Is the Berlin Half Marathon course flat?

Yes. It has 36 m of climbing over 21.1 km. The highest point is 10 m above the lowest.

When is the Berlin Half Marathon 2027?

Sunday 4 April 2027. The start is at 10:05.

How do I enter the Berlin Half Marathon?

The 2027 ballot has closed. It opened on 2 April 2026, closed on 28 May and the results came out on 16 June. Entry fee: €89 (for the 2027 race).

What is the time limit at the Berlin Half Marathon?

Runners have 3 h 15 min to finish.

Berlin Half Marathon

4 April 2027 Start 10:0510:05 AM Berlin Ballot closed

The Berlin Half Marathon is a flat course of 21.1 km with 36 m of climbing. Its lowest point is 33 m and its highest 43 m above sea level. Next race: Sunday 4 April 2027, starting at 10:05.

Victory Column. Photograph by Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

Your race weekend

Fri 2 to Mon 5 Apr Berlin, three nights around race day

days
hours
min

To the start, 10:0510:05 AM local time

Hotels near the course. If you book through this link we are paid a small referral fee; the price you pay is the same either way, and nothing here is ranked by what it pays.

Hotels near the start and finishRace weekend, Fri 2 Apr to Mon 5 Apr
Flights to BerlinOut Fri 2 Apr, back Mon 5 Apr
Race fuel: 2 gels for your finish, plus a spare The gel we pick, on Amazon
Amazon partner link: we earn a small fee if you buy, the price is the same.

The flight search is filled in for Friday 2 April to Monday 5 April, which you can change there. Every link here opens another company’s site; nothing is booked here.

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At a glance

Race day: Sun 4 Apr; The 2027 race
Start: 10:0510:05 AM
Distance: 21.1 km13.1 mi; Half marathon · Kids' race
Total climb: 36 m118 ft; Highest point 10 m33 ft above lowest
Entry: Ballot closed; €89. For the 2027 race
Time limit: 3 h 15 min
Aid stations: 6

The course

Pick a place, or drag along the profile

The half marathon starts on the Strasse des 17. Juni between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column and finishes at the Brandenburg Gate, passing many of the city's landmarks on the way.

StartFinish

Photo: Flocci Nivis, CC BY 4.0
Photo: Christoph Matthias Siebenborn, CC BY 3.0
Photo: Ansgar Koreng, CC BY 3.0 de

km 9mile 5.6

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

Around km 9 the course passes the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.

Photo: Flocci Nivis, CC BY 4.0

Height drawn many times taller than life · GEDTM30

Cut-off, km 18mile 11.2

0 5 10 15 20 km

0 5 10 13.1 mi

Tall ticks: food or drink short: other aid

Your 2 gels, at the orange marksFor a 1:55 finish, one every 40 minutes

km 7.3mile 4.6
km 14.7mile 9.1

Get them on AmazonAmazon partner link

From the Victory Column to the Brandenburg GateStart in view of the Victory Column, finish at the Brandenburg Gate, the city's landmarks in between.
Between 33 and 44 m: a flat halfNever more than about 10 m above its lowest point; the high ground is around km 6.
Six refreshment points, one of them gel onlyWater at five of the six points; there is none between km 9.8 and km 14.1.

Course notes 4 short reads on the course

km 0 to 21.1LandmarkFrom the Victory Column to the Brandenburg GateStart in view of the Victory Column, finish at the Brandenburg Gate, the city's landmarks in between.

The organiser puts the whole race in one sentence: “Vom Start mit Blick auf die Siegessäule bis zum Ziel am Brandenburger Tor werden viele Berliner Wahrzeichen passiert.” The start is on the Straße des 17. Juni, “zwischen Brandenburger Tor und Siegessäule”, and the finishing line lies behind the gate, which the organiser calls the “Zieleinlauf hinter dem Brandenburger Tor”.

On 4 April 2027 the skaters start at 09:15, the wheelchair and handbike athletes at 09:55 and the runners from 10:05, in several waves.

Sourced

km 0 to 21.1GradientBetween 33 and 44 m: a flat halfNever more than about 10 m above its lowest point; the high ground is around km 6.

The organiser runs the race “auf einer flachen Strecke”, and the ground agrees. The start is at about 34 m and the road stays between 33 and 34.5 m through the first 2.3 km, where the lowest point of the course, 33.3 m, lies near km 2.3. The highest ground, 43.6 m, is around km 6, and the road stays between about 38 and 44 m from km 6 to 9. From km 13 on the course lies between about 34 and 39 m, and the finish is at about 35 m.

Over a whole half marathon the road climbs 36.0 m. A watch that adds up every short rise reads more. The figures are for the 2026 course.

Measured

km 5 to 19.5TacticsSix refreshment points, one of them gel onlyWater at five of the six points; there is none between km 9.8 and km 14.1.

The organiser lists the points as km 5, 9.8, 12.3, 14.1, 17.5 and 19.5. Water is on offer at km 5, 9.8, 14.1, 17.5 and 19.5, with tea at the first four of those. A sports drink mix is handed out at km 5 and km 17.5, bananas at km 14.1 and km 17.5, and the km 12.3 point is a gel depot: the organiser writes “kein Wasser” for it. Every station stands on the right-hand side in the running direction and has refill points for drinking systems, at the last table of the water.

Sourced

km 0 to 21.1CrowdAbout 40 bands and a standing area at the finishBands and cheering points along the way, free standing places by the Brandenburg Gate at the end.

“Unterstützt wirst du von etwa 40 Bands, Cheering Points und vielen Zuschauenden”, writes the organiser. Near the end, “kurz vor dem Ziel”, there are standing places on both sides of the road for a limited number of spectators, free of charge, entered from the side of the Brandenburg Gate. The start and finish area itself is for participants only.

Spectators may cross the course only under the supervision of the marshals. In the finish area the one place to cross is the Pariser Platz.

Sourced

Every aid station6 stations, km 5 to km 19.5mile 3.1 to mile 12.1

As the organiser published them for the 2026 race. The 2027 schedule is not out yet, and a station can move from one year to the next.

KM 5 (km 5)KM 5 (mile 3.1)
water, sports drinkWater, tea and a sports drink mix.
KM 9,8 (km 9.8)KM 9,8 (mile 6.1)
waterWater and tea.
KM 12.3 (km 12.3)KM 12.3 (mile 7.6)
gelsGel depot, no water.
KM 14,1 (km 14.1)KM 14,1 (mile 8.8)
water, foodWater, tea and banana.
KM 17,5 (km 17.5)KM 17,5 (mile 10.9)
water, sports drink, foodWater, tea, a sports drink mix and banana.
KM 19,5 (km 19.5)KM 19,5 (mile 12.1)
water

Read on generali-berliner-halbmarathon.de, strecke.

Checked 11 October 2026, against the organiser’s own pages.

Race weekend

Friday 2 April Expo

09:009:00 AM–20:008:00 PM

Expo Flughafen Tempelhof, Platz der Luftbrücke 5 (entrance via the main hall). Free entry. Bibs are handed out here and nowhere else, in person, against the start pass and photo ID.

Saturday 3 April Expo

09:009:00 AM–19:007:00 PM

Expo Flughafen Tempelhof, Platz der Luftbrücke 5 (entrance via the main hall). Free entry. Bibs cannot be collected on Sunday, race day.

Sunday 4 April Race day

10:0510:05 AM

Runners' start Strasse des 17. Juni, between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column. From 10:05, in several waves; the start block is the letter on the bib. The start goes ahead in any weather unless the German weather service has issued a warning.
Time not published

Runners' time limit 3 hours 15 minutes from crossing the start mat. Runners over it are taken off the course. 3:15 limit: 9:14/km for 21.0975 km3:15 limit: 14:52/mi for 13.1 mi

Cut-offs and other races (3)

09:159:15 AM

Inline skating start Strasse des 17. Juni, between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column
09:559:55 AM

Wheelchair and handbike start Strasse des 17. Juni, between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column
Time not published

Cut-off point at km 18 Runners who have not reached km 18 by 14:15 leave the official course and continue on the pavement, or ride the sweeper bus to the finish, with no result or medal.

Times as published by the organiser, in Berlin time, checked 11 October 2026. Confirm on their site before you travel.

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Berlin time

Entry

Ballot closed for the 2027 race

As read 11 October 2026.

Every way in, year by year Entry details on the organiser’s site →

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

Race fuel

Energy gel

2 gels for Berlin, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, the orange marks on the profile. Berlin stays within 10 m33 ft of height, so they go by the clock:

km 7.3mile 4.6
km 14.7mile 9.1

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

A small balm stick — Illustration · drag to turn

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

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

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

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.

Questions about the Berlin Half Marathon

Is the Berlin Half Marathon course flat?: Yes. It has 36 m of climbing over 21.1 km. The highest point is 10 m above the lowest.
When is the Berlin Half Marathon 2027?: Sunday 4 April 2027. The start is at 10:05.
How do I enter the Berlin Half Marathon?: The 2027 ballot has closed. It opened on 2 April 2026, closed on 28 May and the results came out on 16 June. Entry fee: €89 (for the 2027 race). Entry details on the organiser’s site
What is the time limit at the Berlin Half Marathon?: Runners have 3 h 15 min to finish.
Where does the Berlin Half Marathon start?: Start: Strasse des 17. Juni, between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column.