DRESDEN-MARATHON 2026: late entry, course and relay on 25 October

The 26th DRESDEN-MARATHON starts on Ostra-Allee on 25 October 2026 and finishes inside the Heinz-Steyer-Stadion. Here is the schedule, the late-entry fees, the cut-off at kilometre 17 and how to enter the relay with your running group.

Daniel Gruber · 4 October 2026 · 9 min read

DRESDEN-MARATHON 2026: late entry, course and relay on 25 October

The 26th DRESDEN-MARATHON takes place on Sunday, 25 October 2026, starting on Ostra-Allee and finishing inside the Heinz-Steyer-Stadion. The 5 km race and the kids' races run the day before, on Saturday, 24 October (source: dresden-marathon.com, home page and marathon page). Regular registration has closed, but you can still enter late until shortly before the gun. This page collects what you need for the weekend: schedule, fees, start blocks, the one cut-off every marathon runner should know, and how your running group can enter as a relay. For every other race in the city, see our overview of running events in Dresden.

The weekend, 23 to 25 October

When What
Fri 23 Oct, 12:00–19:00 Marathon EXPO, bib pick-up and late entry at BallsportARENA, Weißeritzstraße 4
Sat 24 Oct, 10:00–18:00 EXPO, bib pick-up and late entry
Sat 24 Oct, 13:00 Bambini race (400 m, sold out)
Sat 24 Oct, 13:30 Kids' marathon (1.8 km)
Sat 24 Oct, 14:30 Sparkassen 5 km, start on Rudolf-Harbig-Weg
Sun 25 Oct, 07:30–09:30 Bib pick-up (no EXPO on Sunday)
Sun 25 Oct, 09:30 AOK 10 km, start on Ostra-Allee
Sun 25 Oct, 10:30 Marathon, half marathon and ERTL marathon relay, start on Ostra-Allee
Sun 25 Oct, 14:00 / 16:30 Course closes for half marathon / marathon

Sources: dresden-marathon.com (marathon, half marathon, 10 km, 5 km, Marathon EXPO, news of 3 June 2026). As of 3 October 2026.

The Saturday starts were moved forward by 90 minutes in June because the PyroGames fireworks show uses the stadium area that evening. The 5 km now starts at 14:30 instead of 16:00 (source: dresden-marathon.com, news of 3 June 2026). If you wrote down the old time, update it.

Late entry: what it costs now

Regular registration closed on 12 October. Since then the late-entry fee applies, online until Thursday, 22 October, midnight, and after that only in person at the BallsportARENA (source: dresden-marathon.com, marathon page). The entry office takes late entries for all distances on Friday from 12:00 to 19:00 and on Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00. On Sunday it is open until 9:30 for the marathon, relay and half, and until about 8:30 for the 10 km. For Saturday's 5 km the cut-off is 13:30 (source: dresden-marathon.com, FAQ). All of this only applies while the field limit for that distance has not been reached.

Distance Late-entry fee
Marathon €110
Half marathon €85
AOK 10 km €50
Sparkassen 5 km €30
ERTL marathon relay (4 people) €200

Source: dresden-marathon.com, individual distance pages. All fees include VAT.

Two rules from the small print matter. First, there is no withdrawal: if you don't start, you get no refund and no voucher, not even when you are ill (source: dresden-marathon.com, FAQ). Second, handing your bib to someone else without an official transfer means disqualification. A name transfer costs €5 after the registration deadline and from 23 October is only possible at the help desk at the expo, as is a change of distance (source: dresden-marathon.com, marathon page and FAQ). If you switch to a shorter distance, the difference is not refunded.

Four distances, one stadium finish

Every adult race ends with half a lap on the track inside the Heinz-Steyer-Stadion. The 2025 finisher numbers give you a sense of scale (source: dresden-marathon.com, distance pages):

The course records stand at 2:10:00 (Ezekiel Koech, 2019) and 2:30:30 (Teclah Chebet, 2022) in the marathon, and 1:02:27 (Richard Kiprop Mengich, 2012) and 1:11:44 (Blanka Dörfel, 2025) in the half (source: dresden-marathon.com, marathon and half marathon pages).

The course and the cut-off at kilometre 17

The organiser describes the course as flat and fast. From the start on Ostra-Allee it runs through the old town past the Zwinger, the Royal Palace and the Hofkirche, over the Augustus Bridge into the Neustadt, through the illuminated Waldschlösschen tunnel, over the Waldschlösschen Bridge and on to the Grosser Garten park (source: dresden-marathon.com, marathon page). Marathon and half run together up to here. The second half of the marathon goes through Blasewitz, with views of the Elbe castles on the Loschwitz slopes, along Goetheallee, and then back along the river into the old town, below the Brühl Terrace and past the Semperoper to the marathon gate of the stadium. According to the organiser, more than 300 musicians and numerous bands line the course.

Marathon runners should know one time limit before they start. At kilometre 17, on Thomas-Müntzer-Platz, the marathon and half marathon split. Anyone who has not reached that point by 13:10, i.e. 2 hours 20 minutes after the gun, is taken out of the race or directed onto the half-marathon course (source: dresden-marathon.com, marathon page). That works out at roughly 8:14 per kilometre. For most people this is no issue, but it is clock time that counts, not your chip time. If you start in the back block F and need a few minutes to reach the start line, your buffer is slightly smaller.

The same junction is also your exit: if you realise on the day that 42 km is not happening, follow the "Halbmarathon" sign at kilometre 17 and register the change at the Baer-Service timing vehicle straight after the finish so you are scored in the half (source: dresden-marathon.com, marathon page). From kilometre 29 a sweeper vehicle also picks up runners who drop out uninjured.

Aid stations with tea, water, isotonic drink, bananas and raisin bread are at km 9, 13.8, 18.8, 22, 24.7, 27.3 and 34.9, with bars, gels, cola and salt added at the later ones. Water-only stations are at km 4.8, 30.8 and 38.5 (source: dresden-marathon.com, marathon page). You can hand in your own drinks at the help desk during expo hours and on Sunday until 8:00. Note the gap between km 27.3 and 34.9: if you rely on gels, carry one for that stretch.

Marathon start blocks follow your declared finish time: elite under 2:40, then A (2:40–3:14:59), B (3:15–3:44:59), C (3:45–3:59:59), D (4:00–4:29:59), E (4:30–4:59:59) and F from 5:00. Without a declared time you go into F. Line-up starts at 10:10 on Ostra-Allee, about 300 m from the stadium towards the city centre (source: dresden-marathon.com, marathon page). You can only move to a faster block at the help desk with proof that you ran that time within the last three years (source: dresden-marathon.com, FAQ).

Bring your running group as a relay

If not everyone in your group has trained for a full marathon, the ERTL marathon relay is the obvious option. Four people share the original course and start at 10:30 with the main field. In 2025, 151 relay teams finished (source: dresden-marathon.com, ERTL marathon relay). The legs are uneven, which is exactly what makes splitting them up interesting:

Leg Length Minimum age
1 13.3 km born 2010 or earlier
2 6.3 km born 2014 or earlier
3 14.7 km born 2010 or earlier
4 7.9 km born 2012 or earlier

Source: dresden-marathon.com, ERTL marathon relay. The organiser may still adjust the legs.

The 6.3 km second leg suits someone who has only just started running regularly; the 14.7 km third leg suits the person who usually races halves. Registration goes through a team captain who must be at least 16 but does not have to run. There are men's, women's and mixed categories. Everyone gets their own bib, and the timing chip sits in a fifth bib that you pass on with a race belt as your baton (source: dresden-marathon.com, ERTL marathon relay). One planning point: there are bag drops at the changeover zones, but no transport between the zones and the finish. Whoever has been relieved picks their bag up there. The four medals are handed to the final runner at the finish.

Training together in the last weeks helps. Regular meeting points and Lauftreffs (group runs) in the city are listed under running in Dresden.

Getting there, bibs and bags

On race day your bib is your ticket for buses, trams, S-Bahn, regional trains and ferries in the Dresden fare zone, for you personally (source: dresden-marathon.com, getting there). The start is about five minutes on foot from Postplatz and from Dresden-Mitte S-Bahn station; tram lines 6 and 11 stop at "Kongresszentrum". If you come by car, use the signposted P7 car park at Messe Dresden on race day, about 1.2 km from the start/finish area (source: dresden-marathon.com, marathon page and FAQ).

Bibs are handed out at the BallsportARENA next to the stadium. The organiser asks you to collect on Friday or Saturday. You need your entry confirmation, digital or printed; it arrives by email about a week before the event. You can collect for someone else with a written authorisation (source: dresden-marathon.com, FAQ). Drop your bag on Sunday between 8:00 and 10:15 in the main hall of the BallsportARENA; there is no bag drop at the start. Collect it no later than one hour after the course closes.

After the finish, and the 2027 date

Your entry includes showers and free use of the swimming pool after the race, a massage service and a finisher medal (source: dresden-marathon.com, marathon page). You can have the medal engraved with your name and time in the finish area: €10 if booked in advance, €15 cash on the day.

Next year's date is already set: the 27th DRESDEN-MARATHON is on 31 October 2027, the 28th on 22 October 2028 (source: dresden-marathon.com, FAQ). To see where Dresden sits among the other races of the year, check our marathon calendar 2027. For how Dresden compares with the big city marathons, see our overview of Germany's largest marathons; elsewhere in Saxony there is also the Leipzig Marathon. We cover shorter Dresden events in separate guides: the Citylauf Dresden over 10 km and the company run REWE Team Challenge.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

When is the 2026 DRESDEN-MARATHON?
The main races are on Sunday, 25 October 2026. The 10 km starts at 9:30, the marathon, half and relay at 10:30. The 5 km and kids' races are on Saturday, 24 October (source: dresden-marathon.com).
Can I still enter?
Yes, as long as the field limit has not been reached: online until 22 October 2026 at midnight, then in person at the BallsportARENA on Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday until 9:30 for the marathon, relay and half. The late fee is €110 for the marathon and €85 for the half (source: dresden-marathon.com).
Where do I start and finish?
The 10 km, half, marathon and relay start on Ostra-Allee, about 300 m from the Heinz-Steyer-Stadion. The finish is inside the stadium after half a lap of the track. The 5 km starts on Rudolf-Harbig-Weg next to the stadium (source: dresden-marathon.com).
Is there a time limit?
Yes. The course closes at 14:00 for the half and at 16:30 for the marathon. Marathon runners must also reach the split at kilometre 17 by 13:10 (source: dresden-marathon.com, marathon and half marathon pages).
Does my bib work as a public transport ticket?
Yes, on your race day, on all local transport in the Dresden fare zone, for you personally (source: dresden-marathon.com, getting there).
When is the 2027 DRESDEN-MARATHON?
On 31 October 2027. For 2028 the organiser lists 22 October (source: dresden-marathon.com, FAQ).

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