The Flying Tortoise Marathon, half marathon and 10K events!

Only in the Galapagos can tortoises fly!

The Flying Tortoise Marathon and Running Events are held each year in early August on the Island of San Cristobal, Galapagos, Ecuador, South America.

The course is roughly a figure eight through the cool lush farmlands and villages of the highlands here in San Cristobal. The marathon repeats the course twice. We’ve made every effort to make the course as flat as possible however living on a volcanic island this has proved somewhat challenging. As it exists now the course undulates. There are no “major” hills and very few completely level sections. As you make your way through the scenic, mostly shaded course that runs through coffee, bamboo, fruit, cow and lumber farms you'll encounter the owners of these farms and their families waiting patiently to pass you a cup of Gatorade. You will be an experience as unique for them as they will be for you and if you happen to run into them in the town in the days that follow, you'll receive a smile few tourists are granted.

We’ve made every effort to have as much of the course shaded and on dirt roads. There currently is a half mile stretch on pavement.

The race is an international event attracting runners from several countries in North and South America. For environmental reasons, enrollment is limited to two hundred and fifty entrants. Please Click Here for a registration form or email us to check availability, rickandbere@cometogalapagos.com or use the “Contact Us” feature on this web site.

Net proceeds from the races are donated to the local High School, Ignacio Hernandez. The kids from the school will be manning aid stations and helping with race coordination. Included in the race fee are t-shirts for all and metals for all marathon finishers. Please click the following link for a current 2010 Fee Schedule.

Each year we put together one or two “packages” for international travelers which include a tour of several islands, day boat trips, hotels, food, flights between islands within the Galapagos, flights to and from the mainland to the Galapagos, hotels and tours of Quito and airport transfers in Quito, so that all you’ll need to do is arrive here and everything else will be taken care of. These tours change somewhat from year to year. Click one of the following links for current tour packages:
Guayaquil/Santa Cruz Package or Quito Package.

It is not required that you attend one of these “packages” to run in the events.

Come To Galapagos can also handle plane flights and hotels for those that don’t wish to attend one of the packaged tours or a separate private tour can be designed for the needs of other groups, large and small. If you like, you can just register and show up race day.

Please write with any questions. We’re looking forward to an exciting, unique event and hope to see you here.