Generali Köln Marathon
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Oct 3, 2027
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The Generali Köln Marathon is Cologne's city marathon, held on a Sunday in early October, with the start in Deutz and the finish beside Cologne Cathedral. It was first run in 1997 as the Ford Köln-Marathon. The marathon starts at 10:30 on Opladener Straße next to Ottoplatz and Deutz station, on the right bank of the Rhine, with a half marathon and a relay on the same day. The finish is on Komödienstraße next to the cathedral. The organisers describe the course as flat and fast, passing through Rodenkirchen, Lindenthal, Ehrenfeld and Nippes, with eleven refreshment stations. After a long stretch along the Rhine bank, the route runs in a star shape through the inner city. The organisers highlight the finish at the cathedral, the route through Cologne's neighbourhoods and tens of thousands of spectators. The time limit is six hours net, and the finish closes at 16:30. In 2026 the event set a participation record of about 41,000 entries across all distances, and both marathon course records were lowered: Bernard Kiprop Koech ran 2:06:10 and Jackline Chepngeno 2:21:34. Entries for the 29th edition in 2027 open on 25 November 2026.
Typical climate for the race month — an estimate, not a forecast or a race-day record
Early October in Cologne is cool and often damp: average highs are around 15°C and lows around 7°C, with rain on about 15 days of the month.
The Race
Cologne
The first Cologne Marathon was run on 5 October 1997 as the Ford Köln-Marathon. At least 13,000 runners were registered, which was a world record for an inaugural marathon at the time. The race has been held in early October since, apart from a few years in late September, and the in-person 2020 edition was cancelled because of the pandemic.
On 4 October 2026 all four main course records fell. Bernard Kiprop Koech won the men's marathon in 2:06:10, lowering the record set a year earlier, and Jackline Chepngeno cut the women's marathon record, which dated from 2012, by about four minutes. In the half marathon, Richard Ringer and Esther Pfeiffer also set new records. The event also set a participation record with more than 40,000 entries.
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02:06:10
Bernard Kiprop Koech (2026)
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