Berlin is the marathon people pick when they want a fast time. The course is the flattest of the World Marathon Majors, and more marathon world records have fallen on it than anywhere else: thirteen so far, according to the organisers. That reputation shapes how you should train for it, and it hides two traps that catch first-timers every year.
This page is about preparing for this race specifically. The general rules of marathon training still apply. What changes in Berlin is what the course rewards, how the lottery sets your calendar, and what the race morning looks like.
TL;DR: Berlin rewards even pacing, not hill strength. Spend your build-up on long runs at goal pace and on practising your fuel, because the course hands out gel at one point only. Plan from the lottery result in early December: that leaves about 42 weeks, of which the last 16 to 18 are the specific block. On race morning, your wave decides your breakfast timing, and a slow start in a crowded first kilometre costs less than weaving.
What makes Berlin different from other marathons?
Three things, and each one changes a training decision.
- It is flat. With very little elevation gain, there is no hill to hide behind and no descent to make up time. Your result comes down to how steadily you hold your pace. Train for that: long runs with long stretches at goal pace, not hill repeats.
- It is fast, so the field is fast. Over 50,000 runners finish, and many of them came for a personal best. The start is dense, and the temptation to go with the pace around you is strong.
- It runs regardless of the weather, unless the German Weather Service issues a warning. Late September can be cool or warm, and you only find out that week. Prepare for both, and keep a slower plan B in your pocket.
When should you start training?
Entry is by lottery. Registration for 2027 runs from 1 October to 12 November 2026, and the results come out on 3 December 2026. The race is on 26 September 2027. That gives you about 42 weeks from the moment you know you are in.
A sensible way to use them:
- December to May: build the base. Easy volume, some strides, strength work twice a week. No marathon-specific sessions yet. If you have a spring half marathon, use it as a fitness check.
- Late May or early June: start the specific block. Sixteen to eighteen weeks out, the training turns toward the race: longer long runs, goal-pace work, and fuel practice.
- The last three weeks: taper. Volume drops, intensity stays. You arrive rested, not detrained.
Did not get drawn? The same calendar works for any autumn marathon. Keep the base, and pick a race with a later entry deadline.
How should you pace a flat course?
Even, from the first kilometre. On a hilly course you accept a slower split on a climb. In Berlin every kilometre is roughly the same effort, so a fast first half is pure debt.
- Know your goal pace to the second, and practise it in training until it feels automatic.
- Run the first five kilometres slightly slower than goal pace. The start on Straße des 17. Juni is wide but full, and weaving around runners costs more energy than the few seconds you lose.
- Use the pacemakers. The organisers put pacemakers in every starting wave. Pick a group at your goal time and stay with it until at least 30 km.
- Hold back until 30 km, then decide. If you still feel controlled at 30, you can push. If not, holding pace is already a win.
How do you plan your fuel?
This is the trap most runners miss. Berlin has 15 aid stations, with water at nine of them and a drink mix, fruit and tea at six more. Gel is handed out at one point only: 27.5 km. If your plan needs a gel every 30 to 40 minutes, carry your own.
- Practise with what you will carry. Use the same gels in your long runs, at the same intervals, so your stomach knows them.
- Practise drinking from cups. All drinks are served in cups. Squeeze the cup into a spout and walk a few steps if you need to; it beats losing half of it.
- Consider your own bottles. You can hand in your own refreshments for eight points on the course (5, 9, 15, 20, 25, 30, 36 and 40 km). They have to be dropped off on race morning between 07:00 and 07:45.
What does race morning look like?
The run starts in six waves, from 08:45 for the fastest blocks to 10:27 for the last. Your block depends on the personal best or expected time you gave at registration. Times under 3:15 need proof, and you can update your time until 26 August 2027.
That spread matters for your breakfast. A runner in wave 6 starts more than an hour and a half after wave 1. Plan your last meal three to four hours before your own start, not before the first gun, and rehearse that timing on a long run.
Your race bib is a public transport ticket from 23 to 26 September, so leave the car at the hotel. The start and finish area is near the Brandenburg Gate, and only runners with a bib and a wristband get in.
How does a coach help for a race like Berlin?
A good plan gets you to the start line. A coach adjusts it on the way: the week you were sick, the long run that went wrong, the pace that turns out too ambitious in August. For Berlin, a coach also helps with the race-specific decisions on this page: which block to request, which pacing group to follow, how to adapt your fuel plan to one gel station.
On Coachbox you can tell us exactly that. Choose “Help me find a coach” when you sign up, give the Berlin Marathon as your goal, and we introduce you to a coach who fits. Or read how to find a running coach who fits you first.
Every fact on this page has a source
Dates, fees, waves and aid stations come from the organiser’s own pages, linked in the facts at the top. We checked them on the date shown there. Race details change every year; if you spot something that no longer holds, let us know and we will update it.