How to get into the Berlin Marathon

Berlin Marathon lottery and results

The 2027 lottery opened October 1 and closes November 12, 2026. It is free to enter, alone or as a team of two or three. A team is drawn together, so everyone gets in or nobody does, and the team code must be entered at registration. If one team member drops out later, the others keep their places, and nobody can be added.

Results go to every entrant by email on December 3, 2026, and the €215 fee is collected from December 4 by Adyen, which can take up to a week. The choice made at registration is final, and a registration cannot be transferred or cancelled.

The organizers do not publish how many people apply. About 56,000 runners took part in the 2026 marathon, per running press. From 2027 the race is the Generali Berlin Marathon, formerly the BMW Berlin Marathon, and it is on September 26, 2027.

Berlin Marathon fast runner times

Runners with a marathon in 2025 or 2026 under their standard apply during the lottery window and upload proof of the time and their age. Only an official certificate or a link to the race's official results counts, from a race in the Abbott World Marathon Majors age group rankings, certified by AIMS, or listed by USATF.

A fast time is not a guarantee. Applications are reviewed and answered with the lottery results on December 3, and invalid proof moves the runner into the general lottery. Half marathons and virtual races do not count.

Berlin Marathon Jubilee Club

Runners with at least 10 Berlin finishes, in any discipline, can apply to the Jubilee Club through their user account with certificates or results-list entries as proof. Photos of medals or bibs do not count. Members get a guaranteed entry in the run every year, a lifetime personal bib number and a lounge at the expo.

Members register from the lottery opening until December 31. After a 20th, 25th, 30th, 35th or 40th finish, the next year's entry is free, with a code sent in late October or early November and a January 31 deadline.

An application with 10 finishes by October 31 guarantees the following year. Runners with nine finishes who apply and hold an entry by July 31 join the club at the finish of their 10th.

Berlin Marathon charity entry

Runners for an official charity partner get a guaranteed start place. The two premium partners are Realbuzz, whose portal lists more than 150 UK, US and international charities, and The Human Safety Net, Generali's foundation, which funds activity programs for disadvantaged children in Germany with SOS-Kinderdorf. The Human Safety Net takes a donation of your choice at registration and publishes no minimum.

You apply to the charity, not the race, and each charity sets its own fee and target. In Germany, Children for a Better World's Run for Children has 100 places for 2027 at €1,200, the €215 entry plus a €985 donation, with pre-registration open now. For 2026, UK charities asked for example £1,500 plus a £100 registration fee (CCLG), £1,200 plus £50 (Breakthrough T1D) and £2,000 plus £75 (Epilepsy Action).

For 2026 the organizers also gave 200 places to the RTL foundation Wir helfen Kindern, sold through United Charity. UK charities began taking 2027 applications in autumn 2026.

Berlin Marathon tour operators

SCC Events, the organizer, started its tour operator program in 2000 and appoints the partners. Its list shows 145 operators in 57 countries, including 7 in the US, 5 in the UK, 3 in Canada and 4 in Australia. Entries are sold only through these partners, and other sellers are not authorized. You book with an operator in your own country, and the organizers say partners usually still have guaranteed places long after the lottery.

A bib comes with a package. Marathon Tours & Travel sells no entry without accommodation: in the US a 3-night Independent package or a 4-night Signature package, for residents of the US and Canada or members of its Seven Continents Club, and in the UK 3, 4 or 5 nights. A runner who books a package can still enter the lottery, and if drawn the operator removes its entry fee. Fitness International Travel (US) sells an Essential package with 3 or 4 nights, entry and expo transfers, and a Signature package with 4 nights at the Hilton, a city tour, a pasta dinner and staff on site. Triumph Sports Travel (US) adds a shakeout run to the Tiergarten.

Deposits are non-refundable. Fitness International Travel took $600 per person plus the full entry at booking for 2026, with the balance due June 1 and refunds above the deposit less 4% before then. Triumph Sports Travel takes 30% at checkout. Travelling Fit took A$900 per runner with the balance due June 5, 2026, and Adventure Time Travel takes a A$1,000 preliminary deposit for 2027. 2027 prices were not out on November 12, 2026, so the figures below are 2026 rates.

Other guaranteed ways into Berlin

2026 entrants who could not run and took the goodwill offer, found under Cancellation Options in the user account, were emailed a 2027 code. It must be redeemed by 23:59 CET on November 12, 2026, and the runner pays the €215 fee again.

Holders of the Berlin Sozialticket S can take one of 50 places for €50 by emailing sozialticket@scc-events.com with a copy of their ID and ticket.

The Abbott World Marathon Majors draw gave 250 Berlin places in 2026 to runners with three or more stars who had not run Berlin. The 2027 draw is not listed yet.