Alamrew Tirusew, from Ethiopia, with 1:07:13 in 2023, hold the best times in the Porto half marathon.

Among Portuguese runners in the 19th edition, highlights include the best times of André Pereira (1:02.20), Nuno Lopes (1:03.47), Bernardo Rocha (1:04.32) and Nuno Fernandes (1:04.47).

In the women's category, Maria Vinagre, with a time of 1:11.01, is the fastest Portuguese participant, who also stands out alongside Rafaela Fonseca (1:13.25).

The organisation revealed that 45% of the 15,000 registered runners are foreign, representing 94 countries, with a notable 937 from France, 777 from the United Kingdom, 739 from Spain, 376 from Brazil, and 307 from Germany.

Europe has 40 nations represented in the Porto half marathon, Asia 20, America 17, Africa 15, and Oceania two.

“It’s the ‘Champions League’ of sporting events, which promotes not only the cities (Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia), but the region, as athletes come with family and friends and, as a rule, extend their stays and take the opportunity to have an ‘experience’ beyond the sporting event,” said the president of Porto and Northern Portugal Tourism, Luís Pedro Martins, who highlighted the 5.5% growth in tourism in the region in the first seven months of 2026.

Óscar Loureiro, 86, and Conceição Grare, 73, are the oldest athletes of each sex, making up the four percent who are over 60 years old.

As has been traditional, the start and finish lines are located on Avenida Dom Carlos I, on a course that this year returns to the Vila Nova de Gaia waterfront.

In 2025, a record of around 7,000 finished the race, and Jorge Teixeira, founder of Run Porto, hopes this number will reach "11,000 or 12,000".

The event also includes a blessing mass for the marathon runners, to be held on Saturday at 5 pm at the Igreja das Antas.

It was announced that between 6 and 8 November, Porto and Gaia will once again be united to host the European Running Business Conference.