Baden-Marathon

The Baden-Marathon is Karlsruhe's long-running fall marathon, held annually every September since 1983 — making it the second-oldest continuously staged city marathon in Germany after the Berlin Marathon (interrupted only by the pandemic years). The 42nd edition takes place September 20, 2026, with both the marathon (42.2 km) and half marathon (21.1 km) already sold out; a Team-Marathon (2- and 4-person teams), the AOK Health Run (6.1 km), the VITREA Inclusion Run (4.1 km), and a Mini-Marathon for children (333 m, 2.1 km, 4.2 km, held the day before) remain open. Start and finish sit on opposite sides of the city: runners set off from Hermann-Veit-Straße near the Europahalle and finish inside the Carl-Kaufmann-Stadion in Karlsruhe-Beiertheim. The half marathon runs a single, largely flat loop through the city center — past Karlsruhe Palace and Kaiserstraße — while the marathon adds a second loop through the Günther-Klotz-Anlage park, Mühlburg, and the palace gardens along the Alb river, a section locals consider tougher than the fast opening 21 km through Durlach and the Oststadt. In 2025 the event drew 1,248 marathon finishers and 6,194 half-marathon finishers, making the half one of the largest in Germany. The event has carried several sponsor names over the years — Fiducia, then Fiducia & GAD, then Atruvia following a 2022 corporate rebrand — so this record uses the neutral 'Baden-Marathon' name it is known by today.