Europe

Split, Croatia

See Also Our Guide to the Other Locations on the Dalmatian Coast

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Split, the second largest city in Croatia, is situated on a Dalmatian Coast peninsula on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. It’s a popular visitor destination for its beaches, Old Town highlighted by the Diocletian Palace and numerous Game of Thrones filming sites. Running in Split is centered on the attractive waterfront and the  Marjan Hill park at the western end of the peninsula.

We’ve put together a waterfront route of up to 7 km between the marina in Split and Žnjan. One of the best places to run in Split is along the scenic pedestrian paths in the Marjan Forest Park, including up to 800 stairs leading to the Telegrin Terrace and great views. We’ve also put together a couple of ‘runseeing’ tours of Split, showcasing the highlights of Old Town and some parks in the newer part of the city. Trail runners should head to the Kozjak and Mosor mountains, which are only 20-30 minutes away from Split and feature some scenic hiking trails. If you’d like to have a guided running experience in Split, we highly recommend Go! Running Tours.

A few notes about running in Split: the city is quite hilly! The only option for flat running is along the waterfront. Also, the beaches, while lovely, tend to be gravel or pebbly, and are not great for running. And be aware that summers can be quite hot — the shade of Marjan is a good option on a hot day.

See Also

Our Guide Other Dalmatian Coast Locations

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  • Weather & Climate
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Split has a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild, wetter winters. Runners should note that daytime temperatures in summer average 30C — use caution!  Spring and fall are delightfully warm. In winter, high temperatures are in the 10C (50F) range, with nights around 5C (low 40s). It can rain at any time of year, though winters are notably wetter. There can be snow in the mountains nearby.

Split has become a major visitor destination, and has a large number of hotels for a city of only 160,000. Most of the accommodations are located between Marjan Park and Bacvice Beach, providing access to all three of our principal running routes in Split.

RUNNING STORES

There are Adidas and Nike outlets. See the overview map.

Iglu Sport is another good option for running gear.

GROUP RUNS

Meetup. Typically Mondays, Marjan.

Road race calendar for Croatia. Run Croatia also has a good calendar and other resources for running in Croatia.

Marjan Trail  Part of a series of trail races in the area.

Split Marathon/Half Marathon. February. Great race.

Glow Run. October.

Marjan League takes place – every Thursday at 9 p.m., starting here