Berlin Marathon Weekend with Your Running Club
Sunday 26 September 2027 is race day, and the first under the GENERALI BERLIN-MARATHON name; the inline skaters race the day before. For a running club or a group of supporters, a minibus with driver covers the airport, the expo and the ride back on tired legs.
Start, finish and closed roads
Straße des 17. Juni, the long avenue through the Tiergarten, holds both start and finish, between the Brandenburger Tor and the Kleiner Stern. Runners reach the start area from Platz der Republik or Bremer Weg; Bundestag, Brandenburger Tor, Potsdamer Platz and Berlin Hauptbahnhof are the closest stations.
The 42.195 km course passes many of the city's sights and has a time limit of 6 h 15 min, so roads along it stay closed for most of the day. Plan to be dropped at a hotel or station away from the route and let the U-Bahn or S-Bahn do the rest.
Race week, one step at a time
Tempelhof, Berlin's old airport, hosts the runners' expo, which pairs nicely with an arrival from BER, 27 km by road from the Brandenburger Tor and around 35 minutes in light traffic.
From the Thursday to the Sunday of race week, a runner's bib doubles as a ticket on buses and trains across zones A, B and C. Friends and family need their own tickets; the minibus looks after the airport, expo and hotel runs.
When and where it happens
- Start and finish on Straße des 17. Juni, between the Brandenburger Tor and the Kleiner Stern, Tiergarten, Berlin
- Sunday 26 September 2027 (running race); the inline-skating race is on the Saturday of the race weekend
A crowded city weekend
With more than 50,000 finishers and millions of spectators along the course, Berlin is busy all weekend. The centre lies within the low-emission zone inside the S-Bahn ring, so the vehicle needs the green sticker. Arrange transport well before race week, and give the operator your hotel and the meeting point you prefer after the finish.
Questions travellers ask
What time does the race start?
The organisers publish the race-day times before the event. Check their race-day information nearer the date and the pickup is planned around it.
Wasn't it the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON?
Yes, up to and including 2026. From 2027 the race is called the GENERALI BERLIN-MARATHON.
Can a minibus take us to the finish?
No. The roads around the start and finish are closed on race day, so you meet your driver at an agreed point away from the course.