The marathon season is moving into focus and many of Europe's top distance runners have already committed to some of the big city marathons taking place over the next few months.
Find out who's racing and where they are competing.
27 September - Berlin Marathon
Just six weeks after winning the European marathon title in Birmingham in a championship record of 2:22:26, Finland’s Alisa Vainio will lead the continental interest in the Berlin Marathon on Sunday.
And the indefatigable Finn has already contested a marathon since Birmingham. She won the Finnish marathon title on 12 September in 2:27:47 although Vainio said she used this as a long training run in preparation for Berlin.
"I'm going to Berlin a little bit on the heels of the Birmingham European Championships. However, I haven't had time to do a proper recovery and training period here. I'm still expecting a good run there. I'm not going there to be lazy," said Vainio ahead of her fifth marathon of 2026.
Vainio will be joined on the start-line by German Esther Pfeiffer who looks set to make a big improvement on her 2:37:00 PB which she set in winning the Cologne Marathon in 2023. This remains her only marathon to date and since then, Pfeiffer has improved to 30:45 for 10km and 67:25 for the half marathon.
The favourite for the women's race is former world record-holder Tigst Assefa from Ethiopia while the men's race includes Ethiopians Kenenisa Bekele, Guye Adola, Shura Kitata and Selemon Barega.
27 September - Warsaw Marathon
Surprise European marathon silver medallist Lili Anna Vindics-Tóth is also embarking on a quick turnaround after Birmingham.
The Hungarian will be contesting the fourth marathon of her career in the Warsaw Marathon and she will face a field which includes 2012 Boston Marathon winner Sharon Cherop.
11 October - Chicago Marathon
European marathon record-holder Bashir Abdi is a late entrant for the Chicago Marathon. "Ready to run through the streets of Chicago, create new memories and enjoy every mile along the way," he wrote on Instagram.
Abdi looked on course to challenge his European record of 2:03:36 in the Rotterdam Marathon before cramps in the last two kilometres deprived him not only of the record but also the victory. However, he still finished third and his time of 2:04:19 is still the fastest time by a European in 2026.
The men’s line-up is headed by Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo who won last year and broke the previous world marathon record with a 2:00:28 clocking to finish third in a historic London Marathon in April.
25 October - Frankfurt Marathon
Could there be a German winner of the men’s race in the Frankfurt Marathon for the first time since 1997?
Admittedly the full elite field is yet to be released but recently crowned European champion Amanal Petros is very capable of challenging for the title based on recent form. He became the second fastest European in history with a 2:04:03 clocking in Valencia last December, a mark he is looking to better next month.
"If we have good weather conditions a German record would be great. But if everything really comes together, I would like to go for the European record," said Petros.
Petros spearheads a strong German challenge in the men’s race which also includes 2022 European marathon champion Richard Ringer and Samuel Fitwi who finished second in the Hamburg Marathon this spring.
1 November - New York Marathon
European 10,000m champion Andreas Almgren will be making his much awaited marathon debut in New York and the anticipation has only grown since the Swede stormed to the world half marathon title in Copenhagen in a European record of 58:06.
"This gold medal is a very good sign for me, that I am doing something right. But at the same time, running a marathon is something completely different. I do not know how my body will react after 35 kilometres, but I am very excited to try it. In New York I am going to try to be somewhere in the front, hopefully I can make it all the way to Central Park and fight for the win," said Almgren after winning in Copenhagen.
Almgren is part of a strong and experienced European contingent which also includes Paris Marathon winner Yemaneberhan Crippa and Iliass Aouani who excels in non-paced races having won gold at the European Running Championships in Brussels-Leuven and then bronze at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo in 2025.
Great Britain’s Patrick Dever, who finished third on his debut last year, also competes along with Irish record-holder Peter Lynch and 2024 winner Abdi Nageeye from the Netherlands. Nageeye became the first European winner of the men’s race since 1996 when he triumphed two years ago.
Sifan Hassan also makes her comeback from injury in the women’s race. The reigning Olympic champion hasn’t raced at all since finishing sixth in the New York Marathon last year in 2:24:43.
6 December - Valencia Marathon
Finland’s Alisa Vainio will contest her sixth marathon of the year in the Valencia Marathon on 6 December. Vainio made her big breakthrough in this race last year by finishing fourth in a national record of 2:20:48. Can she challenge the 2:20-barrier this year?
With still more than two months to go until race day, more names will be announced in due course but Norway’s Awet Kibrab has been officially announced as racing by the organisers. He finished third in last year’s race on his debut at the distance in a national record of 2:04:24.
European 5000m bronze medallist Etienne Daguinos will also make his marathon debut in this race.
And there is every possibility this year’s edition could yield at least one world record with Ethiopians Yomif Kejelcha and Fotyen Tesfay both due to race.