Montpellier Run Festival

The Montpellier Run Festival is a two-day running weekend in the heart of Montpellier, Occitanie, built around the historic Marathon de Montpellier. The marathon starts and finishes near the Promenade du Peyrou, tracing two 21.1 km loops through the Ecusson old town, past the Jardin des Plantes de Montpellier (France's oldest botanical garden, founded in 1593), Place de la Comédie, the Antigone and Grammont districts, and the vineyards of Domaine de Verchant, before finishing at the Arc de Triomphe. The course is largely flat with about 225 meters of total elevation gain over two loops. The same weekend also hosts a semi-marathon, 10K, 5K, a 42.2 km Ekiden team relay, and children's races, plus a free outdoor concert at the race village on Saturday evening. Roughly 15,000 runners take part across all distances, with the marathon itself capped near 1,500 entrants. Montpellier Run Festival is the rebranded continuation of the Marathon de Montpellier, which reached its 13th edition in 2024 before adopting the festival format.