https://www.marathontrip.com/races/amsterdam-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/amsterdam-long-cut.webp Amsterdam: the Olympic Stadium, the Rijksmuseum and the Amstel One loop from the Olympic Stadium of the 1928 Games that never gets more than 4 metres from sea level. Nearly a third of it, 13 km, runs below sea level, and it climbs about 22 metres in the whole race. At 4 km it runs straight through the Rijksmuseum, in the passage under the building. 11.6 km of it runs beside the Amstel, out to the turn at Ouderkerk and back up the east bank. The lowest point is in the Watergraafsmeer, a lake drained in 1629: 3.9 metres below sea level at 31.2 km. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/diHhsoUUU8E 229 2026-09-29T03:15:06-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/antwerp-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/antwerp-long-cut.webp Antwerp: one loop run twice, the Scheldt quays and the MAS One loop of the city, run twice, and almost no hill at all. It climbs 22 m in 42 km, and 87% of it lies within 3 m of the start's height. But it has 150 corners and 12,376 degrees of turning, the twistiest of the 24 courses we have measured. Lap one starts on the Kattendijkbrug by the docks, passes the Port House, runs along the Meir to Antwerpen-Centraal and out through Zurenborg to its far point, 4.2 km from the start at 12.4 km, then comes back up the Scheldt quays, 2.5 km dead straight, to the start line at 20.1 km. Lap two adds its only new road, 2.4 km round the docks, and runs the same loop again from 22.9 km. The last 200 m leave the quays for the MAS, the museum on the river. The gun is at 09:00 on the Kattendijkbrug, on the Rijnkaai; the film is lit as at 10:00 so that you can see the course. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/u6df5ZHvoO4 239 2026-10-13T05:51:10-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/athens-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/athens-long-cut.webp Athens: 20 km uphill, then down to a marble stadium Athens climbs 281 metres in all, nearly eight times Berlin's 35.9, and every metre of it comes before 31.2 km. From the Rafina junction it climbs 201.7 metres in 13.6 km without a metre of it downhill, to the top at Stavros, 236.6 metres above the sea. From there it is 151.1 metres down to the finish and nothing up. Mesogeion Avenue runs 5.5 km dead straight, and the last 170 metres are run down the arena of the Panathenaic Stadium, where the first Olympic marathon finished in 1896. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Ekt6zPuNJos 236 2026-09-28T04:03:36-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/beijing-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/beijing-short.webp Beijing: Tiananmen Square to the Olympic Park From Tiananmen Square nearly 8 km due west on Chang'an Avenue, then north on the West Third Ring and east along the North Fourth Ring, past the Ice Ribbon to finish in the Olympic Park. Almost flat: 41.2 m of climbing in all of it. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/v8ZX4ZJJX0o 59 2026-10-14T03:04:24-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/berlin-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/berlin-long-cut.webp Berlin: from the Victory Column to the Brandenburg Gate Berlin is flat: about 36 m of climbing in 42 km, and only 18 m between the lowest and highest points. What it has instead is corners: 44 real ones, 19 before halfway, then a single one in the 6.6 km from 33.3 to 39.9 km, and six right angles in 1.35 km at Potsdamer Platz before Unter den Linden and the Brandenburg Gate. This is the 2026 route, as run on 27 September 2026; the 2027 course has not been published yet. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/D0_nzp3xKKo 241 2026-10-25T01:14:22-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/boston-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/boston-long-cut.webp Boston: the downhill that costs you the hills Boston drops 137 metres net, Hopkinton to Boylston Street, and gives up most of that before the hills that made it famous get a chance to take any of it back. The course loses 77 metres in its first eight kilometres, eases for the next eight, and keeps falling past the halfway mark to its lowest point near Newton Lower Falls. Commonwealth Avenue then climbs 48 metres back up over four separate rises before Beacon Street and Brookline give 44 of them away again, on the way to a finish on Boylston Street that still sits 137 metres below the start. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/4D39tkSugJ4 192 2026-09-20T07:19:31-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/budapest-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/budapest-short.webp Budapest: both banks of the Danube and Margaret Island From the Buda bank under Gellért Hill, through the tunnel under Castle Hill and over the Chain Bridge, out along Andrássy út past the Opera and back over Liberty Bridge. Then the whole Buda quay north to Margaret Island and down the Pest side. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/T32J9jje2pY 58 2026-10-10T01:29:45-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/chicago-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/chicago-long-cut.webp Chicago: flat and square, until the very last bridge Chicago runs 42.195 km inside 9.6 metres of height. The whole course sits between 179 and 189 metres above the sea, and it climbs 19.1 metres in a whole marathon, where Berlin climbs 35.9. It crosses the Chicago River six times, on six movable bridges. What it asks of you instead of hills is corners: 36 of them, three that turn back on themselves, and the sharpest, 150 degrees inside sixty metres, where Canalport Avenue meets Cermak Road. Then, with a kilometre to go, Roosevelt Road: 6.1 metres up in 300 metres, the one climb on the course, before the turn onto Columbus Drive and the last 625 metres down to the finish in Grant Park. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/dtkpNAOmaJs 239 2026-09-24T09:06:47-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/curitiba-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/curitiba-long-cut.webp Curitiba: 42 km at 900 m Curitiba is the highest of Brazil's 26 state capitals, and its marathon is run between 882 and 936 m, starting and finishing at City Hall at 901 m. There is no hill: the course climbs 128 m in 42 km, mostly at the two ends, up onto a plateau above 920 m in the first 5 km and 33 m back up over the last 9 km to Alto da Glória, before the last kilometre runs down into the finish. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/GBKJJZPBRsg 231 2026-10-22T07:00:14-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/dresden-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/dresden-short.webp Dresden: the Altstadt, the Großer Garten and the Elbe From Ostra-Allee past the Zwinger, the Semper Opera and the Cathedral, over the Augustus Bridge into the Neustadt and up to the course's one real rise, 137 m at km 6. Twice through the Großer Garten, along both banks of the Elbe, and half a lap of the Heinz-Steyer-Stadion to finish. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/C5YldkowPq8 58 2026-10-19T01:06:48-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/dublin-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/dublin-long-cut.webp Dublin: Phoenix Park, the Liffey and the last hill Dublin climbs 141.9 metres in a whole marathon, almost four times Berlin's 35.9. It tops out at 66.9 metres at 11.2 km inside Phoenix Park, drops 58.8 metres to the Liffey at Chapelizod and climbs straight back up Saint Laurence's Road. The last hill, Clonskeagh and Roebuck Roads, climbs 19.7 metres in 2.5 km and ends at 35.5 km. After it the course falls to 3.2 metres on Merrion Road, the lowest ground of the race, and rises 6.2 metres back to the finish. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Tqibb9EgguY 236 2026-09-25T12:25:19-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/eindhoven-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/eindhoven-short.webp Eindhoven: the bus lanes, the Evoluon and the High Tech Campus The first 3.8 km run on the bus lanes, the Evoluon, a flying saucer built in 1966, comes at 24.3 km, and then 3.6 km through the High Tech Campus. The highest point is just 21.4 m, at 18.5 km, and the whole course climbs only 16.5 m. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/GAxPCr5rUyg 58 2026-10-07T06:04:32-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/elche-alicante-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/elche-alicante-short.webp Elche to Alicante, from the palm groves to the port From the Palau d'Altamira in Elche through El Palmeral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the old town, then almost 11 straight kilometres on the N-340 and a drop from 85 m to 7 m between km 24 and 35. It runs along the coast into the port of Alicante to finish on Muelle 12. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/cYeDWGBTArE 76 2026-10-22T00:13:59-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/frankfurt-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/frankfurt-long-cut.webp Frankfurt: the skyline, the Main and a finish indoors A flat course that never stays straight for long. It climbs 44 m in 42 km, and 91% of it lies within 5 m of the start's height; the one real rise is 9.5 m from 9 to 10 km. But it has 68 corners, more turning than any of the 22 courses we have measured, and it passes the skyline five times. It crosses the Main twice: into Sachsenhausen on the Alte Brücke at 13.2 km, and back on the Schwanheimer Brücke at 23.9 km. It turns in Höchst at 27.1 km, its far point, and comes home on 4.19 km of dead-straight Mainzer Landstraße, then one more lap through the centre. The finish is indoors, on a red carpet under the dome of the Festhalle, as it has been since 2003. The gun is at 10:00 by the Messeturm; the film is lit as at 11:00 so that you can see the course. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/CRV1iKrtpnE 240 2026-10-09T11:41:20-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/havana-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/havana-long-cut.webp Havana: two laps, 12.9 km on the Malecón It is two laps of one certified circuit, and half of it is sea wall. From the start on Avenida Independencia the course runs east on Carlos III and Reina, down the Paseo del Prado past El Capitolio to La Punta, where it meets the sea at the harbour mouth opposite El Morro. Then it turns west along the Malecón, 2 to 5 m above the sea: 12.9 km of the race, 30% of it, and the lowest point is on it, 2.3 m, at 10.3 km and again at 31.4 km. At 11 km the course turns 180 degrees by the Almendares tunnel, turns its back on the sea and climbs the one real hill: 25 m up Calle 12 in 1.1 km, then 10 m more, gently, along Calle 23 and Avenida 26 to the top of the course, 37 m, at 15.5 km. Then level round the Ciudad Deportiva and downhill from 19 km to halfway, past the José Martí Memorial. 108 m of climbing in the whole marathon, 54 m a lap, and every kilometre of it run twice. The half marathon is the first lap. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Hs6MK0Hp7xo 237 2026-10-16T23:46:34-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/honolulu-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/honolulu-long-cut.webp Honolulu: one hill, climbed twice Honolulu has one hill, and the course climbs it twice. Diamond Head Road rises 31 m in 1 km from the lighthouse at 12.5 km to a first summit at 13 km, and the course comes back to the same summit at 39.6 km from the other side. Between them there is almost nothing: the first 10 km climb 3.8 m in total, and the 15 km from 18.8 km to 34.1 km never rise above 5 m. At the far end the course is a loop, 3.4 km round Hawaii Kai, not a turn, and 44% of the race is run twice. The finish in Kapiolani Park is 3.7 km from the start on Ala Moana Boulevard, and 0.9 m higher. There is no cut-off time. The race starts at 5:00 am, in the dark, under fireworks. The film is lit at 8:00 am so you can see the course. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/3-4fFDCoUt4 240 2026-10-01T11:33:56-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/istanbul-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/istanbul-long-cut.webp Istanbul: Asia to Europe, then 30 km by the sea The race starts in Asia and finishes in Europe. Runners are on the Bosphorus Bridge, 64 m above the water, from 0.4 km to 2 km, and Europe begins mid-strait at 1.2 km: a bridge nobody may walk across, run on race morning. The high point comes at 3.8 km, 87.2 m above the sea, and then the course drops 77.8 m down Barbaros Bulvarı to the Bosphorus in 2 km. From 5.8 km to 40.3 km it never rises 10 m above the sea. It runs past Dolmabahçe Palace, crosses the Golden Horn on the Galata Bridge at 9.1 km and rounds Seraglio Point under Topkapı Palace, and then 30.7 km of it is one coast road along the Sea of Marmara, out past Yedikule to a turn at 25.7 km in Yeşilköy and back. The highest point of that whole road is 7.9 m. The last 5 km climb 33.2 m, the steepest of it 2.7% over 500 m from 40.3 km, up through Gülhane Park and past Hagia Sophia to a finish in the Hippodrome, between the Blue Mosque and the Obelisk of Theodosius. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/JNdwkI7z0b0 246 2026-10-09T04:42:26-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/london-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/london-long-cut.webp London: downhill early, flat after London finishes 36.3 metres lower than it starts: 41.4 metres above the sea on Blackheath, 5.1 on The Mall. It spends 35.4 metres of that inside the first 10 km, and from Greenwich to the finish it never rises above 11.2 metres. It still climbs 42.4 metres in a whole marathon, where Berlin climbs 35.9. Start and finish sit 10.7 km apart, a quarter of the race against a limit of half, and the course drops 0.86 metres a kilometre against a limit of one. The downhill is real, and it is spent early. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/bHJ3sov0Pb8 242 2026-09-25T00:40:48-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/lucerne-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/lucerne-short.webp Lucerne: along the lake to Alpnachstad and back From Haldenstrasse on Lake Lucerne over the Seebrücke, past the KKL and out through Horw, where the course reaches its highest point, then along the lake to the turn at Alpnachstad under Pilatus. The same road brings it back to Lucerne. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/1bJW_S8JlQU 58 2026-10-23T09:09:59-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/malaga-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/malaga-long-cut.webp Málaga: the port, two seafronts and Calle Larios home Málaga starts and finishes on the Paseo del Parque, below the Alcazaba, and 22 of its 42 km run within 200 m of the sea or the port: out along the harbour wall past La Farola, east to El Palo, and the long flat west seafront. Its highest point is only 21 m, at La Rosaleda at km 25, and it comes home down Calle Larios. This is the 2025 route; the organiser has not published a 2026 course. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/jb_TfbOu81Y 230 2026-10-30T03:28:49-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/marine-corps-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/marine-corps-long-cut.webp Marine Corps Marathon: the hill first, Beat the Bridge, the memorial The hill comes first. From the start on Route 110 the course climbs to its high point on Langston Boulevard past Rosslyn, 66 m (217 ft) up at mile 2.3: 59 m (195 ft) of climbing in the first 2.3 miles, more than half of the race's 112 m (369 ft). Then it all comes back down Spout Run to the Potomac in less than a mile and a half. From mile 7.5 to mile 20.8 the course never rises above 10 m (33 ft): out and back on Rock Creek Parkway, round Hains Point at mile 13.3, its lowest point, and along the National Mall. Beat the Bridge is a clock, not a hill: be at 14th and D Streets by 1:15 p.m., about two thirds of a mile before mile 20 on the 14th Street Bridge. The last 0.2 mile climbs again, 11 m (36 ft), 8.8% at its steepest, to the Marine Corps War Memorial, where the race has finished since 1976. The gun is at 7:20 a.m., just before sunrise; the film is lit as at 10 a.m. so that you can see the course. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/8QzmuhTYINU 240 2026-10-16T03:29:43-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/melbourne-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/melbourne-short.webp Melbourne: the Yarra, St Kilda Road and the bay From Batman Avenue beside the Yarra past Federation Square and over Princes Bridge, down St Kilda Road past the Shrine of Remembrance to the beach at St Kilda. The 2026 course is new: it runs the bay the other way, and the old Domain Road climb at 36 km is gone. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/QUEAIOv_8Lw 59 2026-10-09T03:29:01-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/milan-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/milan-long-cut.webp Milan: from the Arco della Pace to the Duomo, past San Siro In 2026 Milan stopped being a loop. It starts on Corso Sempione, just behind the Arco della Pace, runs past the Cimitero Monumentale to Porta Nuova and the Bosco Verticale at 4.4 km, turns on Corso Venezia at 6.3 km and goes south round the old rings of the centre, straight and flat from Porta Romana to the Darsena at 11.1 km. West past the three CityLife towers at 15.7 km, halfway on Via Diomede and San Siro at 22.7 km, then the long way round the north-west and back in on Via Gallarate, 1.8 km dead straight. It comes up Corso Sempione again at 35.3 km, past the Arco della Pace and the Castello Sforzesco, and through Brera to the finish in Piazza del Duomo. It is flat: only 23 m between the lowest point, 117 m at 9.8 km, and the highest, which is the finish. The last 1.2 km climbs 9 m, the only rise of the day, and the last 4 km carry 14 sharp corners. This is the 2026 route; the 2027 course is not out yet. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/wcQW0DtIVhM 232 2026-10-24T13:05:49-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/mumbai-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/mumbai-long-cut.webp Mumbai: Marine Drive, the Coastal Road and the Sea Link A flat course with one hill in it, run twice. 75% of it lies 10 metres or less above the sea, and the Coastal Road and the Bandra-Worli Sea Link give 4.1 km of road over the sea without touching land, the longest straight of the race on the bridge. The hill is Pedder Road. The first time, at 9 km, is the gentle side. The second, at 35.2 km, is the steep side: 30 metres in 1.05 km, to the highest point of the race at 36.3 km. This film flies the route as run in 2026; the 2027 route is not published yet. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/iYu9WE73ewQ 238 2026-09-28T04:26:47-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/munich-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/munich-short.webp Munich: the Olympic Park, Marienplatz and the English Garden From the Olympic Stadium into town, three times through the Siegestor and across Marienplatz, a loop of the English Garden and over the Isar to the Werksviertel, the course's highest point. One lap, back to finish at Willi-Daume-Platz by the Olympic Lake. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/AtaV0SGPpso 60 2026-10-10T07:05:16-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/new-orleans-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/new-orleans-short.webp New Orleans: City Park and the lakefront, twice From the New Orleans Museum of Art up Wisner Boulevard beside Bayou St. John to Lake Pontchartrain, out along Lakeshore Drive and back round City Park, then the whole loop a second time. The finish is on Roosevelt Mall beside Tad Gormley Stadium, built in 1937. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ddOk_AOTbXY 58 2026-10-22T09:07:48-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/new-york-city-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/nyc-long-cut.webp New York: five bridges, five boroughs, one last hill The 2026 New York course, from the gun at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island to the finish in Central Park. The first climb is the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge itself, crested at 0.95 km, and its 2.4 km of deck is the longest of the five bridges. Brooklyn is about 18 km of the race, and Fourth Avenue runs 6.5 km without a turn. Queens Plaza has a 177 degree turn, the sharpest on the course, and then come 1.9 km on the Queensboro Bridge's lower deck. First Avenue runs 6.2 km without a turn up to the Harlem River. The Bronx section changed in 2026 for the first time in 15 years, and the film flies the new route. The last real hill is Fifth Avenue: 26.0 m up in 2.5 km from 35.9 km, to the top of the course at 38.4 km, then 3.8 km and 9.5 m lower to the finish. The film is lit at 10:00 am on race day; the waves start between 8:00 and 11:30. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/oCSZAZJBFNk 242 2026-10-02T03:15:17-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/nice-cannes-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/nice-cannes-short.webp Nice to Cannes along the Riviera, in one flight Point to point along the Riviera: from the Promenade des Anglais and the pink dome of the Negresco, round the whole Baie des Anges and past Antibes to Cannes. Every bib is also a train ticket, valid on the trains all day on race day. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/PIb3RlOB0So 74 2026-10-30T10:05:30-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/nn-marathon-the-hague/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/hague-long-cut.webp The Hague: the Westland glass, the dunes and the Kurhaus The first NN Marathon The Hague leaves the Malieveld for the Westland: 14.8 km among the glasshouses, about 6 km of it below sea level, its low point 0.8 m under it at km 10.7. Most of the climbing waits for the end: 21.4 of the course's 27.8 m come after km 26, over three rises at Kijkduin, along the Laan van Poot and from Scheveningen harbour up to the boulevard, before it turns inland at the Kurhaus and comes home to the Malieveld. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/4oQHh1uioT4 182 2026-10-30T04:48:37-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/paris-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/paris-long-cut.webp Paris: two woods, the Seine tunnels and the Eiffel Tower Paris is a tour, not a loop: from the Champs-Élysées round the Palais Garnier and east past the Bastille, nearly 10 km in the Bois de Vincennes, then 5 km on the lower quai of the Seine, 1.5 km of it in four tunnels, past the Eiffel Tower and through the Bois de Boulogne to the finish on Avenue Foch. It is flat with a rise at the end: the lowest point is 27 m by the Seine at 30.6 km, the highest 75 m at 39.4 km. This is the 2026 route; the 2027 course has been announced as changed and is not out yet. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/EQQt8RLeEjk 236 2026-10-23T01:07:39-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/porto-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/porto-long-cut.webp Porto: the Atlantic, the Douro and six bridges Porto is a course by the water: the one real rise is the first 2.4 km, up Avenida da Boavista, and 32.6 km of the 42.2 run within 200 m of the sea, the harbour or the river. It goes north over the Leça lifting bridge, south along the Atlantic to Foz, and 17.6 km beside the Douro, where the runners see all six of Porto's bridges: over one, under four, and the Freixo just beyond the turn. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/wqgxMWRes2g 233 2026-10-25T10:00:23-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/queenstown-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/queenstown-short.webp Millbrook to Queenstown, by Arrowtown and the lake From Millbrook Resort under the Remarkables, through Arrowtown's gold-rush main street and down the river trails to Lake Wakatipu, finishing 90 m lower than it starts. About 70% of it is hard-packed trail, and the one real climb is 30 m up Slope Hill Road between km 17.4 and 21. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/R38LnkZNo38 58 2026-10-27T02:04:42-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/rome-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/rome-long-cut.webp Rome: from the Colosseum to the Circus Maximus Rome is not a hill course, it is a stone course with a sting. It climbs 87 m in the whole marathon and never rises above 36.4 m, and from 5.5 km to 35.9 km the road stays between 14 and 26 m. It crosses the Tiber six times, and 11.3 km of the race lies within 120 m of the river. But 19% of it, 8.1 km, is on sampietrini, Rome's cobbles, 3.45 km of them in the last 7.2 km. The only real climb, 16 m in 2.5 km from the river up the Corso past Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps to Via del Tritone, starts at 35.9 km. It starts on the Via dei Fori Imperiali with the Colosseum behind the runners, runs up Via della Conciliazione towards St Peter's and turns into the Borgo before the square, and finishes inside the Circus Maximus. The gun is at about 8:30; the film is lit as at 10:00 so that you can see the course. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/o7_Dm-I9Qho 236 2026-10-21T01:20:57-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/rotterdam-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/rotterdam-long-cut.webp Rotterdam: the Erasmus Bridge, De Kuip and the cube houses Rotterdam's biggest climb is a bridge, and the race crosses it twice. It starts on the Schiedamsedijk and goes straight up the Erasmus Bridge, 10 m in 320 m, over the Nieuwe Maas past the Swan's 139 m pylon into the towers of the Kop van Zuid. 63% of the race runs south of the river, past De Kuip, Feyenoord's stadium. From 8.3 km it runs below sea level for 13.6 km without a break, and the lowest point is 4.9 m below sea level at 34.5 km, by the Kralingse Plas. The finish on the Coolsingel is 879 m from the start. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/yK0JVu4NIXw 235 2026-09-30T21:53:41-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/tokyo-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/tokyo-long-cut.webp Tokyo: downhill from Shinjuku, then flat to Tokyo Station Tokyo runs downhill, and then it is flat. The start on Tocho-dori stands at 40.7 m and the finish at 3.0 m, and by 10 km 98% of the drop is done; after that the course never leaves a band about 4 m high, and in the whole race it climbs only 16.2 m. It turns back three times, at Ueno-hirokoji, in Monzen-nakacho and at Tamachi, so 53.9% of the course is on road it uses twice. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Bsdf-X1Si6I 241 2026-10-03T08:42:13-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/valencia-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/valencia-long-cut.webp Valencia: low all the way, downhill at the end Valencia never gets high: 1.9 metres above the sea behind the beach, 25.1 at its highest, at 35.0 km by Avinguda de les Tres Creus. From there to the finish it never climbs, and it gives back 21.6 metres in the last 7.2 km. It still climbs 41.8 metres in a whole marathon, where Berlin climbs 35.9. Start and finish sit 219 metres apart, and the course drops 0.14 metres a kilometre against a limit of one. The last 2.2 km run down into the City of Arts and Sciences. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/GrCt13Gf0Tw 224 2026-09-25T09:40:55-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/venice-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/venice-short.webp Venice: the Brenta, the Ponte della Libertà and San Marco From Villa Pisani in Stra along the Riviera del Brenta, through Mestre and across the Ponte della Libertà, almost 4 km dead straight, into Venice. A floating bridge built for the race crosses the Grand Canal, and the last 3 km carry 14 small bridges, each fitted with wooden ramps. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/RJmlpCk_eUM 59 2026-10-15T09:12:06-07:00 yes https://www.marathontrip.com/races/yokohama-marathon/ https://www.marathontrip.com/film-posters/yokohama-short.webp Yokohama: Minato Mirai and the Bayshore expressway From the Landmark Tower in Minato Mirai past the Red Brick Warehouse and Yamashita Park, south to the Nambu Market, then about 13 km on the elevated Shuto Expressway Bayshore Route. It finishes in Rinko Park beside Pacifico Yokohama. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/JYR7hrn2U6k 58 2026-10-24T01:03:24-07:00 yes