Seven days to go. The training is done, and what’s left is logistics: a trip to the expo, a few short runs, a lot of pasta and one early alarm.
Here’s the whole week before the Berlin Marathon on Sunday, 27 September 2026, in one place.
The expo and your bib
Every runner collects their race material in person at the MARATHON EXPO by BRITA. There are no exceptions, so nobody can pick it up for you.
| Where | Tempelhof Airport, Platz der Luftbrücke 5, 12101 Berlin |
| Thursday 24 Sep | 15:00–20:00 |
| Friday 25 Sep | 10:00–20:00 |
| Saturday 26 Sep | 09:00–19:00 |
| Entry | Free |
Bring two things:
- A photo ID: identity card, passport or driving licence.
- Your start card. The organisers email it 7–10 days before the race, and you can also download it from your race account.
You’ll get a wristband, your bib with the timing chip, and any extras you booked, such as a clothing bag or merchandise. Don’t take the wristband off. You can’t get into the start area without it.
Book a time slot. You can reserve a pick-up slot in your race account until 21 September. If you haven’t yet, today is the day. It saves you a long queue.
Getting there. There’s no parking at the expo. Take the U6 to Platz der Luftbrücke (about a 10-minute walk), bus M43 or 248 (about 10 minutes), or the S41, S42, S45, S46 or S47 to Tempelhof (about 15 minutes). There’s paid luggage storage at the main entrance if you’re coming straight from the airport or station.
Go early in the weekend. The organisers suggest Thursday, or Friday morning if you can. Hours of standing and walking around an expo on Saturday is the last thing your legs need.
Day by day
This is the race week of the 16-week Marathon plan in iRunning, with the calendar filled in. The rule for the whole week: run less, keep it easy, don’t try anything new.
| Day | Run | Everything else |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 21 | Rest, or a 20-minute walk | Book your expo slot. Check the weather forecast for Sunday once, then stop checking |
| Tue 22 | 30 minutes easy | Plan your race: goal pace and your 10 km, halfway and 30 km times |
| Wed 23 | Rest | Try on your full race kit, including socks. Charge your watch and headphones |
| Thu 24 | 20 minutes easy + 4 × 20-second strides, with a minute of easy jogging between | Expo opens at 15:00. Sleep well tonight: it counts more than Saturday night |
| Fri 25 | Rest | Collect your bib if you haven’t. Start carb-loading. Trim your toenails if you haven’t yet |
| Sat 26 | 20 minutes very easy, in the morning | Stay off your feet. Lay out your kit in the evening and pin on your bib |
| Sun 27 | Race day | Breakfast about three hours before your start |
Strides are relaxed accelerations up to about your 5K pace, not sprints. They wake your legs up without tiring them.
Feeling flat, heavy or twitchy this week is normal. Odd little aches that come and go are common when you suddenly run less. They almost always disappear once the race starts. More on why in our marathon taper guide.
Carb-loading, from Friday
For the last two to three days, make carbohydrate the main part of every meal. A common target is 8–10 g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight per day, about 560–700 g for a 70 kg runner.
- Bigger portions of rice, pasta, bread and potatoes, smaller portions of everything else. It’s more carbohydrate, not more food.
- Low fibre. White bread, white rice, bananas and juice sit better on race morning than wholegrains and beans.
- Drink normally. No need to force down litres.
- Expect to weigh 1–2 kg more. That’s stored fuel and water, and you’ll use it after 30 km.
Race morning
- Get into your block on time. Blocks A–C open at 7:00, D–E at 7:30, F–G at 8:00, H–J at 8:30 and K at 9:00.
- Runners start from 8:45, in six waves, on Straße des 17. Juni.
- Bag drop is only for runners who booked it when they registered.
- Only open-ear headphones are allowed on the course.
- Know the limits. You have 6 hours 15 minutes from crossing the start line. There’s a cut-off at km 33 at 15:40, and the finish closes at 17:00.
- Start slower than you want to. Our negative split guide has split tables from 3:00 to 5:00, and the Berlin course guide lists every drink station.
Your race-week kit list
- Start card and photo ID (for the expo)
- Wristband on, bib pinned, safety pins spare
- Shoes and socks you’ve already run long in
- The gels you trained with
- A throwaway layer for the start block
- Watch and phone charged, workout loaded
- Open-ear headphones, if you run with music
- Something warm and dry for after the finish
How iRunning helps this week
- The easy runs. The Easy run workout is 30 minutes, conversational, and free: exactly Tuesday’s run. For Saturday, the 15-minute Shake-out (Premium) is a good fit, or just run the first 20 minutes of an easy run.
- Thursday’s strides. Build them as a custom workout: 20 minutes easy, then 4 × 20 seconds fast with a minute of jogging. Two custom workouts are free.
- A calm voice every kilometre. In Settings › Customise › Run screen › What to announce, set By distance to every 1 km and pick Avg pace and Total time. Try it on Tuesday so there are no surprises on Sunday.
- Your race plan with pace targets. Build the marathon as distance steps with a pace band, and you’ll hear “Slow down” or “Pick up the pace” if you drift out of it. Run the first 10 minutes on Thursday as a rehearsal. Pace targets and voice cues are free.
- Phone-free on Sunday. Tap Add to Apple Watch to send the workout to Apple’s Workout app, or run it in the iRunning Watch app.
- After the finish. Open the race and tap Share › Video to turn 42 km into a route video of 5 to 30 seconds. It’s free, and it works with runs imported from a Garmin or COROS too. The free version shows the last 7 days of your history, so share it within a week. Our finish-sharing guide walks through it.
If you’re on the Marathon or Sub-4 Marathon plan, the app suggests the two-week Post-Race Recovery plan (Premium) once you’re done.
Good luck on Sunday. The hard part is behind you. Now go and enjoy the city.
Expo and race details are from the official BMW Berlin Marathon website as of 17 September 2026. Opening hours can change, so check it before you go. Training advice, not medical advice.