FAQ

We put together a short overview of the most frequently asked questions.
Our information points are hoping to be able to answer your questions in a short and easy way with this service tool.
 

Arrival

Due to different locations for start and finish, we suggest every runner to arrive in Bregenz on the day of competition. In Bregenz, sufficient parking spots will be available on parking lot P1-P4. From there, follow the signage “Hafen” (“harbour”) which can be reached in a few minutes by foot. You will wait there for the special ship of the “Vorarlberg Lines” which will run continuously starting at 8am and will bring you on to the island of Lindau. The transfer roughly takes 20 minutes. Companions and spectators can purchase the tickets to Lindau and back to Bregenz for a reduced price of EUR 8.00. A free ship transfer is only possible for participants in the morning with the special ships. The starting number counts as a ticket.

Journey times on the competition day:

departure Bregenz | arrival Lindau
8:40 am  |  9:05 am (MS Vorarlberg)
9:10 am  |  9:35 am (MS Austria)

 

Travelling by train is recommended due to the close proximity of the main train station in Bregenz to the finishing area and the harbour. On Sunday, the usage of train and bus from the Verkehrsverbund Vorarlberg and its adjoining towns in Germany and Switzerland is fee for participants with their starting number and for spectators with a coupon. 

Coming from Germany, take the A 96 towards Austria. Drive through the Pfänder tunnel and take exit 9 from the A 14 immediately after towards City tunnel to Bregenz. (Vignette is not required anymore – free until Hohenems) Follow the signage “Festspiele” and “Casinostadion” as well as the parking guidance system for parking lots P1-P4 (Seeparkplätze). From the parking lots it is a ten to fifteen minute walk to the harbour and the finish. The distances are well signposted. Use our route planner:

Coming from Switzerland, please keep in mind that the boarder crossing St. Margrethen will be closed from the late morning until early afternoon due to the marathon event. Timely arrival taking the E 60 (Schweizer Rheinstraße), or even better with public transport is highly recommended.

 

General

Doctor- and paramedic stations located at the start and finish will be open on the competition Sunday from 10am onwards. Moreover, mobile medical care along the route is guaranteed. We recommend seeing a doctor even when the smallest physical impairment occurs.

Our emergency phone can be reached at: +43 50 100 75100

Note: Please only participate if you are healthy and in good trained condition. In cased of doubt, we allow our medical staff and track marshals to remove you from the race if we fear that you overexert yourself or cause harm to your health.

We reserve the right to disqualify a participant,
•    due to unsportsmanlike or undisciplined behaviour,
•    due to unauthorized help from outside e.g. pacemaker via bike,
•    due to folding, reduce or cover the starting number,
•    due to shortening the route,
•    due to not running across the control mats on the route.

Free medical advice is available on Saturday Oct 11, 2025, in the Festspielhaus (festival hall) from 10am to 12p.m by our team of doctors Dr. Doris Schimmel or Dr. Martin Meurer, both specialists for orthopaedics and trauma surgery.
Medical examinations or medical treatment will is not part of this advisory service and are also not possible. If necessary, it can be made use of the on-call service or ambulance of the local hospital.

 

Until the deadline oft the online application, changes regarding your registration information are possible, free of charge and need to be made directly to the timekeeper [email protected] 

When changing distances, the difference of the registration fees will be charged.

During the opening hours of the running-sport-fair (Laufsportmesse) in the Festspielhause (festival hall) in Bregenz on the marathon weekend, changes regarding your registration or adding additional information or transferring your starting number to someone else can be made at the info point for a handling fee of EUR 12.00.

 

If you want to cancel your race or have to due to medical issues, you can take the bus at the end of the running field (Besenwagen) to the finish in Bregenz or take public transport for free either to the start in Lindau or to the finish in Bregenz. Your starting number counts as a ticket. Participants, who are above the target time at certain kilometres have to be removed from the race due to canceling traffic blocks.

 

Every participant that reaches the finish before 4p.m receives a finisher medal. Your certificate will be in our result portal a few moments after your crossing of the finish line.

Every age group winner receives a gift after the event, which will be sent automatically. The finish is located in the ImmoAgentur stadium and is open until 4p.m. Participants that will cross the finish line after will not be registered from the timing system, but they will receive a finisher medal and can make use of all other services.

We would love to open up the participation of young mothers and fathers with their children, but due to multiple bottlenecks and small width in some places along the route, especially next to the shore, we decided to not allow participants with  baby joggers. We hope you respect our decision, which was certainly not easy, but is necessary for our participants safety.

 

Please respect that the accompanying participants via bicycle or other auxiliary devices will lead to the disqualification of the participant.

 

Our info point is located in connection with our help desk – directly on the way to the starting number pick-up – in the Festspielhaus (festival hall) in Bregenz.

Please pick up your clothing bag after the finishing area until 4p.m. against production of your starting number. Afterwards, the showering trucks from Hans Grohe will be available for you. The showers and changerooms in the public pool (Hallenbad) Bregenz will also be available for women.

 

Requested private supply on route will be placed at the board stands at kilometre 10, 17, 21.8, 25.5, 29.5, 34.3 and 40.3. We kindly ask you to bring your containers (no glas) with your name, starting number and kilometre of board stand (clearly legiable) to the Festspielhaus Bregenz (festival hall) until Saturday Oct 11, 2025, at 5p.m. to the information booth. This service can also be used for participants who require a special on route supply due to medical reasons.

 

Experienced and professional photographers from ALPHA PHOTO, the official participant photo service, will set every runner in scene at our photo points on the route and in the finishing area.
Everything that you will need to know:
•    smile at the photo point and show your starting number
•    look at your photos 24h after the event on www.alphafoto.com 
•    choose great pictures from the huge selection
•    also for immediate download
 

Objections against the recorded gross- and net times will only be accepted until Oct 17, 2024.

 

At ca. 12p.m on the competition day, the result list will be continuously posted at the exit, from the board town in the stadium in Bregenz to the clothing trucks. The provisional overall result will be live on our website www.sparkasse-3-laender-marathon.at on the marathon Sunday. 

Handed out free starting codes from the organizer of the Sparkasse 3-Länder-Marathon to sponsors, patrons or award winners have to be redeemed in an online registration until Sep 25, 2025. After Sep 25, 2025, they will lose their validity.

 

A long-distance runner’s health is its most important asset. If the runner is not in good health, a good performance on the marathon route cannot be made. The health symposium in the Festspielhaus (festival hall) Bregenz focuses on giving each runner diverse information on how to protect their health and how to run 42.195km healthily and to run across the finish line with a smile on their face. Again this year, there many interesting topics are awaiting each runner. The entire lecture program can be found on www.sparkasse-3-laender-marathon.at/info-service/gesundheitssymposium/

 

During the marathon weekend, a help desk can be found in the Festspielhaus (festival hall) in Bregenz. Please do not hesitate to ask our competent staff at the help desk about all your questions, concerns, complaints or suggestions. We will find a solution.

 

During the marathon weekend, a help desk can be found in the Festspielhaus (festival hall) in Bregenz. Please do not hesitate to ask our competent staff at the help desk about all your questions, concerns, complaints or suggestions. We will find a solution.

 

The route mostly runs on mostly asphalted roads and paths. It is a very flat route, considering a total high difference from its lowest point (398 metres above sea level) to its highest point (415 metres above sea level) of only 17 metres, which are spread out over the entire distance of 42,195 metres. The first couple of kilometres are leading through the island town Lindau and along the shore of the lake Constance. You will “run” over the worlds biggest lake stage in Bregenz, the capital of the province Vorarlberg until you will be accompaigned by the Austrian shore of lake Constance and pass the picturesque marinas. With the sound of deafening cowbells, you will cross the EU-external boarder in St. Margrethen without a passport control. After a short running stay in Switzerland, the route will follow the Rhine for 3 km back to the lake Constance and under frenetic applause of thousands of spectators in the ImmoAgentur stadium you will run to the finish line.

 

Between 8:30am-10:30am on the marathon Sunday, you can hand over your clothing bag to the clothing trucks, which are located directly following the starting area on the Reichsplatz (kingdom place) in Lindau. We kindly ask you to only submit the clothing bag with a sticker of your starting number on it that you will receive at your starting number pick up. Please do not use any bags or cartons. Do not put any valuables or fragile items in your clothing bag. The organizer does not take any liability for damage or loss.

Your clothing will be brought to the finishing area – ImmoAgentur stadium in Bregenz. The clothing bags will be given out between 11:45am and 4p.m.

Next to the parked clothing trucks on the Reichsplatz (kingdom place), there is no other drop off option.

 

Pacemakers with different goal times will be available for the marathon and also the half-marathon and will be marked with flags and the appropriate time.

 

The Kenyan Benard Kipkorir is holding the route record since 2022 with a time of 2:09:25. With this best time, the proof is rendered that the marathon route of the 3-Länder-Marathon can be seen as one of the fastest routes outside of the big city marathons. The route record for the women was ran in 2022 by Kashun Aynalem (Eth) in a time of 2:30:02.

You will receive a provisional registration confirmation immediately after your online registration via email. It contains information like what event you are signed up for, your provisional starting number, an overview of booked additional services and the debit amount. Additionally, all singed up participants until Sep 25, 2025, will receive a final registration confirmation. These will be sent out, regardless of the input of your registration, after Sep 26, 2025. The starting lists can be found on our website.

The final registration confirmation has to be shown when picking up your starting documents.

 

Registration is only possible via online registration until Sep 25, 2024, at midnight. After Sep 25, 2024, only on-sight late registration is possible from Oct 11-13, 2024, during the opening hours of the running fair and on the competition day from 7:30-9:00 in the Festspielhaus (festival hall) in Bregenz.

The running fair in the Festspielhaus (festival hall) in Bregenz will offer a wide range for all running interested people on 1300m2. Numerous exhibitors at the fair will provide runners with valuable information around the topics of running, wellness and health. Regional and supra-regional providers from various areas will present international brands and pass their expert knowledge on to the booth visitors. The starting documents are handed out to the participants of the 3-Länder-Marathon during the opening hours of the fair and late registrations will be accepted.

 

The pasta-party will take place on Friday and Saturday in the Festspielhaus (festival hall) in Bregenz.

Recovery and massage can be found in the relaxation area following the board town in the finishing area in the ImmoAgentur stadium in Bregenz.

 

The runner’s worship will take place on Oct 11, 2025, at 6:15p.m in Lindau. All runners, non-runners, companions, citizens of Lindau are invited , to celebrate a worship on the day before the marathon. Those responsible of the evangelic-Lutheran, roman-catholic and evangelic-free church communities design the worship together in the evangelic church St. Stephan at the Marktplatz (marketplace) in Lindau.

 

When not being able to participate in the 3-Länder-Marathon due to private or medical reasons, we recommend the free transfer of your starting right onto another participant.

How: Send an email to info@[email protected] with all data. This free service is offered until Sep 25, 2025.

The booked additional services from the original participant like medal engraving or t-shirt cannot be transferred to the new registration and will not be reimbursed.

A reimbursement of the registration fees is not possible.

 

The starting gird will take place in the harbour of Lindau towards the train station. The starting corridor can only be accessed by participants with an official starting number. It will be started in different waves. Your starting block is printed on your starting number. Please only get in lane in the starting block, which was assigned to you.

Due to the ranking of the net time, you will not lose a single second when starting in the one of the fields in the back.

Please follow the instructions of your staff to help ensure a smooth start. Please show as early as possible to the start. Unnecessary rush and nervousness will only impede you in render your personal best, for which you have trained for months.

The starting area is only accessible from the Mang tower.

After entering the starting are, leaving the starting area will not be possible.

Starting time:

10:30am for all events

Participants for the walking event are kindly asked to start in the last starting block.

 

Friday, Oct 10, 1p.m-6p.m

Saturday, Oct 11, 9am-6p.m

Sunday, Oct 12, 7:30am-9am

The pickup will take place in the Festspielhaus (festival hall) in Bregenz.

The starting number has to be picked up in person.

 

The finish will be closed at 4:30p.m.

All runners will have 6 hours to complete the marathon route!

The “broom car” is driving with 7km/h. All caught runners can decide if they want to drive into the finish by car or to hand over their starting number and want to run into the finish next to the traffic. The traffic has to be released after the “broom car” for legal reasons.

There is no rule, that prohibits a starting number band as such. We still kindly ask you to renounce wearing a starting number band due to the following reason. In accordance with the international competition rules from the IAAF, DLV and ÖLV (view IWB-rule17.18ff), the starting number is to be worn on a runners chest and not on their hips or below like with a starting number band. This rule also determines the size and imprints of the starting number. These regulations were issued inter alia to give the sponsors of the event a precise presentation framework. Our sponsors, which represent themselves with their logo on our starting numbers, finance around 25% of the total costs of this event. Without these sponsoring services an event of this size with its offered services could not be carried out, considering that the starting fees make up only 45% of the expenses for this event. It should also be a part of your interest to provide a good appearance of these sponsors, to continue the support for the 3-Länder-Marathon. With that being said, please wear your starting number on your chest. For attaching your starting number, you will receive four safety pins with your starting kit. We thank you for your understanding.

At the start there will be toilets and urinals available. At the route, there will be sufficient toilets at kilometre 5, kilometre 10 and every 2.5 kilometres after a board stand.

The sport-active-fair is opening their doors on three days (Oct 10-12, 2025). Frequency and emotions are ensured. Use this moment for your successful fair appearance.

The Festspielhaus (festival hall) Bregenz with its impressive scenery of the lake Constance and the worlds biggest lake stage is ideally located. Bright, friendly spaces with lake view and a modern infrastructure create the first-class framework. Numerous parking spots are available, the main train station of Bregenz and the Bregenz harbour are only a few walking minutes away. The finishing area is also reachable in a few walking minutes.

The starting number pickup as well as the pasta-party for participants will take place on the exhibition grounds in the Festspielhaus (festival hall) in Bregenz.

 

Multiple TV stations have announced their coming.

 

Lake Constance is reachable without any stress. For everyone who wants to integrate the event into an extended weekend, the environment of the lake Constance is outstandingly suitable. The wide range of entertainment, nature and culture offers vacation days à la carte. Street cafés invite to linger, the purity of the air appears utter stimulating and the first-class culinary offer is a feast for the senses. Through our tourism partners, you will have the opportunity to request a special package for the running weekend.

Phone: +43 5574 434 430

Mail: office@[email protected]

Homepage: www.bodensee-vorarlberg.com

Ummeldung / Re-registration

Until the deadline of the online registration, changes by information to the timekeeper are possible without charge.

When changing distances, the difference of the registration fees will be charged.

During the opening hours of the running-sport-fair (Laufsportmesse) in the Festspielhause (festival hall) in Bregenz on the marathon weekend, changes regarding your registration or adding additional information or

Every participant that reaches the finish within 6 hours net time receives a finisher medal. Your certificate will be available for download from the internet 30 minutes after crossing the finish line.

This also applies to the participants from the relay marathon.

 

On the route, board stands can be found every 5 kilometers and in the finishing area. Additional water stands can be found every 5 kilometres from kilometre 12.5 on

Transferring a spot to another participant is only possible online until Sep 25, 2024.

The booked additional services from the original participant like medal engraving or t-shirt cannot be transferred to the new registration and will not be reimbursed. A reimbursement of the registration fees is not possible. Transferring of a starting number can also be done on-site with a fee of EUR 7.00.