Sarajevo Marathon

The Race

History

The Sarajevo Marathon is organised by Udruzenje Decki u Plavom (“Boys in Blue Association”), running its 7th edition in 2026. The event runs as a single-weekend, multi-race format, all starting and finishing at Vilsonovo setaliste, a riverside promenade along the Miljacka river in central Sarajevo.

The organiser is distinct from NGO Marathon Sarajevo, the association behind the better-documented, larger, autumn Persil Sarajevo Half Marathon; the two should never be presented as the same event or organisation. Course records were not verified from a live official results source and should be checked against the organiser’s own results or OnTime Timing’s results archive at ontime-timing.com.

The course

The Sarajevo Marathon starts and finishes at Vilsonovo setaliste, in the Marijin Dvor and Skenderija area of central Sarajevo, at 08:00 on race morning. Bib and race-pack collection also takes place at the same start-finish zone the day before, Saturday 25 April, from 09:00 to 21:00.

No official course map or landmark-by-landmark route description has been published for the marathon distance. A real finisher’s GPS recording of this exact edition fills that gap usefully: it confirms a genuine loop, with start and finish points only around 25m apart, and shows the route heading west out of the city along the Sarajevo valley, reaching its furthest point roughly at the halfway mark, close to where the valley opens out near Ilidza, before returning along a similar corridor to the same start-finish point.

The same recording shows a genuinely flat-to-gently-rolling profile for most of the distance, with one clear exception: a sustained climb of around 50m concentrated between km 36 and 39, late in the race, before a descent back toward the finish. No official elevation-gain figure has been published; this shape comes from the recording, not organiser-sourced data.

Km 0-10: West out of Vilsonovo setaliste. The marathon starts at 08:00 from Vilsonovo setaliste and heads west out of central Sarajevo along the valley, a route also used by the half marathon and 5km fields sharing the same morning.

Km 10-21.1: Continuing west toward Ilidza.The course continues further west along the same valley corridor, with the recording’s lowest elevation point falling in this stretch, consistent with the valley floor further from the city centre.

Km 21.1-35: The return east. The route turns back and retraces a similar corridor east toward central Sarajevo, broadly flat to gently rolling for most of this stretch.

Km 35-42.195: A late climb, and the finish. The closing kilometres bring the one genuine sustained climb of the course, rising around 50m between roughly km 36 and 39, before a descent back to the finish at Vilsonovo setaliste. Runners should bank pace conservatively through the flatter middle section with this late climb in mind.

Logistics Map

The map below shows the course, based on a real finisher’s recording of this exact edition: out from Vilsonovo setaliste, west along the Sarajevo valley toward Ilidza, and back. Tap the marker for details.

What to wear

Late April in Sarajevo generally runs mild, but the city’s mountain-basin setting, at around 500m elevation and surrounded by considerably higher peaks, gives it more day-to-day temperature variability than many lowland European capitals, so a throwaway layer for the 08:00 start is a sensible general call regardless of the exact conditions on a given year.

Entry

Entry is direct online registration exclusively through ontime-timing.com, the race’s official timing partner; there is no ballot. Registration closes Monday 6 April 2026 at 23:59, or when the marathon’s 500-place capacity is reached, whichever happens first. Pricing rises across three tiers for the marathon: a basic package (bib, medal, sponsor gifts) costs 15 euro during early registration (1 September to 1 October 2025), 20 euro during regular registration (1 October 2025 to 1 March 2026), and 25 euro during late registration (1 March to 6 April 2026); a premium package, which adds an official race shirt, costs 25, 30 and 35 euro across the same three windows respectively.

Free entry is available to four groups: runners who can document a certified marathon time faster than 2:40:00 (men) or 3:05:00 (women); podium finishers of the 2025 Sarajevo Marathon; students of any sports faculty at a Bosnian university, on submission of proof of enrolment; and people with disabilities, on submission of supporting documentation. Runners using a free entry must contact the organiser directly by 1 April 2026 to confirm their place. Runners who withdraw by 1 March 2026 can transfer their entry fee to the 2027 edition; withdrawals after 2 March 2026 forfeit the fee entirely.

Free-entry qualifying standards

Not a Boston- or London-style guaranteed-entry GFA route, but a distinct free-entry qualifying standard exists: marathon under 2:40:00 (men) or 3:05:00 (women); half marathon under 1:20:00 (men) or 1:30:00 (women); 5km under 18:00 (men) or 20:00 (women).

Race Weekend

Expo

Race pack collection takes place at the start-finish zone itself, Vilsonovo setaliste, on Saturday 25 April 2026 from 09:00 to 21:00. No separate expo venue or race-day collection window was confirmed; runners should plan to collect on the Saturday.

Race Morning

The marathon starts at 08:00 on Sunday 26 April 2026 from Vilsonovo setaliste. The Carlsberg Beer Mile runs the previous evening, Saturday 25 April at 17:00, from the same start-finish zone, worth knowing for a runner trying to judge how busy the promenade will already be with race-weekend activity before the Sunday morning distances begin.

Nutrition on Course

No aid-station count, kilometre-by-kilometre breakdown, sports-nutrition sponsor, or personal-bottle-service procedure was found in research. Check the current official race materials closer to race day.

Spectating

Vilsonovo setaliste, the confirmed start-finish point, sits in central Sarajevo along the Miljacka river, in the Marijin Dvor and Skenderija area, a reasonable single vantage point for both the start and finish of the marathon.

Post-Race Food

No specific, sourced restaurant names near Vilsonovo setaliste were identified in research. The promenade sits close to both the Marijin Dvor commercial district and the Skenderija area, within reasonable walking distance of Sarajevo’s old town, Bascarsija, but this page will not name a specific venue without a direct source.

Where to Stay

Because the course starts and finishes at the same point, Vilsonovo setaliste, a hotel anywhere within easy walking distance serves both ends of the race equally well.

Marijin Dvor and Skenderija

The most practical base: this is the district Vilsonovo setaliste itself runs through, putting a runner within walking distance of the start-finish and the Saturday bib-collection window. The Swissotel Sarajevo and Hotel Central both sit in this immediate area.

Central Sarajevo, toward Bascarsija

A short walk or tram ride from the start-finish zone, trading a slightly longer race-morning walk for proximity to the old town’s restaurants and sights; Hotel Holiday and the Residence Inn by Marriott Sarajevo sit in this wider central band.

Wider city, further from the river

A reasonable choice for a visitor prioritising rate over walking distance to the start, at the cost of a taxi or a longer walk on race morning.

Recommended hotels

Booking timeline

Entry is open registration with no ballot results date, so hotel booking can begin as soon as a runner has entered; registration itself closes 6 April 2026 or when the marathon’s 500-place capacity is reached.

See & Do

These sit at or close to the start-finish, within reach of central Sarajevo.

Vilsonovo setaliste and the Miljacka Riverbank

At the start-finish itself. A landscaped riverside promenade along the Miljacka, and the race’s own start and finish point, flat and easy walking for a first outing after the marathon.

Bascarsija (Old Town)

Within walking distance of central Sarajevo. Sarajevo’s Ottoman-era old bazaar quarter, a dense concentration of mosques, craft workshops and cafes dating largely from the 15th and 16th centuries, and the cultural heart of a visit to the city.

Latin Bridge

Central Sarajevo, along the Miljacka. A 16th-century Ottoman stone bridge over the river, the site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, an event that triggered the outbreak of the First World War.

Tunnel of Hope Museum

Near Sarajevo Airport, some distance from the city centre. A preserved section of the tunnel dug beneath the airport runway during the 1992-96 siege of Sarajevo, used to smuggle food, medicine and people in and out of the besieged city, now a museum covering that period directly.

Trebevic Cable Car

Central Sarajevo. A cable car reopened in 2018 after being destroyed during the 1990s war, climbing Mount Trebevic for a view over the city, and passing near the abandoned 1984 Winter Olympics bobsled track.

Reading recommendation

The Cellist of Sarajevoby Steven Galloway. A novel set during the 1990s siege of Sarajevo, inspired by a real cellist who played in the ruins of a bombed marketplace for 22 days to honour the dead, a specific, documented piece of the city’s recent history.

After the Race

Sarajevo Marathon runs in April. These itineraries reach Bosnia and Herzegovina’s best-known bridge town, a quieter Ottoman provincial capital, and the country’s highest village.