My marathons

Geneva Marathon

09:009:00 AM Frank Thomas Road, Cologny, Geneva
Jet d'Eau
© OpenStreetMap Jet d'Eau. Photograph by Ank Kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

The course

Pick a place, or drag along the profile

A slow rise of 33 m to km 13, downhill to km 22, then downhill again from km 31 to km 34.

StartFinish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

  4. Photo: Sikander Iqbal, Public domain
  5. Photo: Jose Manuel at Portuguese Wikipedia, Public domain
  7. Photo: Credits to Mourad Ben Abdallah / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  10. Photo: Ypsilon from Finland, CC0

km 32.7mile 20.3

Vésenaz, on the Route de Thonon

Height drawn many times taller than life. Heights: GEDTM30.

Course elevation profile, 8× vertical exaggeration Elevation along the course from km 0 to km 42. The trace runs between 374 and 454 metres, a range of 80 metres, drawn at 8 times vertical exaggeration so the shape is legible. Smoothed over 1 km before this profile was derived. An unsmoothed urban surface carries the buildings and would assert a climb that is not there. The dashed stretches are bridge decks: Pont des Bergues, km 38.8 to 39; Pont du Mont-Blanc, km 42.1 to 42.2. A bare-earth model reads the ground or the water beneath a bridge, not the deck the runner is on, so those runs are interpolated between the ground either side rather than measured, and they under-report the real climb across a span.
0 10 20 30 40 km
0 10 20 26.2 mi

Dashed: bridge

  • slow rise to 13
  • downhill to 22
  • downhill to 34

Your 5 gels, at the orange marksFor a 4:00 finish, one every 40 minutes

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

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The course in short 2 lines
  • A rolling first half above the lakeRises 25.5 m to the high point at km 12.8, then gives it all back by 21 km.
  • Down to the lake, then flat to the bridgeA 61 m drop from km 28 to km 34, then level along the lake to the finish.
Course notes 2 short reads on the course
km 6 to 21.1GradientA rolling first half above the lakeRises 25.5 m to the high point at km 12.8, then gives it all back by 21 km.

The organiser describes the first part as countryside and the layout as rolling, and says that “more than 50% of whom beat their personal best each year”. The first half bears that out: from the start in Cologny at about 421 m the road gains 25.5 m between km 5.9 and km 12.8, the high point of the whole course at about 453.8 m, and returns to about 422 m at 21.1 km.

These heights are for the organiser’s 2025 course; the 2027 course is not published yet.

Measured

km 28.3 to 42.2FinishDown to the lake, then flat to the bridgeA 61 m drop from km 28 to km 34, then level along the lake to the finish.

The course ends in the city. The organiser’s description gives runners “a beautiful view of the lake, the famous Jet d’Eau and the Alpine peaks before a final sprint on one of the symbols of Geneva: the Mont-Blanc Bridge”.

The way down is concentrated in one stretch: from about 435.7 m at km 28.3 to about 374.4 m at km 34.4. From there to the finish the road stays at about 374 m, so the last 8 km have no hill in them, and the course crosses the Pont des Bergues near km 38.8 and the Mont-Blanc bridge itself in the final 100 m.

Measured

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Geneva, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, the orange marks on the profile, by the clock:

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

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.

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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.

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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.

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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
42.2 km26.2 mi
climb
78.9 m259 ft
cut-off
6:00 h
first held
2007

A point-to-point course starting in the countryside above Cologny and finishing in the heart of Geneva by the Mont Blanc bridge, within sight of the Jet d'Eau.

The Geneva Marathon is a point-to-point course of 42.2 km with 78.9 m of climbing. Its lowest point is 374 m and its highest 454 m above sea level. Next race: Sunday 9 May 2027, starting at 09:00.

Race week

Timetable

Sunday 9 May Race day

  1. 09:009:00 AM

    Marathon start Frank Thomas Road, Cologny. The organiser prints the time as subject to change. The finish is at the Mont Blanc bridge.

  2. Time not published

    Overall time limit Six hours for the marathon, as printed on the organiser's 2027 marathon page. 6:00 limit: 8:31/km for 42.195 km6:00 limit: 13:43/mi for 26.2 mi

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

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Geneva 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.

Make your postcard

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Questions about the Geneva Marathon

Is the Geneva Marathon course flat?

Not entirely. It has 78.9 m of climbing over 42.2 km. The highest point is 80 m above the lowest. It finishes 47 m lower than it starts.

When is the Geneva Marathon 2027?

Sunday 9 May 2027. The start is at 09:00.

How do I enter the Geneva Marathon?

Entry is through the organiser. Entry fee: CHF 109 (for the 2027 race). Entry details on the organiser’s site

2 more questions
What is the time limit at the Geneva Marathon?

Runners have 6 hours to finish.

Where does the Geneva Marathon start?

Start: Frank Thomas Road, Cologny.

Sources and licence

Last checked.

Course line matched onto OpenStreetMap road geometry: (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License 1.0 (ODbL). Elevation sampled from GEDTM30, Global Ensemble Digital Terrain Model at 30 m (v1.2): Elevation: GEDTM30 (Ho & Hengl, OpenGeoHub), CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

Elevation gain computed by us from that line, smoothed over 1 kmsmoothed over 0.6 mi.

The line follows the road down its middle, so it measures 1.65% longer than the certified distance, which is measured on the shortest legal line through every bend.

Date and entry information from the organiser.

Every source and licence behind them →

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