Brussels Airport Marathon

Location: Brussels

Country:  Belgium
Website:  https://brusselsairportmarathon.be/en/
2025 Marathon Date:  02/11/2025
2026 Marathon Date:  25/10/2026
Winning Time 2025: 2:19:30

% Sub-3s:  2-5%
# Sub-3s:  50-99
Total Runners: 1-3k

The Brussels Airport Marathon offers a distinctive blend of urban energy, cultural richness and physical challenge, making it one of Europe’s more demanding major city marathons. First held in 1984 and continually evolving, the event has embraced a striking new identity in recent editions with a redesigned point-to-point route that begins at Place De Brouckère in the historic centre and concludes at the majestic Place des Palais, in front of the Royal Palace. This shift brings together some of Brussels’ most iconic landmarks while introducing terrain that tests runners from the opening kilometres to the final climb.

The course is renowned for its rolling hills and varied profile, with a positive elevation gain of around 335 metres. Unlike flatter marathons, Brussels requires deliberate pacing and strategic effort management, particularly on the demanding ascents near the Basilica of Koekelberg and the Heysel Plateau. The opening kilometres offer a dynamic mix of sights, including a passage through the Annie Cordy Tunnel — Belgium’s longest — which adds a memorable atmospheric shift before runners re-emerge into daylight. The route later continues through the Cinquantenaire Tunnel, setting up one of the marathon’s most cinematic sequences as runners enter Brussels’ European quarter before the royal finish.

Architectural highlights define much of the experience. Participants pass the imposing Basilica of Koekelberg, run beneath the Atomium, pass the Royal Castle of Laeken and complete a full lap on the track of King Baudouin Stadium, creating a “Memorial Van Damme moment” that resonates with both local and visiting athletes. These historic and modern elements are balanced by restorative stretches through the Ganshoren marshes and several urban parks, offering a contrasting glimpse of Brussels’ natural spaces.

The event’s long history is marked by reinvention. Earlier editions featured different start and finish locations, including the Atomium and Cinquantenaire Park, but recent redesigns aim to present the best of the capital, threading together grand boulevards, cultural monuments and leafy green corridors. With more than 18,500 participants across race distances — and record editions surpassing 22,000 runners from over 100 nationalities — the Brussels Airport Marathon has grown into a vibrant, internationally recognised event. Its combination of scenery, heritage and challenge makes it a rewarding choice for runners seeking a marathon that is both physically testing and deeply connected to the character of its host city.