Gutenberg Halbmarathon Mainz

The Gutenberg Halbmarathon Mainz is an annual half marathon and 10K road race through Mainz, Germany, named for the city's most famous son, Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the movable-type printing press. The event ran as a full marathon from 2000 to 2023 under the name Gutenberg-Marathon, but the city could no longer manage the logistics of the long course, which had drawn only 10-15% of entrants in its final years. Frankfurt-based organizer motion events took over in 2024, dropped the marathon distance, and renamed the event Gutenberg Halbmarathon Mainz, pairing the half marathon with a 10K and a schoolchildren's relay. The course starts and finishes on Rheinstraße between the Rathaus and the Rheingoldhalle, threading through Mainz's historic Altstadt past the Kurfürstliches Schloss and the cathedral before following the Rhine, crossing the Theodor-Heuss-Brücke, and finishing through the Mombach district. The route is flat and largely paved, drawing a fast, PR-friendly field. Thousands of runners take part each year, cheered on by tens of thousands of spectators, with donation gates along the route supporting the children's charity Herzenssache. The 2026 edition sold out well ahead of race day. Held for more than two decades, the race remains a warm, festive 'Meenzer' celebration of the city even without its former marathon distance.