Santa Catarina Road Running Circuit 2026: the complete guide

In 2026, Santa Catarina (a state in southern Brazil) launched its first official statewide circuit connecting 6 half marathons under a unified ranking, with a mandala for anyone who completes the season.

If you race in SC or are thinking about exploring the state through running, this is the guide I wish I’d found when I started researching.

It covers everything: calendar, scoring rules, how to register, and even the inconsistencies I found between official documents (yes, they exist, and I flag where).

What the Santa Catarina Road Running Circuit 2026 is

It’s an initiative by the Santa Catarina Athletics Federation (FCA) in partnership with the Santa Catarina Running Coaches Association (ATC/SC) and the Road Runners platform, launched for 2026.

The stated goal: integrate races, raise local athletes’ visibility, and strengthen the state calendar, with certified stages, a centralized ranking, and a mandala badge for those who close the season.

Circuit registration: free. But heads up: you still need to register (and pay the fee) for each individual race separately.

The 6 official stages

All stages are half marathons (21 km), that’s the distance that scores in the circuit. Several races also have other distances (5K, 10K, even 42K in some), but only the 21K counts for the ranking.

#	Stage	Date	City
1	31st Joinville Half Marathon	Mar 1, 2026	Joinville
2	Balneário Camboriú Half Marathon	Apr 26, 2026	Balneário Camboriú
3	Oakberry Floripa Half Marathon	May 3, 2026	Florianópolis
4	Chapecó Half Marathon	Aug 2, 2026	Chapecó
5	Floripa International Marathon (21K)	Aug 29, 2026	Florianópolis
6	Criciúma Marathon (21K)	Sep 27, 2026	Criciúma

Click the race name to go straight to its registration page. Joinville has already happened (Mar 1).

Calendar runs March to September, with two races in Florianópolis (May and August). Joinville opens, Criciúma closes.

Quick guide to each stage

I pulled together the operational details that matter most for planning, start, time limit, hydration, and course profile, straight from each race’s official rules and permits.

1. Joinville (Mar 1, 2026), already done Start and finish on Av. José Vieira, 315. 2h30 time limit on the 21K, with a cutoff at km 12 in 1h30. Hydration stations at km 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 (water + isotonic from km 15 on). Minimum age 18. 1,021 finishers in the 21K, a good benchmark of scale for the season opener.

2. Balneário Camboriú (Apr 26, 2026) Start at Av. Atlântica, 6006 (Barra Sul). Course with World Athletics/AIMS-certified measurement (21.0975 km official). Goes through Av. Atlântica, climbs into Estrada da Rainha with an uphill stretch, and turnarounds back to the finish. 3h time limit on the 21K. Minimum age 18. It’s the next race of the season, and where the Tênis e Milhas project starts running the circuit.

3. Oakberry Floripa (May 3, 2026) Course on the postcard: Beira-Mar Norte and Via Expressa Sul. Same organization as the August Marathon, so the layout carries between Florianópolis stages.

4. Chapecó (Aug 2, 2026) The only stage in western Santa Catarina, breaks the coastal concentration of the circuit. Logistics of its own: anyone running all 6 needs to plan a longer trip.

5. Floripa International Marathon, 21K (Aug 29, 2026) The race offers 5K, 21K, and 42K; only the 21K scores for the circuit. Course on Beira-Mar Norte and Via Expressa Sul, same layout as the May Half. The 2025 edition had 19,200 registrations across all distances, it’s the biggest operation on the calendar.

6. Criciúma, 21K (Sep 27, 2026) Start and finish on Rua da Gente, Próspera neighborhood. Event has 5K, 10K, 21K, and 42K; only the 21K counts. Closes the season in the south of the state.

How scoring works

Each completed stage earns points based on overall placing in the 21K:

Place	Points
1st	100
2nd	90
3rd	80
4th	70
5th	60
6th	50
7th	40
8th	35
9th	30
10th	25
All other finishers	10

In other words: even non-elite runners score just by crossing the line. What matters is completing stages, the ranking rewards consistency.

The mandala: the main prize

The center of the circuit is the mandala: recognition for anyone who completes 5 or more of the 6 stages.

This is what turns the circuit from “just another race” into a journey. Runners who close 5 stages get the full mandala medal. Same principle as the World Marathon Majors, a medal collection that, taken together, becomes something bigger.

Coaching team scoring

If you train with a coaching team affiliated with ATC/SC, your participation also adds up: 1 point per athlete registered and confirmed in each race. At the end of the season, the 5 teams with the most points are recognized.

Scoring is by participation, not performance, a team with strong turnout has a real advantage.

How to participate (the process is dual)

To enter the circuit, two parallel steps:

1. Free circuit registration Done on the Road Runners platform (login via Google account). Zero cost. This is where your points are tallied and the ranking is shown.

2. Race-by-race registration Each stage has its own organizer, rules, and fee. The BC Half, for example, has tiered pricing that rises as the race date approaches.

Critical tip: when registering for each race, enter your coaching team’s name correctly. That guarantees team points and avoids headaches later.

2026 partial numbers

By mid-April, the road circuit had 339 registered runners from 88 SC cities on the platform. The Joinville stage (Mar 1) had 1,021 finishers in the 21K.

It’s a new circuit and already mobilizing well. Being a runner in SC in 2026 means having a unified statewide calendar for the first time.

There’s also a trail circuit

To round out the picture: FCA also launched the Santa Catarina Trail Run Circuit 2026 in parallel, 6 stages at distances of 6 to 12 km, in Florianópolis, Timbó, Imbituba, Porto Belo, Bombinhas, and Nova Trento.

The two are independent circuits: separate registration, ranking, and mandala. Tênis e Milhas focuses on road, but the trail option is here for the record.

What comes next

I’m running 5 of the 6 stages in 2026, starting with the BC Half on April 26. Each one will turn into a report on the blog, with real Garmin data: pace, heart rate, elevation, and the trip logistics.

If you’re also running the circuit (or planning to in 2027), follow along here and on Strava. I’m documenting every stage, the wins and the misses.

The Santa Catarina Circuit is the first mandala of the Tênis e Milhas project. It won’t be the last, but it’s where it all starts.

Sources

• Santa Catarina Athletics Federation, body responsible for the circuit
• Road Runners, official registration and ranking platform
• Official pages of each stage, with registration and rules, linked in the table above

Images:

• Hero (Balneário Camboriú): Mr Harter / Unsplash
• Florianópolis: Evandro Kluge / Pexels
• Official mandala: FCA / Road Runners
• Running in Florianópolis: personal photo