Marathon races near Hattingen

BKK Walking at Baldeneysee is part of the Westenergie Marathon – Rund um den Baldeneysee weekend in Essen, Germany. The main marathon is a 42.195-kilometer race around Baldeneysee, held annually on the second Sunday in October. The Walking-Day for walkers and Nordic walkers takes place the day before. The walking program, which began in 2003, offers routes up to 14 kilometers, ensuring the weekend appeals to more than just marathon runners. The marathon has been held continuously since 1963, making it Germany’s oldest such event. The current course circles Baldeneysee twice, with an additional turnaround loop on the first lap. Its flat profile, early autumn weather, and lakeside cycle paths contribute to its fast nature. TUSEM Essen’s athletics department organizes the event, with volunteers managing the entire operation—a rarity for a German race of this scale. Entry is limited to 3,000 participants due to narrow sections of the course where faster runners might overtake slower ones.

The Bertlicher Straßenläufe is a road-running event in Bertlich organized by the athletics department of SuS Bertlich 1945 e.V. The race program is unusually broad for a club event: runners can enter anything from 5 km to 100 km. The listed distances are 5 km, 7.5 km, 10 km, 15 km, 20 km, half marathon, 25 km, marathon, 50 km, and 100 km, so the same meeting can serve short-distance runners, marathoners, and ultrarunners. It appears in the laufen.de Laufkalender, a German running calendar tied to the DLV registration system and its state associations.

Eulenkopflauf is a December road race in Wuppertal, Germany, with half marathon and marathon options for adult runners. The races start in the morning, and the shared finish is at Freibad SV Wuppertal-Neuenhof 1930 e.V. The route follows the Eulenkopfweg on a rolling course rather than a flat city loop. Listings put the longer race at about marathon distance, with one source giving 42.6 km and more than 700 metres of climbing and descending, while the shorter race is just over 21 km.

The Essener Rhein-Herne-Kanal Marathon is a self-supported run and walk in Essen-Dellwig, starting at Prosperstraße and Scheppmannskamp along the Rhein-Herne Canal. TUSEM Essen organizes the event, with a standard 10:00 a.m. start. Flexible early or late starts are available, including a very early option for the ultra distance. The race uses a single short canal lap of 7.1 km for its distances: 7.1 km, 14.2 km, half marathon, 28.4 km, 35.5 km, marathon, 50 km, and 71 km. This is a practical, no-frills race where participants manage their own supplies, timekeeping, and route verification for an official result. The course begins by crossing a bridge, then follows the canal bank towards Oberhausen. It crosses again at OB-Osterfeld and returns along the water to the start. One lap measures 7.06 km by GPS and 7,098 meters by measuring wheel. Longer races consist of repeated laps, with the 71 km ultra requiring ten laps. Walkers are welcome, and only the specified distances are scored. Finishers get a certificate via email and a medal on site. With 25 editions completed, this small canal-side event has established local running history.

Bertlicher Straßenläufe is a road race series held three times annually in Bertlich, a district of Herten in Germany’s northern Ruhrgebiet. Each race begins and concludes on the athletics track, offering a wide selection of distances: an 850m children’s race, 5km, 7.5km, 10km, 15km, half marathon, 30km, and full marathon. The courses are largely flat and precisely measured, suitable for children, casual runners, club athletes, and marathoners seeking a controlled road route. The longer races involve multiple laps through agricultural areas outside Bertlich: two laps for the 15km and half marathon, three for the 30km, and four for the marathon. The marathon has a five-hour time limit, making it accessible while still requiring participants to maintain a steady pace. Fields typically number in the several hundreds, with some events exceeding 1,000 finishers, creating the atmosphere of a substantial local race day rather than a major city marathon.

Each spring, the Königsforst-Marathon takes participants into the Königsforst, a wooded area near Bergisch Gladbach, close to Cologne. Established in 1973, it ranks among Germany's long-standing marathon events. The race is a public road race offering three distances: a half marathon, a full marathon, and a 63.3 km ultra. The course follows a simple lap system: one lap for the half marathon, two for the marathon, and three for the ultra. The half marathon alone involves a 207-meter elevation gain, indicating it's more than just a flat run through a park. TV Refrath's running team organizes the event, guided by the motto “RUN GREEN RUN HAPPY,” and characterizes it as a runner-organized race. The half marathon attracts the largest number of participants, while the marathon and ultra distances add a demanding endurance element to the day.