If you only ever run one marathon for time, run Berlin. No course in the world has produced more men’s world records, and few big-city races are as reliably flat, as well organised, or as loud. It’s the Abbott World Marathon Major that serious runners circle when the goal is a number, not a postcard.<\/p>\n
The 2027 edition, on Sunday 26 September 2027<\/strong>, also marks a new chapter. After 16 years as the BMW Berlin-Marathon, the race now runs as the GENERALI BERLIN-MARATHON<\/strong>, with the Italian insurer taking over as title sponsor. The course, the speed and the atmosphere stay the same.<\/p>\n Here’s everything you need to know about getting into, preparing for and racing the Berlin Marathon in 2027.<\/p>\n \n \u23f0 The 2027 lottery is open now<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n \n Applications opened on 1 October 2026<\/strong> and close on 12 November 2026<\/strong>. Results are announced on 3 December 2026<\/strong>. Entering the draw is free; the \u20ac215 race fee is only charged if you’re selected. It’s a random draw, so there’s no benefit to applying on day one \u2014 just don’t miss the closing date.\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Race Date:<\/strong> Sunday 26 September 2027 Most runners enter Berlin through the general lottery, which is free to enter. You can apply as an individual or as a team of two or three \u2014 team members are accepted or rejected together, which is useful if you’re planning the trip with friends.<\/p>\n Historically, roughly one in five applicants gets in. That makes Berlin one of the more accessible Majors \u2014 tough odds, but far better than London, Tokyo or Sydney.<\/p>\n Berlin offers guaranteed entry to runners who meet its qualifying standards with a certified marathon time. For men aged 18-44 the standard is under 2:45, with separate standards for women and older age groups. Check the current table on the official site before applying \u2014 the standards change from year to year.<\/p>\n One thing to know before you apply: Berlin has historically not offered deferrals. If you get in and can’t run, you can’t simply roll your place to the following year, so be realistic about your 2027 plans before you enter.<\/p>\n Berlin has produced more men’s marathon world records than any other race, including Eliud Kipchoge’s 2:01:09 in 2022 \u2014 still the course record. In 2023, Tigst Assefa ran 2:11:53 here, a women’s world record at the time, and in 2026 she returned and lowered her own course record to 2:11:04, the third-fastest women’s marathon in history.<\/p>\n For amateurs, the same qualities that suit the elites matter just as much: a flat course, wide roads, few tight turns, and a big enough field that you’re never running alone.<\/p>\n Berlin turns out for its marathon. Bands, drummers and spectators line almost the entire route, and the finish \u2014 running through the Brandenburg Gate and down to the line \u2014 is one of the great moments in the sport.<\/p>\n As an Abbott World Marathon Major, Berlin counts toward the Six Star \u2014 now Seven and soon Eight Star \u2014 medal. With relatively good lottery odds and a fast course, it’s often one of the first Majors runners complete.<\/p>\n The marathon is the centrepiece of a full weekend, with inline skating, a breakfast run and other events on the Saturday. If you’re travelling with family or friends who aren’t running 42km, there’s usually something for them too.<\/p>\n The course is a single loop starting and finishing in the Tiergarten, close to the Brandenburg Gate. It takes in a huge range of the city \u2014 the government quarter, Mitte, Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg, Sch\u00f6neberg, Charlottenburg \u2014 before returning through the centre for the finish.<\/p>\n The race starts on the broad avenue through the Tiergarten. With more than 50,000 runners, start waves and corrals matter \u2014 and the first few kilometres will be congested regardless of where you start.<\/p>\n Strategy:<\/strong> Let the crowd slow you. The few seconds you lose here are seconds you’d otherwise have spent going out too fast.<\/p>\n The course loops out through the city’s districts on wide, flat roads. The crowds are strong and the miles pass quickly. This is where Berlin is at its easiest \u2014 which is exactly the danger.<\/p>\n Strategy:<\/strong> Settle into goal pace and stay there. Berlin rewards even pacing more than any other Major, because there’s no hill to blame for a slow second half.<\/p>\n Past halfway the course works its way through the residential districts in the south and west of the city. Crowd support stays good, but this is the stretch where tiredness creeps in and the flat profile starts to feel relentless rather than kind.<\/p>\n Strategy:<\/strong> Fuel on schedule, break the distance into 5km blocks, and keep your effort honest.<\/p>\n The final section brings you back into the centre past Potsdamer Platz and Gendarmenmarkt, before the turn onto Unter den Linden and the run through the Brandenburg Gate. The finish line lies just beyond it.<\/p>\n Strategy:<\/strong> If you paced well, this is where you get faster. And when you see the Brandenburg Gate ahead, remember the finish is still a few hundred metres past it \u2014 don’t sprint too early.<\/p>\n Berlin is measured along the shortest possible line. Runners who weave through crowds or hug the outside of turns routinely run 42.6-42.8km instead of 42.2km \u2014 easily a minute or more for many runners. Look ahead, take the shortest line, and don’t trust your watch’s distance at the end.<\/p>\n On a flat course, an even or slightly negative split is the fastest way to run. Aim to reach halfway no more than a minute faster than half your goal time. Banking time early is the classic Berlin mistake.<\/p>\n Late September in Berlin is usually cool, but not always. Warm, sunny race days have happened, and they slow everyone down. Check the forecast in race week, and adjust your goal if it’s going to be warm. Hydrate early, and use the drink stations even if you don’t feel thirsty.<\/p>\n Take carbohydrates early and often \u2014 every 30-40 minutes from around 30 minutes in. Use the products you’ve trained with, carry your own if you need to, and don’t experiment on race day.<\/p>\n Your start wave is assigned based on your predicted finish time. Arrive early, get into your corral on time, and expect a crowded first few kilometres. Starting too far back means weaving; starting too far forward means being swept out too fast.<\/p>\n For a 26 September race, a 16-20 week plan starts between mid-May and early June 2027 \u2014 which means a summer training block. That’s Berlin’s hidden challenge: your longest and hardest sessions fall in the hottest weeks of the year.<\/p>\n Kilometres 0-5:<\/strong> Slightly slower than goal pace \u2014 the crowd will help.<\/p>\n Kilometres 5-30:<\/strong> Goal pace, evenly. Fuel on schedule.<\/p>\n Kilometres 30-38:<\/strong> Hold your pace. This is where the race begins.<\/p>\n Kilometres 38-42.195:<\/strong> Push if you can. Brandenburg Gate is the finish line in your head; the real line is a few hundred metres further on.<\/p>\n Write down your time against your goal, your 5km splits, where the race got hard, how your fuelling worked, what the weather did, and how far your watch said you ran. Berlin is a race many runners come back to for a faster time, and a detailed record of your first attempt is the best training plan for your second.<\/p>\n \n \ud83c\udfc5 Chasing a PB \u2014 or your Stars?<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n \n Add Berlin 2027 to RunningLog as a planned race, tag it as your A-race, and see it alongside every marathon you’ve already run \u2014 with your PB right next to your goal. When the result comes in, it goes straight into your race history.\n <\/p>\n Start Your Free Race Log \u2192<\/a>\n <\/div>\n Berlin is the closest thing marathon running has to a perfect racing surface: flat, fast, cool, beautifully organised and packed with people who want you to run well. It’s the race where world records fall, and it’s the race where tens of thousands of amateurs run the fastest marathon of their lives.<\/p>\n The new GENERALI name changes nothing about that. What matters for 2027 is the lottery: it’s open now, it closes on 12 November 2026<\/strong>, and results arrive on 3 December<\/strong>. Enter, then start planning a summer of training that ends at the Brandenburg Gate.<\/p>\n Ready to add Berlin to your race history? Start tracking your marathon journey at RunningLog<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Running Berlin in 2027, or have you raced it before? Share your experience on Instagram<\/a> or Threads<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If you only ever run one marathon for time, run Berlin. No course in the world has produced more men’s world records, and few big-city races are as reliably flat, as well organised, or as loud. It’s the Abbott World Marathon Major that serious runners circle when the goal is a number, not a postcard. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-races"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":311,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310\/revisions\/311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Berlin Marathon 2027: Race Overview<\/h2>\n
\n Official Name:<\/strong> GENERALI BERLIN-MARATHON
\n Location:<\/strong> Berlin, Germany
\n Series:<\/strong> Abbott World Marathon Major
\n Course Type:<\/strong> Single loop \u2014 start and finish in the Tiergarten, near the Brandenburg Gate
\n Elevation:<\/strong> Essentially flat
\n Field Size:<\/strong> 50,000+ runners \u2014 one of the largest marathons in the world
\n Entry Fee:<\/strong> \u20ac215 (plus \u20ac5 for race-morning bag drop)
\n Course Records:<\/strong> Eliud Kipchoge 2:01:09 (2022); Tigst Assefa 2:11:04 (2026)
\n 2026 Winners:<\/strong> Guye Adola 2:02:50; Tigst Assefa 2:11:04
\n Weather:<\/strong> Late September \u2014 typically cool mornings, but warm days are possible<\/p>\nHow to Get In<\/h2>\n
The Lottery<\/h3>\n
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Fast-Runner Entry<\/h3>\n
Other Routes<\/h3>\n
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Why Run Berlin?<\/h2>\n
It’s the Fastest Major<\/h3>\n
The Atmosphere<\/h3>\n
It Counts Toward Your Stars<\/h3>\n
A Whole Weekend of Running<\/h3>\n
The Berlin Marathon Course<\/h2>\n
Kilometres 0-5: The Start in the Tiergarten<\/h4>\n
Kilometres 5-21: Through the City<\/h4>\n
Kilometres 21-35: The Long Middle<\/h4>\n
Kilometres 35-42.195: The Run Home<\/h4>\n
Racing Berlin Well<\/h2>\n
1. Run the Tangents<\/h3>\n
2. Pace Evenly<\/h3>\n
3. Respect the Weather Forecast<\/h3>\n
4. Practise Your Fuelling<\/h3>\n
5. Know Your Start Wave<\/h3>\n
How to Prepare<\/h2>\n
Training Plan<\/h3>\n
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Training Through Summer<\/h3>\n
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Travel and Logistics<\/h3>\n
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Race Day<\/h2>\n
Before the Start<\/h3>\n
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Pacing Plan<\/h3>\n
After the Race<\/h2>\n
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Log It While It’s Fresh<\/h3>\n
Is Berlin Right for You?<\/h2>\n
Berlin is Great If You:<\/h3>\n
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Consider Other Options If You:<\/h3>\n
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Final Thoughts: Berlin Marathon 2027<\/h2>\n
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