Berlin Half Marathon 2026
by Gail King
Berlin half marathon was our 4th Superhalf. Hot on the heels of Lisbon half 3 weeks before, you’ve just got to accept your entry for the ever popular Superhalfs when you can!
We had run the full Berlin Marathon way back in 2010, and going back brought back some great memories of a club outing back in the day.
Berlin is easy to get to. Just a 2-hour flight away from Edinburgh. We travelled on Friday and returned on the Monday, which gave us plenty time to visit the Expo and do some sightseeing.
It turned out that we were staying in the official half marathon hotel, which was very nice, but full of tiny, skinny athletes. I felt like a right lazy biffer, and anything but an athlete, but I soon got over that as I tucked into my big breakfasts each morning.
The Expo was very well organised and efficient. We were given our numbers and a wrist band (which was not to be removed under any circumstance before the race!) We had the option of a bag drop for 6 euros – payable at the time of registering for the race. If you did not opt for a bag drop you got a poncho at the end of the race to keep you warm. This was a better than Lisbon half where there were neither bag drop nor poncho options. We were glad we’d opted for the bag drop as it was cold before and after the race. As we had run Lisbon so recently, it was difficult not to compare our race experiences. Although it was cold, it turned out to be perfect conditions for running. It was 5 degrees at the start but about 10 degrees when we finished. Dry and only a slight breeze.
The start and finish are close together, on either side of The Brandenburg Gate, which make logistics a lot easier. The course is flat as a pancake. Not overly scenic but perfectly acceptable and all is forgiven for the privilege of running through the Brandenburg Gate at the finish – always an emotional experience. There were over 40,000 runners, and so it was obviously busy, but I didn’t feel it was as congested as Lisbon, presumably because of the nice wide roads we ran on from the beginning. We set off in waves. Steven was in wave A and I was in wave D which started 15 minutes later. The atmosphere at the start was great, with a DJ geeing up the crowd with music and the runners all engaging. I felt like I was at a rave!
There was loads of crowd support on the course and the usual regular water and gel stations. After running through The Brandenburg Gates with a huge smile on my face and tear in my eye, I crossed the finish line, the runners all singing along to “Sweet Caroline” It was fab!
Getting to and from the race was easy using the very efficient metro and train service. Everything about the race seemed very efficient. And I would definitely recommend it.
The weekend was once again made all the better for sharing it with friends, who we saw during and after the race and met up with for an evening of “light refreshments”. A great get together with John Hynd and his wife, some former Harriers and Kinross Road Runners.
Roll on the next one!
Gail King 2026