Two of the fastest marathon courses on earth, two very different races. Here's every stat, side by side, to help you pick.
Indicative — based on GPX data. Both courses normalised to start at 0m.
✓ marks the better number on that stat.
Two Majors, two completely different challenges. Berlin is the pancake-flat loop through the Tiergarten and the Brandenburg Gate that has produced more men's world records than any course in history. London is a point-to-point tour past Greenwich, Tower Bridge and the Thames, with more elevation change than Berlin (85m of gain against Berlin's 58m) but still fast enough to have hosted the current 1:59:30 men's world record.
Both sell out via ballot and draw crowds well past 55,000 finishers, so neither is the quieter option. The real difference is timing and feel: Berlin runs in late September under mild autumn skies, London in late April with the buzz of a home crowd and charity-runner energy threaded through the elite race. Pick Berlin for the purest shot at a personal best; pick London for the bigger occasion and a course with slightly more character underfoot.