Athens Marathon start: buses and block start times

Where and when the Marathon starts, and the 08:00 / 08:30 conflict

The Marathon starts in the town of Marathon, at the Marathon Historic Start, and finishes inside the Panathenaic Stadium. The first start on Sunday, 8 November 2026 is at 08:30: the race page (Greek and English), the FAQ, the spectators’ guide and the Greek week programme all say so. Not everyone starts together, though. There are 16 consecutive starts from 08:30 to 10:09, with the last runner crossing the start mat at 10:15, and your own time depends on your block (table in the next section).

One official page says something different. The English “Marathon Week Program” gives the race window as “8:30–18:20” and a few lines later “8:00: Start of Marathon Race”, while the Greek programme in the same section gives 8:30 for the start of the Marathon race. 08:00 is the start time of the 10K on Vasilissis Amalias Avenue, so this is most likely a copy error in the English text. That is our reading, not a statement from the organiser, who has not commented on the mismatch. The time used here is 08:30 for the first block, and the table time for every other block.

For what this page does not cover: the course kilometre by kilometre is in “Athens Marathon course: km by km” Athens Marathon course: km by km; the dates and times of all the weekend races are in “Athens Marathon 2026: dates and races” Athens Marathon 2026: dates and races; the visitor guide, which only says transport is included in the entry, is at Athens Marathon: a visitor and spectator guide; and the other Athens races are compared at Athens Marathon vs Half vs Poseidon: which to run. For the history of the route see Pheidippides Pheidippides: history vs. legend, Spyridon Louis in 1896 Spyridon Louis: the first Olympic marathon (1896) and the 2004 Olympic marathon Athens 2004 Olympic Marathon: results and drama.

Start time by block: 08:30 to 10:09

The table below comes from the organiser’s race page and applies to Sunday, 8 November 2026. The organiser itself says each block’s start time is indicative and is finalised two weeks before the Marathon. Until then treat the table as a working schedule, not a commitment.

• 08:30 · block 1 · 20 elite athletes, the Panhellenic Championship and sub-3:00 performances, 800 runners in total (the breakdown differs by language, see the next section)
• 08:32 · block 2 · the next 1,500 best performances
• 08:35 · block 3 · the next 1,500
• 08:39 · block 4 · the next 1,500
• 08:44 · block 5 · the next 1,500
• 08:49 · block 6 · the next 1,500
• 08:54 · separate block: start for runners with disabilities
• 08:59 · block 7 · the next 1,700
• 09:04 · block 8 · the next 1,800
• 09:10 · block 9 · the next 1,800
• 09:16 · block 10 · the next 1,800
• 09:45 · block 11 · the next 1,800
• 09:51 · block 12 · the next 1,800
• 09:57 · block 13 · 2,000 runners (the description differs by language)
• 10:03 · block 14 · 2,000 runners (“performers >6h & no performance”, as the page words it)
• 10:09 · block 15 · 2,000 runners (the description differs by language)
• 10:15 · the last runner crosses the start mat · 18:15 end of the time limit to complete the race
• Our own arithmetic on the table: the gaps between consecutive starts are 2 to 6 minutes, with one exception, 29 minutes between block 10 (09:16) and block 11 (09:45). That gap coincides with the point where the two bus waves split; the organiser does not say the two are connected.
• Our own arithmetic: blocks 1–10 add up to 15,400 places and blocks 11–15 to 9,600 (25,000 in total, not counting the disability start). So bus wave 1 corresponds to about 62% of the block places in the table (not necessarily of the runners who actually start; the organiser publishes no starters per block).

Where the official pages disagree with each other

We read the Greek and English versions of the race page, the FAQ and the programme on 29 September 2026. Besides the 08:00 line we found the differences below. We are not picking a side: we show them, because only the organiser can settle them, and the final block times will be announced around 25 October.

• Block 1: the English page says 20 elite, 280 from the Panhellenic Championship and 500 sub-3:00 performances; the Greek page says 20 elite, 180 from the Panhellenic Championship and 600 sub-3:00 performances. Both total 800.
• Blocks 13–15: the English page lists all three as “2000 performers >6h & no performance”; the Greek page says, in our translation, “the next 2000 best performances” for block 13, “the next 2000 performances >6h & no performance” for block 14 and “2000 runners with no performance” for block 15.
• Arrival time with your own transport: both pages give 07:30 as the limit. The English text says “at least one hour before the start”; the Greek text says “at least one hour and 30 minutes before”. With an 08:30 start, 90 minutes would give 07:00. The clock time both share is 07:30, and that is the one we plan around.
• Clothing bins on the start line: the English text puts them at the first two blocks, the Greek text at blocks 2–5.
• End time: the race page and the Greek programme say 18:15 for finishes. The English programme, the FAQ (in both languages) and the spectators’ guide (for the vehicle ban) say 18:20. The organiser does not explain the difference.
• Freshness: in the English FAQ one answer still carries 2025 dates (8 and 9 November 2025) next to 2026 dates in other answers. We do not copy it, and we mention it as a sign that not every text has been updated.
• Date of announcement: none of the pages we read shows when the bus and block text was published or updated, and the server sends no Last-Modified header. The only date we can give is the date we read them: 29 September 2026.

Your block, and how to change it

The block is printed on your bib. Allocation is based on the performance you achieved in 2024–2026 at a race with a certified course, as you entered it on the entry form and as checked by the SEGAS Marathon Office. Anyone who gave no performance, or an invalid one, is automatically placed in one of the last blocks. Your bib number is emailed about ten days before the race, i.e. around 29 October (the date arithmetic is ours). The English FAQ says explicitly that the email also states your starting block; the Greek FAQ mentions only the bib number. Our own arithmetic: the email (around 29 October) arrives after the 25 October block-change deadline, and the organiser does not say when the Start Lists that open the change window are published.

Changing block has its own procedure on the “Registrations Management” page, case 8 (“Change of Starting Block”). It is possible only after the Start Lists are announced and until 25 October 2026, with a 5.00 € fee, only with the approval of the Organizing Committee, and case by case. The Greek page adds that after 25 October such requests are not accepted at the Runners’ Center either; the English page does not say that. The date on which the Start Lists are announced is not given on the pages we read.

If you want a better block, proof of performance (participation certificate or official race results) from a certified-course race of the last three years (2024–2026) is required. If the block you ask for is full, you are placed in the next one with space. Changes are made “within reasonable limits”: the organiser’s own example is that a runner with 40 minutes for 5 km will not be placed in the first blocks. The 25 September deadlines for correcting a finish time and for a “same block as a co-athlete” note have already passed; after them, case 8 applies. For the co-athlete request, if approved (both runners must ask), you are placed in the slower runner’s block.

The opposite is explicitly forbidden: changing block on your own without approval means removal from the results, and starting from a block that is not yours is checked electronically.

The runner buses: two waves, six and four stations

Per the race FAQ, transport to the start is offered by the Organizing Committee only for registered runners (the English FAQ adds that no seat reservation is needed; the Greek FAQ does not say that, and calls the transport free). The race page describes the buses and boarding points without repeating that restriction. The buses run direct, with no intermediate stops. After each wave’s closing time the organiser provides no transport. On getting off you must go straight to the start area. The organiser suggests using all boarding points to spread the crowd, and recommends that you do not use your own vehicle.

No timetable per station, frequency or journey time is published. The pages give only the operating windows. They also do not say what happens if you take the wave that does not match your block.

• Wave 1, blocks 1–10: 6 stations, 7 boarding spots, buses from 05:00 to 06:45. After 06:45 the organiser provides no transport.
• Point 1: Syngrou-Fix (Line 2), Syngrou Avenue, ascending side (“Syngrou” exit). The last bus from here leaves at 06:15.
• Point 2a: Syntagma (Lines 2 and 3), Vasilissis Amalias Avenue, on the side of the Hellenic Parliament and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
• Point 2b: Syntagma, Georgiou Avenue, in front of the Grande Bretagne hotel.
• Point 3: Panepistimio (Line 2), Panepistimiou Avenue, on the University side.
• Point 4: Evangelismos (Line 3), Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, ascending side.
• Point 5: Katechaki (Line 3), Mesogeion Avenue, upward direction towards Agia Paraskevi.
• Point 6: Omonia (metro/electric railway), Panepistimiou Avenue and 3rd September Avenue, on Omonia Square.
• Wave 2, blocks 11–15: 4 stations, buses from 06:30 to 07:45. After 07:45 the organiser provides no transport.
• Wave 2 stations: Ethniki Amyna, Cholargos, Katechaki and Nomismatokopio, all on Line 3, on Mesogeion Avenue, upward direction towards Agia Paraskevi. Katechaki serves both waves.
• Our own arithmetic: the wave 1 transport window closes at 06:45, 1 hour 45 minutes before block 1 starts (08:30) and 2 hours 31 minutes before block 10 (09:16); the wave 2 window closes at 07:45, 2 hours before block 11 and 2 hours 24 minutes before block 15 (10:09). The only last-bus time the organiser gives is 06:15 from Syngrou-Fix; 06:45 and 07:45 are the ends of the transport windows, not stated departure times.

Your own transport, and for people who are not running

The organiser recommends that you do not use your own vehicle. If you do, two rules apply: you must be at the start area by 07:30, allowing for the roughly 800 metres you will walk from where you park, and on the Marathon route there will be a traffic ban in both directions of Marathonos Avenue from 08:00. Our own arithmetic: 07:30 is one hour before block 1 and 2 hours 39 minutes before block 15 (10:09). The rule does not depend on your block.

Spectators and companions are not mentioned in the bus description; the FAQ answer on transport says it is offered by the Organizing Committee “ONLY for registered runners”. For people who want to see the start without running, the official pages we read give no directions to Marathon town, as our visitor guide also notes. For the finish and central Athens, the official spectators’ guide announces that no vehicles are allowed in the city centre of Athens and anywhere around the Panathenaic Stadium on Saturday, 7 November 2026 from 15:00 to 21:00 and on Sunday, 8 November 2026 from 05:00 to 18:20, and recommends the metro. Our own arithmetic: the Saturday window overlaps the bag-drop hours (10:00–21:00) and the Expo hours (10:00–20:00) of the same day.

The 2026 traffic measures (Hellenic Police, OASA, STASY) were not published when we looked on 29 September. We searched the organiser’s pages (programme, spectators’ guide, FAQ, race page, and the organiser’s blog, “Organization” section, whose latest post is dated 18/09/2026) and ran one web search, which returned only the measures for the 8 March 2026 Half Marathon, not for the Marathon. What else closes beyond Marathonos Avenue, and whether metro hours are extended in the early morning, is not stated on the organiser’s pages. Check the official channels when they announce.

The clothing bag: at Faliro, not at the start

For the Marathon the bag is not left at the start. You collect the special bag and the bib-number sticker together with your bib at the Runners’ Center, and hand it in at the designated area inside the allwyn Marathon EXPO at the Faliro Indoor Hall (former taekwondo venue), at trucks arranged by bib-number range, only on these days: Wednesday 4 November 12:00–22:00, Thursday 5 and Friday 6 November 10:00–22:00, Saturday 7 November 10:00–21:00. There will be no bag collection service at the start on race day.

After the finish you collect the bag by showing your bib number, at the designated area at Zappeion (the Greek text says it is the same truck you handed it to). The bag must not contain travel documents, money, valuables or medicines, and the organiser accepts no other backpacks or bags. Bags not collected are kept for 15 days at the SEGAS Marathon Office and then discarded.

The general FAQ says the bag is handed in “30 minutes before the start”. That applies to the other races: for the Marathon the same FAQ gives the Expo venue and hours explicitly. The bag-drop hours run one hour longer than the Expo’s own opening hours (21:00 and 20:00 respectively), our own arithmetic from the two tables.

In the block: entry, warm-up, wave start

All runners are placed in blocks in the start area, and the block is indicated by your bib number. The blocks are laid out along the start straight, the stadium ring road and some within the stadium grounds, as the organiser puts it, without more detail on the layout of the site. A “wave start” is used: after each block starts, the remaining blocks move up gradually until it is their turn.

Warm-up must be finished 20 minutes before the start, and 15 minutes before the start everyone must have taken their place in their block. Entry to blocks is from the back, and entering early can secure a place in the front rows (a “reward”, in the organiser’s word). The text does not say whether “before the start” means the 08:30 first start or your own. The 08:30 reading has everyone in their block by 08:15; the other reading would have a block 15 runner in the block by 09:54. The earlier is the safe reading, but that is our interpretation.

The blocks have bins for spare, light clothing, which will be donated to charity (where exactly, see the difference between languages above), and recycling bins for ponchos, bottles and anything recyclable. Starting from a block that is not yours is checked electronically and leads to automatic disqualification and deletion from the results.

On time: the race page sets a limit of eight hours and says all finishes will be completed by 18:15, including the delay of the consecutive starts. The Terms of Participation define the official time as the time from the starting gunshot and the net time as the time from the start mat to the finish mat. The pages do not explain how this applies to later blocks, so ask the organiser if you need it.

What is not announced yet, and when to check again

• Final start times per block: “two weeks before” the race, i.e. about 25 October (our calculation). Until then the table is indicative.
• Block change: requests from the announcement of the Start Lists until 25 October 2026. The announcement date is not given.
• Email with your bib number (and block, per the English FAQ): about ten days before the race, i.e. around 29 October.
• Bag drop: 4–7 November 2026, only at the Faliro expo.
• Hellenic Police and OASA/STASY traffic measures for the weekend of 7–8 November 2026: not found on 29/09/2026 (beyond the vehicle ban announced in the organiser’s spectators’ guide).
• Not published on the organiser’s pages: journey time of the buses to Marathon, frequency per station, directions for spectators to the start.
• If any time or rule on this page differs from the organiser’s newer announcement, the announcement prevails. Date this page was checked: 29 September 2026.