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

Lucerne runs at lake level for most of its 42 km. The whole course stays between 434.2 m and 462.4 m above the sea, and from km 9 to km 33 the road never rises above 442.6 m. The work comes in two short pieces at either end: a climb of about 25 m to km 7.7 that drops straight back to the lake within a kilometre and a bit, and a rise of about 16 m between km 32 and km 35.7, when the legs have least to give. Run the first one easy and save something for the second.

Since 2025 the marathon has been a single lap: out from the Swiss Museum of Transport, through the city, south along the shore to a turn at Alpnachstad on Lake Alpnach, and back through the old town to the same finish, with a pass by the football stadium on the way. The heights and kilometres below are measured along the organiser’s single-lap course file, matched to OpenStreetMap, on a 30 m bare-earth elevation model smoothed over a kilometre, so they can sit a little off the organiser’s own markers. Check the organiser’s marathon page for any change to the route before race day.

Km 0 to 3: the lakefront and the KKL

The start is on Haldenstrasse, on the lake east of the centre, and the opening kilometres run along the shore into the city at about 437 to 441 m. At about km 1.9 the course goes through the Culture and Congress Centre, the KKL, beside the station.

Km 3 to 9: the first rise

This is the highest ground of the race. From about 437 m at km 3 the road climbs to 462.4 m at km 7.7, about 25 m over 4.7 km, which is a gentle gradient on fresh legs. The way down is steeper: the road falls back to 436.3 m by km 8.9, so about 26 m in 1.2 km. Early in a marathon that descent is the place to hold back rather than let gravity set the pace.

Km 9 to 22: Horw, Hergiswil and the turn

From here the course is flat for 24 km. It goes round the Horw peninsula along the lake and through the spectator zone at Hergiswil at about km 15.5. It then follows the shore of Lake Alpnach to the one turn of the race, at Alpnachstad, where the organiser places bell-ringers. On the measured line the far point of the lap comes at about km 22.

Km 22 to 33: back along the shore

The return runs back along the lake past the lowest point of the course, 434.2 m at km 25.1, and comes into the atmosphere zone at Horw at about km 32.8. This is the long, level middle of the race: no turn and no climb.

Km 32 to 37: the second rise

The second rise starts after km 32 and tops out at 453.4 m at km 35.7, 16.5 m above the road at km 32. It is shorter and lower than the first, but it comes after 32 km.

Km 37 to the finish: the old town

The last 5 km come back down to the lake. The course runs through the old town, past the Chapel Bridge and the Water Tower at about km 38.9, and back along the lakefront to the finish at the Swiss Museum of Transport, at 435.4 m.

Runner Expo and race numbers

The Runner Expo for 2027 is on Schweizerhofquai, on the lakefront about five minutes from Lucerne station. It is open on Friday 29 October from 4pm to 8pm and on Saturday 30 October from 10am to 5pm, with free entry. You collect your race number and Runner shirt there on showing your starter guide, which is emailed to you before the race. One person can collect several numbers at once with copies of each runner’s starter guide.

There is no collection at the expo on Sunday. Runners who live abroad can collect on race morning at the Troubledesk with the starter guide and personal ID; in 2026 it was open from 7.30am to 11.30am in front of the Swiss Museum of Transport. Runners in Switzerland and Liechtenstein can instead have the number posted by A-Post from the Monday before the race. The timing chip is built into the number, and you cannot run on someone else’s number without a formal transfer.

The start and start slots

The marathon starts from Haldenstrasse 28, and the organiser runs it in three stages: you get into the start only with your race number. The slots are staggered and lettered, A to U. On the organiser’s current start page the first slot goes at 8.25am for women under 3:30 and men under 3:00, and the others follow at 8.26, 8.29, 8.32, 8.34, 8.36 and 8.38am, grouped around the pacemaker times. Those times carry no year on the page, so check them against the 2027 starter guide.

About 60 pacemakers run the marathon, at 3:00, 3:15, 3:30, 3:40, 3:50, 4:00, 4:15, 4:30, 4:45 and 5:00. On the current slot list the 4:00 group goes at 8.32am and the 5:00 group at 8.38am.

Cloakrooms

There is no supervised bag drop. Cloakrooms with showers open from 6.30am to 4pm, women’s at the Würzenbach Sports Centre on Kreuzbuchstrasse and men’s in the Würzenbach school building on the same street, about 300 m from the start and finish. Only runners with a race number get in, and the rooms are not guarded. A guarded valuables depot takes phones, keys and wallets, but not clothes or bags. There are also coin lockers on Lidostrasse that take a CHF 2 coin.

Aid and the cut-off

The organiser promises sufficient and regular refreshments for all runners but does not publish where the stations are. The drinks and gels on the course are named on its nutrition page, and an Eichhof Runner Beer waits after the finish.

The limit is 6 hours 15 minutes, and the finish for the marathon closes at 3pm; runners who arrive after that are not classified. No intermediate cut-off points are listed. In 2026 the award ceremony for the overall winners was at noon in the finish arena.