run&fun Tuttlingen: Course, Route Profile & Map

Course & Elevation

The gun goes at 8:00 in the morning on the Tuttlingen Festplatz, the hub of the weekend with start, finish, race-number collection and the expo. The loop first heads west along the Danube to Möhringen, where the river is crossed on a pontoon bridge laid specially for the race, then follows the Danube back through Tuttlingen and on to Nendingen. The final third climbs gently over the Gollhöfe and the Dr.-Karl-Storz-Straße back to the Festplatz. Marathon runners cover that loop twice.

The recorded track measures 42.1 kilometres and stays between 640 and 656 metres above sea level throughout. Around 96 metres of climbing accumulate over the full distance, close to 89 percent of it is flat, and ascent and descent almost exactly balance. There is no climb on which the field sorts itself out, and equally no stretch where you can freewheel.

Tuttlingen is the world centre of surgical instrument manufacturing, and the race visibly runs on it: from the marathon through the relays to the 5 km, every event carries the name of a local instrument maker, and some 800 volunteers carry the weekend. In 2025 the event drew 4,768 participants from 44 countries. Personal nutrition can be handed in on Sunday morning and is placed at the feed stations at kilometre 11, at halfway and at kilometre 32.

Pacing Strategy

On a course with 28 metres of total relief, pacing is entirely a matter of the head. The first lap feels effortless because the Danube path is flat and the relay teams, starting minutes behind you, come past at their own speed. That is where most Tuttlingen marathons are lost: latch onto fresh relay runners and you pay for it on the Gollhöfe section of lap two.

The route hands you a clear structure: out to Möhringen, over the pontoon bridge, back through Tuttlingen to Nendingen, then the final third over the Gollhöfe. Run the sections at the same effort rather than the same pace; the pontoon bridge and the narrow riverside paths cost a few seconds you do not need to chase back.

The race is decided between kilometre 32 and 38, in the final third of the second lap. The gentle rise over the Gollhöfe is barely noticeable on fresh legs and very noticeable after 32 kilometres. Keep something back for it. The 8:00 start in early June is an advantage worth using, because the second lap already falls in the warmer part of the morning.

Training plan for run&fun Tuttlingen: 12-week build

For a typical age-group runner this race lasts between about 3:15 and 5:00 hours. The demand is steady aerobic work with no relief phases: no descent to change which muscles carry you, no climb to change your stride. Four hours in the same movement pattern is precisely what has to be trained for.

The main priority is therefore volume with a specific finish: long runs from 30 kilometres whose last 8 to 12 kilometres are at planned marathon pace. A flat course also asks for clean, economical form, because no change of gradient hides fatigue; drills and short strides after easy runs pay more here than hill repeats.

The final third of lap two over the Gollhöfe decides the race. Prepare for it by finishing long runs on a gently rising section, and practise running on narrow riverside paths so that the pinch points and the pontoon bridge do not break your rhythm.

Conditions deserve respect. The 2026 edition had to be cancelled because of heat, and the 2027 date of 5 and 6 June sits earlier in the year than recent editions. Much of the Danube valley course is open and unshaded. Schedule some long spring sessions in the warmth, rehearse drinking at race pace, and make yourself familiar with how personal nutrition is deposited at the stations at kilometre 11, 21 and 32.