My marathons

Manchester Marathon

Manchester
Manchester Town Hall
© OpenStreetMap Manchester Town Hall. Photograph by Mark Andrew., CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

The course

Pick a place, or drag along the profile

Flat to km 14, a slow rise of 12 m to km 19, then another slow rise of 15 m home from km 31.

StartFinish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

  1. Photo: Ank Kumar, CC0
  2. Photo: Tim Green from Bradford, CC BY 2.0
  3. Photo: Tony Grist, Public domain
  4. Photo: Mikey, CC BY 2.0
  7. Photo: User:Andreeg2001, Public domain
  8. Photo: Mikey from Wythenshawe, Manchester, UK, CC BY 2.0
  9. Photo: MichaelDavidBeckwith, CC0

km 3.2mile 2

Castlefield Viaduct and Deansgate Locks

The brick railway arches over Deansgate Locks at Castlefield, near the Deansgate turn at km 3.2 and 4.2.

Photo: Tim Green from Bradford, CC BY 2.0

Height drawn many times taller than life. Heights: LIDAR Composite Digital Terrain Model (DTM).

Course elevation profile, 8× vertical exaggeration Elevation along the course from km 0 to km 42. The trace runs between 23 and 38 metres, a range of 15 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: Bridgewater Viaduct, Deansgate, km 3.4 to 3.5; Bridgewater Viaduct, Deansgate, km 3.7 to 3.7; Chester Road on a bridge, km 10.1 to 10.2; Park Road on a bridge, km 14.6 to 14.7; Chester Road on a bridge, km 30.7 to 30.8; Edge Lane on a bridge, km 32.3 to 32.4. 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 10 20 30 40 km
0 10 20 26.2 mi

Dashed: bridge

  • flat to 14
  • slow rise to 19
  • slow rise home

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

Get them on AmazonAmazon partner link

The course in short 3 lines
  • Twenty-three to thirty-eight metres above sea level, all dayA 15 m range from the lowest road to the highest; no hill in it.
  • Down to the low point twice, then a slow lift to the finishFlat for 6 km, two dips, and a last 11 km that gains about 15 m.
  • Old Trafford to Oxford RoadA one-way run from Old Trafford to the University of Manchester.
Course notes 4 short reads on the course
km 0 to 42.2GradientTwenty-three to thirty-eight metres above sea level, all dayA 15 m range from the lowest road to the highest; no hill in it.

The organiser sells the race as the UK’s flattest major marathon, and the road backs it. The lowest point is about 22.8 m, near km 31 and again near km 10; the highest is 38.2 m, at the finish. Nothing in between is more than 15.5 m above the lowest road.

The steepest stretch is the rise of about 5 m over the kilometre from km 18.4 to km 19.5, a gradient of roughly 0.5%. In total the course climbs about 48 m.

Measured

km 6 to 42.2GradientDown to the low point twice, then a slow lift to the finishFlat for 6 km, two dips, and a last 11 km that gains about 15 m.

The first 6 km sit level at about 31 m. The road then falls to about 23 m by km 10, climbs back to roughly 34 m around km 22 and falls again to its lowest point, about 22.8 m, near km 31.

From there it is one long, easy lift to the end: about 15 m over the last 11 km, to the finish at 38 m. The finish is about 7 m higher than the start, so the last third asks for slightly more than the first.

Measured

km 0 to 42.2LandmarkOld Trafford to Oxford RoadA one-way run from Old Trafford to the University of Manchester.

On the 2026 route the race starts outside Old Trafford, runs through Sale and comes back into the city centre to finish on Oxford Road.

Sourced

Whole courseCrowdOver 150,000 supportersThe organiser's own count of the crowd, in a race of 40,000 and more.

The organiser puts the crowd at over 150,000 supporters. In 2026 it asked spectators not to go to the start, and sent them instead on foot to Deansgate, just over a mile in, for a supporter send-off there.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Manchester, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, the orange marks on the profile. Manchester stays within 15 m49 ft of height, so they go 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.

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
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.

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
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
47.9 m157 ft
cut-off
6:00 h
finishers
21,887
first held
2012

A point-to-point route from Old Trafford through Sale and Altrincham into Manchester city centre, on one of the flattest courses in the country.

The Manchester Marathon is a flat point-to-point course of 42.2 km with 47.9 m of climbing. Its lowest point is 23 m and its highest 38 m above sea level. Next race: Sunday 18 April 2027.

Race week

Timetable

Sunday 18 April Race day

  1. Time not published

    Marathon day Sunday 18 April 2027. The start is at Old Trafford and the finish on Oxford Road, and runners go off in waves by predicted finish time.

  2. Time not published

    Last starter has at least 6 hours The very last participant to cross the start line has at least 6 hours to finish. Runners behind 6-hour pace may be asked onto the pavement so roads can reopen. Standing rule from the organiser's help centre. 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 Manchester time, checked .

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Manchester 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 Manchester Marathon

Is the Manchester Marathon course flat?

Yes. It has 47.9 m of climbing over 42.2 km. The highest point is 15 m above the lowest.

When is the Manchester Marathon 2027?

Sunday 18 April 2027.

What is the time limit at the Manchester Marathon?

Runners have 6 hours to finish.

1 more question
How many runners finish the Manchester Marathon?

21,887 runners finished in 2024.

Sources and licence

Last checked.

Course line matched onto OpenStreetMap road geometry: (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License 1.0 (ODbL). Elevation sampled from LIDAR Composite Digital Terrain Model (DTM), 1 m: Contains Environment Agency information © Environment Agency and/or database right, Open Government Licence v3.0.

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

The line is drawn on the roads and measures 1.34% shorter than the certified distance.

Date and entry information from the organiser.

Every source and licence behind them →

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