Cologne Marathon
Germany's fifth-largest marathon: a flat loop course along the Rhine, star-shaped through downtown, finishing right at Cologne Cathedral.
since 1997
Held annually since 1997, the Cologne Marathon ranks fifth by size among Germany's marathons. Runners tackle a flat loop course through the city, finishing in the shadow of Cologne Cathedral.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- City marathon with half marathon
- First held
- 1997, usually early October
- Course
- Flat loop, long stretch along the Rhine riverbank, star-shaped route through downtown
- Finish
- Back at Cologne Cathedral since 2013
- Participants
- Over 30,000 registered runners in 2024 (26th edition)
- Organizer
- Kölner AusdauerSport GmbH
Age comparison
Age compared with other places in Cologne.
History and Development
From the very first edition, an inline-skating competition was part of the event, joined from 1998 by a handbike race; both were discontinued after 2013. At the end of 2013, organizers announced that inline-skating would be dropped starting in 2014. The half marathon has been contested since 2006. In 2009, registrations topped 30,000, boosted by the concurrent Sparkassen Marathon held in Cologne.
Course
An extended stretch along the Rhine riverbank is followed by a star-shaped route through the city center. From 2004 to 2012 the finish was located in Cologne-Deutz, returning to Cologne Cathedral from 2013 onward. Between 2011 and 2013, organizers adjusted the course layout to allow for faster times, and 2012 saw new course records set as a result. Timing has been handled via the Passiv chip system since 2018.
Records
The men's marathon course record stands at 2:06:53, set by Barnaba Kipkoech (Kenya, 2025), while the women's record belongs to Helena Kirop (Kenya) at 2:25:34 (2012). Over the half marathon distance, the best times are 1:03:00 (Leonard Kipkoech Langat, Kenya, 2010) and 1:07:28 (Esther Pfeiffer, Germany, 2025).
Organizer
The race is run by Kölner AusdauerSport Verein e. V., founded in 1996 as Kölner Verein für Marathon e. V. before renaming itself in 2023. Its subsidiary, Kölner AusdauerSport GmbH, serves as the official organizer. In 2019 the association added the cycling race Rund um Köln to its portfolio, followed in 2022 by the inaugural Cologne Triathlon.
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Sources & links
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-30
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