The 10 Best Half Marathons in Brazil for 2027 (Dates, Courses & How to Enter)

Brazil has one of the most underrated racing calendars in the world, and one of the most misunderstood.

Most international runners assume it’s too hot to race there. That’s true in January and largely true in December — but Brazil’s winter runs from roughly April to July, and in the south that means genuinely cool mornings, low humidity and conditions as good as anywhere in Europe. The country’s biggest races cluster in exactly that window for exactly that reason.

It’s also a country with enormous regional variety. Running a half marathon in Porto Alegre in July and one in Rio in August are close to different sports.

Here are ten of the best half marathons in Brazil for 2027, listed in calendar order — which matters more here than almost anywhere, because the season dictates the experience.

A note on dates: Five of the ten 2027 dates below are confirmed. The rest reflect each event’s established slot — Brazilian races typically publish four to eight months ahead. Check the official site before booking anything.

1. Meia Maratona Internacional de São Paulo — São Paulo (24 January 2027)

The Brazilian racing year opens here. The 20th edition of the São Paulo International Half Marathon falls on Sunday 24 January 2027 — the day before the city’s 473rd birthday, which is a municipal holiday and turns race weekend into a citywide occasion.

Organised by Yescom, the race is based in the Zona Leste at the Shopping Metrô Itaquera, near the Corinthians-Itaquera metro station. The half starts at 6:45am, with a 10K and 5K following shortly after — a start time chosen specifically to get runners home before the January heat properly arrives.

Around 9,000 runners take part, and a nice touch: your race number doubles as a free TER train ticket on race day.

Best for: Starting the year with something on the board, and experiencing São Paulo at its most celebratory.

Watch out for: This is Brazilian summer. Expect 19-22°C at the start rising into the mid-20s, with humidity in the 70-85% range. Adjust your goal accordingly — visiting runners from cooler climates should plan on 5-15 minutes slower than a temperate-climate half.

2. Meia Maratona de Florianópolis — Santa Catarina (1-2 March 2027)

Island running on Brazil’s best-looking coastline. Florianópolis sits on an island in the south, with over forty beaches, lagoons and a bridge connecting it to the mainland. The race makes proper use of the setting.

March is the tail end of summer, so it’s still warm — but Santa Catarina is considerably milder than the southeast, and the coastal breeze helps. The city has one of the strongest running cultures in Brazil.

Best for: Scenery, and a race weekend on one of the country’s best stretches of coast.

Watch out for: Coastal terrain means it rolls, and late summer humidity is still a factor.

3. Maratona Internacional de São Paulo Half — São Paulo (4 April 2027)

The half alongside South America’s biggest marathon weekend. Running since 1995, the São Paulo International Marathon starts and finishes in Ibirapuera Park — the city’s great green space — and offers a half marathon, 10K and 5K alongside the full distance.

The marathon draws over 30,000 runners across the weekend, making it the largest event of its kind on the continent. April timing puts it right at the start of the good-weather window, which is a large part of why it’s grown the way it has.

Best for: Big-event atmosphere and the best conditions São Paulo offers.

Watch out for: São Paulo is not flat. The city sits on a plateau of rolling terrain and the course reflects it.

4. Maratona do Rio Half — Rio de Janeiro (29 May 2027)

The most spectacular urban course in the Americas. The Rio de Janeiro Marathon has run since 1979, and the half marathon takes place on the Saturday of race weekend, ahead of the marathon on Sunday.

The course runs along the coast past Copacabana and Ipanema, with Sugarloaf and the surrounding mountains as a backdrop. It is, by a reasonable distance, one of the best-looking road races anywhere.

Late May puts it right at the start of Rio’s winter, which means the most comfortable running conditions of the year — warm rather than hot, with far less humidity than the summer months.

There’s also the Desafio Cidade Maravilhosa (“Wonderful City Challenge”) for those inclined: run the half on Saturday and the marathon on Sunday. Around 1,400 runners completed it in 2022.

Best for: The single most beautiful race on this list, at the start of Brazil’s best racing window.

Watch out for: It’s a destination race and priced accordingly. Book accommodation early — Rio race weekend fills up.

5. Meia Maratona de Blumenau — Santa Catarina (July)

Germany in southern Brazil, and one of the country’s coolest race days. Blumenau was founded by German immigrants in 1850 and still looks it — half-timbered architecture, a serious brewing culture, and the largest Oktoberfest outside Munich.

July is the coldest month of the Brazilian year, and in Santa Catarina that means genuinely crisp running conditions — occasionally single digits at the start, which is remarkable for Brazil.

Best for: Cool-weather racing, and a version of Brazil that surprises most visitors.

Watch out for: The Itajaí valley setting means some rolling terrain, and it genuinely can be cold at the start. Bring a throwaway layer.

6. Maratona de Porto Alegre Half — Rio Grande do Sul (July)

The fastest conditions in Brazil. If you want a Brazilian personal best, this is the race.

Porto Alegre sits in the far south, and its July race combines the country’s coolest weather with a flat course along the Guaíba waterfront. Where most Brazilian races ask you to manage heat, this one simply doesn’t — it’s a legitimate PB opportunity rather than a survival exercise.

The gaúcho running community is also among the most committed in the country, which shows in the turnout.

Best for: A genuine time attempt, and the flattest, coolest option available.

Watch out for: Winter in Rio Grande do Sul can also be wet and windy. Cool is not the same as easy.

7. Meia Maratona de Brasília — Distrito Federal (18 July 2027)

Running through a UNESCO-listed city that was designed from scratch. Brasília is unlike anywhere else in Brazil: purpose-built in the 1950s, laid out to a modernist plan, and full of Oscar Niemeyer architecture with enormous open spaces between it all.

For runners that translates into wide roads, long uninterrupted stretches and very little congestion. It also sits at around 1,100m, which is high enough to be mildly noticeable if you’re coming from sea level — and high enough that the mornings are genuinely cool. July is mid-winter and the driest month of the Brasília year, which makes this one of the better-conditioned races on the list.

Best for: Architecture, wide-open running, and cooler temperatures than most of the country.

Watch out for: The altitude, mild as it is, plus the dry season sun and very low humidity. Brasília in July is bright, arid and dehydrating — drink more than the temperature suggests. It also shares its weekend with the peak of the July racing cluster.

8. Meia Maratona do Rio de Janeiro — Rio de Janeiro (August)

Rio’s standalone half, and a different race from the June marathon weekend. Held in August and organised by Yescom, this is a dedicated half marathon with a 5K alongside it rather than an add-on to a marathon programme.

That focus is the appeal — the whole event is built around the distance, and August in Rio is still comfortably within the good-conditions window.

Best for: Rio’s coastline without the marathon weekend around it.

Watch out for: Don’t confuse it with the June race when booking. They’re separate events with separate registrations.

9. Meia Maratona de Curitiba — Paraná (September)

Brazil’s most liveable city, and a well-organised race to match. Curitiba is internationally known for urban planning — extensive parks, a pioneering transport system, and a general orderliness unusual for a Brazilian city of two million.

That translates well to road racing. The course runs through the parks and boulevards that made the city’s reputation, and September sits at the edge of the good-weather window with mild spring conditions.

Best for: Excellent organisation, green space, and a mild-climate southern option.

Watch out for: Curitiba sits at around 930m and has rolling terrain. It’s comfortable rather than fast.

10. Meia Maratona de Belo Horizonte — Minas Gerais (October)

The hills, and the food. Belo Horizonte is ringed by mountains and built across them, so any race here involves genuine climbing — the name translates as “beautiful horizon” for a reason.

Minas Gerais is also widely considered Brazil’s best culinary region, which makes the post-race meal a serious proposition. The city’s running community is large and welcoming, and October offers reasonable conditions before the summer heat returns.

Best for: A challenging course, and the best eating of any race weekend on this list.

Watch out for: The elevation change is real. This is not a PB course, and October is warming up.

Honourable Mentions

• Volta Internacional da Pampulha (Belo Horizonte, December) — one of Brazil’s most famous road races, circling the Pampulha lake. Note it’s 18km, not 21.1km, so it isn’t technically a half — run it anyway if you’re there.
• Corrida Internacional de São Silvestre (São Paulo, 31 December) — the most famous road race in South America, run on New Year’s Eve since 1925. It’s 15km, but it’s a genuine bucket-list event.
• Meia Maratona do Sol (Natal, Rio Grande do Norte) — coastal running in the northeast, and a chance to see a very different Brazil
• Meia Maratona de Salvador (Bahia) — Afro-Brazilian culture, colonial architecture, and Atlantic coastline
• Meia Maratona de Fortaleza (Ceará) — northeastern beach running

Understanding the Brazilian Calendar

This is the part that matters most, and the part most international runners get wrong.

Summer (December-March): the hard months

Hot and humid across most of the country. Races happen — São Paulo’s January half among them — but they’re early-morning affairs and nobody is chasing a PB. If you’re racing in this window, start times are before 7am for good reason.

Autumn to winter (April-July): the season

This is when Brazilian road racing actually happens. Conditions become genuinely good, and the further south you go the better they get. São Paulo on 4 April, Rio on 29 May, then a dense July cluster with Blumenau, Porto Alegre and Brasília — these are the months to target.

For northern-hemisphere runners this is a useful thing to know: Brazil’s best racing window falls squarely in your summer, when your own calendar is quiet.

Late winter to spring (August-November): the tail

Still good early on — Rio in August, Curitiba in September — before conditions warm through October and November.

A realistic plan

One race in the April-July window as your A race, with a January or October event as a supporting effort. Don’t build a season around the summer months; use them for base building the way Brazilian runners do.

Racing in the Heat: What Visitors Need to Know

Even in the good months, most of Brazil is warmer than what European or North American runners train in. A few practical points:

• Adjust your goal before the start, not at 12km. Decide on a realistic heat-adjusted target in advance so you’re not improvising when the pace starts slipping.
• Drink at every station from the beginning, rather than from the point you feel thirsty.
• Arrive a few days early if you can. Even partial heat acclimatisation helps, and it deals with the jet lag at the same time.
• Respect the start times. A 6:45am start isn’t the organisers being difficult. It’s the difference between a good race and a bad one.
• Sun protection matters even at dawn. Brazilian sun is stronger than the temperature suggests.

Practical Notes for Visiting Runners

• Check visa requirements early. Brazil’s policy varies significantly by nationality and has changed in recent years. Sort it well before booking.
• Portuguese, not Spanish. Race materials and announcements are in Portuguese, and English support is more limited than at comparable European or Asian events. A few phrases go a long way.
• The country is vast. Porto Alegre to Fortaleza is a four-hour flight. Plan one region per trip.
• Race kit collection is in person at an expo before the event, typically with no race-day option.
• Brazilian races are festive. Expect music, volunteers who are genuinely delighted you came, and a post-race atmosphere that lasts.

The Bottom Line

If you want the most beautiful race, run the Rio half on 29 May along Copacabana and Ipanema. If you want a genuine time, go to Porto Alegre in July. If you want the biggest occasion, run São Paulo. And if you want the version of Brazil nobody expects, run Blumenau in July and find yourself starting a half marathon in single-digit temperatures in a half-timbered German town.

The key is timing. Brazil’s racing season is April to July, it’s the inverse of the northern hemisphere’s, and it’s considerably better than its reputation suggests.

Ready to plan 2027? Build your race calendar in RunningLog — add your planned races, set your goals, and keep your whole season in one place.

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