Venue
Vasileos Konstantinou Avenue, Pangrati, Athens, Greece
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Athens Marathon The Authentic guide
Running the original route to the Panathenaic Stadium.
In short
The Athens Marathon The Authentic is normally held on the second Sunday of November, with shorter events the day before. The 42.195 km course runs from Marathon to the marble stadium of the 1896 Olympics, with a long climb mid-race. It suits runners who value history over personal bests; train for hills.
The Athens Marathon The Authentic is the race that claims the original route: 42.195 km from the town of Marathon to the white marble track of the Panathenaic Stadium in central Athens. Runners come from all over the world to finish where the 1896 Olympics were held, on the road that gave the distance its name.
It is not a race for personal bests. A long, steady climb through the middle of the course makes it one of the toughest of the big city marathons, and most people treat the finish itself as the prize.
Around the main event, a weekend of shorter races brings in families, students and local clubs, so the city feels the race even if you never leave the pavement.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Date: Friday, 6 November 2026 – Sunday, 8 November 2026
Starts: 6:00 PM
Where: Athens, Greece
Venue: Panathenaic Stadium
Held: Every year
Type of event: Sporting Events
Currency: Euro (€ EUR)
Time zone: UTC+2, UTC+3 from late March to late October
Language: Greek
Map
Close to the venue
- Acropolis of Athens Attraction · 1.4 km
- Hotel Grande Bretagne, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Athens Hotel · 1 km
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Bag drop rules on race morning
The rule catches first-timers every year. There is no clothing collection at the start in Marathon on race morning. Marathon runners hand in their kit bag at a dedicated area inside the Expo at Faliro in the days before the race, and collect it at the finish with their bib number.
- Plan race-morning clothes you are happy to discard, such as an old jumper or a bin bag against the dawn chill.
- Check your starting block in the email sent about ten days before. Your bus wave depends on it, and the buses do not wait.
- Pin the bib on the front and keep it visible: it is your ticket onto the bus and into the finish area.
- For the shorter races, bags go to the designated areas at least 30 minutes before the start.
Watching the finish at the Panathenaic Stadium
Supporters do not pay to enter the Panathenaic Stadium for any of the weekend's races, which makes it the easiest place to see your runner finish. A few rules apply:
- Only finishing runners and accredited staff go onto the track. Friends, family and coaches stay in the stands, however tempting it is to run the last metres together.
- Bicycles, skateboards and any other wheels are banned inside the stadium.
- No spectator vehicles may use the race lanes, so do not try to follow the runners by car or scooter.
- Pick a meeting point outside the stadium in advance. Phones struggle when thousands of people try to call at once.
Sun protection and preparing for the climb
Early November in Athens is usually mild, but the course has very little shade and the sun is still strong by late morning. Wear sun protection and a cap even if the day starts cool.
Pace is the other thing to respect. The climb through the middle of the race lasts for about twenty kilometres, and runners who attack it early pay for it later. Train on long hills in the months before, start conservatively, and save your effort for the downhill run into the city. Drink early on the climb, before you feel thirsty.
What happens on the day
- Saturday, 12:30
The Marathon Flame
Opening ceremony and the lighting of the flame at the tomb of the Athenians in Marathon; it reaches its altar at 13:50.
- Saturday, 16:00
Kids' race
1.2 km at the stadium, followed by a Special Olympics Hellas race at 16:20.
- Saturday, 17:00
5 km road race
- Saturday, 20:00
Universities Night Run
5 km.
- Sunday, 08:00
10 km
From Vasilissis Amalias Avenue, beside Syntagma Square.
- Sunday, 08:30
Marathon start
In Marathon town.
- About 10:39
Leading man expected
- 18:20
Race closes
The stadium welcomes finishers all afternoon. Central Athens is closed to vehicles from 05:00 to 18:20 on Sunday, and from 15:00 to 21:00 on Saturday.
Registration, fees and where to stay
Entries for 2026 opened on 24 April, and the price ran from roughly 75 to 165 euros, rising with distance and with lateness of entry. Places are capped. By October the official website was already flagging entries as exhausted, so anyone still hoping to run this year should check which races have spaces before booking flights. About ten days before the race, registered runners receive an email with their bib number and starting block, and that block decides which bus wave you take on Sunday.
Leave a free afternoon midweek for the Expo. Bibs and race kits are handed out at the Runners' Center inside the allwyn Marathon EXPO at the Faliro Indoor Hall, on the Olympic Faliro coastal zone, from Wednesday 4 to Saturday 7 November. For ideas on the days after the race, start with our Greece pages.
The route from Marathon and the race's history
Not far from the start in Marathon, the course passes the burial mound raised for the Athenians who died in the battle of 490 BC. The flame for the weekend is lit there on Saturday, and the ceremony appears in the spectators' programme, so you can see the place before you race past it.
The event itself is younger than it looks. An athletics association created it in 1972 in partnership with Greece's national tourism organisation, and in its first decades it was a modest affair: about 1,779 people finished in 2002. Twenty-two years later, in 2024, the figure was 17,041. The pandemic is the only thing that has stopped it.
The road explains why the race has a reputation. The opening kilometres are flat and run close to the coast through Nea Makri. Then, from about the 10 km mark, the course starts to rise and does not let up until the 31st. Few major marathons ask for that much climbing. The reward is the final section, mostly downhill past the Running Man statue, and a finish on the marble track of the Panathenaic Stadium.
Getting there
From the airport
Athens International is about 30 km from the centre by road. A footbridge leads to the airport station; metro Line 3 runs through Evangelismos and Syntagma, but only one train in every 36 minutes goes all the way to the airport.
Runners' buses, wave 1
Blocks 1 to 10 ride organiser buses from six central points between 05:00 and 06:45; the last from Syngrou-Fix leaves at 06:15.
Runners' buses, wave 2
Blocks 11 to 15 board between 06:30 and 07:45 at Ethniki Amyna, Cholargos, Katechaki and Nomismatokopio on Line 3. Buses are free for registered runners, with no booking.
Driving to the start
Discouraged. You must be parked by 07:30 and walk about 800 m; Marathonos Avenue shuts from 08:00.
Spectators
Take the metro to Syntagma, Acropolis or Evangelismos and walk to the stadium, where entry to the stands is free.
Where to stay during the festival
Choose your hotel with race morning in mind. The organisers collect runners from central stations such as Syntagma, Panepistimio, Evangelismos and Omonia, so a room within walking distance of one saves a pre-dawn taxi.
The same area suits supporters, a short walk from the stadium.
Athens
Hotel Grande Bretagne, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Athens5-star hotel
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- Internet – Wifi
- Airport shuttle
- Swimming pool
4 Rooms available
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Weather and what to pack
Early November in Athens is mild. Average highs are about 19°C and lows about 12°C, with around 70 mm of rain over the month. Race mornings usually start cool, and the climb from Marathon warms up by late morning.
Worth packing
- A throwaway layer for the start area
- A cap and sunscreen
- A rain jacket for supporters
- Comfortable shoes for the walk from the metro
Car hire in Athens
Airport transfer to Athens Marathon The Authentic
Met at arrivals at Athens International Airport (ATH) and driven door to door to Panathenaic Stadium.
- Athens International Airport (ATH) → Panathenaic Stadium
- 33 km · 35 min
Restaurants and food in Greece
Places to eat in Greece before or after the celebrations.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General
Harder than most big-city races. The road rises steadily from around 10 km to 31 km, one of the longest climbs on any major marathon, before a mainly downhill final stretch into Athens.
The official schedule lists the race as running from 08:30 to 18:20 on Sunday. Check the runners' FAQ for any intermediate cut-off points before you enter if you expect a long day.
Edwin Kiptoo set the men's record of 2:10:34 in 2023. For women, Rasa Drazdauskaitė's 2:31:06 from 2010 is still the fastest time on the course.
It bills itself as the biggest sporting-goods exhibition in Greece, so it is a good place to shop for running kit during race week. Runners have to go anyway, because race packs are collected there.
Often, yes. The national athletics federation, SEGAS, has organised it since 1983, and the marathon frequently doubles as the Greek championship. It also holds World Athletics label status.
The in-person race was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. It is the only year the event has missed since it began in 1972.
2015 still holds the participation record, with about 16,000 people running the marathon and 43,000 taking part across all the weekend's races.
Getting there
No. The buses from central Athens to Marathon are only for registered runners, who board without reserving a seat. Supporters are better off waiting at the finish.
You can, but the organisers advise against it. Drivers need to arrive by 07:30, park and walk roughly 800 m to the start area, and Marathonos Avenue closes to traffic at 08:00.
Organisers estimate the first man will cross the line at about 10:39, a little over two hours after the 08:30 start. Get to the stands well before then for a seat with a view of the finish.