Coastal Makeover Draws 15,000 to Lisbon Marathon; Chumba, Bekele Triumph

Lisbon woke up last Saturday to the familiar drumbeat of trainers on asphalt, yet the 2025 edition of its marathon felt anything but routine. A new coastline route, a record 15 000 entrants and two break-through performances from Kenyan Zablon Chumba and Ethiopian Abebech Bekele re-energised an event already prized by runners who crave autumn sun and Atlantic views.

East Africans steal the show — again, but with fresh storylines

Chumba, 29, exploded onto Praça do Comércio in 2:07:11, shaving two seconds off his previous best and proving that Lisbon’s flatter start in Carcavelos can translate into personal milestones even when the overall course record (2:05:45) survives. The women’s podium mirrored recent global trends: Bekele clocked 2:29:00, out-kicking compatriot Asmare Beyene Assefa by nine seconds while Kenya’s Rael Nguriatukei Kinyara completed a thoroughly African clean sweep. The margin at the finish line may appear slim, but race analysts noted Bekele never relinquished control after the 35 km mark, showcasing textbook negative splits that have become increasingly common among athletes coached in Addis Ababa’s high-altitude camps.

A seaside course designed for speed — and postcards

Starting beside Nova SBE’s glass-fronted campus in Carcavelos, athletes sped west-to-east along the Marginal coastal road, cutting through Cascais, Oeiras and the riverside suburbs before the grand reveal of Lisbon’s Terreiro do Paço. The organisers dropped several of the climb-heavy detours that once punctured rhythm in Monsanto, betting instead on a pancake-flat profile and the psychological boost of the Tagus estuary skyline. While official weather data have not yet been published, on-course thermometers hovered near 18 °C with light headwinds — forgiving by late-October standards and ideal for pacers assigned to 3h00, 3h15, 3h30 and beyond.

Where did the Portuguese finish and why it matters

Home supporters had to wait for the second wave of athletes to see a red-green singlet, but the domestic storyline was still encouraging. The first Portuguese man crossed inside the top-25 overall, underlining quiet progress after a drought of sub-2:14 results on home soil. On the women’s side, the national champion, whose official time was pending ratification when this article went to press, ran most of the race shoulder-to-shoulder with the 2h40 pacer, an effort coaches believe could translate into an Olympic qualifying attempt next spring. Sporting directors from Benfica and Sporting CP confirmed that several emerging marathoners used Saturday as a benchmark ahead of the 2026 European Championships in Birmingham, where Portugal hopes to restore the legacy forged by Rosa Mota and António Pinto.

Beyond medals: crowd economics and urban logistics

For Lisbon’s hospitality sector, the weekend delivered a much-needed autumn bump. Tourism officials estimate the marathon injects €12 M into the local economy through hotel nights, restaurant tables and spending by accompanying families. The trade-off remains the familiar gridlock: A5 exits were sealed from 06:00, and tram lines 15E and 18E ran truncated services until mid-afternoon. City Hall defended the closures, pointing to a 70 % surge in public-transport ridership on race day and a measurable reduction in vehicle emissions compared with an ordinary Saturday. Still, commuters headed to Cascais voiced frustration on social media, prompting organisers to promise earlier publication of detour maps for 2026.

Lisbon’s marathon future: can records finally tumble?

While course records stayed untouched this year, elite coaches interviewed trackside agreed the margins are closing. "A 2:06 on this layout is realistic, provided the wind cooperates," argued Paulo Martins, high-performance director at Federação Portuguesa de Atletismo. Word inside athlete camps suggests several sub-2:05 men are considering Lisbon as a World Athletics Gold Label opportunity now that Chicago and Berlin calendars have tightened. Should one of them commit, Lisbon could pivot from scenic crowd-pleaser to bona-fide record-hunting circuit — a transformation athletes, sponsors and, crucially, Lisbon’s increasingly sports-savvy residents will be watching with keen interest.