My marathons

20 km de Bruxelles - 20 km door Brussel

10:0010:00 AM Brussels
Cinquantenaire
Cinquantenaire. Photograph by User:Ben2, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The course

The organiser gives the distance as 20 km 100 m, a hundred metres over the round figure in the race's name, on a course that links the best-known monuments of the City of Brussels and the Brussels-Capital Region.

The course in short 3 lines
  • 20 km 100 m, past the city's monuments20 km 100 m, linking the monuments of Brussels.
  • 47,253 took part in 202647,253 in 2026 from 141 nationalities; the fastest time was 59:49.
  • Public transport to the startMetro 1 and 5, trams 7, 25 and 81; bikes park free in the Cinquantenaire.
Course notes 3 short reads on the course
Whole courseGeometry20 km 100 m, past the city's monuments20 km 100 m, linking the monuments of Brussels.

The organiser’s course page opens with one line, “Le parcours des « 20km de Bruxelles » relie les plus beaux monuments de la Ville de Bruxelles et de la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale”, and gives the distance as “20 km 100 m”. The page carries the course map of the 2026 race, run on 31 May 2026.

The 2026 course page listed six water points and 14 first-aid tents along the way, with music bands at several points.

Sourced

Whole courseCrowd47,253 took part in 202647,253 in 2026 from 141 nationalities; the fastest time was 59:49.

The organiser’s homepage lists “47.253 Participants en 2026”, “141 Nationalités”, “00:59:49 Meilleur temps en 2026” and ”+€2,5M Pour le caritatif”. The 2026 race was on Sunday 31 May; the 47th edition is dated Sunday 30 May 2027.

The organiser’s schedule has runners starting in six waves from 10:00, about 15 minutes apart, so a field that size is spread over more than an hour at the start.

Sourced

Whole courseConditionsPublic transport to the startMetro 1 and 5, trams 7, 25 and 81; bikes park free in the Cinquantenaire.

The organiser’s mobility page, written for the 2026 race, says “La meilleure façon de rejoindre la ligne de départ des 20 Km de Bruxelles est d’utiliser les transports en commun”. It names metro line 1 at Mérode, Montgomery and Schuman, line 5 at Mérode and Schuman, trams 7 and 25 at Montgomery and tram 81 at Mérode. At the finish, some of the Mérode station’s entrances became entry-only and others exit-only, and two were closed.

Free secured bike parking in the Cinquantenaire park was open from 8:00 to 17:00. The start is in the Parc du Cinquantenaire.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

2 gels for Brussels, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, by the clock:

  1. km 7.3mile 4.5
  2. km 14.5mile 9

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.
distance
20.0 km12.4 mi
cut-off
5:00 h

Race week

Timetable

Sunday 30 May Race day

  1. 09:309:30 AM

    Handisport start Parc du Cinquantenaire. Handisport start, from the park where the race starts.

  2. 10:0010:00 AM

    Runners start, wave 1 Parc du Cinquantenaire. Runners go off in six waves from 10:00, about 15 minutes apart. The times of the later waves are not published.

  3. 11:3011:30 AM

    Walkers start, wave 7 Parc du Cinquantenaire. Walkers start from wave 7.

  4. Time not published

    Time limit 5 hours to complete the course. After the end-of-race vehicle has passed, participants follow the normal traffic rules. Standing rule from the organiser's general page, not restated for the 2027 start times. 5:00 limit: 15:00/km for 20 km5:00 limit: 24:08/mi for 12.4 mi

Times as published by the organiser, in Brussels time, checked .

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Brussels time

Trip

Getting a place

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

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