The 52nd BMW Berlin Marathon is on Sunday, 27 September 2026. The organisers expect well over 56,000 athletes from more than 160 nations across the race weekend, and a big part of the day belongs to the people on the pavement.
If you’re cheering for someone, or just want to see one of the fastest marathons in the world, here’s when things happen, how to follow a runner, and where to stand.
Sunday at a glance
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 7:00–9:00 | Start blocks open in turn: A–C at 7:00, D–E at 7:30, F–G at 8:00, H–J at 8:30, K at 9:00 |
| 8:20 | Handbike start (top athletes) |
| 8:26 | Elite wheelchair start |
| 8:29 | Handbike and wheelchair athletes |
| from 8:45 | Runners start in six waves |
| 15:40 | Cut-off at km 33 |
| 17:00 | Official finish closes |
The start is on Straße des 17. Juni, between the Brandenburg Gate and the Kleiner Stern in the Tiergarten. Runners have 6 hours 15 minutes from the moment they cross the start line.
Because the runners go off in six waves, a runner in a late block may cross the start line quite a while after 8:45. Ask your runner which block they’re in, and use the official app to see when they actually start.
Follow a runner live
The official BMW BERLIN-MARATHON app is free for iPhone and Android (iOS 16 or Android 10 and later). According to the organisers, it does:
- Live tracking of up to 25 runners and inline skaters.
- Live results.
- An interactive map with the cheering points and directions to places along the route.
Supporters can use it without logging in. Runners log in with the registration ID from their start card email. If you had last year’s app on your phone, the organisers say to delete it completely before you install the new one.
When will my runner pass?
The tracking app gives you an estimate as the race goes on. To plan your spots before Sunday, you only need your runner’s goal time. Here’s roughly how long after their start they’ll reach each point, for a runner who paces evenly with a slightly faster second half:
| Goal time | 10 km | Halfway | 30 km | 40 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:30 | 50 min | 1:46 | 2:30 | 3:19 |
| 4:00 | 57 min | 2:01 | 2:51 | 3:48 |
| 4:30 | 1:05 | 2:16 | 3:13 | 4:16 |
| 5:00 | 1:12 | 2:31 | 3:34 | 4:45 |
Add the time your runner crosses the start line, and you have a rough schedule. Leave yourself a margin: in the crowd, you can easily miss someone who is five minutes early. The full tables are in our negative split guide.
Where to stand
The route is one big loop, so with a little planning and public transport you can see a runner more than once. These are some of the liveliest places along the course (kilometres are approximate):
- Kottbusser Damm and Hermannplatz, km 15–16. One of the loudest stretches of the day, in Kreuzberg and Neukölln.
- The Wilder Eber, about km 28. A well-known cheering spot in the quieter south-west, where runners start to need it.
- Kurfürstendamm at Olivaer Platz, km 33. Wide avenue, lots of space, and runners are deep into the hard part.
- Potsdamer Platz, about km 38. Four kilometres to go, a good place for a last push.
From about km 25 onwards is where your cheering matters most. That’s where the race starts to hurt. Our Berlin course guide goes through the whole route section by section.
For the official list of cheering points, use the map in the organisers’ app.
At the finish
- Grandstands. There are standing grandstands on both sides of the road shortly before the finish. They’re free and open to everyone, with the entrance on the Brandenburg Gate side.
- Crossing the course. In the finish area, you can only cross the course at Pariser Platz.
- Meeting your runner. There’s a family meeting point in front of the Paul-Löbe-Haus, with signs for the first letter of the runner’s last name. Agree on the letter before the race, because phones are unreliable in a crowd this size.
Watching from home
RTL holds the German TV rights to the Berlin Marathon up to and including 2026. The official spectator page lists the race live on RTL free TV from 8:30 to about 12:15, and on RTL+ on your phone. After that, the broadcast continues as a livestream on the race’s YouTube channel, in German.
Check the official site on Saturday for any late changes to the times.
If you’re the one running
Make life easy for the people cheering for you:
- Tell them your block, your goal time and which side of the road you’ll look at. The table above is enough to plan with.
- Wear something they can spot from 50 metres away.
- Record the race. Afterwards, you can turn it into a route video with Share › Video in iRunning, free, even if you ran with a Garmin or COROS. Our guide to sharing your marathon finish shows how.
Enjoy Sunday. The runners will remember the people who shouted their names.
Race details are from the official BMW Berlin Marathon website as of 17 September 2026. Check it for last-minute changes.