PACERTRIP CITY EDITIONIT / RACE GUIDE

BOclassic Alto Adige

Name: 51th BOclassic Alto Adige | 31 12 2025 | Elite
Uploaded: 2026-01-19
Description: The start and finish are on Walther Square in Bolzano's old town. Course passes through the Christmas market. Each lap is exactly 1,250m, and runners complete between one and eight laps depending on

The city you want to run becomes your next trip.

Bolzano
IT

Bartleby08 · CC BY 4.0Aciarium, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia CommonsCreator-bz, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Race date in 80 days: Dec 31, 2026 Thu
City · Distance: Bolzano · 10km · 5km
Entry fee: €30Varies by event and entry period
Status: OpenTBD ~ Thu, December 24, 2026See how to enter ↗

Official website ↗D-day as of Oct 12, 2026

About the race Runner stories How to enter Course Race Prep Travel

Why you dream of this race

THE DREAM

ABOUT THE RACE

A day you'll remember,
long past the finish line.

The start and finish are on Walther Square in Bolzano's old town.

Course passes through the Christmas market.

Each lap is exactly 1,250m, and runners complete between one and eight laps depending on their event.

The race takes place every year on December 31, with the elite race broadcast live on television.

The road to your own record

Picture the course in advance
and find the pace that fits you.

When the city cheers

Streets lined with cheers, runners all around.
You'll be part of that scene.

The trip that follows the run

Take it slow with the finish still in you,
and meet the city all over again.

Stories from runners who've been there.

From the joy of finishing to the tough moments — read what runners wrote themselves.

Race reports: 2

Enrico VIVIANRan in 2010

“I hoped to run faster and avoid being lapped by the leaders over the full 10km.”

Enrico Vivian returned to the BOclassic 10km elite race after 17 years and enjoyed the festive atmosphere in central Bolzano. Being lapped by world-class runners on the final straight and the cobblestones covering most of the course left vivid memories.

Quoted from the original · translated

Original quote

Speravo di correre più velocemente e riuscire a non farmi doppiare sui 10km totali.

Read the original on Enrico VIVIAN

Paola Paolessi

“I still finished my race in under 25 minutes.”

Paola Paolessi braved the cold for four laps of winding streets and cobblestones at Bolzano’s BOclassic 5km. Residents’ cheers helped her finish under 25 minutes, and she fondly remembers the precise organization and welcoming atmosphere.

Quoted from the original · translated

Original quote

Completo comunque la mia gara sotto i 25 minuti.

Read the original on Rifondazione Podistica

We translated a short line from each public race report and summarized the experience. Finish times are as stated by the author, and past editions may differ from this year's weather and operations.

See it on video,
feel it through their stories.

Preview the course and read what runners who went before you wrote.

Finisher vlog

BOclassicBZ · Finisher vlog

View on YouTube

This may be from a past edition. Check the organizer for this year's course and operations.

The way in that fits you

YOUR ENTRY

How to reach the start line —
start with what fits you.

Here are the ways to enter and what each requires.
Check the organizer's page for whether entries are open.

General entry

Entry cost €30

Organizer's page

Official race website Entry options

From the start line to the finish

RACE WEEK

Your 10km

Know the course and time limit, and race day comes into focus.

Runners start · local timeFrom 12:50

Event	Start
10K10km	12:50
5K5km	11:30

START

Waltherplatz, Bolzano

Start · Google Maps

FINISH

Waltherplatz, Bolzano

Original course map · boclassic.it

It is 5km by running 4 laps of the 1.25km loop course around the old town of Bolzano.

The course at BOclassic Alto Adige is a 1,250m loop through Bolzano’s old town.

It starts at Walther Square, heads west along Via della Mostra, then turns onto Via Goethe and Via dei Portici.

The route then runs south along Via Laurin before turning onto Viale della Stazione and returning to the start.

The women’s race covers four laps, or 5km, while the men’s race covers eight laps, or 10km.

This is an invitation-only elite race with no mass-participation category, held every year on December 31, New Year’s Eve.

Typical race-season temperature: around -6°C (22°F): Cold-weather gear — gloves, beanie, layers

Participant benefits

Timing chip

Amateur race

Medical support

All race categories

Restrooms

Amateur race

Bag drop

Amateur race

Changing rooms

Amateur race

To the start line,
step by step.

Pick up your bib, check your wave.
So on race morning, you can just run.

From the 2025 edition

12/30 Wed – 12/31 Thu

Pick up your bib at the expo

Only registered athletes may enter the race office, so proxy pickup is effectively not possible.
Since the race starts at 12:50, same-day morning pickup is possible.
If places remain, on-site late registration is also available on December 30–31 for a €5 administrative fee.

Race Office, Pfarrheim

Centro Parrocchiale, Piazza della Parrocchia 24, Bolzano

Google Maps Directions

12/30 Wed: 17:00-20:00
12/31 Thu: 09:00-13:00

Stations & transport near the venue

Getting to the startPiazza Walther (south side), Bolzano city center — adjacent to Bolzano
Transit cardSimply tap your foreign-issued Visa or Mastercard contactless bank card directly on the 'tap&go' reader when boarding SASA urban buses — no card purchase needed.

Source · checked Aug 22, 2026 · Source · checked Aug 17, 2026

More details

Getting to the start

Piazza Walther (south side), Bolzano city center — adjacent to Bolzano/Bozen train station

specific 2026 program/road-closure notice was still referencing the most recent edition's logistics — treat exact hours as indicative. Bolzano's train station is only a few hundred meters from the Piazza Walther start/finish, making arrival by regional/national train very convenient.

Map

Getting to the finish

Piazza Walther (south side), Bolzano — same as start

The looped course passes through the old town: the Christmas market area, Piazza Erbe market, Via Portici, Piazza Municipio, and Piazza Stazione (train station square), before returning laps to the Piazza Walther finish.

Map

Start shuttle

regular SASA city bus lines are diverted around the closure zone (center-bound lines rerouted via Via Dante, Via Marconi, Piazza Verdi, Via Garibaldi; periphery-bound via Via Garibaldi, Piazza Verdi, Via Marconi, Ponte Druso, Viale Venezia). City-center streets closed to traffic from 12:30 on Dec 30 through 24:00 on Dec 31 (per prior edition) — runners staying in the old town center should plan to walk in.

Transit card

Bolzano's 'tap&go' system lets you tap a Visa/Mastercard credit or debit card directly on the validator when boarding — American Express and Diners Club are not supported. Active on most SASA urban buses in Bolzano/Bozen and Meran/Merano, though availability can vary by route — check for the tap&go sticker on the bus door.

Where to buy

Source · checked Aug 22, 2026 Source · checked Aug 17, 2026

READY TO RUN

From race morning to after the finish.

Your start time, fuel and bag drop.
Know them ahead and the run feels easier.

BOclassic is an elite invitational race with no mass-participation category, but more than 10,000 spectators line the streets each year.

The elite races are broadcast live from 3:00 pm on Italian broadcasters Rai Sport and RAI Südtirol.

The event was first held in 1975 as the Corsa Internazionale di San Silvestro.

Inspired by Brazil’s Corrida Internacional de São Silvestre, it is considered Europe’s first New Year’s Eve road race.

It was renamed BOclassic Alto Adige in 1996.

Bib can be collected from 8:00 am to noon on race day at the Pfarrheim, Pfarrplatz 24.

Bolzano lies in a basin surrounded by mountains, which generally keeps temperatures higher than in other valley towns at a similar elevation.

Even so, December is chilly, with an average temperature of 2.2°C and snow on an average of 2.1 days during the month.

Times are local to Bolzano. Check the latest official information before the race.

A trip built around the race

STAY A LITTLE

MAKE IT A RUNTRIP

The race is one day,
the trip can be longer.

From a hotel that makes race morning easy,
to the meals and views you'll enjoy with the medal on.

Castel Hörtenberg

Hotel · 630m

9.6/10(886)

View on Booking.com

Romantic Snap Photography in Venice

€517

BOclassic Alto Adige

About BOclassic Alto Adige — what makes it special

A day you'll remember,long past the finish line.

The road to your own record

When the city cheers

The trip that follows the run