Berlin Half Marathon 2027 fueling guide: aid stations, Maurten gel, and a plan for every finish time

The Berlin Half is flat, fast, and big. You start with a view of the Victory Column, run out west to Charlottenburg, back along the Kurfürstendamm, through Potsdamer Platz and the old centre, turn at Strausberger Platz, and finish through the Brandenburg Gate. The race is early in spring, the morning is often cold, and the field is packed. That makes it easy to forget to eat and drink, and easy to grab the wrong thing at the wrong station.

This guide is for every runner in the field, from a 1:20 racer to a first half marathon at three hours. It starts with what the organizer has published for 2027, uses the current official station list, shows when you will reach each station at your pace, and gives three plans to choose from. Check the official course page again in race week; the details can change.

Berlin Half Marathon 2027: the confirmed race facts

The 2027 wave times are not published yet. At the 2026 edition the runner waves started at 10:05, 10:21, 10:35, 10:50, and 11:10, and your wave and block were printed on your bib. The difference matters for breakfast: a runner in the last wave starts more than an hour after the first. Write every time in your plan against your own wave.

What is on the Berlin Half Marathon course

The gel depot is the detail most runners miss. It sits at 12.3 km and serves gels only, with no water. If you take a gel there, you either take it dry, carry it for 1.8 km to the water at 14.1 km, or wash it down from your own bottle. Maurten Gel 100 has 25 g of carbohydrate and is a firm hydrogel, so many runners can take it without water, but test that in training first.

Maurten Drink Mix 160 has 40 g of carbohydrate per 500 ml. A cup taken at half marathon pace is rarely more than a few mouthfuls, so count it as a small top-up, maybe 5 to 10 g, not a full serving. Tea is also on offer at most points. On a cold April morning a few sips of warm tea can feel good, but it adds little or no carbohydrate unless it is sweetened.

When you will reach each station at your pace

Elapsed times at an even pace. The Berlin limit is 3:15, so every column fits. The table shows something useful: the 1:30 runner meets the gel depot at about 52 minutes, while the 3:00 runner meets it at about 1:45. The same gel plays a very different role at different paces.

The km 18 cut-off is a clock time: 2:15 p.m. A three-hour runner reaches km 18 about 2:34 after crossing the start line, so even a runner in the last wave has time if they keep moving. Runners who miss it must leave the course and get no finish time.

Pick your plan: three runner profiles

World Athletics’ consensus statement suggests 30 to 60 g of carbohydrate per hour for events of about one to two and a half hours, and more only for longer races or runners who have trained for it. Research on multiple transportable carbohydrates shows intakes above 60 g per hour only absorb well with glucose plus fructose products and a trained gut. A half marathon is short enough that many runners do well at the lower end. These three profiles let you pick honestly.

Racing it: at 1:25, 75 g per hour is about 105 g in total. That is four Maurten gels, or three of your own plus the course gel. Take the first one 10 to 15 minutes before your wave starts, because you will not reach the first station for about 20 minutes. Take the next ones at roughly 25 and 50 minutes, and the course gel at 12.3 km if you have practised taking it dry or with a sip from your own bottle. A gel after 65 minutes at this pace has little time to help. Nobody should try 90 g per hour for the first time in Berlin. Build it in long runs and race-pace sessions over several weeks.

Steady half: aim for 40 to 60 g per hour. For a 1:50 finish at 55 g per hour that is about 100 g: two or three carried gels, the course gel, and a cup of Drink Mix. Take your first gel at about 25 minutes with water at 5 km, the course gel at about an hour, and wash it down at 14.1 km. Add one more small dose around 17.5 km only if you planned it. Write the grams next to each item. It is the easiest way to see if a plan is too light or too heavy before race day.

Long day: two and a half to three hours on your feet still needs fuel. Forty-five grams per hour over 2:45 is about 125 g, more than many fast runners take. Small, frequent doses are kinder to the stomach: half a gel or two chews every 15 to 20 minutes, a few sips of Drink Mix at 5 and 17.5 km, and a piece of banana at 14.1 or 17.5 km if it sits well. Carry a small bottle or soft flask so the dry gel point is not a problem, and refill it at any drinks station.

Caffeine, sodium, and the things runners forget

• Caffeine: the ISSN position stand supports 3 to 6 mg per kg about 60 minutes before exercise. For a 70 kg runner, 3 mg per kg is 210 mg. Use the low end, rehearse it, and count coffee, pre-race products, and caffeinated gels together.
• The course gel: Maurten Gel 100 has no caffeine. Maurten also sells a caffeinated version; if you carry one, count it in your caffeine total.
• Sodium: water, tea, and most gels give you little. In a cool, short race most runners do not need extra salt, but heavy, salty sweaters on a warm day can add a tested salt product.
• Cups: throw them in the bins behind each station. All stations are on the right, so move over early and do not cut across other runners.

Hydration for a cold start and a mild finish

Early April in Berlin averages a high near 12 °C (about 53 °F) and a low near 3 to 4 °C (about 38 °F), with a wet day a little less than one time in five. The organizer described the 2026 race as cold but sunny. A cold start makes many runners skip early drinks; that is fine, but do not skip the early gel. World Athletics warns against drinking beyond sweat losses; finishing heavier than you started is a sign of overdrinking.

• Test your sweat rate in one cool and one mild run before race week.
• Choose your stations now; six stations do not need six decisions at race pace.
• If you wear a vest or carry a bottle, refill at the last water table of a drinks station.
• Seek help for confusion, severe headache, repeated vomiting, or collapse, whatever the clock says.

Breakfast for a 10:05 to 11:10 start

A familiar carbohydrate-rich meal one to four hours before racing is the standard framework in the World Athletics consensus. A late-morning start helps: first-wave runners can eat at about 7:00, and last-wave runners at about 7:30 to 8:00 with a small top-up later. The event area opened at 7:30 a.m. at the 2026 edition, and bags and backpacks were not allowed in, so plan what you carry.

• Two to four hours before your wave: a practised meal such as toast with jam, a bread roll with honey, a bagel, or porridge, about 1 to 2 g of carbohydrate per kg.
• Sixty to ninety minutes before: a small low-fibre top-up, such as a banana or a few rice cakes, if your wave is late and you know it sits well.
• Ten to fifteen minutes before your wave: a gel, if you have used it in training. In a half marathon this first gel matters, because the first station is 5 km away.
• Keep caffeine at the dose and timing you know; race morning is not the day to double it.
• Wear old warm clothes in the start area. The race collects donated clothing before the start.

Course tactics: where Berlin tempts you

• Kilometres 0 to 5, west along Straße des 17. Juni toward Charlottenburg: fast, flat, and crowded. Your pre-start gel is doing the work here. The first station is at km 5.
• Kilometres 5 to 10, through Charlottenburg and back along the Kurfürstendamm: cobblestones near 5.8 km and some speed bumps. Look down, then take your second gel with water at 9.8 km.
• Kilometre 12.3, toward Potsdamer Platz: the gel depot with no water. Take one gel and keep moving; the water is at 14.1 km.
• Kilometres 13 to 17, through the old centre: tram tracks at km 13 and an S-curve at km 15. Fuel on the straight parts, not in the turns.
• Kilometre 17.2, the turn at Strausberger Platz: then the station at 17.5 km with Drink Mix and bananas. This is the last real fuel chance.
• Kilometres 18 to 21, back along Unter den Linden to the Brandenburg Gate: water at 19.5 km. The fuel should already be in.

The long-run rehearsal that makes the plan real

Use at least two key sessions as full rehearsals. One is a long run at the time of day you will race, with the same breakfast and the same gels. The other is a session with 10 to 14 km at goal pace, taking gels at the minutes you plan to use in Berlin. Practise one gel without water, so the dry depot at 12.3 km is not a surprise. One rehearsal proves the plan works; the second tests it at race pace, which is where most half marathon stomach problems start.

The second rehearsal is where you simplify. If four gels feel like too many, use three. If Drink Mix plus a gel feels too sweet, take gels with water only. If cold hands make gels hard to open, tear the tops before you start or carry a soft flask. The best plan is the one you can follow at 17 km on a cold, windy morning.

Race-week Berlin Half checklist

• Check the official course page and race briefing again for any changes to stations, waves, or rules.
• Confirm your wave from your bib and work out breakfast backward from it.
• Buy and test Maurten Gel 100 and Drink Mix 160 if they are part of your plan.
• Lay out every carried gel, add one backup, and write grams and timing on one card.
• Check the forecast 48 hours out for cold and wind; adjust clothing and fluid, not the whole fueling plan.
• Do not buy an unfamiliar gel at the Expo because the flavour sounds better.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and update notes

1. 1Generali Berliner Halbmarathon: StreckeSCC EVENTSAccessed October 2, 2026; refreshment points by kilometre, refill points, Maurten Gel 100 and Drink Mix 160
2. 2Generali Berliner Halbmarathon: Renntag für TeilnehmendeSCC EVENTS2027 date, start location, start times, 3:15 limit, km 18 cut-off at 2:15 p.m.
3. 3Generali Berliner Halbmarathon: Event FAQSCC EVENTS2027 date, time limit, finish refreshments
4. 4Generali Berlin Half Marathon: Race Briefing (2026 edition, English)SCC EVENTSWave times, hydration vests up to 3 L, event area rules, danger points by kilometre; the 2027 version is not yet published
5. 5Gel 100Maurten25 g of carbohydrate per sachet, no caffeine in the standard gel
6. 6Drink Mix 160Maurten40 g of carbohydrate per 500 ml
7. 7Nutrition for Athletics: IAAF Consensus StatementWorld AthleticsCarbohydrate ranges by event length, pre-race meal, and hydration guidance
8. 8A Step Towards Personalized Sports Nutrition: Carbohydrate Intake During ExerciseSports Medicine (Jeukendrup), PMID 24791914Multiple transportable carbohydrates and intakes above 60 g per hour
9. 9International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Caffeine and Exercise PerformanceJISSN, PMID 333880793 to 6 mg per kg dosing guidance
10. 10Average Weather in April in BerlinWeather SparkEarly-April temperature and wet-day averages