Frankfurt Marathon 2027 : the course km by km, race week and travel

Frankfurt is flat and it is not simple. The loop climbs 44.1 m in 42 km and 91 percent of it lies within 5 m of the start’s height, with one real rise, about 9.5 m between km 9.2 and km 10.2. What the profile does not show is the shape of the road. The course turns 68 times, and outside one 4.19 km straight on Mainzer Landstrasse it is never straight for long. Fifteen of those corners come between km 35 and km 40, back in the city centre, just when rhythm is hardest to find again. The reward is the finish: a turn into the Messe and a red carpet inside the Festhalle.

The course is one loop from Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage by the Messe, out through the banking district, south across the Main into Sachsenhausen, west to Höchst and back along Mainzer Landstrasse to the centre and the Festhalle. The kilometres and heights below are measured along the organiser’s 2026 course file, on Hesse’s 1 m lidar terrain model. The 2026 course was the same as 2025’s, but the organiser has not yet published the 2027 course, so check its course page before you plan your pacing.

Km 0 to 9: the towers and the Opernplatz loop

The start faces south-east on Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage, with the Messeturm on your right. At km 0.6 the course swings at the Platz der Republik onto Mainzer Landstrasse, a few hundred metres from the Hauptbahnhof, and by km 1.25 it is on the Taunusanlage, in the banking district. Between km 2.0 and 2.2 it runs up Neue Mainzer Strasse under the Commerzbank Tower and the Main Tower.

It then doubles back west, past the Messe again on Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage at about km 3.3, and out along Bockenheimer Landstrasse near km 4.7. From km 6 comes the first of two loops between the Opernplatz and the Hauptwache: the Alte Oper at km 6.0, the Commerzbank Tower again at km 6.8, the Hauptwache at km 7.6, the Eschenheimer Turm at km 8.0 and the Opernplatz once more at km 8.9. The road barely moves through all of this, between 97 m and 102 m.

Km 9 to 13.4: the one rise, then down to the Main

Reuterweg and Bremer Strasse carry the course up to Eschersheimer Landstrasse between about km 9.2 and km 10.2, the only sustained climb of the race. It gains about 9.5 m, around 1 percent at its steepest, and tops out near km 10.2 at the highest point of the course. From there the road falls 14.7 m over three kilometres to the river, passing the Eschenheimer Turm again at km 11.6 and the Konstablerwache at km 12.6. At km 13.16 the course crosses the Main southbound on the Alte Brücke, the first of its two river crossings.

Km 13.4 to 24.4: Sachsenhausen and the long way west

Off the bridge the course turns west along the Sachsenhausen bank, with the Eiserner Steg across the water at km 13.8 and the museums of the Schaumainkai alongside. Kennedyallee begins at about km 14.75, and the course runs on through Niederrad between km 16.5 and 18.3, past Goldstein at km 18.5, and reaches halfway at km 21.1 on Zur Frankenfurt in Schwanheim. Through all of it the road drifts gently down, from 98 m to about 94 m.

At Schwanheimer Ufer, near km 23.1, the course turns onto the second river crossing, the Schwanheimer Brücke (the B 40), and crosses the Main north-east from km 23.9 to km 24.4. The ramp up to it gains about 5 m, and the road rises about as much again into Höchst before the turn. Neither is steep.

Km 24.4 to 29.8: Höchst, the far point

North of the river the course enters Höchst on Bolongarostrasse around km 26.3, and passes the Bolongaropalast at km 26.9. The turn at km 27.13 is the farthest point of the course, 7.49 km from the start in a straight line. On the way back it crosses the Nidda on the Alte Niddabrücke at about km 28.2, and around km 28.75 it reaches its lowest point away from the bridges, on Oeserstrasse.

Km 29.8 to 33.9: Mainzer Landstrasse

From about km 29.8 to km 33.9 the course runs 4.19 km along Mainzer Landstrasse without a single course turn, the longest straight of the race. It is level, and it is the place to check your effort honestly before the centre, because the next six kilometres will not let you settle.

Km 33.9 to the finish: the corners come back

At about km 34.6 the course turns onto Europa-Allee through the Europaviertel, rejoins Mainzer Landstrasse at km 36.1 and reaches the Taunusanlage at km 37.3 for the second loop of the centre. Fifteen of the course’s 68 corners fall between km 35 and km 40: past the Alte Oper, the Commerzbank Tower at km 38.4, the Hauptwache at km 39.1 and the Opernplatz at km 40.3. Over the last 10 km the road ends just 2.4 m higher than it began, so the difficulty here is turning, not climbing. The run-in comes back along Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage from km 41.4, passes the Messeturm at km 42.04 and takes the sharpest corner of the course, about 145 degrees left, into the Messe grounds. The last metres are indoors, on the red carpet in the Festhalle.

The organiser has not yet published the 2027 race week. What follows is the 2026 pattern, which is the best guide to what to expect.

The marathonmall and race packets

The expo, the marathonmall, filled Messe Frankfurt, Halle 1, Ebene 2 in 2026, with close to 100 exhibitors on 2,600 square metres beside race packet pickup and the help desk. Packets were handed out on the Friday from 12:00 to 19:00, on the Saturday from 10:00 to 19:00, and on race Sunday from 07:00 to 09:30. You show your start pass (Startpass), emailed in October and also in your dashboard. Someone else may collect for you with your start pass, a signed authorisation and a copy of your ID. Packets are not posted.

On the Saturday the pasta party ran in the Festhalle from 13:30 to 19:00, with the voucher on your race number. Overnight into race day, summer time ended and the clocks went back an hour at 03:00. 31 October 2027 is again the last Sunday of October, the day summer time ends in Germany, so the same change falls on the 2027 race night.

Bag drop and changing

On race morning the clothing bag drop opened at 08:00 in Halle 1, Ebene 1. Only the official starter bag with the sticker from your packet is accepted; anything else goes to a paid cloakroom, 4 EUR per item, and there is no bag drop at the start. Changing rooms and showers for women and men are on the ground floor of Halle 1, and bags could be collected until 17:00.

Waves, blocks and pacers

The marathon is started in waves from 10:00, and every runner had to be across the line by 10:35 in 2026. The organiser’s own pages disagree on the number of waves: five in the race regulations, four in the 2026 programme. Runners are placed in six start blocks by target time, from under 3:00 in the first to 4:30 and slower in the sixth, and the block is shown by the sponsor logo beside your number. Experienced pacers run the whole distance for target times from 2:59 to 5:29, among them 2:59, 3:14, 3:29, 3:44 and 3:59.

Aid on the course

There is an aid station every 5 km, on both sides of the road at km 5 and 10 and on one side after that, with extra water points at km 12.5, 17.5, 22.5, 27.5, 32.5 and 37.5. Powerbar gels are handed out at km 15, 20, 25 and 30, and Vita Cola at km 30, 35 and 40. Own bottles for the stations from km 5 to km 40 were handed in at the expo info point; the organiser’s English page limits that to men under 2:45, women under 3:00 and runners with a medical need.

The limit

There are no intermediate cut-offs. In 2026 the finish in the Festhalle was open until 16:45, and runners arriving later were not timed. A broom-wagon bus follows the back of the field, and your number takes you home free on public transport.