The Ponce Marathon (Spanish: Maratón La Guadalupe de Ponce) is a long-distance running event held every year in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Established in 1970, it is the only Olympic marathon held in Puerto Rico.
The race has a length of and takes place on a Sunday during the month of December. It starts at 5AM, and runs from the intersection of PR-12 and PR-14 to Parque de Bombas. It is managed by SecretarÃÂa de Recreación y Deportes (Secretariat of Recreation and Sports) of the municipality of Ponce. It is certified by Logistik Event Management, "the same organization that certifies the Boston Marathon."
The 40th edition of the marathon in 2010 was attended by over 10,000 people. Some 150 athletes participated in the event in 2013; by 2024 the number of participants was above 250. In 2010, the event received an award from the Federación de Atletismo de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Athletic Federation) as the best athletic running event in Puerto Rico; it had attained a perfect 100-point score in all evaluation areas. The 53rd edition in 2024, had room for up to 500 runners, of which over 250 had already registered some three weeks in advance.
Up to, and including, the 2006 edition, the event was a males-only run. Starting with the 2007 edition, it was officially open to both athletes from sexes.
In addition to being the only one of the international marathons run over the distance of 42.195 kilometers and the national marathon of Puerto Rico, the marathon is the qualifying race for the Central American and Caribbean Games.
In addition to medals, Marathon organizers award cash prizes to winners, in both men and women categories, exceeding USD$30K. First place winners receive a $2,000 cash prize. The next five follow-up winners receive $1,000, $500, $400, $200 and $80 respectively. The Marathon also awards prizes to winners, both men and women, in these nine age categories: 20âÂÂ24, 25âÂÂ29, 30âÂÂ34, 35âÂÂ39, 40âÂÂ44, 45âÂÂ49, 50âÂÂ54, 55âÂÂ59 and 60+. First, second and third-place winners in each of these categories receive $80, $50 and $25 prizes, respectively. Unlike other marathons, registration for La Guadalupe is free; registration generally takes place the day before the event (Saturday) at Parque de Bombas. The $2,000 cash prize is the highest cash prize paid out for any running event in Puerto Rico.
The race starts at 5:00 am at PR-12 (Avenida Santiago de los Caballeros) at the intersection with PR-14 (Avenida Tito Castro/Avenida Betances) and heads south towards La Guancha. It makes 3 round trips on Avenida Santiago de los Caballeros and, on the fourth round, it then detours onto Avenida Las Americas (PR-163) heading west towards PR-123 (Avenida Hostos). At Avenida Hostos it turns right onto Calle Marina and heads north towards Plaza Las Delicias. The finish line will be at Calle Marina intersection with Calle Cristina, that is, right in front of Parque de Bombas in downtown Ponce. The race coincides with the Fiestas patronales de Ponce celebration. The 50th edition (2021) introduced a new route.
The event took place on 11 December.
The event was cancelled due to scheduling conflict with the concurrent event of the Puerto Rico 1993 Central American and Caribbean Games celebrated this year in Ponce.
The event took place on 10 December.
Prior to this year the marathon was essentially a men's-only event. Women could run it but they were not awarded prizes. Starting with the 2007 marathon, women runners were officially registered as competing runners and awarded prizes the same as men.
The event took place on 14 December.
The event, which ordinarily takes place on a Sunday, this year took place on a Saturday (12 December). The goal was to have it coincide with Las Mañanitas to maximize the attendance to the Marathon. This year there was also a change to the route of the event.
The event took place on 12 December.
The event took place on Sunday 11 December.
The event took place on 9 December.
The event took place on Sunday 8 December.
The event took place on Sunday 8 December.
The event took place on Sunday 18 December 2016.
The event was cancelled due to the 20 September Hurricane Maria. The event had been scheduled for 10 December 2017.
The event took place on Sunday 9 December.
5K Run
The event took place on Sunday 15 December.
The event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico.
The event took place on Sunday, 12 December. Beverly Ramos Morales set a new record in the women's division.
The event was scheduled for 11 December 2022.
The event was scheduled for 17 December 2023. Due to a technical organizational error, runners ran a longer distance than the 42.195 kilometers required, and the Organizing Committee made changes so the error would not occur again; those changes were implemented the following year for the 53rd edition of the marathon.
The event was scheduled for 15 December 2024. A runner-wearable chip was introduced this year that would make its recording of the runner's finish time the official mark for the runner. Each runner is outfitted with such chip
The event took place on Sunday, 14 December 2025.