My marathons

Warsaw Marathon

Run on 27 September 2026. Next race: date not out yet. Warsaw
Old Town Market Place
© OpenStreetMap Old Town Market Place. Photograph by Adrian Grycuk, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

The course

Pick a place, or drag along the profile

Downhill to km 5, a climb of 26 m from km 15 to km 21, then a slow rise of 15 m home from km 37.

Start, finish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

  2. Photo: Igor123121, CC BY 4.0
  3. Photo: Cybularny, CC0
  5. Photo: Igor123121, CC BY 4.0

km 2.8mile 1.8

Poniatowski Bridge

The course crosses the Vistula on the Poniatowski Bridge a little under 3 km in.

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 81 and 113 metres, a range of 31 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: Aleje Jerozolimskie, km 1.8 to 2.5; Most Księcia Józefa Poniatowskiego, km 2.6 to 3.1; Wybrzeże Szczecińskie, km 13.2 to 13.3; Most Gdański, km 16.6 to 17.1; Księcia Janusza, km 23.8 to 23.9; Juliusza Słowackiego, km 35.6 to 35.9; Generała Władysława Andersa, km 38.3 to 38.5. 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. Marked points: Cut-off at km 21.1; Cut-off at km 30; Cut-off at km 35; Cut-off at km 40.
0 10 20 30 40 km
0 10 20 26.2 mi

Dashed: bridge upright dashes: cut-offs

  • downhill to 5
  • climb to 21
  • 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
  • Downhill to the Vistula in the first 5 kmThe start is the high ground; the Vistula bridge comes within the first 3 km.
  • Ten flat kilometres on the east bankThe flattest stretch of the course, with the road holding its height.
  • The biggest climb, back over the riverThe biggest rise comes at km 16 to 18; after it the course is level again.
Course notes 4 short reads on the course
km 0 to 4.8GradientDownhill to the Vistula in the first 5 kmThe start is the high ground; the Vistula bridge comes within the first 3 km.

The start on Świętokrzyska sits on the high ground of the city centre, at about 112 m. The road runs down through Nowy Świat and across the Poniatowski Bridge near km 2.8, and the lowest point of the whole course, 81.1 m, comes at km 4.8 on the far bank. These figures are for the 2026 course.

Measured

km 5 to 15GradientTen flat kilometres on the east bankThe flattest stretch of the course, with the road holding its height.

After the bridge the course stays low on the east side of the Vistula. Between km 5 and km 15 the height barely moves, between about 81 and 86 m, and the National Stadium comes up near km 11.5. These figures are for the 2026 course.

Measured

km 15 to 18.4GradientThe biggest climb, back over the riverThe biggest rise comes at km 16 to 18; after it the course is level again.

The Gdański Bridge takes the course back to the west bank near km 17, and the ground rises with it: about 17 m between km 15 and km 18, the largest climb on the course. After that the road holds between about 100 and 109 m up to km 30. These figures are for the 2026 course.

Measured

km 38 to 42.2FinishA last rise of about 16 m to the finishThe last 4 km climb toward the finish, which sits at the start's height.

Near km 41 the course is on Krakowskie Przedmieście, the Royal Route, close to the Presidential Palace. The road rises from about 97 m at km 38 to the course’s highest point at km 41.6. The finish is on Świętokrzyska, where the race started. These figures are for the 2026 course.

Measured

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Warsaw, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, the orange marks on the profile. Warsaw stays within 31 m102 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.

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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
66 m217 ft
cut-off
6:30 h
first held
1979

A flat late-September loop through central Warsaw, starting at the Palace of Culture and Science and running the historic Royal Route past the Old Town, over the Vistula on the Poniatowski Bridge and back through the city centre.

The Warsaw Marathon is a loop of 42.2 km with 66 m of climbing. Its lowest point is 81 m and its highest 113 m above sea level.

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Questions about the Warsaw Marathon

Is the Warsaw Marathon course flat?

Not entirely. It has 66 m of climbing over 42.2 km. The highest point is 31 m above the lowest.

How do I enter the Warsaw Marathon?

Entry is through the organiser. Entry fee: €120 (for the 2026 race). Entry details on the organiser’s site

What is the time limit at the Warsaw Marathon?

Runners have 6 h 30 min to finish.

In the news

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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 1.48% longer than the certified distance, which is measured on the shortest legal line through every bend.

Date and entry information from Fundacja "Maraton Warszawski".

Every source and licence behind them →

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