Races of the World

Athens Marathon. The Authentic – Course Map and Elevation Profile

42.195 km certified · Marathon to Athens, climbing 228 m between km 10 and 31

The Race at a Glance
Distance42.195 km
Route elevation322 m up · 262 m down
Highest point247 m · 31.2 km
Lowest point9 m · 7.9 km
Steepest climb+6.1 % · 30.9 km
Steepest descent−6.3 % · 17.0 km
Net elevation change+61 m
Course typePoint to point
Course record men2:10:34 · Edwin Kiprop Kiptoo · 2023
Course record womenno verified figure

322 metres up and 262 down: 10 climbs, several of them long enough to break a rhythm.

Course

Athen in numbers

Distance
42.195km
Ascent
322m
Descent
262m
Low / high
9 / 247m
Flat-equivalent
+2.28 %
Steepest 50 m
+6.1 %

Pace Planner

1:58:006:00:00
Same effort, flat4:49 /km
Slowest5:43 at km 31

bergauf flach bergabWaagerecht: Distanz. Streifen unter dem Profil: mittlere Steigung je 500 m. Gestrichelte Linien sind Orientierungspunkte.

Position
0.00 km
Elevation
36 m
Gradient
−0.2 %
Pace here
4:45 /km
Elapsed
0:00
Remaining
3:30:00
Landmark

Pacing table

kmPointElevationGradientup / downTarget pacetotaladjusted
136 m29 m−0.72 %+0 m / −7 m4:454:454:49
229 m20 m−0.89 %+0 m / −9 m4:459:304:49
320 m17 m−0.28 %+0 m / −3 m4:4814:184:49
417 m13 m−0.40 %+0 m / −4 m4:4719:054:49
513 m9 m−0.40 %+0 m / −4 m4:4723:524:49
69 m12 m+0.30 %+4 m / −1 m4:5528:474:49
712 m9 m−0.32 %+1 m / −4 m4:4833:354:49
89 m9 m−0.07 %+0 m / −1 m4:4938:254:49
99 m15 m+0.63 %+6 m / −0 m5:0043:244:49
1015 m19 m+0.42 %+4 m / −0 m4:5648:204:49
1119 m29 m+1.00 %+10 m / −0 m5:0653:264:49
1229 m49 m+1.99 %+20 m / −0 m5:2258:484:49
1349 m58 m+0.93 %+9 m / −0 m5:051:03:534:49
1458 m58 m−0.07 %+2 m / −3 m4:511:08:444:49
1558 m59 m+0.18 %+8 m / −6 m4:591:13:434:49
1659 m88 m+2.83 %+28 m / −0 m5:381:19:214:49
1788 m63 m−2.50 %+3 m / −28 m4:381:23:594:49
1863 m38 m−2.46 %+2 m / −26 m4:371:28:364:49
1938 m48 m+1.00 %+12 m / −2 m5:091:33:454:49
2048 m71 m+2.26 %+23 m / −0 m5:281:39:124:49
2171 m94 m+2.30 %+24 m / −1 m5:291:44:424:49
2294 m108 m+1.42 %+14 m / −0 m5:131:49:554:49
23108 m121 m+1.31 %+13 m / −0 m5:111:55:054:49
24121 m132 m+1.12 %+11 m / −0 m5:082:00:134:49
25132 m161 m+2.87 %+29 m / −0 m5:382:05:504:49
26161 m181 m+1.98 %+20 m / −0 m5:222:11:134:49
27181 m190 m+0.97 %+11 m / −2 m5:072:16:204:49
28190 m207 m+1.68 %+17 m / −0 m5:172:21:374:49
29207 m208 m+0.08 %+3 m / −2 m4:532:26:304:49
30208 m211 m+0.27 %+4 m / −1 m4:552:31:254:49
31211 m242 m+3.14 %+31 m / −0 m5:432:37:084:49
32242 m223 m−1.87 %+5 m / −24 m4:452:41:534:49
33223 m210 m−1.37 %+0 m / −14 m4:422:46:354:49
34210 m201 m−0.89 %+0 m / −9 m4:452:51:194:49
35201 m193 m−0.76 %+0 m / −8 m4:452:56:044:49
36193 m190 m−0.28 %+0 m / −3 m4:483:00:524:49
37190 m172 m−1.87 %+0 m / −19 m4:393:05:314:49
38172 m154 m−1.81 %+0 m / −18 m4:393:10:114:49
39154 m145 m−0.88 %+2 m / −10 m4:463:14:574:49
40145 m125 m−2.01 %+0 m / −20 m4:383:19:354:49
41125 m113 m−1.20 %+0 m / −12 m4:433:24:184:49
42113 m93 m−1.99 %+1 m / −21 m4:393:28:574:49
42.2093 m97 m+2.15 %+4 m / −0 m5:243:30:004:49

The course, kilometre by kilometre

Start and finish are 28.1 km apart as the crow flies, so this is a point-to-point course.

It climbs 61 metres net, from its low point at km 7.9 up to 247 m.

The race is held in Athen, Greece, in October, on tarmac throughout.

Elevation gain and climbs

322 metres up and 262 down: 10 climbs, several of them long enough to break a rhythm.

The hardest stretch runs from km 23.3 to 26.0: 59 metres at 2.1 % on average.

Against a 3:30 target the terrain costs about 5 minutes compared with a flat loop. Adjust for gradient and what remains is what the legs actually paid.

The route on the map

The course covers 28.1 km of ground between start and finish and never returns to where it began.

The GPX data of this course

The smoothed profile is stored every 50 metres: 845 points with latitude, longitude, elevation and gradient. The elevations here do not come from the course file but from a terrain model: the ones in the original were unusable.

We do not hand this course out as a file: the line comes from a third-party source and is not ours to pass on. Once a course is built from runners’ own recordings, the file appears here.

Common questions

How hilly is the Athen Marathon?
322 metres of ascent and 262 of descent over 42.195 km. 50 % of the course sits between −1 and +1 per cent, and 12 % steeper than three. That makes it a hilly course.
Where is the hardest section?
Between km 23.3 and 26.0, gaining 59 metres at 2.1 % on average. The steepest single ramp is at km 30.9 at 6.1 %, the steepest descent at km 17.0 at −6.3 %.
Is this a good course for a personal best?
Minetti's cost model puts this course at 2.28 % against a flat one. On a three-and-a-half-hour target that is roughly 5 minutes.
Is the course a loop?
No. Start and finish are 28.1 km apart in a straight line.
Where does this elevation data come from?
Streckendatei „Athens Marathon. The Authentic“, Export aus Strava, übergeben am 18.08.2026, 644 Punkte. Elevation: Höhenwerte derselben Datei — Korrelation mit dem Geländemodell 1,00.

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