Haspa Hamburg Marathon is one of my favourite running events due to its flat route, great atmosphere and successful organisation. For me Hamburg is a convenient place to start, as it only takes roughly a bit over an hour to travel from Bremen to Hamburg by train. I prefer travelling with the train, when participating on a marathon, as it may be exhausting to have to concentrate on driving a car, especially after the race. Moreover, there’s no other time, when the beer tastes that good than after finishing 42k.
Hamburg marathon has a long tradition and is organised since the year 1986. Until now I have been running three times there with plenty of nice memories and experiences. Usually I have travelled to Hamburg on Saturday, as during the week it would have required leaving early from the work. By buying an affordable Niedersachsen-Ticket the whole family can travel pretty conveniently and the ticket is also valid in the Hamburg city area.
The fair centrum and the starting area near Reeperbahn provide an excellent stage for the marathon event. There’s enough room for about 20k runners and their supporters. Still, you may have to stay in a queue when you want to get your clothes and stuff back after the race. At least it was like this last year, when I participated at the race last time.
Preparing for the start in the fair hall
There are numerous different nationalities taking part at the event, so you if you come abroad, there’s a high chance that you will meet some fellow-countrymen in Hamburg. The biggest group is obviously the germans, but the atmosphere is very international.
Bruises on the foot after the Hamburg Marathon 2015
There are not that many other marathon races that tempt that so large crowds of spectators as Hamburg Marathon. According to the wiki page there are usually about 700000 spectators on the route, and that surely can be noticed. Numerous bands, cheering young and older people as well as kids willing to give high-fives as you run by them. It’s really great!
The marathon route follows the most known parts of Hamburg and is very flat. Mostly the road also is wide enough, but at some spots you have to be prepared to get stuck in the crowd – especially at the drink stations. Obviously this has to do with the group where one has started the race, the elite runners won’t have to struggle with this kind of issues. Maybe I’ll be able to get a better starting spot sometimes in the future, I hope. 🙂
Based on my experiences Haspa Marathon Hamburg is one of the best marathon events in Germany (and Europe) and a must, if you are doing marathons.