Istanbul Marathon 2026 : Asia to Europe, the course km by km and race week

Istanbul puts its drama at both ends and almost nothing in between. The start is in Asia, and by km 1.2 the field is in Europe, halfway across a bridge nobody may walk. The course reaches its highest point at km 3.8, then drops 78 m to the Bosphorus in 2 km, the steepest stretch of the race, while every leg in the field is fresh. After that comes 30.7 km of coast road beside the Sea of Marmara, out to a turn and back, never more than 7.9 m above the water. The last 2 km climb through Gülhane Park to the Hippodrome. Run the descent with the brakes on and keep something for the end.

The course is point to point, from the Asian end of the Bosphorus Bridge to Sultanahmet in the old city. The kilometres and heights below are measured along the organiser’s 2025 course map, the latest it has published, on a 30 m global elevation model. The organiser’s 2026 street list was not readable at the time of writing, so check its 42K page for any change.

Km 0 to 2: Asia to Europe

The start is about 250 m short of the toll plaza at the Asian end of the bridge, in front of the 15 Temmuz Şehitler Köprüsü metrobus stop. That is the bridge’s official name; it is better known as the Bosphorus Bridge. The course is on its deck from about km 0.43 to km 1.97, 64 m above the water, and Asia ends and Europe begins mid-strait at about km 1.2. The bridge carried pedestrians for only its first three years after it opened in 1973, and none today, so on race morning the field runs a road nobody else can walk.

Km 2 to 5.8: the high point and the drop to the sea

Off the bridge the road keeps climbing, 18.9 m from about km 2.9 up to Balmumcu, and at km 3.8 it reaches 87.2 m above the sea. Nothing later comes close. Then the course turns down Barbaros Bulvarı and falls 77.8 m in 2 km to the Bosphorus shore at km 5.8. From km 4.5 it drops 7.3% over half a kilometre, the steepest gradient on the course. It comes in the first 6 km, when it is easiest to run it too fast and pay for it on the coast road later.

Km 5.8 to 10: along the Bosphorus and over the Golden Horn

The course follows the European shore past Dolmabahçe Palace, about 100 m off at km 6.1, and under Galata Tower, up on the runner’s right at about km 8.8. At about km 9.3 it crosses the Golden Horn on the Galata Bridge, from Karaköy to Eminönü, its only crossing of that inlet. By km 10 it has rounded Seraglio Point, with Topkapı Palace above the road at about km 11.2, and met the Sea of Marmara.

Km 10 to 25.7: out along the Marmara shore

From here the course is one coast road, out and back. It starts as Kennedy Caddesi, which runs along the line of the old sea walls, with the sea beside it the whole way. It passes below Yedikule Fortress at about km 17.9, where the land walls meet the sea at the Marble Tower, 35 m from the course at km 18.5. Halfway falls on this road. The turn is a single U-turn at about km 25.7 on Rauf Orbay Caddesi in Yeşilköy, at the Air Force Academy’s vehicle gate. On the way out you meet the leaders already coming home on the other side of the road.

On the coast road the highest point is 7.9 m above the sea, and between km 5.8 and km 40.3 the course never rises 10 m. This is the fast part of the race, and the place to settle into a rhythm.

Km 25.7 to 40.3: the long way back

The return is the same road in the other direction, past Yedikule again at about km 33.6, with the runners still on their way out across the road. It lifts only gently as it nears the old city, so the work of the last 2 km is still to come at km 40.

Km 40.3 to the finish: up to the Hippodrome

The first half of the race falls 95.3 m and the second half climbs 45.8 m, and most of that climb waits for the end: 33.2 m in the last 5 km. From km 40.3 the course leaves the sea and climbs 2.7% over half a kilometre through Gülhane Park, the steepest uphill of the race, passing below Topkapı Palace a second time at about km 41.0. It then runs on the tramway road past Hagia Sophia at about km 41.8 to the line in the Hippodrome, between the gate of the Blue Mosque and the Obelisk of Theodosius. The finish is 37.2 m above the sea, 11.5 m lower than the start, but the race ends climbing.

The organiser’s site, maraton.istanbul, is Turkish by default with an English version, and the English race-day page has in the past carried the programme of an earlier year. The 2026 programme is the Turkish race-day page, which names the new 15.5K, so it cannot be an old one. The older address istanbulmarathon.org is no longer the organiser’s: it redirects away from the race, and nothing found there comes from it.

Kit pickup

There is no expo, only a kit pickup, at the Dr. Mimar Kadir Topbaş Gösteri ve Sanat Merkezi in Yenikapı. It is open from Thursday 29 to Saturday 31 October, 10:00 to 19:00, and to 18:00 on the Saturday. There is no pickup on race day, so a runner who lands on Sunday morning does not start. The kit holds the bib, the timing chip and the bag for the baggage buses. Yenikapı is a Marmaray station, on the same line that runs to Üsküdar for the start.

Getting to the start

Getting from Europe to a start in Asia is the logistics of this race. The organiser runs runner ferries from Kabataş and Eminönü piers between 06:45 and 07:45, and a signed walk leads from the pier at Beylerbeyi to the start. The other way is Marmaray to Üsküdar, from Sirkeci (one tram stop from Sultanahmet) or Yenikapı, and then a free ring shuttle that runs from 07:00 to 08:00 from in front of Üsküdar Marmaray station to Beylerbeyi. Marmaray is paid, unlike the rest: metro and buses are free with your bib until 17:00, and ferries until 15:00. Trams and the Kabataş funicular run from 06:00. There are no runner buses from Taksim or Sultanahmet.

The ferries and the shuttle serve the new 15.5K too, which has 15,000 places of its own, so expect company on the boat.

Bags and the start

Bags go onto the baggage buses at the start by 09:00 at the latest, and the buses leave for the finish at 09:10. The wheelchair race starts at 08:45 and the marathon at 09:00. The organiser publishes wave times only for the 15.5K and the public runs, not for the marathon.

The cut-offs

The limit is 6 hours 20 minutes, and every cut-off is counted from the 09:00 gun, not from the moment you cross the line. The first is at 1 km, at 09:10, and the rest come every 5 km: 09:45 at 5 km, 10:32 at 10 km, 12:04 at 20 km, 13:36 at 30 km and 15:08 at 40 km. The course closes at 15:20. A runner behind the time boards the sweep bus behind the last runner or carries on along the pavement as the roads reopen, and medals go to finishers inside the limit. A runner aiming near the limit should not line up at the very back, since the clock is already running.