Brussels Marathon 2025

How about a little run with our Belgian neighbors? 🇧🇪 Yes, smarty, you've already guessed what we're going to talk about: nothing less than the superb, prestigious, famous, and iconic Brussels Marathon ✨ taking place at the start of November in Belgium! 💥👏

As every year, the AIMS (Association of International Marathons and Distance Races) welcomes you with open arms 👐 for its annual Marathon, along with a no less legendary Half Marathon and a 7 km 🏅. Surely your assumptions that one only goes to Belgium for beer 🍺 and fries will quickly crumble! 😛 You'll realize your mistake when you discover the monumental wealth of the world city 🏙️ that is Brussels and why the Brussels Airport Marathon & Half Marathon is an unmissable event for finishers from all over the world 🌍 (the biggest running event, some might say). Hurry, spots for the 20th edition are going like waffle bites 🧇.

But why? Well, for its enticing distances that challenge all competition enthusiasts 🏃‍♀️. With its 42 km, its 21 km, and its 7 km, runners only need to choose the challenge they want to tackle. And what a challenge! 💥 Every year, the Brussels Marathon gathers the best performers in the world and the greatest athletics stars ⭐. Can you do better than John Kelai and Jennifer Chesinon who shattered records in 2004 with times of 2h 10min 59s and 2h 32min 16s, respectively? 🤯 Not sure, especially since the Brussels Marathon is known to be particularly challenging, with notably 335 mD+ 📈. Of course, not all participants have the soul of a marathoner, which is why there's always the option to complete the half marathon or the 7 km, offering just as many opportunities to zoom like a rocket 🚀 and discover the capital of Europe in all its splendor 🥰.

"Capital of Europe, really?", the Strasbourgers might say. The terminology is debatable, but no one can contest the prominent role of the capital of Belgium in economic, political, cultural, artistic, and strategic sectors. Located in the agglomeration of Brussels (Brussels for those who've got it all 😎), which consists of 36 municipalities, the city today hosts numerous NGOs (over 1,400), the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the NATO, and hosts 120 international institutions and 159 embassies 🌍. The result is an extremely cosmopolitan population and a multicultural society. Quite engaging, isn't it? But hey! "That's nice", you'll say, "but what is there to see while I run?". And you're right! Let's get back on track 🐑.

The city, which celebrated its 1,000th anniversary in 1979, is renowned for its cultural, architectural, and environmental scope as much as it is for its politics. With its Walloon, Flemish influences, historic and artistic heritage, its old town and its business district known as "Little Manhattan" (which has about thirty towers 🏙), the city is an open-air museum presenting a wide variety of architectural styles and different atmospheres ✨. As minister Sven Gatz mentions, these are "beautiful boulevards", "emblematic squares" and "green lungs" awaiting you for an "unforgettable experience". You'll start your race in the heart of the city's historical center 🏛️. You'll have the chance to see many major axes of the capital, the Atomium at the Place de Brouckère or even the Pentagon.

But it's also an opportunity to take out your camera and feed your Instagram! 📸 It certainly won't lack color, even if it rains quite often! 😆 You can discover the Gothic style of the Saint Michael and Saint Gudula Cathedral and Our Lady of Victories at the Sablon, the Art Deco style of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and the Palace of Fine Arts, or the eclectic and surprising beauty of the Palace of Justice. Connoisseurs will also likely feel the influence of Art Nouveau, for which the city was and remains one of the capitals, through works by Victor Horta, Paul Hankar, and Henry Van de Velde (among others, as there are many more! 😍). But not only that: nature lovers will also find delight, as the city and its agglomeration is one of "the greenest in Europe" 🌿 with no less than 8,000 hectares of preserved spaces (which is half of the region) ! You can put on your sneakers and train in the Bois de la Cambre and the Sonian Forest. You might be lucky enough to encounter some of the animals residing there like deer, foxes, or endemic bird species. You will have the chance to see many of these aspects of the city by joining the competition, you lucky one 🍀.

Wow! With all this, we don't even know where to begin! So you just have to choose: nature 🌸, business district, historic quarter, museums 🎨, theaters, opera, pubs, festivals, nightclubs, shopping, or a photo session in the city? 🤔 Impossible to choose right! So we suggest you think about your schedule while sipping the best pint of the best blonde at the bar 🍻. But beware, just one! We remind you that you have a marathon to prepare for.

If all this information hasn't convinced you, then we can't do much more… Just like the Belgians after the 2018 semi-final 😉.

⚠️ Excessive drinking is harmful to your health, consume with moderation.