Elstertal Lauf 2026

The Elstertal Marathon is an annual running event in Gera, a Thuringian city of about 91,000 people, held since 2002. The start and finish are at the Hofwiesenbad swimming pool in Hofwiesenpark, beside the Weiße Elster river. The event includes various distances: 800m, 1km, and 2km children's races, a 3km fun run, 10km, 15km, 27km, the full 42.2km marathon, and a 15km relay for teams of up to five runners. The shorter races (children's, fun run, relay) are within Hofwiesenpark. The longer races follow an out-and-back route along the river. Marathon runners go south toward Wünschendorf, then return and head north toward Bad Köstritz. A notable feature is the Historische Holzbrücke Wünschendorf, a historic wooden bridge crossed twice by marathon participants. The event typically draws several hundred runners, giving it the character of a local valley race rather than a large city marathon.