Men’s course record
2:10:34
Edwin Kiptoo · 2023
- Average pace
- 3:06 / km
- Terrain-adjusted
- —
Athens Marathon
Athens, Greece The second Sunday in November: 8 November in 2026 Founded 1972
Round the burial mound at Marathon, south through Nea Makri, then a long climb inland and down into Athens to finish in the marble stadium of 1896.
Overview
The start is a stadium in the town of Marathon, 28.1 km from the finish as the crow flies. At 4.7 km the course loops round the Tymvos, the mound raised over the Athenians who died in the battle of 490 BC, then runs south along Marathonos Avenue through Nea Makri.
Past the turn for Rafina it heads west and inland, through Pikermi and Pallini to Agia Paraskevi. From there it runs down Mesogeion Avenue into Athens, under the bridge at Katechaki at 37.5 km and along Vasilissis Sofias past the Megaron concert hall. The last 170 m are on the track inside the Panathenaic Stadium, where Spyridon Louis finished the first Olympic marathon.
A record 19,104 finished in 2025. For 2026 all 25,000 places went in under 36 hours.
Past the turn for Rafina it heads west and inland, through Pikermi and Pallini to Agia Paraskevi. From there it runs down Mesogeion Avenue into Athens, under the bridge at Katechaki at 37.5 km and along Vasilissis Sofias past the Megaron concert hall. The last 170 m are on the track inside the Panathenaic Stadium, where Spyridon Louis finished the first Olympic marathon.
A record 19,104 finished in 2025. For 2026 all 25,000 places went in under 36 hours.
- When
- The 2026 Athens Marathon is on Sunday, 8 November 2026, starting at 8:30am local time on The historic start venue, Marathon.
- Entry
- Entry to Athens is first come, first served (sold out for 2026), and costs €75–165 for 2026.
- Field
- The 2026 Athens Marathon has a marathon field of 25,000.
- Weather
- Across 29 years, Athens's race-day temperature has a median of 16.1 °C.
- Records
- The Athens Marathon course records are 2:10:34 (Edwin Kiptoo, 2023) and 2:31:06 (Rasa Drazdauskaitė, 2010).
- Time limit
- Athens's time limit is 8 hours.
Marathon Course · every marathon course, measured the same way
Athens Marathon
Round the burial mound at Marathon, south through Nea Makri, then a long climb inland and down into Athens to finish in the marble stadium of 1896. Marathon → Panathenaic Stadium, Athens, Greece.
- Distance
- 42.2 km
Course map
5 km splits marked · hover or drag the strip below to move along the courseDistance · course line for the 2024 edition · elevation not measured yet
—
0.08.516.925.433.842.3
kmmi — hover or drag the strip
The first 10.0 km are the easy part: gently downhill from the start, then flat past Nea Makri. From about 11.0 km the organiser describes the road rising in stages, with a steep drop before the Rafina junction. After it the climbing is hardest to 20.0 km, again at 25.0 km and through Pallini. The last and toughest pull is to the Stavros junction at 31.0 km. World Athletics calls the whole thing a relentless uphill of close to 21 km.
The organiser's course map draws the whole shape. It runs from about 10 m near Nea Makri to just under 250 m at Stavros, then down to about 100 m at the stadium. Most of the last 11.0 km is downhill, steepest from the defence ministry to Katechaki at 37.5 km.
This course isn't measured here yet, because no open terrain model that covers it can be published from. Every height on this page is the organiser's.
Take it with you
course line for the 2024 edition, elevation not measured · marathoncourse.com/marathons/athens/ · checked 2026-09-25
How to enter: dates and fees
Entry for 2026 opened on 24 April, first come, first served, and all 25,000 places had gone within 36 hours. Citizens and permanent residents of the EU could take a €75 package, and its 15,000 places sold out in about six hours. Everyone else pays €165 for the full package, which adds a backpack, a public transport card and priority entry for 2027.
Both packages include the bus to the start, a poncho, and free entry to the Acropolis Museum and the Benaki Museum. A place can't be deferred to another year. Cancellations with a partial refund were accepted until 25 September 2026, when registration closed. Entry usually opens about six months before the race.
Both packages include the bus to the start, a poncho, and free entry to the Acropolis Museum and the Benaki Museum. A place can't be deferred to another year. Cancellations with a partial refund were accepted until 25 September 2026, when registration closed. Entry usually opens about six months before the race.
History
The route comes from the first modern Olympics. In April 1896 Spyridon Louis, a water carrier from Marousi, ran from Marathon to the Panathenaic Stadium and won in 2:58:50. The Olympic race was built on the legend of a messenger running to Athens with news of the victory over the Persians in 490 BC.
An annual marathon on the road began in 1972, set up by the Greek tourist board and the athletics federation. In 1982 it was dedicated to Grigoris Lambrakis, the athlete and MP murdered in 1963, and in 1983 the federation, SEGAS, took it over. The organiser counts its editions from then, which makes 2026 the 43rd. In 2004 the Olympic marathons ran from Marathon to the same stadium, and Stefano Baldini won the men's race in 2:10:55, 21 seconds slower than the course record now.
For years the crowd grew while the elite field thinned. A record 19,104 finished in 2025, when both winners were Greek, and the organiser spoke of elite runners returning in 2026. That spring World Athletics made it an Elite Label race and opened talks for Athens to host the first stand-alone World Marathon Championships, in 2030.
An annual marathon on the road began in 1972, set up by the Greek tourist board and the athletics federation. In 1982 it was dedicated to Grigoris Lambrakis, the athlete and MP murdered in 1963, and in 1983 the federation, SEGAS, took it over. The organiser counts its editions from then, which makes 2026 the 43rd. In 2004 the Olympic marathons ran from Marathon to the same stadium, and Stefano Baldini won the men's race in 2:10:55, 21 seconds slower than the course record now.
For years the crowd grew while the elite field thinned. A record 19,104 finished in 2025, when both winners were Greek, and the organiser spoke of elite runners returning in 2026. That spring World Athletics made it an Elite Label race and opened talks for Athens to host the first stand-alone World Marathon Championships, in 2030.
- 1972The first Athens Classic Marathon, set up by the Greek tourist board and the athletics federation
- 1982The race is dedicated to Grigoris Lambrakis, athlete, MP and peace campaigner, murdered in 1963
- 1983SEGAS takes it over. As the Athens Peace Marathon it has an elite race and a mass race for the first time
- 2004The Olympic marathons run from Marathon to the Panathenaic Stadium. Mizuki Noguchi wins in 2:26:20 and Stefano Baldini in 2:10:55
- 2004Vanderlei de Lima is leading the Olympic race in its last 10 km when a spectator pushes him off the road. He finishes third
- 2007AIMS holds its first International Marathon Symposium in Marathon, the day before the race
- 2008Paul Lekuraa wins in 2:12:42, taking nearly two minutes off the course record
- 2010Run on 31 October for the 2,500th anniversary of the battle. Rasa Drazdauskaitė wins in 2:31:06 in bright sun, still the women's record
- 2014Felix Kandie runs 2:10:37
- 201516,000 run the marathon and 43,000 take part across the weekend, both records then
- 2020Cancelled in the pandemic. Entrants can move to 2021 or take a refund
- 2023The 40th race. Edwin Kiptoo wins in 2:10:34, three seconds inside Kandie's record
- 2025In heat, humidity and a south wind, a record 19,104 finish. Stamatia Noula wins in 2:39:28, 18 seconds off the Greek best on the course
- 2026World Athletics makes Athens an Elite Label race and opens talks for it to host the first World Marathon Championships in 2030
- 2026The 25,000 places go in under 36 hours, and the start moves half an hour earlier, to 8:30
19801990200020102020
Course records
Pace is derived from the certified distance. Terrain-adjusted figures come from the same model that ranks every course on this site.
Women’s course record
2:31:06
Rasa Drazdauskaitė · 2010
- Average pace
- 3:35 / km
- Terrain-adjusted
- —
Race day: start times and cut-offs
- 8:30am
- 6:15pm
- Time limit
- 8h
- Every 2.5 km
Numbers are collected at the expo in the indoor hall at Faliro, the old Olympic taekwondo venue, from Wednesday 4 to Saturday 7 November. Your bag goes in at the expo too, as there's no bag drop at the start. You collect it after the finish at the Zappeion, beside the stadium.
The buses to Marathon are free for runners and need no booking. The first wave boards at six metro stops in the centre from 5:00 to 6:45, and the last bus from Syngrou-Fix leaves at 6:15. The second wave boards at stops along Mesogeion Avenue from 6:30 to 7:45. Driving isn't recommended: Marathonos Avenue closes at 8:00, and the car park is about 800 m from the start.
There's a station every 2.5 km, with sponges at the ones in between. Isotonic drink starts at km 10, bananas at 20, and cola and salty snacks at 30. Gels are handed out at 10 and 20. The last 170 m are on the track inside the stadium, and the finish is on its left side.
The buses to Marathon are free for runners and need no booking. The first wave boards at six metro stops in the centre from 5:00 to 6:45, and the last bus from Syngrou-Fix leaves at 6:15. The second wave boards at stops along Mesogeion Avenue from 6:30 to 7:45. Driving isn't recommended: Marathonos Avenue closes at 8:00, and the car park is about 800 m from the start.
There's a station every 2.5 km, with sponges at the ones in between. Isotonic drink starts at km 10, bananas at 20, and cola and salty snacks at 30. Gels are handed out at 10 and 20. The last 170 m are on the track inside the stadium, and the finish is on its left side.
The morning, hour by hour
- 5:00am
- Buses from the centre, blocks 1–10, until 6:45
- 6:30am
- Buses from Mesogeion Avenue, blocks 11–15, until 7:45
- 7:30am
- Latest arrival at the start by car
- 8:00am
- Marathonos Avenue closes to traffic
- 8:30am
- Block 1: elite, national championship and sub-3:00 runners
- 8:54am
- Runners with disabilities
- 9:45am
- Block 11
- 10:15am
- Last runner crosses the start
- 6:15pm
- Finish closes
Cut-offs
- 10 km · 10.0 km
- 11:41am
- Halfway · 21.1 km
- 1:45pm
- 30 km · 30.0 km
- 3:25pm
- 35 km · 35.0 km
- 4:23pm
- 40 km · 40.0 km
- 5:25pm
- Finish · 42.2 km
- 6:15pm
The organiser's 2026 participant instructions. Block times are indicative until two weeks before the race. Greece is back on winter time by November. The organiser gives a closing time at every station; these are six of them. They're clock times, the same for every block, set so the last block to start has eight hours. Past them you carry on at your own risk as police reopen the road, or ride the bus that follows the last runners.
Race-day weather, 1995–2025
- Median
- 16.1 °C
- Warm years
- 11 of 29
- Wet years
- 3 of 29
Race-day mean temperature, 1995-2025. Lime marks the hottest edition; the coldest and wettest carry a label only, so the colour still means one thing.
Frequently asked questions
How hilly is it?
Very, in the middle. The organiser describes the road rising from about km 11 to the Stavros junction at 31.0 km, with the hardest part at the end. Its course map draws that climb from near sea level to just under 250 m. Most of the last 11.0 km is downhill.
The organiser's 2026 route description and course map.
Can I still get a place for 2026?
No. All 25,000 places went within 36 hours of entry opening on 24 April 2026. Registration closed on 25 September. Entry for 2027 should open about six months before the race, and 2026's full-package runners get first go.
The organiser's news and 2026 marathon page, checked 25 September 2026.
How much does it cost?
For 2026, €75 for citizens and permanent residents of the EU, while those places lasted, and €165 for the full package, which everyone else has to take. The €75 places sold out in about six hours.
The organiser's 2026 marathon page.
Is there an age limit?
Yes, 20. For 2026 that means runners born in 2006 or earlier, as the organiser counts by year of birth, not birthday.
The organiser's 2026 marathon page.
How do I get to the start?
On the organiser's buses, which are free for registered runners and need no booking. The first wave leaves six metro stops in the centre from 5:00am. The second leaves stops along Mesogeion Avenue from 6:30am.
The organiser's 2026 participant instructions.
Can I leave a bag at the start?
No. Bags are handed in at the expo in Faliro, by 9pm on the Saturday at the latest, and collected after the finish at the Zappeion, beside the stadium.
The organiser's 2026 participant instructions.
Is it a fast course?
No. The men's record is Edwin Kiptoo's 2:10:34 from 2023, and the women's is Rasa Drazdauskaitė's 2:31:06 from 2010. The weather doesn't help either: 11 of 29 race-day Sundays since 1995 averaged 17 °C or more across the race hours.
Race results; ERA5 race-day climatology at the start.
Is this the route of the original marathon?
It's the route of the first Olympic marathon, in 1896, from Marathon to the Panathenaic Stadium. Whether the messenger of legend ran this way nobody can say. Herodotus has Pheidippides running to Sparta, and the run to Athens first appears in writers more than a century after the battle.
Herodotus, Histories 6.105–106; Plutarch, On the Glory of the Athenians 3.
Does the course pass the Tomb of Marathon?
Yes. At about 4.7 km it loops round the Tymvos, the burial mound of the Athenians who fell in 490 BC. The Marathon flame's opening ceremony is held there on the Saturday before the race.
The organiser's route description and marathon-week programme; this site's course line.
Can a record be set here?
Not a world record. The start and finish are 28.1 km apart in a straight line, and World Athletics allows no more than half the race distance. Finish times still count in the World Marathon Majors' age-group rankings, which Athens joined in 2026.
World Athletics Competition Rule 31.21; this site's course line; the organiser's news of 18 September 2026.
How many people run it?
All 25,000 places for 2026 are taken. In 2025 a record 19,104 finished, and the organiser counted 18,000 runners from outside Greece across the weekend's races.
Organiser figures for the 2026 edition.
What is the weather like on race day?
About 16.1 °C during a typical race: that's the median across 29 years, which have run from 9.7 °C to 22.1 °C. 3 of the 29 were wet.
ERA5 reanalysis for the race date, 1995-2025.
Can I use a time here to qualify for Boston?
Very likely. As a World Athletics label race the course has to be measured by an accredited measurer, and the organiser's own profile finishes higher than it starts, so the B.A.A.'s downhill adjustment has nothing to act on. The climb is the catch. It runs close to 21 km, from Nea Makri to the Stavros junction at 31.0 km.
Certification elite label: World Athletics Elite Label from 2026; not eligible for records, as its start and finish are 28.1 km apart.
Sources
Every fact on this page, its source, and the date it was checked · 9
| Fact | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Course line | Third-party GPX of the 2024 edition, run on 10 November 2024. It follows the organiser's own course file, published in April 2025 and still the one offered for 2026, to within 73 m everywhere, the widest gap near 38.7 km, and the organiser's 2026 route description matches it. The file measures 42.324 km from 641 points; our resampled line measures 42.287 km, so distances on this page run about 0.2 % long. Archived with its hash in data/raw/sources. | 2026-09-25 |
| Elevation | Not measured. No open terrain model covering this course can be published from yet, so there are no heights of our own; every height on this page is the organiser's. | 2026-09-25 |
| Course profile | The organiser's 2026 route description, which puts the climb between the 11th and 31st km and the hardest part at the Stavros junction, and the profile on its course map, read to the nearest 10 m: about 10 m near Nea Makri, just under 250 m at Stavros, about 100 m at the finish. World Athletics' 2010 race report calls it "a relentless uphill section of close to 21k". | 2026-09-25 |
| Race-day weather | ERA5 reanalysis via the Open-Meteo archive, 1995–2025 at the start in Marathon, 08:00–15:00 local, sampled on the second Sunday in November. That reproduces every date from 2022 to 2026. 2010, run on 31 October for the battle's 2,500th anniversary, and 2020, when the race was cancelled, are excluded. | 2026-09-25 |
| Course records | Edwin Kiptoo 2:10:34 (2023), from Kathimerini's race report (12 November 2023), three seconds inside Felix Kandie's 2:10:37; Rasa Drazdauskaitė 2:31:06 (2010), from World Athletics' race report. The 2025 winners, Panagiotis Karaïskos and Stamatia Noula, ran 2:20:10 and 2:39:28, from the organiser's race report. | 2026-09-25 |
| Entry and field | The organiser's 2026 marathon page and news: €75 for EU citizens and residents, €165 for the full package, 25,000 places sold out within 36 hours of opening on 24 April 2026. The organiser's figures put 2025 finishers at a record 19,104. | 2026-09-25 |
| Race day | The organiser's 2026 participant instructions: blocks from 8:30am, the last runner across the start by 10:15am, and an eight-hour limit to 6:15pm. Block times are indicative until two weeks before the race. Its marathon-week programme lists an 8:00 start, which every other page contradicts, so 8:30 is used. | 2026-09-25 |
| Label | World Athletics' announcement of 7 April 2026, published by the organiser: Elite Label from 2026, a target of Platinum by 2029, and formal exploratory talks for Athens to host the first World Athletics Marathon Championships in 2030. | 2026-09-25 |
| Record eligibility | World Athletics Competition Rules, Book C, Part III — Competition Rule 31.21: a record course may lose no more than 1 m per kilometre, and its start and finish may be no more than 21.098 km apart. Athens's start and finish are 28.06 km apart in a straight line, two-thirds of the race distance, so it fails the second test. The first can't be checked here without heights, though the organiser's own profile finishes higher than it starts. | 2026-09-25 |
Until the Athens Marathon · 8 Nov 2026
— days
— hrs— min— sec
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