Men’s course record
2:05:09
Alexander Mutiso · 2023
- Average pace
- 2:58 / km
- Terrain-adjusted
- +0.13 %
Prague Marathon
Prague, Czech Republic The Sunday nearest 5 May Founded 1995
Across the Charles Bridge in the first three kilometres, along both banks of the Vltava, and through Old Town Square three times.
Overview
Old Town Square is the start and the finish, and the course comes back through it at 12.8 km. From the start the course runs down Pařížská and over the Čech Bridge, round under Prague Castle into Malá Strana, and back across the river on the Charles Bridge at 2.5 km. Then it heads downstream along the Vltava to Libeň and back.
The second pass through the Old Town goes out by the Powder Tower and Na Příkopě to the National Theatre. The course runs south past the Dancing House at 15.3 km, through the Vyšehrad tunnel and out along the river to Podolí, where it turns just after halfway. A second out-and-back runs down Strakonická on the Smíchov bank. The last ten kilometres go back out to Libeň before finishing where they started.
About 3.8 km of the route is cobbled, by the organiser's count. The 2027 race is on 2 May, and places were still on sale in September 2026.
The second pass through the Old Town goes out by the Powder Tower and Na Příkopě to the National Theatre. The course runs south past the Dancing House at 15.3 km, through the Vyšehrad tunnel and out along the river to Podolí, where it turns just after halfway. A second out-and-back runs down Strakonická on the Smíchov bank. The last ten kilometres go back out to Libeň before finishing where they started.
About 3.8 km of the route is cobbled, by the organiser's count. The 2027 race is on 2 May, and places were still on sale in September 2026.
- When
- The 2027 Prague Marathon is on Sunday, 2 May 2027, starting at 8:00am local time on Old Town Square.
- Course
- Prague's course climbs 141 m in all, with its lowest point at 184 m and its highest at 197 m.
- Entry
- Entry to Prague is first come, first served (open for 2027), and costs €120 for 2027.
- Field
- The 2026 Prague Marathon had a marathon field of 11,800.
- Weather
- Across 29 years, Prague's race-day temperature has a median of 14.8 °C.
- Records
- The Prague Marathon course records are 2:05:09 (Alexander Mutiso, 2023) and 2:19:46 (Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, 2019).
- Time limit
- Prague's time limit is 7 hours.
Marathon Course · every marathon course, measured the same way
Prague Marathon
Across the Charles Bridge in the first three kilometres, along both banks of the Vltava, and through Old Town Square three times. Old Town Square → Old Town Square, Prague, Czech Republic.
- Distance
- 42.2 km
- Ascent
- 141 m
- Descent
- 141 m
- Net
- +0 m
Course map and elevation
5 km splits marked · hover or drag the profile below to move along the courseElevation · measured on a third-party course line for the 2024 edition, which matches the organiser's 2026 map · Sonny 1" .hgt tiles — CC BY 4.0 · smoothed 100 m 184–197 m
—
0.08.416.925.333.842.2
kmmi — elev — grade — hover or drag the profile
Prague's course never strays far from the Vltava, so the river sets its heights. The start and finish share a spot on Old Town Square, 191 m up. The lowest ground is downstream in Libeň, just over the Libeň Bridge: 184 m at 8.3 km, and the same again at 37.7 km.
Away from the river, the course rises through the Old Town on its second pass. From the square to Na Příkopě the road gains about 4 m, topping out at 13.9 km. The out-and-backs to Podolí and down Strakonická stay within a few metres of the river.
The Vyšehrad tunnel, at 20.3 km and again at 24.3 km, and the Těšnov underpass, at 10.9 km and 40.3 km, are drawn as straight lines, because the model reads the ground above the road. The whole course stays within 13 m, between 184 m and 197 m. Add up the energy cost of every gradient and the course comes out about level with a flat 42.195 km.
Take it with you
Course GPX Organiser's course map
The GPX is ours: our resampled line, a point every 25 m, carrying Sonny 1" .hgt tiles — CC BY 4.0 elevation rather than the GPS noise a watch file usually holds.
Sonny 1" .hgt tiles — CC BY 4.0, measured on a third-party course line for the 2024 edition, which matches the organiser's 2026 map, smoothed 100 m · marathoncourse.com/marathons/prague/ · checked 2026-09-24
How to enter: dates and fees
The price climbs as places sell, first come, first served. The first 1,500 paid €70 and the next 2,500 paid €95. By late September the 2027 race was on its last tier: €120, or 2,900 Kč on the Czech site.
There's no ballot and no qualifying time. A service fee of €3 is added to orders over €100, and cancellation cover is an optional €3.10 at entry.
A place can be passed to another runner through your Runners ID account, for a small fee, and the new runner has to register with the code. The 2026 race was full at 11,800.
There's no ballot and no qualifying time. A service fee of €3 is added to orders over €100, and cancellation cover is an optional €3.10 at entry.
A place can be passed to another runner through your Runners ID account, for a small fee, and the new runner has to register with the code. The 2026 race was full at 11,800.
History
The first Prague International Marathon, in 1995, had Emil Zátopek's backing, and 985 ran it. Carlo Capalbo and a group of enthusiasts had come up with the idea the year before. In 1998 the course crossed the Charles Bridge for the first time, and from 2002 it started and finished on Old Town Square.
Eliud Kiptanui ran 2:05:39 in 2010, after which the race got its Gold Label, and his record lasted thirteen years. Galen Rupp won in 2018. The next year Lonah Chemtai Salpeter ran 2:19:46, and it's still the women's record.
The pandemic cost the race two years. When it came back, Alexander Mutiso took the men's record to 2:05:09 in 2023. Lemi Berhanu won in 2024 and again in 2025, when he finished five seconds outside it. In 2026 Millicent Jelimo won the women's race in 2:24:20, in her first marathon.
Eliud Kiptanui ran 2:05:39 in 2010, after which the race got its Gold Label, and his record lasted thirteen years. Galen Rupp won in 2018. The next year Lonah Chemtai Salpeter ran 2:19:46, and it's still the women's record.
The pandemic cost the race two years. When it came back, Alexander Mutiso took the men's record to 2:05:09 in 2023. Lemi Berhanu won in 2024 and again in 2025, when he finished five seconds outside it. In 2026 Millicent Jelimo won the women's race in 2:24:20, in her first marathon.
- 1995The first Prague International Marathon, with Emil Zátopek's backing and 985 in the marathon
- 1998The course moves into the historic centre and crosses the Charles Bridge for the first time
- 2001Maura Viceconte runs 2:26:33, a women's course record
- 2010Eliud Kiptanui runs 2:05:39, and after it the race gets the IAAF Gold Label
- 2016Eva Vrabcová Nývltová runs 2:30:10, wins the Czech title and books her place at the Rio Olympics
- 2018Galen Rupp wins in 2:06:07
- 2019Lonah Chemtai Salpeter runs 2:19:46. It's still the women's record
- 2020Cancelled in the pandemic
- 2021Cancelled again
- 20237 May: the start moves to Wenceslas Square for a year, and Alexander Mutiso runs 2:05:09
- 2024Lemi Berhanu wins in 2:08:44
- 2025Berhanu comes back and runs 2:05:14, five seconds outside the record
- 20263 May: Berehanu Tsegu wins in 2:05:51, and Millicent Jelimo wins her debut marathon in 2:24:20
- 20272 May, from Old Town Square at 8:00am
200020102020
Course records
Pace is derived from the certified distance. Terrain-adjusted figures come from the same model that ranks every course on this site.
Women’s course record
2:19:46
Lonah Chemtai Salpeter · 2019
- Average pace
- 3:19 / km
- Terrain-adjusted
- +0.13 %
Race day: start times and cut-offs
- 8:00am
- 3:00pm
- Time limit
- 7h
- Twelve, passed sixteen times
The Marathon Expo, in the Křižík pavilions at Výstaviště Holešovice, hands out numbers on the Friday and Saturday from 10am to 8pm. Bring photo ID. Your number isn't a transport ticket, so buy one; Můstek and Staroměstská are the metro stops for the start.
Changing rooms, bag drop and toilets are at the bottom of Wenceslas Square, open from 6:00am to 4:00pm. The line-up opens in Celetná at 7:30am, and you start in the corridor printed on your number, set by your predicted time. Results are ranked on net time.
Every station has water, and the full refreshment points add Gatorade. Pacers run to target times from 3:00 to 7:00.
Changing rooms, bag drop and toilets are at the bottom of Wenceslas Square, open from 6:00am to 4:00pm. The line-up opens in Celetná at 7:30am, and you start in the corridor printed on your number, set by your predicted time. Results are ranked on net time.
Every station has water, and the full refreshment points add Gatorade. Pacers run to target times from 3:00 to 7:00.
The morning, hour by hour
- 6:00am
- Changing area and bag drop open, Wenceslas Square
- 7:30am
- Line-up opens in Celetná
- 8:00am
- Start, Old Town Square
- 3:00pm
- Finish closes
- 4:00pm
- Bag drop closes
Cut-offs
- 21 km · 21.0 km
- 11:33am
- 30 km · 30.0 km
- 1:01pm
- 40 km · 40.0 km
- 2:39pm
The organiser's 2026 information for runners. The 2027 page confirms the 8:00am start. Czech clocks went forward at the end of March, so there's nothing to allow for. The organiser gives a closing time for every kilometre, set for a seven-hour finish from the 8:00am start; these are three of 2026's. Runners behind the limit are asked to leave the course.
Race-day weather, 1995–2025
- Median
- 14.8 °C
- Warm years
- 6 of 29
- Wet years
- 3 of 29
Race-day mean temperature, 1995-2025. Lime marks the hottest edition; the coldest and wettest carry a label only, so the colour still means one thing.
Frequently asked questions
Is Prague a flat course?
Yes. It follows the Vltava most of the way, and the whole course stays within 13 m, from 184 m in Libeň to 197 m. The start and finish are the same spot.
Sonny's LiDAR DTM of Europe, sampled every 25 m, smoothed over 100 m. Raw-to-smoothed ratio 2.31.
How much of the course is cobbled?
About 3.8 km, in sixteen stretches. The longest are the Charles Bridge, 490 m, and Dvořákovo nábřeží by the river, 710 m, which you run twice. Old Town Square itself is cobbled all three times you run through it.
The organiser's 2026 information for runners.
Does the course cross the Charles Bridge?
Yes, once, at about 2.5 km, heading from Malá Strana back to the Old Town. It's cobbled end to end, 490 m of it.
The organiser's 2026 course overview; this site's course line.
Is there a Prague ballot, and what does a place cost?
There's no ballot and no qualifying time. Enter on the organiser's site, where places go first come, first served and the price rises as they sell. It had reached €120 by September 2026, or 2,900 Kč.
The organiser's 2027 race page.
What is the time limit?
Seven hours. The organiser publishes a closing time for every kilometre, and anyone behind it is asked to leave the course. In 2026, 21 km closed at 11:33am and the finish at 3:00pm.
The organiser's 2026 information for runners.
Is it a fast course?
Fast enough for a 2:05. Alexander Mutiso ran 2:05:09 in 2023. The winners in 2025 and 2026 were both inside 2:06. Lonah Chemtai Salpeter's 2:19:46 from 2019 is the women's record.
The organiser's race reports and 2026 press release.
How many bridges does it cross?
Seven, and three of them twice, so ten crossings in all. The first is the Čech Bridge, a few hundred metres from the start, and the last is the Libeň Bridge at 36.9 km.
This site's course line; the organiser's 2026 course overview.
Where do I collect my number?
At the Marathon Expo at Výstaviště Holešovice, on the Friday or Saturday before the race, from 10am to 8pm. Bring photo ID. Someone else can collect it for you if you authorise them through your Runners ID account.
The organiser's 2026 information for runners.
Is the Prague loop record-eligible?
Yes. It's a loop, so the start and finish are in the same place and the net drop is nil. Both are well inside the World Athletics limits.
The Old Town Square start and finish on the course line, against World Athletics Competition Rule 31.21.
How many people run it?
The 2026 marathon was full at 11,800 places, and 9,076 finished.
Organiser figures for the 2026 edition.
What is the weather like on race day?
About 14.8 °C during a typical race: that's the median across 29 years, which have run from 7.7 °C to 21.6 °C. 3 of the 29 were wet.
ERA5 reanalysis for the race date, 1995-2025.
Can I use a time here to qualify for Boston?
Yes. The course starts and finishes in the same place, so there's no net drop for the B.A.A.'s downhill adjustment, which begins at 1,500 ft, to act on. There's no hill to plan for. What costs time is the cobbles, about 3.8 km of them, most in the first four kilometres and around the Old Town.
Net drop +0 m from this site's course line; 2027 adjustment None. Certification elite label: World Athletics Elite Label in 2026, as shown on the organiser's course map and 2027 race page; record-eligible.
How accurate is the elevation figure?
It comes from Sonny 1" .hgt tiles — CC BY 4.0, sampled every 25 m along the course line and smoothed over 100 m. The raw-to-smoothed ratio here is 2.31. Around 1.3 means the model is reading the ground, not rooftops; above about 2.0 the total climb carries real noise, and the net change is the sturdier number.
0 missing samples · 14 bridge spans corrected.
Sources
Every fact on this page, its source, and the date it was checked · 8
| Fact | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Course line | A third-party GPX of the 2024 edition, run on 5 May 2024. It measures 42.478 km, 0.67 % long, from 591 points; our resampled line measures 42.244 km. The organiser's 2026 map puts the two southern turnarounds, in Podolí and on Strakonická, where this line has them, and its kilometre markers agree with it. The 2025 race had moved both turnarounds, and 2026 moved them back. The 2027 race page still shows the 2026 map. Archived with its hash in data/raw/sources. | 2026-09-24 |
| Elevation | Sonny's LiDAR DTM of Europe (CC BY 4.0), sampled every 25 m, smoothed over 100 m. Raw-to-smoothed gain ratio 2.31, well above the 2.0 at which the total climb carries real noise, so the net change and the range are the sturdier figures. The model reads the water under a bridge and the ground above a tunnel, so fourteen spans were straightened between their ends: ten bridge crossings, and the Vyšehrad tunnel and the Těšnov underpass, each passed twice. The Vyšehrad spans were widened by hand to cover the rock the model reads above the bore. | 2026-09-24 |
| Cobbles | The organiser's 2026 information for runners lists sixteen cobbled stretches, from 60 m to 710 m. They add up to about 3.8 km, including 490 m on the Charles Bridge and 710 m, twice, on Dvořákovo nábřeží. | 2026-09-24 |
| Race-day weather | ERA5 reanalysis via the Open-Meteo archive, 1995–2025 at the start, 08:00–15:00 local, sampled on the Sunday nearest 5 May. The race runs on the first Sunday after May Day, which that rule reproduces for every edition from 2022 to 2027. 2020 and 2021, when there was no race, are excluded. | 2026-09-24 |
| Course records | Alexander Mutiso 2:05:09 (2023) and Lonah Chemtai Salpeter 2:19:46 (2019), from the organiser's 2026 press release. Kiptanui's earlier 2:05:39 is from the organiser's 2023 race report, and the 2024 to 2026 winners from its race reports and Wikipedia's list. | 2026-09-24 |
| Entry and field | The organiser's 2027 race page: €70, €95 and €120 by the number already entered, with €120 current on 24 September 2026, and 2,900 Kč on the Czech page. The 2026 capacity of 11,800 is from the organiser's pre-race release, and the 9,076 finishers from its results. | 2026-09-24 |
| Race day | The organiser's 2026 information for runners: start 8:00am, a seven-hour limit with a closing time for each kilometre, twelve refreshment points passed sixteen times, and the finish closing at 3:00pm. The 2027 page confirms the 8:00am start; the rest isn't published yet. | 2026-09-24 |
| Record eligibility | World Athletics Competition Rules, Book C, Part III — Competition Rule 31.21: a record course may lose no more than 1 m per kilometre, and its start and finish may be no more than 21.098 km apart. Prague starts and finishes in the same place on Old Town Square, 0.2 m apart in height. Inside both. | 2026-09-24 |
Until the Prague Marathon · 2 May 2027
— days
— hrs— min— sec
You might also be interested in
Copenhagen Marathon
Copenhagen, Denmark · 9 May 2027
Over the harbour to Christianshavn and back, out through Nørrebro and Frederiksberg, and home by Kongens Nytorv and Nyboder to Øster Allé.
Cape Town Marathon
Cape Town, South Africa · 23 May 2027
Out through Woodstock to Claremont, back past the Castle and up through the Gardens, then round Sea Point and home along Beach Road.
Stockholm Marathon
Stockholm, Sweden · 29 May 2027
From the Olympic stadium round Gamla stan and out to Djurgården, then up onto Södermalm and over Västerbron before the finish on the 1912 track.