Men’s course record
2:05:08
Samwel Mailu · 2023
- Average pace
- 2:58 / km
- Terrain-adjusted
- +0.24 %
Vienna Marathon
Vienna, Austria April, set by the organiser each year Founded 1984
Over the Danube to the Prater, out along the Wienzeile to Schönbrunn, and home on the Ring to the Burgtheater.
Overview
The first kilometre crosses the Danube on the Reichsbrücke, from a start by the UN's Vienna offices. The finish is on the Ringstraße, in front of the Burgtheater.
In between it takes in the sights a visitor comes for. It passes the Riesenrad, the Prater's big wheel, at 2.9 km and reaches the Ring and the Staatsoper by 10.9 km. Then it heads out along the Wienzeile past the Naschmarkt to Schönbrunn Palace at 16.0 km, and comes back down Mariahilfer Straße. The second half follows the Danube Canal and runs the length of the Prater Hauptallee to the Lusthaus and back, before returning to the Ring.
The half marathon starts with you and turns off at 20.3 km, by the Museumsquartier. The 2027 race is on 18 April, and the marathon was full by 20 September 2026.
In between it takes in the sights a visitor comes for. It passes the Riesenrad, the Prater's big wheel, at 2.9 km and reaches the Ring and the Staatsoper by 10.9 km. Then it heads out along the Wienzeile past the Naschmarkt to Schönbrunn Palace at 16.0 km, and comes back down Mariahilfer Straße. The second half follows the Danube Canal and runs the length of the Prater Hauptallee to the Lusthaus and back, before returning to the Ring.
The half marathon starts with you and turns off at 20.3 km, by the Museumsquartier. The 2027 race is on 18 April, and the marathon was full by 20 September 2026.
- When
- The 2027 Vienna Marathon is on Sunday, 18 April 2027, starting at 9:00am local time on Wagramer Straße, by the Vienna International Centre.
- Course
- Vienna's course climbs 127 m in all, with its lowest point at 158 m and its highest at 202 m.
- Entry
- Entry to Vienna is first come, first served (closed for 2027, waitlist open), and costs €155 for 2027.
- Field
- The 2026 Vienna Marathon had a marathon field of 12,995.
- Weather
- Across 29 years, Vienna's race-day temperature has a median of 13.6 °C.
- Records
- The Vienna Marathon course records are 2:05:08 (Samwel Mailu, 2023) and 2:20:06 (Tigist Gezahagn, 2026).
- Time limit
- Vienna's time limit is 6 hours 30 minutes.
Marathon Course · every marathon course, measured the same way
Vienna Marathon
Over the Danube to the Prater, out along the Wienzeile to Schönbrunn, and home on the Ring to the Burgtheater. Reichsbrücke → Burgtheater, Vienna, Austria.
- Distance
- 42.2 km
- Ascent
- 127 m
- Descent
- 116 m
- Net
- +11 m
Course map and elevation
5 km splits marked · hover or drag the profile below to move along the courseElevation · a 2025 GPX within 10 m of the organiser's own file, without the two short re-routes made for 2026 · Sonny 1" .hgt tiles — CC BY 4.0 · smoothed 100 m 158–202 m
—
0.08.517.025.534.042.5
kmmi — elev — grade — hover or drag the profile
The Danube is the low side of the city, and the course spends its first 9.0 km down there. Over the Reichsbrücke and round the Prater, it varies by only 10 m.
From the Ring at 9.0 km the course climbs for nine kilometres, along the Wienzeile, round Schönbrunn and up Mariahilfer Straße. The high point is on Mariahilfer Straße by the Westbahnhof, 202 m at 18.1 km, and 40 m above the Ring. The steepest climbing kilometre is on the way, 12 m from 15.4 km on the approach to Schönbrunn. Then Mariahilfer Straße gives it back: 17 m down in the kilometre from 19.3 km.
From 23.0 km to 39.5 km, along the canal and down the Prater Hauptallee and back, the course stays within 8 m. The low point, 158 m, is on the Hauptallee at 34.2 km, coming back past the Lusthaus after the turn. From 39.7 km the road rises 14 m back up to the Ring, and the finish, at 177 m, is 11 m above the start. Add up the energy cost of every gradient and, for a three-hour runner, the course comes out about 24 seconds slower than a flat 42.195 km (0.24 %).
Take it with you
Course GPX Organiser's course map
The GPX is ours: our resampled line, a point every 25 m, carrying Sonny 1" .hgt tiles — CC BY 4.0 elevation rather than the GPS noise a watch file usually holds.
Sonny 1" .hgt tiles — CC BY 4.0, a 2025 GPX within 10 m of the organiser's own file, without the two short re-routes made for 2026, smoothed 100 m · marathoncourse.com/marathons/vienna/ · checked 2026-09-24
How to enter: dates and fees
One price for everyone: €155, whenever you enter. There's no ballot and no qualifying time, and places went first come, first served from when registration opened after the 2026 race. The marathon closed on 20 September 2026.
The waitlist is free. Places handed back until 7 March 2027 go to the next name on it, and the fee is charged when you're moved up. You can pass your place to a friend for €30 until 12 March. Deferring to 2028 also costs €30, until 31 December 2026. You need to be 18 or over to run.
The waitlist is free. Places handed back until 7 March 2027 go to the next name on it, and the fee is charged when you're moved up. You can pass your place to a friend for €30 until 12 March. Deferring to 2028 also costs €30, until 31 December 2026. You need to be 18 or over to run.
History
The first Frühlingsmarathon Wien, the spring marathon, was run on 25 March 1984, with 794 runners. Wolfgang Konrad took over the organisation in 1989, and the race was renamed the Vienna City Marathon in 1993. In 2010 it drew 32,940 runners from 108 nations across its events.
The Prater Hauptallee, the long straight avenue the course runs down and back from about 28.0 km, is where Eliud Kipchoge ran 1:59:40 in October 2019, in a time trial that couldn't count as a record.
The 2021 race, moved to September by the pandemic, was the one decided by a shoe. Derara Hurisa crossed the line first, but his soles were a centimetre thicker than the rules allow, and Leonard Langat, second across the line, was given the win. The records are recent. Samwel Mailu ran 2:05:08 in 2023. In 2026 Tigist Gezahagn, a visually impaired runner with two Paralympic 1,500 m titles, won in 2:20:06.
The Prater Hauptallee, the long straight avenue the course runs down and back from about 28.0 km, is where Eliud Kipchoge ran 1:59:40 in October 2019, in a time trial that couldn't count as a record.
The 2021 race, moved to September by the pandemic, was the one decided by a shoe. Derara Hurisa crossed the line first, but his soles were a centimetre thicker than the rules allow, and Leonard Langat, second across the line, was given the win. The records are recent. Samwel Mailu ran 2:05:08 in 2023. In 2026 Tigist Gezahagn, a visually impaired runner with two Paralympic 1,500 m titles, won in 2:20:06.
- 198425 March: the first Frühlingsmarathon Wien, with 794 runners
- 1989Wolfgang Konrad takes over the organisation
- 201032,940 runners from 108 nations across the weekend's events
- 2014Getu Feleke runs 2:05:41, a course record that lasts nine years
- 2019In October, Eliud Kipchoge runs 1:59:40 on the Prater Hauptallee, an avenue the marathon runs twice
- 2020Cancelled in the pandemic
- 2021Held on 12 September. Derara Hurisa finishes first and is disqualified for his shoes, and Leonard Langat wins
- 2022Vibian Chepkirui takes the women's record to 2:20:59
- 2023Samwel Mailu runs 2:05:08, 33 seconds under the course record
- 2026A new line between 22 and 24 km, down Maria-Theresien-Straße to the canal
- 2026Tigist Gezahagn, a two-time Paralympic champion at 1,500 m, runs 2:20:06 and wins by twelve seconds
- 2026A record 49,379 entries across nine events
- 202718 April. The marathon is full by 20 September 2026
1990200020102020
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
2:20:06
Tigist Gezahagn · 2026
- Average pace
- 3:19 / km
- Terrain-adjusted
- +0.24 %
Race day: start times and cut-offs
- 9:00am
- 3:30pm
- Time limit
- 6h 30m
- Eight, plus fifteen water points
Bag drop has to be booked by 12 March. It costs €3, and you can hand your bag in on the Friday or Saturday, or at the start on race morning, where the trucks stop taking bags at 8:30am. It's carried to the finish, by the Rathaus.
The start is on Wagramer Straße, beside the Kaisermühlen-VIC stop on the U1. Runners go off in waves from 9:00am, in blocks by predicted time. To start in a block for 3:35 or faster you need to prove the time by 12 March; without it you go further back. Timing is net.
There are eight refreshment points with water and sports drink, about every 5 km, with bananas from 15 km, and fifteen more water points between them. Pacers are planned for targets from 3:00 to 4:45, every fifteen minutes.
The start is on Wagramer Straße, beside the Kaisermühlen-VIC stop on the U1. Runners go off in waves from 9:00am, in blocks by predicted time. To start in a block for 3:35 or faster you need to prove the time by 12 March; without it you go further back. Timing is net.
There are eight refreshment points with water and sports drink, about every 5 km, with bananas from 15 km, and fifteen more water points between them. Pacers are planned for targets from 3:00 to 4:45, every fifteen minutes.
The morning, hour by hour
- 7:00am
- Bag drop opens at the start
- 8:30am
- Bag drop closes
- 9:00am
- First wave
- 3:30pm
- Finish closes
The organiser's 2027 marathon page, with bag-drop times from the 2026 timetable. Austria's clocks went forward at the end of March, so there's no change to allow for. The organiser publishes no intermediate cut-offs. The finish closes at 3:30pm, six and a half hours after the first wave, and official sweepers run at the back of the field all the way to the line.
Race-day weather, 1995–2025
- Median
- 13.6 °C
- Warm years
- 6 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
Is Vienna a flat course?
Mostly. The whole course sits within 44 m, and the organiser gives the same range. The one real hill is a long rise in the first half, 40 m from the Ring out to the Westbahnhof at 18.1 km. From 23.0 km to 39.5 km, along the canal and through the Prater, it stays within 8 m.
Sonny's LiDAR DTM of Europe, sampled every 25 m, smoothed over 100 m. Raw-to-smoothed ratio 2.2; the organiser's course page.
Will I see Schönbrunn Palace?
Yes, at about 16.0 km, where it swings round past the front of the palace and turns back towards the centre on Mariahilfer Straße. It also passes the Riesenrad and the Naschmarkt, and the Staatsoper twice. It doesn't pass St Stephen's Cathedral.
This site's course line.
Is there a way into the 2027 race now the marathon is full?
Only from the waitlist. The marathon closed on 20 September 2026, and places handed back until 7 March 2027 go to the next name on the list. Joining is free, and you pay only if you're moved up.
The organiser's 2027 marathon page.
Where does the half marathon go?
It starts with the marathon and shares the road until about 20.3 km, by the Museumsquartier. There the half turns right under a red arch towards its finish, and the marathon carries straight on under a blue one.
The organiser's 2026 course page.
Is it a fast course?
Fast enough for a 2:05. Samwel Mailu ran 2:05:08 in 2023 and Tigist Gezahagn 2:20:06 in 2026. The long climb is over by 18.1 km, and the rest is flat until the last 2.8 km.
Race reports for 2023 and 2026; this site's course line.
Do I need a qualifying time?
No. You need to be 18 or over. A time of 3:35 or faster, proved by 12 March, gets you into a front start block; without proof you start further back.
The organiser's 2027 marathon page.
Is Vienna a record-eligible course?
Yes. Its start and finish are 4.7 km apart, and the finish is 11 m higher, both well inside the World Athletics limits.
Separation and rise from the Reichsbrücke start to the Burgtheater, on this site's course line; the limits are World Athletics Competition Rule 31.21.
How many people run it?
12,995 entered the 2026 marathon and 8,657 finished, on a warm day. The half marathon is bigger, and the whole weekend drew a record 49,379 entries across nine events.
Organiser figures for the 2026 edition.
What is the weather like on race day?
About 13.6 °C during a typical race: that's the median across 29 years, which have run from 3.6 °C to 19.9 °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?
Easily. The finish is 11 m above the start, so the B.A.A.'s downhill adjustment, which begins at 1,500 ft of net loss, has nothing to act on. The long climb is over by 18.1 km, and the Prater is flat when you're tired. From 39.7 km the road rises gently back up to the Ring.
Net drop +11 m from this site's course line; 2027 adjustment None. Certification elite label: World Athletics Elite Label, as stated on the organiser's 2027 marathon page; record-eligible.
How accurate is the elevation figure?
It comes from Sonny 1" .hgt tiles — CC BY 4.0, sampled every 25 m along the course line and smoothed over 100 m. The raw-to-smoothed ratio here is 2.2. Around 1.3 means the model is reading the ground, not rooftops; above about 2.0 the total climb carries real noise, and the net change is the sturdier number.
0 missing samples · 5 bridge spans corrected.
Sources
Every fact on this page, its source, and the date it was checked · 8
| Fact | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Course line | Third-party GPX for the 2025 edition, which follows the organiser's own 2025 file to within 10 m. It measures 42.689 km, 1.17 % long, from 1,378 points; our resampled line measures 42.527 km. For 2026 the organiser moved two short stretches: between km 22 and 24 the course now takes Maria-Theresien-Straße to Roßauer Lände instead of Währinger Straße, and between km 36 and 38 it runs on Schüttelstraße. Neither moves the start, the finish or the high and low points, and no change has been announced for 2027. Archived with its hash in data/raw/sources. | 2026-09-24 |
| Elevation | Sonny's LiDAR DTM of Europe (CC BY 4.0), sampled every 25 m, smoothed over 100 m. Raw-to-smoothed gain ratio 2.2, above the 2.0 at which the total climb carries real noise, so the net change and the high and low points are the sturdier figures. Five bridges were straightened between their ends, including the kilometre-long Reichsbrücke at the start, whose deck arches above a straight line. | 2026-09-24 |
| Elevation, independent check | The organiser gives 44 m between the lowest and highest points of the course. We measure 157.8 m to 202.2 m, a range of 44.4 m. | 2026-09-24 |
| Race-day weather | ERA5 reanalysis via the Open-Meteo archive, 1995–2025 at the start, 09:00–15:00 local, sampled on the third Sunday in April. That reproduces the 2026 and 2027 dates, but the race moves in some years: it was held on 23 April in 2023 and 6 April in 2025. 2020 and 2021, when there was no April race, are excluded. | 2026-09-24 |
| Course records | Samwel Mailu 2:05:08 (2023) and Tigist Gezahagn 2:20:06 (2026), from ORF's report of the 2026 race, which broke the women's record and not the men's. | 2026-09-24 |
| Entry and field | The organiser's 2027 marathon page: €155 for everyone, registration closed 20 September 2026, a free waitlist until 7 March 2027. In 2026, 12,995 entered the marathon and 8,657 finished, from ORF's race report. | 2026-09-24 |
| Race day | The organiser's 2027 marathon page: waves from 9:00am, finish closing 3:30pm, eight refreshment points about every 5 km and fifteen water points. Bag-drop times are from the 2026 timetable. | 2026-09-24 |
| 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. Vienna finishes 10.9 m above its start, and its start and finish are 4.7 km apart. Inside both. | 2026-09-24 |
Until the Vienna Marathon · 18 Apr 2027
— days
— hrs— min— sec
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