Generali Cologne Marathon

A Big City Marathon with a Cologne Soul

Since 1997, the Generali Cologne Marathon has been the largest running event in North Rhine-Westphalia and, alongside Berlin, Hamburg, and Frankfurt, is one of the four major German city marathons. The organizer is Kölner AusdauerSport GmbH, with the insurance group Generali as the main sponsor since 2007. The course is AIMS-measured, flat, and equipped with eleven refreshment stops – ideal for personal bests, but also for first-time marathon runners.

The 2026 Course: from Otto-Square to the Cathedral

The start is on Sunday, October 4, 2026, at 10:30 AM at Ottoplatz in Köln-Deutz – one of the few large squares on the right bank of the Rhine. The first kilometers lead across the Deutzer Brücke with a panoramic view of the cathedral and the old town, then through the Rheinauhafen with the iconic Kranhäuser. Afterwards, the field rolls through Bayenthal, Rodenkirchen, Südstadt, past the Severinstorbogen, through Sülz and Lindenthal via Dürener Straße (Cologne's 'Kö'), the Melatenfriedhof, the Aachener Weiher, through Ehrenfeld with Venloer Straße and the new Central Mosque, and finally back across Friesenplatz – the heart of the marathon. The finish line is directly in front of the west facade of the cathedral on Komödienstraße.

Four Competitions in One Day

On race day, four disciplines run in parallel: the classic Marathon (42.195 km), the Half Marathon (21.1 km), the Marathon Relay (teams of four), and the Shake-Out Run the day before as a warm-up run. In addition, there is the School Marathon for class teams and the Children's Run on Roncalliplatz in front of the cathedral on Saturday, October 3rd. On Sunday afternoon, there are events for students (Studi-Werk-Cup of the Cologne Universities) and Cologne residents (City Championship). The cut-off for the marathon distance is six hours net time.

A Course with Atmosphere and Records

In 2025, new course records were set: Barnaba Kipkoech won the marathon in 2:06:54, and Esther Pfeiffer set a new half-marathon record – the old record from 2008 fell after 17 years. For 2026, the organizer expects over 25,000 participants across all distances and tens of thousands of spectators along the route. The Rhenish festival atmosphere and the live bands at the refreshment points make the Cologne Marathon a cultural event far beyond the scope of sports.

More Than a Run: The Marathon Expo

The event includes a two-day Marathon Expo in Hall 6 of Koelnmesse, where jerseys and start documents are distributed, and about 80 exhibitors from the fields of running shoes, apparel, nutrition, and tourism are present. Pasta parties and running training workshops are also part of the marathon weekend. Cologne explicitly uses the event as an image builder – the cathedral city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia positions itself alongside Carnival, Lichterfest, and the Kirchentag as a major sporting city with international appeal.