Die Generalprobe 2027: Half Marathon Four Weeks Before Berlin

On 29 August 2027 Steglitz holds its dress rehearsal: a flat two-lap half marathon exactly four weeks before the Berlin Marathon. Here is how to use it as a marathon test and what is known about the course and registration.

Daniel Gruber · 4 October 2026 · 7 min read

Die Generalprobe 2027: Half Marathon Four Weeks Before Berlin

The name says it all: "die Generalprobe" ("the dress rehearsal") is a half marathon in Berlin-Steglitz held exactly four weeks before the Berlin Marathon. The next edition is announced for Sunday, 29 August 2027 (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, 2026 recap), with the marathon following on 26 September 2027 (source: scc-events.com, event calendar). If you plan to run 42 kilometres in the autumn, this race answers the question that training leaves open: is the pace I have in mind actually right?

If you are not running a marathon, it is simply a flat half marathon, or a 10.5 km quarter marathon, on a late-summer Sunday with what the organiser calls its own fan base (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, news).

What is confirmed and what is still missing

Aspect Details
Date 2027 Sunday, 29 August 2027 (announced in the 2026 recap; registration period not yet set)
Distances Half marathon (two laps) · quarter marathon (one lap, 10.5 km) · kids' races
Start and finish Schloßstraße, Berlin-Steglitz
Start 2026 Quarter and half marathon together at 9:00 am
Time limit 3 hours
Entry fee 2026 Half marathon €43 / €48 · quarter marathon €38 / €42 · youth €22 or €20
Pacers 2026 1:30, 1:45, 2:00, 2:15 and 2:30 hours
Last edition 23 August 2026, 6,439 participants (record)
Organiser SCC EVENTS

Sources: berliner-generalprobe.de (home, half marathon, quarter marathon, participant info, registration, 2026 recap). The participant page currently only says "summer 2027" and promises to confirm date and start times with registration; the race is not yet in the SCC EVENTS calendar for 2027 (sources: berliner-generalprobe.de, participant info; scc-events.com). As of 3 October 2026.

How to use the Generalprobe as a marathon test

Four weeks out, the training mountain is almost climbed. The Generalprobe sits at the point where you can still adjust, but should not change anything fundamental. So decide beforehand what you want to test that Sunday.

Pace. There are two sensible options. Either you race the 21 km as a true fitness test, as fast as you can, and use the result to judge whether your marathon goal is realistic. Or you run deliberately at your planned marathon pace and check whether it still feels controlled after 15 kilometres. Both make sense, just not on the same day. Since 2026, pacers with flags for 1:30, 1:45, 2:00, 2:15 and 2:30 hours have been spread across all start waves (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, participant info).

Fuelling. Each lap has water and tea at km 2.5, 5, 7.9, 13.5, 15.9 and 18.5, plus bananas at the end of each lap. All stations are on the right-hand side and include refill points for hydration systems (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, participant info). It is a good chance to try the gels or drinks you plan to use in the marathon, in a real race crowd.

Kit. Shoes, socks, race belt, watch settings: everything you will wear on marathon day belongs on your body that Sunday. Problems that show up after 90 minutes would otherwise only show up after 30 kilometres.

The long run. One runner the organiser followed in 2026 jogged the four kilometres from home to the start and back, reaching around 30 kilometres without having to run the long session in one go (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, 2026 recap). That is an option if your plan calls for a long run that weekend anyway, but only if you do not also race the 21 km flat out.

After the race, the taper begins. Give yourself a few easy days before heading into the final weeks before the Berlin Marathon.

The course: neighbourhoods, not sightseeing

The Generalprobe runs on a 10.5 km loop certified by the German athletics federation (DLV) through the districts of Steglitz, Wilmersdorf and Zehlendorf, twice for the half marathon (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, participant info). The organiser calls it "super flat" (source: berliner-generalprobe.de) and puts it like this: sightseeing is elsewhere; this is where people live and work (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, course).

In 2025 the organiser traced what a lap feels like: from the start on Schloßstraße past the "Bierpinsel" tower, along Grunewaldstraße and Königin-Luise-Straße past the thatched Dahlem-Dorf U-Bahn station, into leafy Pacelliallee at km 3, across Platz am Wilden Eber and Rheinbabenallee to Rüdesheimer Platz, with km 9 behind the Rheingau quarter before the home straight (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, 2025 race story). Many know Platz am Wilden Eber as a crowd hotspot on marathon day (source: ibid.).

For pacing, the loop means one thing above all: you already know the second lap. If you get carried away on lap one, you will feel it on the same streets again. In 2026 the quarter and half marathon both started at 9 am (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, event FAQ), so on the first lap you are running among people who turn off to the finish after 10.5 km. Do not let their pace pull you along. To reduce early crowding, the race uses start blocks, with faster runners lining up at the front (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, participant info).

Registration: do not leave it late

The 2027 registration period will be announced on the official Generalprobe website; you register through an SCC EVENTS account (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, registration). Waiting does not pay: in 2025 both distances sold out before race day (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, 2025 recap), and in 2026 a record 6,439 people took part (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, 2026 recap).

Prices depend on quotas. In 2026 the half marathon cost €43 in tier 1 and €48 in tier 2, the quarter marathon €38 or €42, and youth paid €22 or €20 (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, registration). Under the 2026 rules, runners born in 2011 or earlier could enter (source: ibid.). Fees are not refunded if you cannot start, and places cannot be transferred to other people or years; switching distance costs €5 plus the price difference (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, participant info). Age-group winners from M/W40 upwards in the half marathon get a free entry for the following year (source: ibid.).

From the Grunewald forest to Steglitz

The Generalprobe is older than many think. In 1984 the idea was to give marathon runners an official fitness test, so an existing 15 km fun run through the Grunewald forest became a half marathon, starting and finishing at the Mommsenstadion. Most of it ran along the "Krone", the Kronprinzessinnenweg, with a turnaround just before the Havelchaussee (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, race history). After a title sponsor came on board in 2009, the race moved into the city, onto the loop through the residential districts; after cancellations in 2020 and 2021 it restarted in 2022 (source: ibid.).

It has grown fast since: 3,548 participants in 2024, more than 4,900 in 2025 and 6,439 in 2026 (sources: berliner-generalprobe.de, recaps 2024, 2025 and 2026). In 2026, 860 of them ran the quarter marathon and 463 children took part in the kids' races (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, 2026 recap), which leaves a little over 5,100 on the half marathon distance.

The half marathon course records date from 2025: Johannes Motschmann ran 64:02, Kristina Hendel 1:14:07, both from Marathon Team Berlin (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, 2025 recap). In 2026 Maurits de Liefde won in 1:09:30 and Antonia Müller in 1:18:46, in temperatures between 12 and 20 °C (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, 2026 recap).

With family and your running group

The children go first. The kids' races on Schloßstraße in front of Forum Steglitz cover 200 to 800 metres depending on age, for children up to ten; the fee was €5, and late entry on the day is possible while places last. In 2026 they started from about 8:15 am (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, Kids & Youth). If you run the half marathon yourself, you can still watch the kids' start first.

The easiest way to the start is the U9 line: Schloßstraße and Walther-Schreiber-Platz stations are within walking distance, and there are no reserved parking spaces (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, event FAQ). There are no showers on site (source: ibid.).

The Generalprobe also works well for a running group. If you are building towards the marathon together, run the loop together at your own pace and then cheer for the faster ones from the roadside. Lauftreffs (group runs) and run clubs with weekend long runs are listed under running in Berlin. For a shorter test before that, there is the City Night on the Ku'damm at the end of July. In spring, the Berlin Half Marathon is the obvious choice, and all other dates are in our overview of running events in Berlin.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

When is the Generalprobe 2027?
The organiser announces the next edition for Sunday, 29 August 2027. Registration period and start times are still to be published; in 2026 the quarter and half marathon started at 9 am (source: berliner-generalprobe.de).
How long before the Berlin Marathon is it?
Exactly four weeks: Generalprobe on 29 August 2027, marathon on 26 September 2027 (sources: berliner-generalprobe.de; scc-events.com, event calendar).
Which distances are there?
A two-lap half marathon, a one-lap 10.5 km quarter marathon, and kids' races of 200 to 800 metres for children up to ten (source: berliner-generalprobe.de).
Are there pacers?
Yes, since 2026. Pacers with flags ran for 1:30, 1:45, 2:00, 2:15 and 2:30 hours, spread across all start waves (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, participant info).
How much does it cost?
In 2026 the half marathon cost €43 or €48 and the quarter marathon €38 or €42, depending on the quota. Prices for 2027 have not been published yet (source: berliner-generalprobe.de, registration).

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