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Grand-Prix von Bern

Start 15:493:49 PM Bern, Switzerland

The Grand-Prix von Bern is a course of 16.1 km with 125.1 m of climbing. Its lowest point is 504 m and its highest 567 m above sea level. Next race: Saturday 15 May 2027, starting at 15:49.

Zytglogge
Zytglogge. Photograph by Dmitry A. Mottl, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

At a glance

Race day
The 2027 race
Start
15:493:49 PM
Waves until 17:165:16 PM
Distance
16.1 km10 mi
10 miles
Total climb
125.1 m410 ft
Highest point 63 m207 ft above lowest
Time limit
2 hours

The course

Pick a place, or drag along the profile

The 10 miles start at 557.8 m, drop to 499 m in the Matte quarter at km 3.06, the lowest point of the course, and finish at 560.2 m.

StartFinish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

  1. Photo: Tim Green, CC BY 2.0
  2. Photo: David Balmer, CC BY 3.0
  3. Photo: Conceptuel, CC0
  4. Photo: Conceptuel, CC0
  5. Photo: Flooffy, CC BY 2.0

km 1.1mile 0.7

Bear Pit

Around km 1 the course passes the Bärengraben, the first of the sights the organiser lists for the 10 miles.

Photo: Tim Green, CC BY 2.0

Height drawn many times taller than life · GEDTM30

Course elevation profile, 8× vertical exaggeration Elevation along the course from km 0 to km 16. The trace runs between 504 and 567 metres, a range of 63 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: Nydeggbrücke, km 1.2 to 1.3; Dalmazibrücke, km 5.4 to 5.5; Monbijoubrücke, km 10 to 10.4; Nydeggbrücke, km 14.3 to 14.4. 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 5 10 15 km
0 2 4 6 8 10 mi

Dashed: bridge

Your 2 gels, at the orange marksFor a 1:25 finish, one every 40 minutes

  1. km 7.6mile 4.7
  2. km 15.1mile 9.4

Get them on AmazonAmazon partner link

  • Down to the river, back up to the start heightStart 557.8 m, lowest point 499 m at Matte (km 3.06), finish 560.2 m.
  • 204 m up, steepest on Aargauerstalden204 m up over 7.9 km, 201 m down over 8.0 km, and 9% at the steepest, on Aargauerstalden.
  • Level by the Aare, then two risesLevel along the river to km 6.0, a 45 m rise to km 8.3 and a 33 m rise from km 14.5 to the top.
Course notes 4 short reads on the course
km 0 to 3.1GradientDown to the river, back up to the start heightStart 557.8 m, lowest point 499 m at Matte (km 3.06), finish 560.2 m.

The organiser’s course data gives the height at the start as 557.80 m and at the finish as 560.24 m, so the 10 miles end 2.4 m above where they began. The lowest point is “499.00 müM; Matte, km 3.06” and the highest is “569.75 müM; Bolligenstrasse, km 15.5”.

The course therefore falls about 59 m in the first three kilometres, down to the Aare, and climbs back to the start height by the finish.

Sourced

km 14.3 to 15.6Gradient204 m up, steepest on Aargauerstalden204 m up over 7.9 km, 201 m down over 8.0 km, and 9% at the steepest, on Aargauerstalden.

The organiser’s figures read “Total Steigung 204 m; über total 7.9 km” and “Total Gefälle - 201 m; über total 8.0 km”, an average of 3.2% going up and 3.3% going down, and “Steilste Stelle Aargauerstalden mit 9% Steigung”.

The last of the five drink stations on the course stands on Aargauerstalden at km 14.6. The others are at km 4.1 (Marzili), 7.2 (Thormannstrasse), 9.6 (Aegertestrasse) and 12.1 (Sulgeneck), with a further station at the start and at the finish.

Sourced

km 3.4 to 15.6GradientLevel by the Aare, then two risesLevel along the river to km 6.0, a 45 m rise to km 8.3 and a 33 m rise from km 14.5 to the top.

The stretch from km 3.4 to km 6.0 runs between 503.5 m and 505.8 m. From there the road climbs 45 m to 548.8 m at km 8.3, drifts back down to about 520 m around km 10 to 11, and makes its last rise, 33 m from 533.5 m at km 14.5 to 566.8 m at km 15.6.

The course crosses four named bridges: the Nydegg Bridge at about km 1.2, the Dalmazi Bridge at km 5.4, the Monbijou Bridge at km 10.0 and the Nydegg Bridge again at km 14.3.

Measured

Whole courseLandmarkPast the bear park, the Zytglogge and the BundeshausBear park, Nydegg Bridge, Zytglogge, town hall, Aare, Dählhölzli, Bundeshaus and minster.

The organiser’s page for the 10 miles describes the course as passing “allen wichtigen Berner Sehenswürdigkeiten: Bärengraben, Nydeggbrücke, Zytglogge, Rathaus, Aare, Dählhölzliwald (Zoo), Bundeshaus, Münster”.

Sourced

Race weekend

Friday 14 May Bib pickup

  1. 16:004:00 PM–20:308:30 PM

    Bib pickup at the Sport Expo
Side events (2)

  1. 16:004:00 PM–21:009:00 PM

    Pasta party

  2. 18:006:00 PM–21:309:30 PM

    Inclusion Run A separate evening run the day before the 10 miles. The end time is the organiser's 'ca. 21:30'.

Bib in hand?A number belt holds it without pins through your race top. Clip it on tonight.

Number belt on AmazonAmazon partner link

Saturday 15 May Race day

  1. 09:309:30 AM

    Bib pickup at the Sport Expo opens Bib and shirt pickup closes at 17:00 and the Sport Expo shuts at 16:30.

  2. 15:493:49 PM

    10 miles start The elite men and the first block go at 15:49; the other blocks follow in waves, the last at 17:16.

  3. 17:165:16 PM

    Last 10 miles start

  4. 18:456:45 PM

    10 miles prize ceremony Festival tent

  5. Time not published

    Time limit for the 10 miles Two hours. Anyone slower is listed as over the time limit, left out of the ranking and may be taken off the course early. 2:00 limit: 7:27/km for 16.093 km2:00 limit: 12:00/mi for 10 mi
Other races and side events (3)

  1. 11:1011:10 AM–12:0012:00 PM

    Family starts Six family starts, at 11:10, 11:20, 11:30, 11:40, 11:50 and 12:00. The entry mile follows at 12:10 and the children's age-group starts run from 12:25 to 13:35.

  2. 13:501:50 PM

    Old-town race start

  3. 15:453:45 PM

    Elite women start

Times as published by the organiser, in Bern time, checked . Confirm on their site before you travel.

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Bern time

Entry

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.

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

2 gels for Bern, plus 1 spare

Finish

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

  1. km 7.6mile 4.7
  2. km 15.1mile 9.4

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
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
A pack of blister plasters
Illustration · drag to turn

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 Grand-Prix von Bern

Is the Grand-Prix von Bern course flat?
Not entirely. It has 125.1 m of climbing over 16.1 km. The highest point is 63 m above the lowest.
When is the Grand-Prix von Bern 2027?
Saturday 15 May 2027. The first wave starts at 15:49 and the last at 17:16.
What is the time limit at the Grand-Prix von Bern?
Runners have 2 hours to finish.
Runner talk Questions, tips and race reports from other runners about the course and the city.

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