Zurich Marathon 2027 fueling guide: 12 aid stations, the 08:00 start, and a plan for every finish time

The Zurich Marathon starts at 08:00 on Sunday, 11 April 2027, on the Quaibrücke, and the organizer lists 12 aid stations along the course with water, isotonic drinks and other energy products from race nutrition partner Peak Punk. The most recent official station plan put the stations at 1.7, 5.5, 10.0, 13.4, 16.5, 20.1, 24.5, 28.1, 31.3, 34.8, 37.4 and 39.6 km, with water and sports drink at all of them and gels only from 13.4 km. So the first 13 km run on drink alone unless you carry your own. This guide sets out what the organizer has published, when you will reach each station at your pace, and three plans to choose from.

Two things shape fueling in Zurich. The course is almost flat and mostly an out-and-back along the lake to Meilen, so it is fast, and steady eating is easy because you never fight a long climb. And there is a hard time rule: 5 hours 30 minutes net, with a cut-off at the Meilen turnaround at 11:10. The 2027 station plan and product list are not published yet, so the station table below is based on the most recent official plan and the current official course map. Recheck both in race week.

Zurich Marathon 2027: the confirmed race facts

The time limit is net, so it starts when you cross the line. The Meilen cut-off and the 13:45 finish closing are clock times. If your block crosses the line well after 08:00, you have less margin than the start gun suggests. The organizer’s own tip: if you can run a half marathon in under 2:30, you should be able to finish the marathon inside the limit.

What is on the Zurich Marathon course

Aid stations are called Verpflegungsposten in German. The organizer has not posted a station-by-station plan for 2027 yet. The table uses the most recent official plan, which the organizer published under its previous nutrition partner. Its 12 kilometre points match the 12 drink symbols on the current official course map, so the layout is likely to be similar. The products will change, because Peak Punk is now the partner. The organizer describes the 2027 menu only as water, isotonic drinks and other energy products, so treat the item list as a guide to what type of food appeared where, not a promise.

Look at the start. In the last published plan, the first three stations had drink only, and the first gel came at 13.4 km. A 3:00 runner is nearly an hour into the race by then, and a 5:00 runner more than an hour and a half. If you want carbohydrate in the first hour, it has to come from sports drink or from your own pocket. After that, stations come every 2.2 to 4.5 km, which makes it easy to link gels to stations instead of watching the clock.

The course drink is a guide, not a plan. The brand and its carbohydrate content for 2027 have not been published, so check the label at the expo before you count it. Typical sports drinks hold 6 to 8 g of carbohydrate per 100 ml, so a cup of 100 to 150 ml gives roughly 6 to 12 g, less whatever you spill at pace. The organizer also runs ZH2O drinking water stations around the start and finish area where you can fill your own bottle.

When you will reach each station at your pace

The table shows elapsed time from your own start at an even pace. The 5:30 column is the slowest finish the time limit allows. A 3:00 runner reaches the first likely gel station at 13.4 km at 0:57. A 5:00 runner gets there at 1:35 and reaches the Meilen turnaround, around 22 km on the official profile, at about 2:36, well inside the 11:10 cut-off if they crossed the start line close to 08:00.

Pick your plan: three runner profiles

World Athletics’ consensus statement gives 30 to 60 g of carbohydrate per hour as the usual marathon range, and its companion paper on distance runners suggests trained runners try up to 90 g per hour in events longer than about two and a half hours. The nutrition guide that Peak Punk wrote for the race says the same: 30 to 60 g per hour for runs up to 2.5 hours, and 60 to 90 g per hour for longer marathons. Research on multiple transportable carbohydrates shows that intakes above 60 g per hour are only absorbed well when the product mixes glucose and fructose and the gut has been trained for it. With 25 g gels, one every 30 minutes gives 50 g per hour, every 25 minutes gives 60 g, and every 20 minutes gives 75 g.

Racing it: your problem is volume and speed. At 75 g per hour from gels alone, a 3:00 race needs nine 25 g gels. You pass a station every 9 to 19 minutes, so you can take a gel at about every second station and drink sports drink at the others. Cups at 4:15 per km are often half spilled, so count no more than a few grams per cup. Build your number over eight to ten weeks of long runs, starting at 60 g and adding 10 to 15 g every second week while your stomach stays quiet. Take the first gel at about 20 minutes, near the 5.5 km station, and the last near 37 km.

Steady marathon: think in grams. A 4:00 race at 60 g per hour is 240 g. Sports drink at 12 stations might add 50 to 80 g if you drink well. That leaves about six or seven 25 g gels. Carry at least the first two, for around 25 and 50 minutes, since the course gels likely start at 13.4 km, about 1:16 into a 4:00 race. From there you can take course gels if you have trained with the 2027 brand, or keep to your own. Write the grams next to each item and total each hour.

Long day: five hours or more on your feet changes the math. Fifty grams per hour over five and a quarter hours is about 260 g. Small, frequent doses work best: a gel every 30 minutes, or half a gel every 15, with a piece of banana or a cup of cola when a gel feels like too much. Watch the Meilen cut-off. At an even 5:30 pace you reach the turnaround about 2:52 after crossing the line. That leaves about 18 minutes of margin if you crossed at 08:00, and less if your block started later. Eating on schedule in the first two hours keeps your pace steady on the way out.

Caffeine, sodium, and the late stations

• Caffeine: the ISSN position stand supports 3 to 6 mg per kg taken about 60 minutes before exercise. For a 70 kg runner, 3 mg per kg is 210 mg. With an 08:00 start, that means around 07:00, when you arrive at the start area.
• Course caffeine is not confirmed for 2027. The last published plan had a boost gel from 31.3 km and cola from 34.8 km. Check the race booklet for caffeine content before you count them.
• Sodium: the Peak Punk guide on the race website notes that many runners lose 600 to 1,200 mg of sodium per litre of sweat. On a cool April morning most runners lose less fluid than in summer, so a tested electrolyte drink is enough for most. Salty sweaters can add a tested salt product.
• Cola at 34.8, 37.4 and 39.6 km is quick sugar for the last 7 km. It helps, but one cup will not replace a full gel.
• Bars appeared at stations from 13.4 to 34.8 km. Chewing at marathon pace is hard; use them only if you have done it in training.
• Tear the top of your gel before the station, so you can drink with the same hand.

Hydration for an April morning in Zurich

Around 11 April, Zurich averages a daily high near 13 °C (56 °F) and a low near 3 °C (38 °F), with about a 35 percent chance of a wet day and essentially no muggy days. The race runs from 08:00 to 13:45, so it starts near the coolest part of the day and warms as it goes. Most runners will need less fluid than in a summer race. The Peak Punk guide suggests 400 to 800 ml per hour depending on temperature and body size. World Athletics warns against drinking more than you sweat; finishing heavier than you started is a sign of overdrinking.

• Test your sweat rate in one cold and one mild long run in February and March.
• Stations are on one side of the road only. Know which side and move over early, especially in the crowded first 10 km in the city.
• Pick your priority stations now: 10.0, 13.4, 20.1, 24.5, 31.3 and 37.4 km cover the race at even spacing.
• Fill a bottle at a ZH2O water station near the start if you want to sip while you wait.
• Seek help at a first-aid post, which sits at every station, for confusion, severe headache, repeated vomiting, or collapse, whatever the clock says.

Breakfast for an 08:00 start

A familiar carbohydrate-rich meal one to four hours before racing is the standard framework, and ACSM gives 1 to 4 g of carbohydrate per kg in that window. Peak Punk’s race guide suggests a light meal 2 to 3 hours before the start with 300 to 500 ml of fluid. The organizer asks you to be at the start at least one hour before your start and in your start block 20 minutes before. Some blocks are several hundred metres to almost 2 km from the start area, so leave time to walk. Marathon bag drop on the Sechseläutenplatz opens at 06:30.

• 05:00 to 05:30, about 2.5 to 3 hours before: the main breakfast, a practised meal such as oatmeal with honey, white bread with jam, a banana and juice, about 1.5 to 2.5 g of carbohydrate per kg. Many Zurich city hotels offer an early marathon breakfast on request; ask yours.
• 06:30 to 07:00: arrive at the Sechseläutenplatz, drop your bag, use the toilets. Your entry includes free second-class public transport to Zürich HB, Stadelhofen or Enge and back.
• Around 07:00: caffeine, at the dose and timing you have practised.
• 07:00 to 07:30: sip 300 to 500 ml of water or a sports drink you know.
• By 07:40: in your start block. An optional gel 10 to 15 minutes before the start, only if used in training.
• Collect your bib early in Runners Week; it is not posted, so plan your trip around it.

Course tactics: where Zurich tempts you

These notes follow the current official course map and profile. The organizer warns that building work in the city may cause small route changes, which will be announced in time.

• 0 to 10 km: from the Quaibrücke south along the lake to Tiefenbrunnen and back, then through the city past Bahnhofstrasse and Enge, back over the Quaibrücke and out to Zürichhorn. The streets are busy and the stations are one-sided. Run your own pace and take your first carried gel by about 5 to 6 km.
• 10 to 22 km: along the lake road through Küsnacht, Erlenbach and Herrliberg to Feldmeilen at 20 km and the Meilen turnaround. The road is flat and the stations come every 3 to 4 km. This is where course gels likely start, at 13.4 km. Keep eating on schedule; the turnaround is no reason to stop.
• 22 to 32 km: back on the same road. The official profile shows a small rise around 25 km near Herrliberg. Stations at 24.5, 28.1 and 31.3 km. If your gut is quiet, this is where you keep the rate up; if it is not, switch to smaller doses with water.
• 32 to 37 km: past Küsnacht and back to Zürichhorn at 34.8 km, with a second small rise on the profile around 33 to 34 km. In the last published plan, cola appeared from this station. Take your last full carbohydrate dose by about 37 km.
• 37 to 42.2 km: a loop through Enge and Mythenquai, up Bleicherweg to the city centre, past the Münsterhof and Bellevue to the finish on the Sechseläutenplatz. The last station is at 39.6 km. Water or cola only from here.

The long-run rehearsal that makes the plan real

An April race means your key long runs fall in February and March, often in cold weather. Do two or three of them at an 08:00 start: breakfast at 05:00 to 05:30, the same caffeine, the same products, and fuel at the same points. If you plan to use course products, buy the 2027 partner’s gel and drink when they are confirmed and test them here. Cold weather hides fueling mistakes, so do not cut your carbohydrate on a cold day just because you feel fine.

The later rehearsals are where you simplify. If carrying eight gels is awkward, plan to carry the first two or three and rely on the course from 13.4 km, but only after you have tested the course brand. If a gel every 20 minutes feels stressful, link gels to stations instead: from 10 km on, they are 2 to 4.5 km apart. The best plan is the one you can still follow at 35 km at Zürichhorn.

Race-week Zurich checklist

• Recheck the official Verpflegung page for the 2027 station plan, the product list and any course changes.
• Note your start block and how far it is from the start area; plan for a walk of up to almost 2 km.
• Lay out every carried item, add one backup, and write grams and timing on one card. Mark the first 13 km, where the course likely offers drink only.
• Plan your morning backward from 08:00: breakfast, travel, bag drop from 06:30, in your block by 07:40.
• Check the forecast 48 hours out and adjust clothing, fluid and sodium, not the whole plan.
• Do not buy an unfamiliar gel at the expo because the flavour sounds good.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and update notes

1. 1MarathonOCHSNER SPORT Zürich Marathon (ZH Marathon GmbH)Accessed October 25, 2026; 11 April 2027 date, 08:00 start on the Quaibrücke, finish closes 13:45, 5:30 net limit, 11:10 Meilen cut-off, rolling block start, pacers, sold out
2. 2Verpflegung (Aid Stations)OCHSNER SPORT Zürich Marathon (ZH Marathon GmbH)Accessed October 25, 2026; 12 aid stations with water, isotonic drinks and other energy products, one-sided, toilets and first aid; Peak Punk race nutrition partner; ZH2O water stations
3. 32025 ZHM Verpflegungsplan (marathon station plan)OCHSNER SPORT Zürich Marathon (ZH Marathon GmbH)Accessed October 25, 2026; most recent published station-by-station plan: 12 kilometre points and items at each, under the previous nutrition partner
4. 4Marathon Course Map and Altitude ProfileOCHSNER SPORT Zürich Marathon (ZH Marathon GmbH)Accessed October 25, 2026; route, kilometre boards, aid station symbols and profile, linked from the 2027 marathon page
5. 5Start und ZielOCHSNER SPORT Zürich Marathon (ZH Marathon GmbH)Accessed October 25, 2026; arrive one hour before, in block 20 minutes before, start times for all distances, bag drop from 06:30
6. 6Infos von A bis ZOCHSNER SPORT Zürich Marathon (ZH Marathon GmbH)Accessed October 25, 2026; sweeper bus from Meilen, first aid and toilets at every station, early hotel breakfast, pacer times
7. 7Peak Punk Marathon Guide (German)Peak Punk, linked from the OCHSNER SPORT Zürich Marathon websiteAccessed October 25, 2026; 30 to 60 g per hour up to 2.5 hours, 60 to 90 g for longer marathons, 400 to 800 ml per hour, 600 to 1,200 mg sodium per litre of sweat, breakfast 2 to 3 hours before
8. 8International Association of Athletics Federations Consensus Statement 2019: Nutrition for AthleticsInternational Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (Burke et al., 2019), PMID 30952204Carbohydrate ranges, pre-race meal, and hydration guidance
9. 9Contemporary Nutrition Strategies to Optimize Performance in Distance Runners and Race WalkersInternational Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (Burke et al., 2019), PMID 30747558Marathon carbohydrate intake, including up to 90 g per hour for trained runners in longer events
10. 10Nutrition and Athletic Performance: Joint Position StatementAmerican College of Sports Medicine (Thomas et al., 2016), PMID 268911661 to 4 g per kg carbohydrate 1 to 4 hours before exercise; sports drink composition
11. 11A Step Towards Personalized Sports Nutrition: Carbohydrate Intake During ExerciseSports Medicine (Jeukendrup, 2014), PMID 24791914Multiple transportable carbohydrates and intakes above 60 g per hour
12. 12International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Caffeine and Exercise PerformanceJISSN (Guest et al., 2021), PMID 333880793 to 6 mg per kg, about 60 minutes before exercise
13. 13April Weather in ZürichWeather SparkAccessed October 25, 2026; mid-April temperature, wet-day and humidity averages