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.
Berlin is the archetypal flat, fast Major; Sydney is the newest member of the Abbott World Marathon Majors and one of the hilliest, with 313m of elevation gain across its point-to-point route over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and into the Opera House precinct — more than five times Berlin's 58m.
The course records tell the story: Berlin's 2:01:09 is among the fastest in history, while Sydney's 2:06:06 reflects a genuinely harder route. Both run as ballot-entry Majors, but where Berlin in late September is built for record attempts, Sydney's late-August date and harbourside climbs make it a scenery-and-occasion race first, a PB race second. Choose Berlin for pure speed, Sydney for one of the most dramatic city finishes in the sport.