Course & Elevation
The Copenhagen Marathon is a road marathon held on a Sunday in May, organised by the athletics and running club Sparta Atletik & Løb, which staged the first race in 1980. The 2027 race starts at 09:30 on Øster Allé in Østerbro, next to Fælledparken. The organisers describe the route as flat and festive: it runs through inner Copenhagen and over bridges to Christianshavn and Amager, with a big street party at Dr. Louises Bro, and continues through Nørrebro, Vesterbro, Frederiksberg and Østerbro. Entries are allocated by a free lottery, which had a three-week entry period in May and June 2026. More than 80,000 runners apply for an entry. In 2026, 22,425 runners took part and 21,708 reached the finish. The course records are 2:08:23 for men, set by Berhane Tsegay of Eritrea in 2022, and 2:22:08 for women, set by Mercy Chebwogen of Kenya in 2026. In the first race in 1980, there were 995 participants, 47 of them women.
Course Facts
Weather
Typical climate for the race month — an estimate, not a forecast or a race-day record
12°C
Temperature
65%
Humidity
23%
Rain Chance
May in Copenhagen is cool and fairly dry: highs average about 16°C and lows about 8°C, with measurable rain on around seven days of the month.
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