The 10 Best Half Marathons in Germany for 2027 (Dates, Courses & How to Enter)

Germany takes road running seriously in a way few countries match. It hosts more than 200 half marathons a year, the organisation at even mid-sized events is exceptional, and it has produced two of the fastest courses in Europe.

It’s also, for visiting runners, one of the easiest countries to race in. The rail network makes multi-city trips genuinely practical, entry fees are reasonable by Western European standards, and the crowd support at German city races is loud, cheerful and remarkably well-supplied with beer.

Here are ten of the best half marathons in Germany for 2027, listed in calendar order rather than ranked — because when you’re planning a season, that’s the more useful arrangement.

A note on dates: Where a 2027 date is confirmed it’s given below. Otherwise the timing reflects each race’s established slot in the calendar — German events tend to publish six to nine months ahead. Check the official site before booking, and note that the biggest races here operate ballots that close long before race day.

1. Freiburg Half Marathon — Baden-Württemberg (4 April 2027)

The season opener. Freiburg sits at the edge of the Black Forest in Germany’s sunniest corner, and its spring half is a good way to start the year with something on the board.

The city itself is compact and beautiful — medieval old town, the famous Bächle water channels running through the streets — and the race has a friendly, regional character rather than a big-city one. It’s a sensible early-season fitness test before the spring block gets serious.

Best for: An early-season target, and pairing a race with the Black Forest.

Watch out for: Spring weather in southern Germany is genuinely variable. Pack for both.

2. Generali Berlin Half Marathon — Berlin (4 April 2027)

The biggest half marathon in Germany, and one of the largest in Europe.

Established in 1984 and organised by SCC EVENTS — the same team behind the Berlin Marathon — the Generali Berlin Half draws upwards of 30,000 runners, with a record field of 36,000 in 2018. The course is flat and genuinely fast, running through the reunified city along the Spree and past the Brandenburg Gate.

The speed is not in question. Eric Kiptanui ran 58:42 here in 2018, and Fotyen Tesfay set the women’s record of 1:03:35 in 2025.

Berlin is also a member of the SuperHalfs series alongside Lisbon, Prague, Copenhagen, Valencia and Cardiff — so if you’re working toward that six-race set, this is one of them.

One distinctive feature: the event runs the same course for inline skaters, wheelchair athletes and handbikers as well as runners, which gives race morning an unusual variety.

Best for: Your fastest possible German half, SuperHalfs chasers, and big-city atmosphere.

Watch out for: It operates a ballot and is heavily oversubscribed. Entries for recent years have gone well in advance — plan a year ahead rather than a season ahead.

3. Hannover Marathon Half — Lower Saxony (11 April 2027)

One of northern Germany’s biggest spring race weekends. Hannover’s marathon weekend has been running for decades and the half is comfortably its most popular distance.

The course is flat — this is northern Germany, and the terrain obliges — and runs through the city and its extensive parkland, finishing in the Niedersachsenstadion. A stadium finish is always worth something after 21 kilometres.

Best for: A flat spring PB attempt with a stadium finish.

Watch out for: It falls in the same crowded April window as Berlin and Bonn.

4. Deutsche Post Marathon Bonn Half — North Rhine-Westphalia (11 April 2027)

The Rhine option. Bonn’s race weekend runs along the Rhine through the former West German capital, and it has a reputation for being one of the best-organised mid-size events in the country.

The course is flat and river-flanked, the city is manageable, and the whole thing has a relaxed feel that the bigger events can’t quite match. Bonn is also easy to combine with Cologne — the two cities are twenty minutes apart by train.

Best for: A well-run flat course without big-city logistics.

Watch out for: Another April date in an already congested month.

5. Haspa Hamburg Marathon Half — Hamburg (25 April 2027)

The half alongside Germany’s fastest marathon. The Haspa Hamburg Marathon holds World Athletics Gold Label status and was ranked by World Athletics as the sixth-fastest marathon in the world in 2025 — ahead of Berlin — and the half shares the same flat, well-drilled city course.

Hamburg is a genuinely good race city: the Alster lakes, the port, and a running culture that turns out in numbers. The event has been running since 1986 and the organisation is exactly what you’d hope for from an event of that standing.

Best for: A fast course with a major-marathon operation behind it.

Watch out for: The marathon sells out quickly — the relay went in three minutes for 2027 — so don’t assume the weekend will still have space in the new year.

6. Würzburg Marathon Half — Bavaria (23 May 2027)

The Franconian wine-country option, and the one confirmed date on this list.

Würzburg sits on the Main in northern Bavaria, surrounded by vineyards, with the Marienberg Fortress above the town and the baroque Residenz — a UNESCO World Heritage site — at its centre. The race runs through and around it.

It’s a smaller event than the city races on this list, which is much of the appeal. May in Franconia is close to ideal running weather, and the region is a genuinely lovely place to spend a weekend.

Best for: Scenery, a modest field, and a part of Germany most visiting runners never see.

Watch out for: Some rolling terrain — the Main valley isn’t flat like the north.

7. Hella Hamburg Half Marathon — Hamburg (June)

Hamburg’s second race, and a different animal entirely. Not to be confused with the April marathon weekend, the Hella Hamburg Halbmarathon runs in late June and is a standalone half rather than a marathon add-on.

First held in 1995 in the Stadtpark and moved to a city-centre course in 2003, it draws around 8,000 runners and has produced properly quick times: Merhawi Kesete’s 1:00:52 from 2015 and Lonah Chemtai Salpeter’s 1:10:05 from 2023 still stand as course records.

Best for: A midsummer goal race, and a fast course without a marathon weekend around it.

Watch out for: Late June can be warm. Early start, and plan hydration properly.

8. Generali Köln Half Marathon — Cologne (early October)

The best autumn option in western Germany. Run alongside the Cologne Marathon, which has been held every early October since 1997, the half shares a flat city course past the cathedral and along the Rhine.

The event carries a World Athletics Label and qualifies as a Boston Qualifier. The half marathon course records — Leonard Langat’s 1:03:00 from 2010 and Sabrina Mockenhaupt’s 1:08:51 from 2008 — tell you it’s quick.

Cologne’s crowd support deserves a specific mention. The city treats race day as a festival, and the Rhineland approach to spectating involves considerably more enthusiasm than most.

Best for: Autumn PBs, Boston qualifying attempts, and the best atmosphere in German road racing.

Watch out for: Early October is the busiest weekend of the German autumn — this and Munich are close together.

9. Generali München Half Marathon — Munich (October)

Bavaria’s flagship, with an Olympic finish. The Munich Marathon has run since 1983 and its half marathon shares the weekend, finishing inside the Olympiastadion — the 1972 Olympic stadium, and one of the great finishing venues in European running.

The course runs through the city and the Olympiapark, and October in Munich generally delivers cool, still conditions. If you time it right, the tail end of Oktoberfest is also in the vicinity, which is either a bonus or a hazard depending on your discipline.

Best for: A stadium finish and a proper Bavarian weekend.

Watch out for: Some elevation change through the park sections. It’s not as flat as the northern races.

10. Dresden Marathon Half — Saxony (October)

The most beautiful city course in Germany. Dresden’s baroque centre — the Frauenkirche, the Zwinger, the Semperoper, the Elbe running through it all — makes for a race backdrop that few European cities can match.

The event is smaller than the western city races, which means less congestion and a more relaxed feel, and October conditions in Saxony are usually excellent. It’s also considerably cheaper as a race weekend than Berlin, Hamburg or Munich.

Best for: Architecture, value, and a quieter autumn race.

Watch out for: A smaller field means less of a group to run with if you’re chasing a specific time.

Honourable Mentions

• S25 Berlin (early May) — a Berlin classic offering distances from 2km up to 25km, including the half
• EVL Halbmarathon Leverkusen — a well-regarded Rhineland option
• Stuttgart-Lauf (June) — Swabia’s big race weekend
• Leipzig Half Marathon (April) — another strong eastern German option
• Silvesterlauf races (31 December) — New Year’s Eve runs held across the country, a genuinely German tradition and a good way to close out the year

How to Build a German Half Marathon Season

The German calendar is bimodal, and heavily so.

Spring (March-May)

The busier of the two blocks. Berlin, Hannover, Bonn and Hamburg all fall within about four weeks of each other in April, which makes April a month of choices rather than a month of racing. Freiburg opens the season earlier; Würzburg extends it into May.

Summer (June-August)

Quieter, and warmer. The Hella Hamburg Half anchors June. After that, most of the country shifts into marathon training for the autumn.

Autumn (September-October)

The best conditions of the year and where the fastest times get run. Cologne, Munich and Dresden all fall in October, with the Berlin Marathon dominating late September.

Winter

Base building, plus the Silvesterlauf tradition on New Year’s Eve — thousands of runners across the country seeing the year out on foot.

A realistic structure

One spring half and one autumn half as genuine A races, roughly five months apart, with a summer or winter race as a supporting effort. That uses the German calendar the way it’s shaped rather than fighting the April and October pile-ups.

Practical Notes for Visiting Runners

• The trains are the point. Germany’s rail network makes it genuinely practical to base yourself in one city and race in another, or to string a trip together. Book Deutsche Bahn tickets early for the cheapest fares.
• Enter Berlin early. It’s a ballot, it’s heavily oversubscribed, and it fills further ahead than almost any other race on this list.
• German races run on time. Start times are start times. Build in more buffer than you think you need for bib collection and bag drop.
• Bib collection is usually in person at an expo in the days before. Very few German races post race numbers out.
• Cash still matters. Card acceptance has improved enormously but is still patchier than in the UK or Scandinavia. Carry some euros.
• The alcohol-free beer at the finish is not a joke. It’s a genuine German recovery-drink tradition and it’s better than it sounds.

The Bottom Line

If you want your fastest German half, enter the Berlin ballot early. If you want the best atmosphere, go to Cologne. If you want a stadium finish, run Munich. If you want the prettiest morning, run Dresden — and if you want the version of Germany that isn’t a big city at all, go to Würzburg in May.

Germany’s strength is the reliability of it. The organisation is excellent almost everywhere, the courses are flat almost everywhere, and the calendar is deep enough that you can build an entire year around it. The only real constraint is the April and October pile-ups — so choose two races that matter, space them properly, and let the rest be training with a bib.

Ready to plan 2027? Build your race calendar in RunningLog — add your planned races, set your goals, and keep your whole season in one place.

---

Which German half is on your list for 2027? Share your plans on Instagram or Threads.