Elsa Marisa Branco BarrosComM[2] (born 25 February 1980), known as Marisa Barros, is a Portuguese long-distance runner who specialises in marathon running. Her personal best for the distance is 2:25:04 hours.
Born in Paços de Ferreira, Barros was a national level runner in the 1500 metres and the 5000 metres in her early twenties. The 2007 season, where she changed from track races towards road races saw her rise in prominence. In the half marathon she beat all opposition at the Setúbal Half Marathon, running a time of 1:13:54.[3] She ran at the Porto Half Marathon, where she claimed third place, that September and was the runner-up at the Ovar Half Marathon behind Fernanda Ribeiro in October.[4][5] A marathon debut followed two weeks later and she won on her first attempt, taking the top honours at the Porto Marathon.[6] In 2008, she ran a half marathon in Pombal, finishing behind Inês Monteiro and then went on to represent Portugal in the marathon at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, finishing in 32nd place.[7][8] Barros showed significant improvements at the Seville Marathon in February 2009 with a significant personal best of 2:26:03, winning the national title.[9] She competed in a 10K road event at the 2009 Lusophony Games and was second behind Ribeiro. Later that season she went on to take sixth place at the 2009 World Championships Marathon as the first European finisher.[10]