Frankfurt Marathon 2026: tracking, the Mainzer Landstraße and the Festhalle finish

The Mainova Frankfurt Marathon runs on Sunday 25 October 2026, starting at 10:00 on the Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage by the Messeturm (official starter information). It is a flat loop through the city, out west along the Main to Höchst and back, and it ends with a run down a red carpet into the Festhalle. If someone you care about is running it, this guide covers how to know where they are right now, and how to get your voice to them at the moment they need it most.

Independence notice: Cheerlify is an independent service. It is not affiliated with the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon organisers or sponsors, and it is not the event's official application.

The race at a glance

The wave times in the starter information are 10:00 (elite and blocks up to 3:45), 10:13 (up to 4:00), 10:21 (relay), 10:27 (up to 4:30) and 10:35 (everyone else). The official pages don't fully agree on the last start and the finish closing time, so check the official race page in race week.

Mind the clocks: daylight saving time ends in the early hours of race day (3:00 becomes 2:00). Make sure your runner's alarm and yours are on the new time. If you're following from the UK or Ireland, Frankfurt is one hour ahead of you.

1. Official tracking: the race app and timing at every kilometre

Timing is by a transponder built into the bib. New for 2026, the starter information announces timing at every kilometre, and the official Mainova Frankfurt Marathon App (presented by T. Rowe Price, free in the app stores) lets friends and family follow a runner live (starter information, FAQ). Results go up on the official site after the finish, and the race is shown live on hr-fernsehen and the official website.

Worth knowing:

• Frankfurt is unusually well covered. With a reading every kilometre, the gaps are only 5–7 minutes at marathon pace instead of the usual 25–35. Download the app before Sunday and find your runner by name or bib number.
• It's accurate and official. The chip reading is the most precise data there is, and it becomes the official split and finish time.
• It still updates in steps. Between two readings you see the last one, and a chip system doesn't give you an arrival time at the corner where you're standing. More on that here: chip timing vs GPS tracking.

2. Live GPS on the map, between the readings

The moving dot comes from GPS tracking on the runner's own phone: Strava Beacon, Garmin LiveTrack, plain location sharing or Cheerlify. We compared them here: marathon tracking apps compared. Cheerlify snaps the dot to the course, so you see which kilometre they're on and get an arrival estimate for any point. In Frankfurt that tells you when to leave the Hauptwache for the finish area, or how long you have at Opernplatz.

Tip: use both. The official timing is the exact record; GPS shows the dot moving and the time until they reach you.

The course, stage by stage

From the organisers' course page and their passing-time table for the leaders and the last relay runners (2025 table), so treat the kilometres as approximate:

The organisers describe the course as flat, and the profile isn't the problem. The problem is the stretch from Nied back into town: kilometre after kilometre of the same wide road, from about km 30, when most runners are running low. That is where the voice in their ear counts.

Where to watch

The organisers list up to 90 cheering points along the course (Streckenfeste) and publish a map of them. Our suggestions:

• Opernplatz and the Hauptwache (about km 6–8, then again km 38–40): the course passes through the centre early and comes back at the end. Watch them go by early, have a coffee, and stand a few streets away for the final kilometres. The arrival estimate tells you when to be back.
• Sachsenhausen, Schaumainkai (about km 14): along the river with the skyline opposite.
• Höchst (about km 27–29): the old town, local cheering, and the last crowd before the long road home.
• Mainzer Landstraße (about km 30–37): fewer people, so a familiar face counts double here.
• The Festhalle: entry for spectators is free, with room for about 7,000 people. Afterwards, meet your runner in Hall 1, Level 2, or at "P1" between the Festhalle and Hall 1, where A–Z signs work as meeting points.

The runner's bib is a free public transport ticket on race day; spectators need their own. If you can't travel, you miss nothing at home: GPS tracking and voice cheers work the same from anywhere.

Weather

The 2025 race was run in difficult conditions (hessenschau). Late October in Frankfurt can be cold, windy and wet. If you'll stand on the roadside for hours, wear layers, and check the forecast on Saturday.

Be in their ears on the Mainzer Landstraße

Around km 30 the race turns back towards the city on a straight road that doesn't seem to end. The towers in the distance don't get closer as fast as your runner would like.

With Cheerlify you record a voice or video message in advance, pick the kilometre, and it plays in the runner's earbuds right there. Their music dips, your voice comes in, and the music comes back. Good spots:

• km 31, on the Mainzer Landstraße: "This is the road home. Every lamp post is one closer."
• km 35, Europaallee: "Seven to go. You've done this distance a hundred times in training."
• km 41, before the Festhalle: something only you can say to them.

Music during the race is tolerated for recreational runners, as long as they can still hear staff and the people around them; it is banned for elite and championship runners (FAQ). One earbud or open-ear headphones are enough to hear a cheer clearly.

For the runner: in the Cheerlify app, pick Mainova Frankfurt Marathon from the race catalog. The official course is already loaded, so you don't need a GPX file. Share the link and the code with your supporters.

Supporters don't need an app or an account: a link and a code in the browser. If there are several of you, everyone can record their own for a different kilometre. Not sure what to say? Here are 30+ cheering lines for every stage of a race.

Race-week checklist for supporters

1. Your runner's bib number and wave saved. The first wave goes at 10:00, the last at about 10:35. The official race app downloaded and your runner found in it.
2. Clocks go back one hour in the early hours of 25 October.
3. Your runner has sent you their GPS tracking link, and you tested it on Friday or Saturday at the expo.
4. Their phone starts fully charged, battery saver off, location permission set to "Always". Between the towers the GPS can wander a little; that's normal.
5. Cheers recorded: at least one for the Mainzer Landstraße (km 30–37) and one for the finish.
6. If you're there: you've picked your spots (the centre twice, or Höchst and the finish), and you've agreed on a meeting point (Hall 1 Level 2, or a letter at P1).

Frequently asked questions