Essen Marathon

The Essen Marathon is Germany's oldest continuously held marathon, run without interruption around Lake Baldeney (Baldeneysee) since 1963, when 50 runners gathered for a club competition on the Hardenbergufer. The 2026 edition marks its 64th running. The flat, fully asphalted, AIMS/DLV-certified course circles the lake twice with a short turnaround loop in the first lap, starting and finishing at the grandstand by the regatta house in Essen's Baldeney district. Alongside the full marathon, the event offers the 18.6-kilometer Westenergie Seerunde (one lap of the lake), the AllbauTeamStaffel relay marathon, a Walking Day the day before covering 14.8 kilometers, and shorter mini-marathon and fun-run distances for younger runners. Title sponsorship has shifted over the decades — from RWE (2006–2015) to innogy (2016–2019) to Westenergie since 2020 — though the race is known locally simply as the Essen Marathon. Organized entirely by volunteers from TUSEM Essen and more than 300 helpers from local athletics clubs, the event caps entries at 1,200 for the marathon and 1,800 for the Seerunde to manage the lakeside paths, with around 3,000 total participants across all distances. October brings cool, comfortable racing conditions to the Ruhr region, and the flat lake loop has long attracted competitive fields chasing fast times. Registration is open online through race week, with prices rising in scheduled tiers as the race date approaches.