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The Berlin Marathon
- Sapphire Running Team
- Jul 20, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 5, 2025
One of the World Marathon Majors, Berlin has built itself a fearsome reputation for marathon world records
Year after year it invests in one or two of the fastest of the elite runners, and almost inevitably this translates into a new world record. It's a very flat course. with the ideal climate and this makes it the perfect environment for super quick runners. If you're looking for your best time this could be the one.
Berlin
Berlin, the capital of Germany and its largest city, has a population of just under 4 million. Renowned for its historical buildings that stand alongside modern architecture as the past and present seamlessly intermingle. From the Brandenburg gate, that's such a feature of this event to the remains of sections of the Berlin Wall its fascinating legacy is around every corner. The Berlin Wall Memorial, located between the districts of Wedding and Mitte on Bernauer Straße, consists of the Memorial to the Victims of the Wall, a Documentation Centre and the Chapel of Reconciliation. The surviving section of the wall and watchtower enable visitors to get a real feel for the reality of the border facilities.You mustn't miss this, or the infamous Checkpoint Charlie nearby. Berlin is home to all the main government buildings, including the historical seat of the German parliament; the Reichstag, another fascinating place to visit.
But it's not just all about the past. Berlin is a leading city when it comes to music, art and museums. Priceless artefacts from all over the world are on show at more than 170 museums, some on the internationally renowned Museum Island. There are no end of theatre venues specialising in variety performances, revue, cabaret and more and more artists are flocking to Berlin from all around the world, making it one of the most exciting destinations in the whole of Europe. It's also a popular destination for classical music fans from all over the world thanks to its leading orchestras, and the city's three opera houses, where memorable operas and ballets are performed. And there are plenty of open spaces where people can go to breathe in some fresh air. It's the country's greenest city, with vast parks, wooded areas and lakes. During the summer months, the focus is very much on beach bars, cafés and open-air cinemas.
History of the Berlin Marathon
The first event was held in 1974, with 244 finishing, including only 10 women. Four years later, the race started outside the Reichstag for the first time, by which time it had grown to 2,583 finishers, making it the largest city road race in Germany. In 1989, a children's race was added to the event, and eight years later an inline skating marathon was contested.
It's one of the fastest courses in the world and world records are regularly broken. In 2023 Tigst Assefa broke another, with an incredible women's marathon world record of 2:11:53 hours. Racing wheelchair athlete Catherine Debrunner did the same, winning in 1:34:16 hours, another marathon world record.
Race Organiser
It's organised by SCC EVENTS, one of the major international players in the field of sporting events. It's an independent limited company, and is a 100% subsidiary of the large and renowned Sport-Club Charlottenburg, which is one of the top sports clubs in Berlin with almost 8,000 members. They are supported by our advisory board of around 20 members, a loose association of representatives from politics, business and sport and are based in the Olympiapark in Berlin. They also organise the half marathon, held in April.
When?
The race is held annually in September.
Distances
Marathon
Is there an Expo
On the former Flughafen Tempelhof, Platz der Luftbrücke 5, 12101 Berlin, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Bibs must be picked up at this expo.
How many runners?
40,000
The course
When it comes to race day logistics there are very few events that are better than Berlin. When it comes to flat courses there are few better than Berlin and when it comes to world famous landmarks on route there are few better than Berlin. Add these benefits up and you can see why Berlin ranks as one of the best marathons in the world. Is it the best of the World Marathon Majors? You decide.
We all like to get somewhere to stay close to the start or finish of our big events. In Berlin you can be close to both. The start is located between Straße des 17. Juni, between Brandenburg Gate and "Kleiner Stern" and the finish is at the Brandenburg Gate. Perfect for pre-race organisation. An added benefit is that are plenty of hotels to choose from in this part of the City, but be quick as they do sell out and prices rise sharply as the days after the lottery results are announced pass by.
The start is also at a reasonable time in the morning so there is none of the seriously early morning wake up times that you can get; New York being one of the most challenging. All in all you couldn't wish for better race logistics if you tried. The start is in waves and at no point once you get going to you feel cramped on the course. There are wide open roads and although crowds are very sparse in the first half of the race, it's almost nice to get yourself going before the noise really kicks in from mile 13.
Berlin has such a rich history (and you probably experienced much of this in the days leading up to the race) and the course is packed with plenty of landmarks that illustrate the vast changes the City has undergone in recent times. Initially the Marathon only operated in West Germany, for obvious reasons, but now of course it includes much of the East. You'll see tourist sites like the Reichstag, the Siegessäule (Victory Column), Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral, Berlin TV Tower and the Potsdamer Platz. And there's plenty of live music, played at more than 60 locations along the course. The Reichstag is clearly one of the most significant buildings in the City and it's one you need to explore before or after the event. It oozes history. With its famous glass dome is one of the most frequently visited sights in Berlin. It is the seat of the German parliament, the Bundestag and is open to the public, although pre-booked tickets are essential. In the summer of 1995, the Reichstag building became world-famous, as a result of an incident totally unrelated to politics. For two weeks, it was wrapped with a silver-colored tarpaulin measuring around 100,000 square meters. As a result it attracted millions of visitors, whose endless images gave the Reichstag building international popularity, like never before.
Soaring 368 metres into the sky, Berlin’s TV Tower is the city’s most visible landmark at 368 metres tall and it almost feels like an ever present on the course. You seem to be able to see it everywhere. It's the highest building in Europe open to the general public. From its viewing platform, you have spectacular 360-degree panoramic views out across the entire city. It is ranked among the top sights in twenty-first century Germany. After German reunification, the TV Tower took on an entirely new significance. No longer just a symbol of East Germany, it quickly became a key part of Berlin’s new cityscape, and soon came to symbolise the city around the world.
The course has generous water stations and towards the end offers flat Coke. This does happen occasionally in marathons, but it's the only one of the Majors that does so. There are also plenty of stations offering cut fruit which is a nice change. But one of the real plus points is that it's so very flat! There is no stress about an impending hill that will destroy your legs in the final stages, there is literally nothing and that's why the elites and runners of all abilities love it. Nothing about this event is difficult. Even the expo beforehand is easy.
And the finish. Wow. It's on a par with London. A run down a long home straight with one of the most famous buildings in the world that you get to run through. The Brandenburg Gate, designed in 1791, stands 26-meters high and was inspired by the Acropolis of Athens.
In 1795 a chariot drawn by four horses was added, known as the Quadriga and representing. the Goddess of Victory. The one you see now is an exact replica as the original was destroyed in WW2. It's held up by twelve columns with five passageways and you get to run through one of them! In 1956, the East and West joined together to rebuild the landmark after its extensive damage from WW2.
From here it's only a few metres to the finish line and the inevitable euphoria that comes from finishing a marathon and especially finishing an event of this scale. If you only do one marathon try and make it this one. It's a superb experience and being able to run on closed roads past this level of history is something that we don't get a chance to do very often!
What's unique?
The run to the finish through the Brandenburg Gate is one of the best parts of any marathon course anywhere.
Do charities benefit?
There is an extensive charity programme, with charities from many different countries having guaranteed entries. These are a great way to get a spot if you don't get in via the ballot.
Our verdict
As you'd expect with a race organised by the guys responsible for the Berlin Marathon this is an event of the highest quality. It's flawless from start to finish and everything they promise is delivered. It's an intriguing city, oozing history and the opportunity to have a weekend away in a place like this and do a half at the same time is one that should be too good to miss.
How to register
Online via the website. Just like the other Majors this one is very hard to get a spot in and they operate a lottery. If you don't succeed in the lottery, there are the usual 'good for age', charity and tour operator options. Charities don't ask you to raise as much in this race as they do in others, so that is a good option.
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