BMW Berlin Marathon FAQs

In 2026, the event date is Sunday 27 September.

Please complete our BMW Berlin Marathon application form. We will endeavour to come back to you with the outcome of your application within two weeks.

Once all the places have been allocated, we will operate a waiting list.

Places will be awarded based on the merit of each individual application.

Once you have been allocated one of our charity places, you will be required to pay a non-refundable £50 registration fee to secure this.

Our minimum sponsorship requirement is £1,200. Please note that neither the registration fee nor Gift Aid count towards this target.

For runners with ballot places, we do not set a minimum and just ask you to raise as much as you can.

Our charity places are offered as part of a hotel and entry package. After your place has been confirmed and your registration fee has been received, you will be sent a link to book your hotel with our travel partner.

Your package will include two or three nights in a central Berlin hotel, breakfasts, plus top-class support from our travel partners on race weekend.

Hotel 1: Garner Hotel Berlin,  Schöneberg

The hotel is in a great location and is only six stops on the U-Bhan from the start. Schöneberg is a lively and trendy suburb of Berlin.

Two-night stay:

• Double/Twin Share for two nights: £319 per person (£638 room total)
• Single room for two nights: £555 total

The two nights can be across Friday and Saturday, or Saturday and Sunday.

Three-night stay:

• Double/Twin Share for three nights: £479 per person (£958 room total)
• Single room for three nights: £848 total

Hotel 2: Leonardo Royal Hotel Berlin

This hotel is located only five stops on the U-Bhan to Brandenburg Gate for the start. Nearby Alexanderplatz is a lively hub full of restaurants and shops.

Three-night minimum:

• Double/Twin Share for three nights: £499 per person (£998 room total)
• Single room for three nights: £905 total

Additional nights are available on request. Please note there are no two-night options at this hotel.

The general ballot has now closed, so you can no longer register for entry into the event this way.

Well done! If you’d like to use your ballot place to raise money for Breakthrough T1D, that would be amazing. Please complete our Own Place registration form.

As a ballot place runner, you will receive the same level of support as our charity place runners, just without the set fundraising target.

We’re very sorry about this. You should have received either an email confirming your place, or one about going on our waiting list.

Please check your spam folder as the emails can sometimes end up there. If not, then please contact events@breakthrought1d.org.uk with the date you applied and we can look into this for you.

1. Complete the application form via our website.
2. Breakthrough T1D Events team review all applications and let runners know whether they have been successful or not. We hope to respond to each application within two weeks.
3. All unsuccessful runners are added to the waiting list.
4. All successful runners are provided with details to pay their £50 registration fee and will have a deadline to pay. Failure to pay within the timeframe may mean their place is passed onto the waiting list.
5. Charity runners will be required to book their accommodation via our travel partner. A booking link will be sent after your registration fee has been paid.
6. Your place will be confirmed once your hotel booking is complete.

Running tops are offered to all Breakthrough T1D runners (charity place or ballot place) who raise £100 or more in sponsorship. You will have a choice of a running vest or a tech T-shirt (subject to availability)

Tops will be sent out two to three months ahead of the event, but individuals can request this earlier if they have hit this milestone.

The best way to get started is by setting up an online fundraising page, so your family and friends can sponsor you easily and securely.

After your place has been confirmed and your registration fee has been paid, we will send you a link to set up a fundraising page via JustGiving. Donating through JustGiving is simple, quick and secure, with all donations coming straight to Breakthrough T1D.

We have lots of downloadable fundraising materials available, including sponsorship forms, bunting, fundraising guides and more.

We also have selected materials available to be sent via post, such as collection boxes, T-shirts and balloons. To order these, email events@breakthrought1d.org.uk.

The final deadline for raising funds is four weeks after the event (Sunday 1 November 2026).

You can pay this in the following ways:

• Via your JustGiving page (or another online fundraising platform if you’d prefer)
• By cheque, made payable to Breakthrough T1D and sent to us at our London office
• By direct bank transfer (email events@breakthrought1d.org.uk for details)
• Via our website

When paying donations directly to Breakthrough T1D, please always make sure you reference your name and the Berlin Marathon 2026. This is so we can recognise the donation and put it against your fundraising.

It’s very important that all charity place runners raise their minimum fundraising target of £1,200. As a charity, Breakthrough T1D pays for places and other costs associated with running this event. We need to ensure that not only are these costs covered, but that enough money can be allocated to Breakthrough T1D’s core aims of funding vital type 1 diabetes research and supporting those in the type 1 community. This is why we ask all runners to detail their fundraising plans in their application forms.

We’ll do everything we can to support you with your fundraising. You’ll not be liable for making up the difference personally (although some do choose to do this), but we would ask that you get in touch with us as early as possible. Our team can discuss other fundraising ideas with you and help you reach this target, or we can arrange for the deadline to be extended if you know the money is on its way a little later (ie, via company matched funding etc).

In some cases, where the amount raised is way under target and we do not feel sufficient efforts are being made to raise funds, we may remove you from the event. This will be at the discretion of Breakthrough T1D.

We definitely recommend joining our wonderful Team Breakthrough T1D Facebook group where you can post updates, ask questions and get general support from our amazing T1D community.

You will need to attend the official event Expo in the days leading up to BMW Berlin Marathon in order to collect your race number and pack.

Details of this are still TBC, but you will be kept up to date by our Events Team. When booking your travel, please factor in that you may need to be in Berlin one to two days prior to race day.