Copenhagen Half Marathon (CPH Half)

The course

The route runs through the centre of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg on closed streets, and the organiser says it is fast: the race was born in the wake of the 2014 World Half Marathon Championships, where ordinary runners ran the elite course. Elite men have run 58:01 here (Geoffrey Kamworor, 2019, then a world record).

With more than 32,000 sign-ups in 2025 and 45,000 places for 2027, the start is organised by expected finish time. You give a realistic estimate when you register, which sets your start group; the colour and letter of the group are on your bib and you must be in the group at the arrival time shown on the organiser's practical page. Pacers carry coloured balloons. Your time is net, from the moment you cross the start line.

Split times are taken every 5 km and appear in the free CPH Half app for friends and family. We could not find an official time limit, a published course map or a climb figure on the pages used for this research.

How to enter

Entry is by free lottery. For 2027 it opened on 16 September 2026 and closed on 30 September; when in that window you entered made no difference. You can enter alone or as a group of up to three, and you only pay if you are drawn: you then have 48 hours from the email to buy the entry, and places not taken go to others still in the draw. The draw was completed on 9 October 2026, with 188,522 entered for 45,000 places. Expect the same autumn window for 2028 and check cphhalf.dk.

The 2027 price is 795 kr plus a 5% administration fee, about 112 euros all in. The entry is personal and cannot be sold or transferred; there is no resale platform, but you can buy an optional Refund Protect from a third party when you complete the registration. Participants who cannot run because of pregnancy can defer to one of the next three editions with a certificate. Wheelchairs are allowed, handcycles are not, and baby joggers need prior agreement. There is no fixed age limit.

How to train for it

Give a realistic finish time

Your start group comes from the time you enter, not from where your friends are. An over-optimistic number puts you in front of faster runners in a field of tens of thousands; the organiser says you can change it via your registration profile.

Train at a steady pace on flat roads

The course is built for fast times and has no hills to break your rhythm. Tempo runs of 8 to 14 km at your goal pace, on flat road, are the most relevant sessions.

Practise crowded starts

With a median of 1 h 52 min in 2025 you will be in a large pack for much of the race. Run a few club races or parkruns to get used to surging, braking and drifting around other runners.

Expect September weather

Typical highs are around 17 °C with some wind and showers. Do your last long runs in what you plan to wear, including how the bib sits: it must be on your chest or stomach, not your back, because the timing chip is in it.

What you need

• Your bib with the built-in timing chip, pinned clearly on the chest or stomach
• Photo ID for bib collection at the expo (the name must match your registration)
• Race bag to leave at the bag drop in the Runners Area, with its bag tag attached
• A throw-away layer for the start group, since you may wait there 15 minutes or more
• Your own gels if you use them; check the organiser's race-week page for what the drink stations serve

Getting there and staying

The expo is held in race week with the shop LØBEREN, and bibs are collected there; the 2027 location and opening hours had not been announced when this page was researched (2026-10). The Runners Area at the start and finish has the bag drop, toilets, water and maps, and each start group has its own toilets and water. The official start is 09:30 but you have an arrival time for your group and the organiser suggests being there 15 minutes before it.

Copenhagen has metro, bus and train networks. Book a hotel as soon as you have an entry, as 45,000 runners will be in town. The organiser lists official tour operators selling packages with entries on its tour operators page.

A friends-and-family app shows split times every 5 km. The race is part of the SuperHalfs series, which collects results from half marathons in Lisbon, Prague, Berlin, Copenhagen, Cardiff and Valencia.

History

The race grew out of the 2014 World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen, where ordinary runners could run the elite course and 30,000 took part. The first CPH Half followed in 2015, was awarded the IAAF Bronze Label in January 2015, Silver in 2016 and Gold in 2017, and sold out for the first time in 2019, and has run every year except 2020, when it was cancelled for Covid-19.

In 2026 the usual race was replaced by the World Athletics Road Running Championships Copenhagen 26, with a half marathon on 20 September 2026. The regular CPH Half returns on 19 September 2027.

Where to find out more

• Lottery information (opens in a new tab): How the lottery works, price, 48-hour window and the draw.
• FAQ (opens in a new tab): Entry, start groups, pushchairs, wheelchairs, deferral for pregnancy.
• Practical info (opens in a new tab): Start groups, arrival times, bag drop and timing.
• Results archive (opens in a new tab): Records and links to past results.
• Results 2025 (UltimateLIVE) (opens in a new tab): Full 2025 results; used for the median time.