Runners who fly into Madrid on 31 December to run the San Silvestre Vallecana find the pick-up closed. The race shirt, which doubles as the bib, is only handed out at the Daoiz y Velarde sports centre in the slot booked at entry, near Pacífico Metro. The San Silvestre Vallecana is a 10 km New Year’s Eve race that starts at Concha Espina from 4:50pm and finishes in Vallecas, with 42,000 places in the popular race. Entry closes at 11pm on 23 December, and the price climbs with each tier of 10,000 runners, from €27 to €31 plus €0.80 in fees.
How do you enter the San Silvestre Vallecana in Madrid? Online only, on the official race website, before 11pm on 23 December or until the 42,000 places run out. The popular race costs €27 to €31 depending on how many have entered, plus €0.80 in fees. The catch for visitors is the bib: it is collected from 26 to 30 December, never on 31 December.
Is the San Silvestre Vallecana worth travelling for?
Yes, if you want 10 km through central Madrid on the last evening of the year rather than a personal best. The course runs down Serrano, past the Puerta de Alcalá, Cibeles and the Paseo del Prado with the streets closed to traffic, and the organisers set up eight cheering points on the way to Vallecas.
At €29.80 with fees, entry covers the race shirt, chip, timing, accident insurance for the physical race and a virtual race you can run anywhere.
What counts against it for a visitor:
- The trip gets longer. You need to be in town by 30 December to collect the bib, which means at least one extra night over New Year.
- It is not a fast race. Each wave takes up to 8,000 runners, and without a proven time you start between 5:35pm and 6:20pm, after dark.
- There is no refund. Entries cannot be transferred except for a documented serious injury, and the fee is never returned.
- The finish is far from the centre. The popular race ends on a street in Vallecas, and in 2025 the nearest Metro, Portazgo, limited entry at times.
When do you need to be in Madrid for the race?
Plan the flight around the pick-up, not the race.
The pick-up is at the Daoiz y Velarde municipal sports centre, 162 Avenida de la Ciudad de Barcelona, 10am to 9pm, only on the day and in the time slot chosen when you entered. The rules ask for an ID document, which can be a passport, and the confirmation email. The nearest Metro is Pacífico, on lines 1 and 6, about 400 metres away on foot. From Madrid-Barajas Airport, line 8 runs to Nuevos Ministerios, where line 6 continues to Pacífico; the airport exit carries its own supplement, explained in the Madrid airport Metro supplement.
Getting the bib if you cannot be there in person
The organisers post the pack for €5, to Spain and a closed list of European countries that includes the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland and Norway. Three dates limit that option:
- From 10 December. New entries are not guaranteed delivery in EU countries or the Canary Islands.
- From 19 December. Entries are not guaranteed to arrive before the race, even in Spain.
- From 11pm on 22 December. Posting is only offered for the virtual race; to run in Madrid you collect in person.
Countries outside Europe, such as the United States, are not on the shipping list, so those runners collect in Madrid.
How much is entry and what does it include?
Entry is online only on the official race site, runners must be 16 by 31 December, and under-18s bring a signed form from a parent or guardian to the pick-up.
| Runners registered | Popular race price |
|---|---|
| 20,001 to 42,000 | €31 plus €0.80 |
| 10,001 to 20,000 | €29 plus €0.80 |
| 1 to 10,000 | €27 plus €0.80 |
At the end of September 2026 the counter on the race website showed about 13,700 runners, so the €29 tier was open. The virtual race is run with the official app between midnight on 28 December and 11:59pm on 31 December. The international race costs €25 plus fees, opens on 5 October and finishes with the last 150 metres on the grass inside the Estadio de Vallecas.
Which wave should you pick?
Your wave is fixed when you enter and cannot be changed on the day.
- 4:50pm handbikes and racing wheelchairs
- 5pm proven time under 50 minutes
- 5:15pm proven time between 50 and 60 minutes
- 5:35pm, 5:55pm or 6:20pm no proven time, or over 60 minutes
- 7:55pm international race
To start in a sub-60 wave you bring printed proof to the pick-up, and the rules only accept 10 km results from 2026 that appear on the race’s list of validated events, plus three named 2025 races around Madrid, so check the list before counting on a time from home. Without proof you go to the last available wave. The cut-off is 1 hour 20 minutes from your own wave’s gun.
How do you get to the start and back from Vallecas?
The start is on Concha Espina at Plaza de los Sagrados Corazones. Line 10 is cut between Nuevos Ministerios and Cuzco, expected until the end of the year according to the Comunidad de Madrid, so Santiago Bernabéu is not an option, and a free shuttle of ten EMT buses runs every three to five minutes while the cut lasts, according to the Comunidad de Madrid.
Use Concha Espina on line 9, about 700 metres away on foot; coming straight from the airport, line 8 meets line 9 at Colombia, one stop from Concha Espina. Single and ten-trip fares are in Madrid Metro ticket prices.
The bag drop comes in two versions chosen at entry. If you will head home from Portazgo, take the €1 fixed drop by the stadium, open 3pm to 8pm on 30 December and from 10am on the 31st, and ride to the start with nothing to carry. If you want your warm layers until the gun, the €5 mobile drop takes bags at Paseo de la Habana between 2:30pm and 4:30pm on race day and carries them to the finish; after 4:30pm nobody is let into the bag area.
The popular race finishes on Calle Candilejas, outside the stadium. The closest station is Asamblea de Madrid-Entrevías on Cercanías, about 650 metres away, while Portazgo on line 1, is about 1.2 km from the finish but under 500 metres from the Estadio de Vallecas and the fixed bag drop. Train fares are covered in Cercanías tickets and zones, and which card to buy for a few days in which Madrid public transport ticket to buy.
Where can you watch the race on New Year’s Eve?
Watching is free. The easiest cheering points are Serrano by El Corte Inglés, around km 3, about 550 metres from Rubén Darío on line 5; the Puerta de Alcalá around km 4, about 200 metres from Retiro on line 2; and the Atocha roundabout, where Estación del Arte on line 1 has an entrance on the square and the same line runs on to Vallecas.
Keep phone and wallet in front of you in the crowds, and see where pickpockets work in is Madrid safe and where pickpockets work.
Plan the evening around the race: the popular finish closed at 7.45pm in 2025, and in the organisers’ travel plan that year 55 bus routes were diverted or cut short between 4pm and 9pm. If you plan to see the midnight chimes, Sol station was shut from 6pm in 2025, as explained in New Year’s Eve at Puerta del Sol, and what opens on 1 January is in what opens on Madrid’s public holidays. How late the Metro and night buses run is in Madrid Metro closing time and night buses.
Frequently asked questions about running the San Silvestre Vallecana
When do I need to be in Madrid to run the San Silvestre Vallecana?
By 30 December at the latest. The race shirt, which is also your bib, is only handed out from 26 to 30 December at the Daoiz y Velarde sports centre, in the day and slot chosen when you entered. Nothing is handed out on race day, 31 December.
Can the San Silvestre Vallecana bib be posted abroad?
Yes, for €5, to Spain and a closed list of European countries that includes the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland and Norway. Entries made from 10 December are not guaranteed to arrive in EU countries, and from 11pm on 22 December posting is only offered for the virtual race.
Do I need a running licence for the San Silvestre Vallecana?
Not for the popular race, which is open to anyone aged 16 or over on 31 December. The international race charges €3 for a one-day licence to runners without a Madrid or Spanish athletics licence, and needs a proven time under 39 minutes for men or 45 for women.
Which Metro station is best for the San Silvestre Vallecana start?
Concha Espina on line 9, about 700 metres on foot from the start. Santiago Bernabéu on line 10 is closer, but the Comunidad de Madrid expects line 10 to stay cut between Nuevos Ministerios and Cuzco until the end of the year.
Land by the 29th, not the 31st: for a visitor, the San Silvestre is won or lost at the pick-up desk.