hella Hamburg Half Marathon

32nd Edition of a Hamburg Tradition

Since 1994, the hella Hamburg Half Marathon has been running through the Hanseatic city at the end of June. The 32nd edition in 2026 will once again bring together 24,000 runners — making the race one of the three largest half marathons in Germany, alongside Berlin and Cologne. The organizer is BMS Die Laufgesellschaft mbH, in cooperation with the main sponsor hella, a Hamburg-based specialty beverage manufacturer.

Reeperbahn Start and Albers Song

What makes the race a Hamburg institution begins even before the starting gun: At 8:30 AM, the 24,000 participants gather on the Reeperbahn — and sing "Auf der Reeperbahn morgens um halb neun" together, the Hans Albers song. It's the moment when a sporting event transforms into a neighborhood festival with a sporting component. The Reeperbahn is crowded at this hour, hostels look out of their windows, the atmosphere is extraordinary.

A Route Through Postcard Hamburg

The 21.1 kilometers lead through the showcase of Hamburg:

• Start Reeperbahn
• Down to the Harbor, past the Landungsbrücken
• Along the historic Speicherstadt (warehouse district)
• Through the Wallring Tunnel
• Over the Kennedy Bridge
• Around the Außenalster (Outer Alster Lake)
• Finish at the Messegelände (exhibition center, Planten un Blomen)

About fifty tourist attractions line the route — no other German city offers a comparable density of postcard motifs on a half marathon course.

The Party on 21.1 km

What sets the race apart from other half marathons is the stage production along the route. DJs, live music, samba groups, cheering zones, and acrobats accompany the runners over the entire 21.1 kilometers. The organizers aptly describe it as "a party on 21.1 km." Those who are exhausted in the final kilometers around the Alster will literally be carried along by the atmosphere.

Sold Out, Year After Year

As has been the case for the past few years, the hella Hamburg Half Marathon 2026, with its 24,000 spots, is already sold out before spring. Those who don't start on the day spectate along the route — the atmosphere around the Außenalster is incomparable even without a starting number.