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Cologne Marathon weather

What will race morning in Cologne cost you?

Cologne Marathon mornings around race day since 2021, by weather-model estimate: about 12°C (54°F) at 10:00 near Cologne. Most were 9 to 16°C.

Date
Sun, 4 Oct 2026
First start
10:30 local
Distance
42.2 km
Mornings around race day at 10:00, by year
YearAirDew ptWindRain hrs
202512°C10°C12 km/h36%
202412°C9°C13 km/h27%
202316°C13°C13 km/h9%
202211°C9°C12 km/h27%
202112°C10°C15 km/h27%

By weather-model estimate near the race, mornings around race day. Not station readings.

Course note

Cologne starts in Deutz, crosses the Rhine early, threads through Rheinauhafen, Lindenthal, Ehrenfeld and Nippes, then finishes by Cologne Cathedral. The organiser calls the course flat and fast. The map is the GPX file from its course page; confirm the current streets before racing. Organiser route

Past editionPrevious edition
4:00:004:04 to 4:10Edit goal

Past starts: 12°C typical, 9 to 16°C since 2021.

01 · The conditions

Race-day weather

Previous editionThis edition has finished

The past weather below is context for the next edition. We do not substitute today’s weather for a past race.

Explore historical weather
Example RunWeather race plan for a hot half marathon in Florida: goal pace against race-day pace, and how to spend it from start to finish

Example race: a hot half marathon in Florida

Powered by StravaWorks with Apple Health

Get Cologne race-morning weather on your phone.

The app turns race-morning weather into your race plan: your goal pace, your race-day pace, and how to spend it from the start to the finish.

Example RunWeather race plan for a hot half marathon in Florida: what slows you, heat and wind in minutes, then conditions from gun to finish

Example race: a hot half marathon in Florida

02 · Same effort, different day

What the weather may cost your goal

Goal finish time

Choose a popular time or set your own. Your pace and weather preview update as you edit.

Your goal pace5:41/km · 4:00:00 finish
Same effort in this weather4:04:48+4:48 10:30 to 14:30 · five-year average

4:00:00 goal. On a typical race morning here, expect about 4:04 to 4:10. Main factor: heat.

  • Heat and sun+2%
  • Wind and comfort0%
  • Weather total+2%

RunWeather’s pace model at your goal effort, over every hour you are on course (10:30 to 14:30 local), weighted by the time you spend in each, using the five-year race-morning average. A planning preview, not a predicted finish. Hills, turns, shelter, fuelling and heat adaptation are not modelled here; rain is left out because a probability is not a measured rain rate. Explore the heat pace calculator.

View even-pace checkpoints
DistanceElapsed time
5.0 km0:28:26
10.0 km0:56:53
15.0 km1:25:19
20.0 km1:53:45
25.0 km2:22:12
30.0 km2:50:38
35.0 km3:19:05
40.0 km3:47:31
42.2 km · Finish4:00:00

In the app

Your race plan, on race morning

Add the Cologne Marathon and the app keeps your plan current until the gun.

  • Goal pace against race-day pace

    What your goal is worth on this morning’s weather, per km and at the finish.

  • How to spend it

    Start, middle and finish, against your average.

  • What slows you

    Heat, wind and hills, each in minutes.

Example RunWeather race plan for a hot half marathon in Florida: goal pace against race-day pace, and how to spend it from start to finish

Goal vs race day

Example RunWeather race plan for a hot half marathon in Florida: what slows you, heat and wind in minutes, then conditions from gun to finish

What slows you

Example race: a hot half marathon in Florida

Reference

Everything else about race morning

Open any row for the full detail.

  • Race day recap4 October 2026

    Cologne Marathon ran on 4 October 2026. The weather recap for this edition is not published yet.

  • The course42.2 km · 6 landmarks

    Cologne starts in Deutz, crosses the Rhine early, threads through Rheinauhafen, Lindenthal, Ehrenfeld and Nippes, then finishes by Cologne Cathedral. The organiser calls the course flat and fast. The map is the GPX file from its course page; confirm the current streets before racing.

    THE COURSE42.2 km
    1×

    Zoom to drag the route. Keyboard: + / −, arrows, Home to reset.

    Cologne Marathon

    1×

    Zoom to drag the route. Keyboard: + / −, arrows, Home to reset.

    Course outline. Check the organiser for this year’s route.

    Start FinishCourse

    Course year unverified. Check the organiser’s map for this year.

    Along the route

    1. 1 KMDeutzer Brücke

      An early crossing of the Rhine. Use effort rather than chasing an exact pace on the bridge.

    2. 12 KMSüdstadt

      The route works back through the southern neighbourhoods after the opening kilometres.

    3. 24 KMRudolfplatz

      A busy central-city passage around the point where conserving effort starts to pay off.

    4. 27 KMEhrenfeld

      The course heads through Ehrenfeld before the final northern and central sections.

    5. 40 KMRudolfplatz again

      The late return to the centre leaves only a short run to the cathedral finish.

    6. FINISHCologne Cathedral

      The advertised finish area is by the cathedral; follow current organiser signage.

    Landmarks and approximate kilometres from the organiser’s course description. Refer to the current race map and on-course markers.

    01

    The organiser lists a 10:30 marathon start, subject to change. Check the wind and rain outlook through your expected finish.

    02

    Compare the conditions at your start and expected finish before settling on kit and effort.

    03

    Confirm late changes to the route, start wave and logistics with the organiser.

    Official course ↗
  • Race-window historyLast 5 years, race date ±5 days

    A range for planning Cologne Marathon: weather near Cologne on race morning, the last 5 years (2021 to 2025, race date ±5 days). Not a forecast.

    Typical start-hour air12°C10th–90th percentile 9°C–16°C
    Dew point / humidity10°C86% relative humidity
    Start-hour wind13 km/hDirection varies by day
    Hours with rain25%Historical frequency at this hour
    AIR THROUGH THE RUN

    The five-year picture

    12°C → 16°C by +4h
    10:00
    Air temperature
    12°C
    Humidity
    86%
    Wind
    13 km/h
    Hours with rain
    25%
    8°C12°C17°C21°CStartGoal finish10:0012:0014:0016:00

    Hover or drag to explore. Use ← → when focused. Shading: middle 80% of sampled temperatures.

    Five-year average Middle 80% of sampled hours

    The sampled air warms by about 4°C across four hours. Check your expected finish-hour forecast, not just the start.

    WIND CONTEXT

    Where the breeze came from

    NN: 0 of 55 sampled start hours; mean 0 km/hNENE: 3 of 55 sampled start hours; mean 10 km/hEE: 4 of 55 sampled start hours; mean 6 km/hSESE: 11 of 55 sampled start hours; mean 14 km/hSS: 13 of 55 sampled start hours; mean 14 km/hSWSW: 10 of 55 sampled start hours; mean 19 km/hWW: 12 of 55 sampled start hours; mean 10 km/hNWNW: 2 of 55 sampled start hours; mean 7 km/h
    WIND FROMS

    13 of 55 samples · 24%
    Mean 14 km/h

    The petals show how often the wind came from each direction at the sampled start hour. They do not predict the direction on race day.

    A city-point wind rose cannot tell you which parts of the course will be sheltered or exposed. Use the live forecast and the organiser’s route map together.

    Method: 55 ERA5 hourly samples at 10:00 local time, across 11 calendar days per year in 2021–2025. The sample uses the hour containing the advertised first start; waves may start later. Grid weather is modelled reanalysis, not an on-course station reading. Open-Meteo Historical Weather API . Data generated 2026-09-29.

  • Cologne Marathon FAQs7 questions

    When is the 2026 Cologne Marathon?

    Cologne Marathon is listed for 4 October 2026. Confirm the latest details on the official event website before travelling.

    Is the weather shown a forecast for the Cologne Marathon?

    Only from about 14 days before the race, when the page shows the live race-day forecast. Before that, you see the weather near the city on the mornings around race day in the last 5 years: what is typical, not what will happen. Monthly averages, when shown, cover every hour of the race month.

    What is race morning usually like at the Cologne Marathon?

    Around the 10:30 start, mornings around race day near Cologne in the last 5 years averaged 12°C (54°F), 86% humidity and 13 km/h wind. Most started between 9°C and 16°C. This is weather near the city, not a reading from the race itself or a forecast.

    Which recent year had the warmest race morning at the Cologne Marathon?

    2023. Around race day that year it was about 16°C (60°F) around the 10:30 start, against 12°C (54°F) on an average year.

    Which recent year had the windiest race morning at the Cologne Marathon?

    2021, with about 15 km/h of wind around the 10:30 start. Over the last 5 years the wind here came mostly from the south.

    How should I pace the Cologne Marathon on a warm day?

    4:00:00 goal. On a typical race morning here, expect about 4:00 to 4:08. Main factor: heat. On a warm day, start about 10 s/km easier than goal pace, run by feel to halfway and drink early. Plan my race gives your splits for the day.

    Can past years predict the weather on race day at the Cologne Marathon?

    No. They show what race morning is usually like, not what this year will bring. Check the live forecast in the last 14 days, look at the hours through your expected finish, and follow the organiser for start and course updates.

  • Sources and race informationOrganiser, weather data, guide reviewed 2026-09-29

    Past race-morning weather: Open-Meteo Historical Weather API, weather near the city from 2021 to 2025, updated 2026-09-29. Not official race-day readings.

    Guide reviewed . RunWeather is an independent guide, not the race organiser. Dates, waves and routes can change; the organiser’s latest instructions take priority. Course map: GPX linked from the organiser’s course page (file named KM-2024.gpx); exact route edition unverified.

Cologne race morning, on your phone.

Free on iPhone and Android. Your race plan, updated with the forecast until the gun.

Example RunWeather race plan for a hot half marathon in Florida: goal pace against race-day pace, and how to spend it from start to finish

Example race: a hot half marathon in Florida