Düsseldorf (Germany), Sunday 24 April 2016

This popular marathon race takes runners on a tour of Düsseldorf, a prosperous city of about 600,000 people, situated in the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region in the far west of Germany.

The route consists of four different loops, starting at the Ehrenhof cultural centre on the right bank of the mighty River Rhine.

At first, competitors run along the Rhine to the northern part of Düsseldorf, then to the western part of the city, then to the east, and finally to the south.

The course is mostly flat. You'll have to run up and down the Oberkasseler Brücke (pictured) twice but the views from the bridge more than compensate for the extra effort.

The finish line is also on the right bank of the Rhine, but about one kilometre south of the start area, on the edge of the Altstadt where you will find many bars, restaurants and beer halls.

It is possible to form a team of four runners and run the race as a relay. The first member of the team runs 11.3km, the second 13.1km, the third 8.6km, and the last one 9.2km.

Last year, 2,130 marathon runners and 2,605 relay teams took part in the event. The fastest finishers were Marius Ionescu of Romania (2:13:19) and Annie Bersagel of the United States (2:28:28).

The time limit to finish the marathon is six hours.

Country: Germany

Venue (Map): Düsseldorf (Cologne 40km, Brussels 203km, Amsterdam 228km)

Date: 24 April 2016 (Sunday)

Start time:

• 9.00: 42.2km
• 9.45: 42.2km relay teams (1st wave)
• 9.50: 2.3km and 3.7km children's races
• 10.15: 42.2km relay teams (2nd wave)

Start area: Joseph-Beuys-Ufer (at the Ehrenhof)

Finish area: Untere Rheinuferpromenade

Race centre:

• Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf, Berliner Allee 33 (22 April 2016, 10.00-19.00; 23 April 2016, 10.00-18.00);
• on Burgplatz (on the day 6.30-10.00)

Entries: online or by post (up to 10 April 2016); late entries on 22 April and 23 April 2016; no entries on the day

Entry fees: €54 (up to 31 October 2015), €66 (up to 31 December 2015), €72 (up to 31 March 2016), €84 (up to 10 April 2016), €95 (up to 23 April 2016)

Timekeeping: bib chip timing (included in the entry fees)

You get: finisher medal, free use of public transport in Düsseldorf on the day of the race (your bib is your ticket); entrants can order a T-shirt for € 20

Showers, changing facilities, bag storage: yes

Number of finishers 2015: 2130 marathon runners, 2605 relay teams, 380 children

Event website: www.metrogroup-marathon.de

No guarantee is made as to the accuracy or thoroughness of the information on this page! Please visit the official event website to verify the above information.