Telesia Half Marathon (Telesia 21K)

An international half marathon in the heart of Sannio

The Telesia Half Marathon, known to all as the Telesia 21K, is the most important road race in the province of Benevento and one of the most prestigious in the entire Campania region. It takes place in Telese Terme, a small spa town in the Telesina Valley, at the beginning of October—a time when local temperatures usually hover between 12 and 22 degrees Celsius, providing ideal conditions for chasing a personal best over the 21.097 km distance.

The event was born in 2016 as a natural evolution of the older Telesia 10K and has quickly earned World Athletics Label and FIDAL Silver Label status, featuring an AIMS-certified category A course where times are valid for national rankings. Because of this, every edition attracts top-tier athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia, and Rwanda, alongside over a thousand amateur runners from all over Italy.

The course: thermal baths, lake, and archaeology

Runners consider the route pleasant yet technically demanding, never boring: it is not completely flat, but a continuous alternation of false flats and short climbs that rewards those who can manage their pace. The start is from Viale Europa, in front of the historic Telese Thermal complex; the finish is in Piazza Minieri, in the town center.

• A wide stretch along the lakeside of Lake Telese, one of the town's natural landmarks
• Passage through the archaeological area of ancient Telesia, with the walls and remains of the Roman city
• Crossing the territory of San Salvatore Telesino and the Sannio countryside
• Descent along the Grassano stream, within the river park of the same name
• Final entry into the center of Telese Terme up to Piazza Minieri

The maximum race time is set at 3 hours, and there are four refreshment stations along the course plus a final one at the finish line.

Two distances, one weekend

The sports day features two distinct races starting twenty minutes apart:

• Telesia 21K — the competitive half marathon, reaching its eleventh edition in 2026
• Telesia 10K — the classic ten-kilometer race, the historic event of the festival, now in its nineteenth edition

Both are open, according to FIDAL regulations, to athletes aged 18 and over who are registered with affiliated clubs, in the Junior, Promising, Senior, and Master categories.

The village and the organization

The event is organized by the local S.S.D. Telesia Running Team, with technical organization by EvoData. The headquarters is the Salone Goccioloni, inside the Telese Thermal Park, with the main entrance at Piazza Minieri 1: this is where race bibs and race packs are collected starting Friday afternoon, a format that allows those arriving from afar to turn the race into a full weekend getaway.

The registration fee includes a personalized bib, timing chip, medical assistance, race pack, refreshments, rankings, finisher medal, bag drop, showers, pacing groups (from 1h25 to 2h15 pacers), and a downloadable participation certificate.

Prizes and prize money

The Telesia Half Marathon is one of the few races in Southern Italy to offer actual prize money for sports clubs: the top six FIDAL clubs with at least thirty finishers receive cash prizes ranging from 1,000 to 100 euros, with a trophy for the podium. On the individual front, the first hundred men and first fifty women are awarded sports, food, and craft products, in addition to the top three in each older master category.

Why run in Telese Terme

Beyond the stopwatch, the Telesia 21K is an excellent excuse to discover a lesser-known corner of Campania. The Municipality of Telese Terme, in the Province of Benevento, is a spa town known for its sulfurous waters and its lake of seismic origin; all around lies the Sannio, a land of important wines like Aglianico and Falanghina, farmhouses, and medieval villages. The local public follows the race from the roadside with great warmth, and after the awards ceremony at the Thermal Amphitheater, the day almost always ends at the table, enjoying the typical products of the Telesina Valley.