Leblon beach at sunrise, the start of the Rio de Janeiro half marathon

21K local guide · Updated 17 September 2026

Rio Half Marathon 2027: 21K Course, Entry & Hotels

Written and reviewed by Lotte — Rio local, founder & editor of PlanRio · How we research · First published 2 August 2026 · Last reviewed 17 September 2026

Quick answer

The Rio Half Marathon 2027 21K is on Saturday 29 May 2027, starting around 05:30 on Leblon beach near Jardim de Alah and finishing at Aterro do Flamengo. Runners living abroad enter directly with no lottery, paying in US dollars; Brazilians enter a free lottery (registration 9–21 November 2026). The course is flat and fast through Ipanema, Copacabana and Flamengo, broken only by two short tunnel ramps, with a three-hour cut-off. Bibs are collected at Casa Maratona, Marina da Glória, during race week — there is no race-morning pickup.

This is the half marathon inside the official Maratona do Rio festival — not one of the similarly named independent races elsewhere in Rio State — and 2027 is its 25th-anniversary edition, with around 70,000 slots across five distances. Of the whole weekend, the 21K is the cleanest proposition: Leblon to Flamengo through Rio's most famous beachfront neighbourhoods, mostly flat, early enough to beat the worst of the heat, and — crucially — a race you can walk to from a South Zone hotel. If the 42K is a destination marathon you build a trip around, the 21K is the race you can drop into the middle of a beach holiday and still do well.

The Rio 21K at a glance

Race and date

Maratona do Rio 21K half marathon, Saturday 29 May 2027

First wave

From around 05:30; confirm your exact wave time in the 2027 athlete guide

Start line

Avenida Delfim Moreira, Leblon beach, beside Jardim de Alah

Finish line

Aterro do Flamengo, by Monumento aos Pracinhas and Marina da Glória

Distance and profile

21.0975 km, point-to-point, flat coastal roads with two short tunnel ramps

Cut-off

3 hours; minimum entry age 18

Edition

25th-anniversary festival, ~70,000 slots across 5K, 10K, 21K and 42K

Festival window

Thursday 27 to Sunday 30 May 2027 — one distance per day

21K price

R$349 with the official shirt; R$309 without (running-club category). 50% off for athletes with disabilities and senior runners

Foreigner entry

Direct entry, no lottery, billed in US dollars — the single biggest advantage a visiting runner has

Brazilian entry

Free lottery (sorteio): registration 9–21 Nov 2026, draw 25 Nov, results 27 Nov, purchase from 30 Nov

Bib pickup

Casa Maratona, Marina da Glória, during race week — no race-morning collection for the 21K

21K or 42K? Which Rio distance to choose

This is the question most visiting runners actually have, and it is where the half and the full genuinely diverge. The 21K and 42K are the same festival but not the same race: different start lines, a very different morning, and a completely different training commitment. Here is the honest split.

Run the 21K if…

You want a fast, scenic race you can walk to from a South Zone hotel.
It is your first half, or your first race abroad, and you want the win to feel manageable.
You are here on a beach holiday and want one hard morning, not a weekend built around suffering.
You would rather run the postcard coastline in daylight than start alone in Barra before dawn.

Step up to the 42K if…

The full destination-marathon experience matters more to you than a comfortable morning.
You are chasing the medal and the 42.195 km, and you accept the Barra rollers and Avenida Niemeyer to earn them.
You have trained for six-hour time-on-feet in heat and humidity.
You are happy to solve a 05:00 transfer to Praia da Reserva, 35+ km from the tourist beaches.

The clearest practical difference is logistics. The 42K starts at Praia da Reserva in Barra da Tijuca, 35+ km from the tourist beaches, so you are solving a 05:00 transfer before you have run a step. The 21K starts in Leblon, where you can sleep in a nearby hotel and stroll to your pen. If you cannot decide and you want both, the Desafio Cidade Maravilhosa bundles the Saturday 21K and Sunday 42K into one entry — see the full marathon guide for the 42K side of that plan.

How to get a Rio Half Marathon 2027 bib

Entry for 2027 changed shape: the 21K is lottery-only for the general Brazilian public, while runners based abroad get direct access in dollars. Knowing which door applies to you is the difference between racing and refreshing a sold-out page.

Live outside Brazil? You skip the lottery entirely

For 2027 the organiser confirmed direct international entry: foreign runners register in any distance without touching the sorteio, paying in US dollars (roughly US$80 for the 5K rising to around US$300 for the combined 21K+42K Desafio). This is the most important line in the whole guide. A visitor's only real risk is a distance selling out — not losing a draw — so treat the international window as your start gun and register the day it opens.

Live in Brazil? The 21K is lottery-only for the general public

Both the 21K and the 42K go to the general Brazilian public exclusively through a free lottery. Registering interest costs nothing; being drawn only earns you the right to buy inside a short purchase window. For 2027 the 21K lottery ran 9–21 November 2026, the draw was 25 November, results landed 27 November, and purchase waves for winners opened from 30 November 2026. The 42K ran on an earlier calendar (registration 31 August–13 September 2026, draw 24 September), so never assume one date covers both distances.

What the 21K costs, and who gets a discount

The half was announced at R$349 with the official shirt, or R$309 without a shirt in the running-club (assessoria) category. Athletes with disabilities and senior runners receive 50% off. The 21K+42K Desafio Cidade Maravilhosa is sold as one product at R$790 with two shirts and two bibs (direct sale from 15 October 2026) — buy the combined entry rather than two separate bibs if you want both mornings. Foreign runners are billed in dollars instead of reais.

Buy only through the official channel

Entries are sold through the organiser's official ticketing platform, linked from maratonadorio.com.br. There is no legitimate resale market: bib transfers and third-party sales are not recognised, and a bib bought from a stranger will simply not be released at Casa Maratona. If it is not the official site or an accredited travel agency, walk away.

The guaranteed-bib shortcut for international runners

The festival accredits travel agencies that bundle a confirmed bib with hotels and transfers. It costs more than a bare entry, but it removes every timing risk and is worth pricing if you are building an entire Rio trip around race weekend and cannot afford a sold-out surprise.

Have this ready at checkout

Full legal name exactly as printed on your passport, date of birth, passport number (or CPF for residents), shirt size, an honest estimated finish time (this sets your start wave), an emergency contact, and a card that works for Brazilian or USD transactions. Name and date-of-birth errors are painful to correct later, so type slowly.

Race week: bib pickup at Casa Maratona

The event's retirada de kit (race-packet pickup) is at Casa Maratona, the same expo used by every distance. Because the 21K runs on Saturday morning, collection closes the evening before — there is no race-morning option, so build your travel around getting there earlier in the week.

Where

Casa Maratona, inside the Marina da Glória pavilion, Avenida Infante Dom Henrique, s/n, Glória. Glória metro is the practical approach; there is no expo parking.

When

Kit collection runs across race week and closes before the Saturday 21K. Your day and time slot are chosen during registration — book the earliest slot your travel allows in case a flight slips.

Bring

Photo ID or passport, your registration QR code and your bib number from the official athlete platform. Turn up inside the slot you selected; walk-ins outside it are not guaranteed.

Sending someone else

Third-party collection only works if you authorise the collector in advance on the platform — and once you do, you can no longer collect the bib yourself.

The 21K course, kilometre by kilometre

The 2027 route is expected to repeat the 2026 Leblon-to-Flamengo course; the athlete guide confirms it. On paper it is a fast coastal point-to-point. In practice, whether it feels smooth or stressful is decided by three things: a crowded dark start, two short tunnel ramps, and a rising sun on the exposed back half. Here is how the race actually unfolds.

km 0–3 · Leblon start

Dark, fast and tempting

You set off on Avenida Delfim Moreira near Jardim de Alah while it is still dark. Wave starts thin the crowd, but the flat beachfront opening tempts everyone into weaving and overtaking. Do the opposite: sit on your goal effort and let the field sort itself out. Every second you save here by not surging is a second you keep for the exposed finish.

km 3–9 · Ipanema and Copacabana

The postcard, and the sunrise

Avenida Vieira Souto, Rua Francisco Otaviano and Avenida Atlântica deliver the run you came for, and this is where the sun comes up over the Atlantic. The profile is quick and the crowd support is loudest along Copacabana, but there is almost no shade and the sea wind can flip direction around the Arpoador and Leme headlands. Enjoy it — just keep drinking, because it feels far cooler here at 05:50 than it will at the finish.

km 9–13 · The tunnels

Where a flat race stops feeling flat

Moving from Copacabana into Botafogo uses Avenida Princesa Isabel, Túnel Novo, Lauro Sodré and Túnel do Pasmado. These are not mountain climbs, but the ramps, the warm enclosed air and the GPS drift under the tunnels will hand you two or three slow-looking splits in a row. This is the single most important thing that separates the 21K from a flat home half: expect the wobble, run by effort, and do not try to claw the pace back on the far side.

km 13–18 · Aterro do Flamengo

Wide, open and getting hot

The course opens onto Botafogo Bay and the long green ribbon of Aterro do Flamengo. It is fast road running, but the wide avenues feel endless once the sun is fully up, and there is no shelter. This is where a start that felt easy in Leblon starts charging interest. Break it into the next lamppost, the next aid station, the next kilometre marker.

km 18–21.1 · Centro loop and finish

Hold your form to the Pracinhas

A short Centro turnaround feeds you back towards the finish beside Monumento aos Pracinhas. These last kilometres are where the three-hour cut-off quietly catches runners who went out too fast in the dark. If you paced the first 9 km with discipline, this is where you get to reel people in.

A section-by-section pacing plan

The Rio half is won and lost in the first 9 km. Go out with the crowd in the dark and the exposed Aterro will collect the debt with interest. This is the plan we give every first-timer.

Section	How to run it
First 3 km	Run 5–10 sec/km slower than goal pace. The dark, flat start hides how fast you are going; bank patience, not seconds.
km 3–9	Settle onto goal pace along the beachfront. Take every water station even if you do not feel thirsty — you are pre-loading for the exposed back half.
km 9–13 (tunnels)	Switch from pace to effort. Let the ramps cost you a few seconds and ignore the GPS spikes. Do not spend a match chasing a lost split.
km 13–18	This is the real race. Hold form on the exposed Aterro, keep your cadence up as legs tire, and drink at every point.
km 18–21.1	If you have anything left, spend it now. A disciplined negative-effort finish here is how you turn a scenic run into a Rio PB.

Can you run a PB in Rio? An honest answer

Yes — with an asterisk. The 21K has all the ingredients of a fast half: flat roads, a sea-level course and a pre-dawn start that puts most of the race in before the heat arrives. Plenty of runners set personal bests here. But in Rio it is the conditions, not the profile, that decide your time. Late May is the start of the dry season, so mornings can be pleasant and still — or humid, with a stiff sea breeze that reverses around the headlands. You do not get to choose which one you wake up to.

The two hazards specific to this course are the tunnel ramps around km 9–13, which cost a few seconds and scramble your GPS, and the fully exposed final 8 km on the Aterro, which is where a hot morning turns a goal pace into a survival shuffle. Treat a cool, still morning as a bonus, pace the opening conservatively, take water from km 3, and you give yourself the best possible shot. Chase the PB from the gun in the dark and Rio will punish it every time.

Fuelling and aid stations on the 21K

The organiser published exact water, Gatorade and medical positions for the 2026 21K, and the 2027 setup is expected to follow the same pattern. Treat the numbers below as a planning map and confirm them in the 2027 athlete guide.

Water and toilets

In 2026: start, finish and km 3.2, 5.7, 9.9, 13.3, 16.1 and 18.9 — every hydration point had toilets. Expect similar spacing in 2027 and confirm the exact markers in the athlete guide.

Sports drink (Gatorade)

Twice in 2026, at km 7.8 and 17.7. Never try a sports drink for the first time on race day; if your stomach is fussy, carry your own mix or gels.

Medical and physio

Posts at km 11, 13.2, 17.8 and 20 in 2026, backed by course ambulances and hospitals near the finish. Stop at the first sign of dizziness or chills — humidity turns a bad patch into heat illness fast.

Gels

Do not assume gels on course. Carry what you plan to take and rehearse the exact timing in training, using the published station spacing as your map rather than a promise.

Training and taper for a humid coastal half

You do not need marathon-level mileage for the 21K, but you do need to prepare for the two things a home training block rarely covers: humidity and the tunnel wobble. These four habits matter more than any extra long run.

Train your gut for a humid morning

Late May in Rio is mild by local standards but still humid, and the last 8 km are fully exposed. Practise drinking on the move and taking your gels on time in your warmest, most humid training runs — a stomach that is happy at home in cool air can rebel at 07:30 on the Aterro.

Rehearse the tunnel wobble

If you can, do one long run through a road tunnel or under cover so a sudden pace-and-GPS wobble does not spook you on the day. The Rio tunnels are short; the panic they cause first-timers is the real time-killer.

Taper into the heat, not away from it

Arriving from a cool climate, give yourself two or three easy days in Rio before the race so your body meets the humidity in training rather than at km 15. A short, flat shakeout on the Leblon promenade the morning before is plenty.

Dress for exposure, not for the 05:30 start

It is cool and dark at the gun and hot and bright by the finish. A light singlet, a peaked cap, sunglasses and sunscreen applied before the start beat anything you will want to carry. Bin-bag warmth at the pens is fine; nothing you cannot throw away.

Highlighted stays · walk to the Leblon start

PlanRio hand-picked

Rio Half Marathon hotels: our highlighted Leblon picks

Leblon is our highlighted 21K base because you can walk to the Jardim de Alah start and skip the 04:00 transport gamble, then take the metro home from the Glória finish. These hand-picked properties cover premium, practical and budget-minded stays. Search the live booking page for check-in 26 May and check-out 30 May 2027; availability and cancellation terms change.

Dates optional. Set guests and rooms on Booking.com.

Check what your room rate includes

Breakfast, taxes and any extra fees
Room type, guest count and bed setup
Cancellation deadline and when payment is due

Confirm these on Booking.com for the rate you choose.

PlanRio hand-pickedLeblonhotel

Janeiro Hotel

Best for: Design-led beach luxury in Rio's calmest premium neighbourhood

Know before booking: Leblon commands some of Rio's highest room rates.

Check Janeiro Hotel availability

PlanRio hand-pickedLeblonhotel

Ritz Leblon

Best for: A practical hotel base near Leblon's restaurants and beach

Know before booking: Leblon is quiet and polished, but rarely the cheapest South Zone option.

Check Ritz Leblon availability

PlanRio hand-pickedLeblonhostel

Brazilodge All Suites Leblon

Best for: Social accommodation in an upscale, walkable neighbourhood

Know before booking: Check the newest noise, locker and bathroom reviews before choosing a room or dorm.

Check Brazilodge All Suites Leblon availability

Links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. This supports PlanRio and does not influence our recommendations.

Race-trip bookings we actually use

GIG airport transfer

A pre-booked arrival is worth it with checked race luggage, especially if your flight lands close to your bib-pickup slot at Marina da Glória.

Check a private GIG transfer

Brazil eSIM

Use it for live tracking, organiser updates, metro directions and coordinating the post-race meeting point at the Aterro finish.

Check Airalo Brazil eSIMs

Travel insurance

Race travel adds injury, illness and trip-cancellation risk — and a non-transferable bib you cannot resell if plans change. Get cover that includes medical and theft.

Get a travel insurance quote

Watching the 21K: a spectator plan

The course moves one way from Leblon to Flamengo, so the sensible plan is a start or beachfront sighting plus the finish, connected by metro — not a car chase along closed roads.

See the start in Leblon

Watch the waves leave near Jardim de Alah, then walk to Antero de Quental station rather than chasing the course by car. It is dark at 05:30 — arrive with your group, not alone.

Copacabana is the best mid-race spot

Avenida Atlântica has the loudest atmosphere and the easiest visitor logistics. Pick one posto (lifeguard station), and send the exact number to your runner before the race, because phone networks jam.

Finish at the Aterro

Take the metro to Glória and walk to Monumento aos Pracinhas. Agree a fixed reunion point outside the fenced finish chute — inside the dispersal area you will never find each other.

Track, do not guess

Use the official event app or live tracking rather than a promised kilometre split. Wave starts and tunnel GPS drift make guessed timings unreliable, so build in a buffer before you move to meet your runner.

What to do with the rest of race weekend

Running only Saturday's 21K leaves you most of the weekend to enjoy Rio. Here is how a local would spend it around the race.

The day before: rest, then a tiny shakeout

Collect your bib early in the week, then keep Friday gentle. A 3 km sunrise out-and-back on the Leblon promenade towards Jardim de Alah previews the start without turning the pre-race day into a course inspection. Save Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf for after the race — stairs and cable-car queues on fresh legs are not free.

Race morning: walk to your wave

This is the 21K's quiet superpower. From a Leblon or Ipanema hotel you can walk to the start pens instead of gambling on a 04:00 metro or a taxi that cannot reach the closed beachfront. Leave early, hit the toilets in your pen, and keep a throwaway layer until the gun.

After the line: keep moving

You get water and your medal inside dispersal, then sports drink and fruit farther along the controlled walk. Keep walking rather than stopping at the arch. Then do what Cariocas do after a hard morning: an açaí, a matte com limão from a beach vendor, and a slow afternoon with your feet in the sea at Leblon or Ipanema.

Sunday: watch the marathon finish

If you only ran Saturday's 21K, the 42K finishes at the same Aterro spot on Sunday morning — same metro trip, bigger atmosphere. It is the best free entertainment of the weekend and a gentle reason to walk your legs loose.

Common mistakes 21K visitors make

Assuming the old dates still apply — the 2027 festival is 27–30 May, with the 21K on Saturday 29 May.
Confusing the Maratona do Rio 21K with another Rio or Niterói half and following the wrong date, start line or course map.
Waiting for the Brazilian lottery when you live abroad and already have direct entry available in dollars.
Missing your purchase wave after being drawn in the sorteio, which instantly releases the slot to another runner.
Planning to collect the bib on Saturday morning, when 21K collection closes the evening before.
Setting your taxi pin on the closed beachfront avenue instead of walking in from Antero de Quental.
Going out with the crowd in the dark first 3 km and paying for it on the exposed final Aterro kilometres.
Trying a new gel, sports drink or shoe on race day instead of on a humid training run.

Local expert tips

Register the moment your entry route opens; the 25th-anniversary edition has extra demand across all five distances.
Seed your wave pen by a realistic recent time, not the pace you hope adrenaline will produce.
Take water at every station from km 3 — pre-load for the shadeless back half rather than waiting until you are thirsty.
Expect GPS pace to wobble in Túnel Novo and Túnel do Pasmado; hold effort and wait for the signal to settle.
Carry only low-value clothing to the baggage bus and photograph your bag label before you hand it over.
Recheck MetrôRio's special opening in race week — an 04:00 start was confirmed for 2026, not a permanent timetable.
Stay in Leblon or Ipanema so you can walk to the start; it is the single biggest stress-saver of the weekend.
If you want both distances, buy the Desafio Cidade Maravilhosa product rather than two separate bibs.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Rio Half Marathon 2027?+

The Maratona do Rio 21K half marathon is on Saturday 29 May 2027, with wave starts from around 05:30 and a three-hour cut-off. It sits inside the 25th-anniversary festival running 27–30 May 2027, one race per day: 5K on Thursday, 10K on Friday, 21K on Saturday and 42K on Sunday.

Where does the Rio Half Marathon start and finish?+

The 21K starts on Avenida Delfim Moreira at Leblon beach, near Jardim de Alah, and finishes at Aterro do Flamengo beside Monumento aos Pracinhas — a point-to-point course through Ipanema, Copacabana, Botafogo and Flamengo with a short Centro turnaround before the line.

How do I register for the Rio Half Marathon 2027?+

Runners based outside Brazil enter directly, with no lottery, paying in US dollars — register as soon as the international window opens. For the general Brazilian public the 21K is lottery-only: free registration ran 9–21 November 2026, the draw was 25 November, results 27 November, and purchase waves for winners opened from 30 November 2026.

Can foreigners enter the Rio Half Marathon without the lottery?+

Yes. For 2027 the organiser confirmed that international runners have direct access to every distance without entering the sorteio, paying in dollars (roughly US$80 for the 5K up to around US$300 for the 21K+42K Desafio). Register early anyway, because individual distances still sell out.

How much does the Rio 21K cost?+

The 2027 half marathon was announced at R$349 with the official shirt, or R$309 without a shirt in the running-club category. The 21K+42K Desafio Cidade Maravilhosa is R$790. Athletes with disabilities and senior runners get 50% off, and foreign entries are billed in US dollars.

Is the Rio Half Marathon course flat and fast?+

Mostly flat and genuinely fast: it runs along Leblon, Ipanema, Copacabana, the Aterro do Flamengo and a Centro turnaround. The catch is two short tunnel ramps — Túnel Novo and Túnel do Pasmado between Copacabana and Botafogo — that break rhythm and scramble GPS, plus a fully exposed final third that gets hot after sunrise.

Can you run a personal best at the Rio Half Marathon?+

It is one of the more PB-friendly big-city halves — flat roads, a sea-level course and a pre-dawn start — but Rio's humidity and the exposed final 8 km mean the conditions, not the profile, decide your time. Pace the first 9 km conservatively, take water from km 3, and treat a cool, still morning as a bonus rather than a guarantee.

Should I run the Rio 21K or the 42K?+

Choose the 21K for a faster, cooler, more manageable race you can walk to from a South Zone hotel — ideal for first-timers and runners on a beach holiday. Choose the 42K for the full destination marathon from Praia da Reserva in Barra, with Avenida Niemeyer's rollers and six hours of coastline. The Desafio combines both across Saturday and Sunday.

Where are the half-marathon aid stations?+

In 2026, water and toilets were at the start, finish and km 3.2, 5.7, 9.9, 13.3, 16.1 and 18.9; Gatorade was at km 7.8 and 17.7; medical aid was at km 11, 13.2, 17.8 and 20. Expect similar spacing in 2027 and confirm the exact markers in the 2027 athlete guide.

Where is 21K bib pickup?+

Bib pickup is at Casa Maratona in the Marina da Glória pavilion, Avenida Infante Dom Henrique, s/n, Glória, during race week at the time slot you chose when registering. There is no race-morning collection for the 21K, and no expo parking — arrive via Glória metro.

Where should I stay for the Rio Half Marathon?+

Leblon is the most convenient base because the 21K starts there, so you can walk to your wave instead of gambling on 04:00 transport, and the metro or a taxi makes the return from the Glória finish simple. A practical core stay is Wednesday 26 May to Sunday 30 May 2027, covering bib pickup, the Saturday 21K and the Sunday marathon-finish atmosphere.

What is the best half-marathon shakeout run in Rio?+

A 3 km sunrise out-and-back on the Leblon promenade towards Jardim de Alah is the most specific option: flat, right beside the start line and easy to stop before it becomes training. Avoid completing the full 7.5 km Lagoa loop during taper just because the path is inviting.