Hamburg Marathon 2015: Route, Course Map, Times and Event Details

More than 20,000 participants are expected to swarm upon northern Germany this weekend as the 30th edition of the Hamburg Marathon prepares to take the road-running spotlight.

One of Germany's largest road-running events makes its way back to the nation's second-largest city, where the sport's elite will once again do battle in their bid to be crowned Hamburg's champion.

Shumi Dechasa of Ethiopia won the men's competition last year, while Kenya's Georgina Rono claimed the women's top prize, each triumphing in Hamburg for the first time in their respective careers.

Read on for a look at the course awaiting Sunday's runners, where we could see another pair of new faces emerge from the pack in search of European victory.

Date: Sunday, April 26

Start Time: 8 a.m. BST/3 a.m. ET

Marathon Course

Starting at the Hamburg Congress Centre, runners begin their 26-mile journey by winding along the sinful mile toward the Othmarschen.

It's at this point the race reaches the western turning point, where participants double back along the Elbchaussee and head for Hamburg's harbour, Europe's second-largest port and one of the biggest in the world.

This stretch of the race route also brings some of the course's most beautiful landmarks, with the harbour city housing the Elbe Philharmonic Hall and a wealth of well-preserved buildings from the city's history.

Fabian Bimmer/Associated Press

As those competing edge toward the marathon's halfway mark, they will run alongside two artificial lakes—the Binnenalster and the Aussenalster (or Outer Alster Lake)—two especially breathtaking sights within the city limits.

From there, it's a winding shot toward Hamburg's northern sector, heading through Alsterdorf before reaching the route's other sharp turning point in Ohlsdorf.

JOERG SARBACH/Associated Press

The Hamburg Marathon is regarded as a well-supported race by the locals, per Marathon Guide, and it's as the runners head back down south through Eppendorf that spectators usually gather in the greatest number.

The Aussenalster comes back into view as participants rally around its West bank coming into the home stretch, with the return of the lake signifying only a couple of miles remain.

There's also not much risk of any runners getting lost along the way, with Hamburg's Television Tower shooting up into the sky as a marker of the finish line, just outside the Congress Centre.

For a look at the marathon route, visit the official Haspa Hamburg Marathon website.