Getting In · Abbott World Marathon Major
Berlin Marathon
If you want to run the fastest marathon of your life, this is where you go. Berlin's course is flat, smooth, wide, and run in cool late-September air, and the record book reflects it: nearly every men's world record since 2003 has been set here.
- Distance
- 26.2 miThe world record course
- Field
- ~55,000
- Elevation
- Essentially flatUnder 100 ft of total gain
- Entry fee
- ~€150 to €200
- Lottery window
- October to November
- Best door
- Lottery, then a tour package
Berlin's appeal is almost embarrassingly simple. There are no hills. There are no sharp turns to speak of. The road surface is excellent, the temperature in late September is usually near perfect, and the whole thing finishes by running through the Brandenburg Gate, which is one of the great closing images in sport.
The city is also the easiest major to travel to on a budget. Flights are cheap, the U-Bahn is efficient, the expo at Tempelhof is a genuinely interesting building, and Berlin in autumn is a pleasant place to spend four days.
How to get in
- LotteryThe drawing
Entry opens in the autumn for the following September. Berlin does not publish odds, but the consensus estimate has long sat around one in three. You can enter as a team of up to three, and the team is drawn together: all of you get in, or none of you do.
- Time qualifierThe fast-time exemption
Skip the lottery entirely with roughly sub-2:45 for men and sub-3:00 for women in the youngest age bands, easing with age, from a certified marathon inside the qualifying window. Given that Berlin is where fast people want to run, this door is well used.
- CharityCharity places
A smaller program than the Anglo majors, but it exists and it is a legitimate route.
- Tour operatorTour operators
Berlin allocates generously to international travel partners, which makes this the most reliable backup of any major. If the lottery says no and you want to run Berlin next year, a package will almost certainly get you there.
Running your PR here
Berlin's reputation makes people careless. The course gives you nothing to hide behind, so the discipline has to come from you.
- The start is crowded and fast. Big-city marathon rules apply: the first two kilometers are congested and then everybody surges. Do not chase it.
- There are no hills to break up your rhythm. That sounds good and is actually a fatigue problem. Muscle groups never get a change of load, so late-race cramping is common. Long runs at goal pace on flat ground are the specific preparation.
- Aid stations use cups and are busy. Practice drinking on the move.
- Late September in Berlin can be warm. Historically excellent, not guaranteed. Have a warm-day pace.
Questions runners actually ask
What are the Berlin Marathon lottery odds?
Berlin does not publish them. The long-running estimate among runners is somewhere around one in three, which makes it one of the two or three most gettable major lotteries.
What is the team entry?
You may enter as a group of up to three runners and be drawn as a unit. All of you are accepted or all of you are rejected, so it is genuinely all or nothing.
Is Berlin really that much faster?
Yes. It is flat, wide, smooth, has few turns, and is run in cool air. Most runners find it worth several minutes over a typical rolling course on identical fitness.
Go to the source
Entry rules, dates, standards, fees, and odds change every single year, and the interesting races change them the most. Use this guide to build the plan; use the official site to confirm the details before you book anything.
If this is your kind of thing
Need the races in between? The hard part of a bucket list year is everything else on the calendar: the qualifier, the tune-up, the long run with a bib on.