BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2023: The Finisher Magazine

FINISHER MAGAZINE 

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ABOUT THE RACE 

OF SUPERLATIVES 

RUN FOR JOY TO BECOME A 

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AMANAL PETROS 

on the 49th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 

With a time of 2:04:58, 

Amanal Petros ran the 

first German record in 

the history of the BMW 

BERLIN-MARATHON. 

About 20 years ago, this 

time would have been a 

world record. 

» I have never 

experienced an 

atmosphere like the 

one in Berlin « 

– 3 –

My plan from the beginning 

was to run under 2:05 

hours in Berlin. But would it 

work out? You never know 

in a marathon. Something 

unexpected always happens. 

This time was no exception. 

At kilometre 25 my legs felt 

very tight. But thanks to the 

incredible atmosphere in Berlin, 

I didn‘t pay any attention 

to that. It was my first start in 

Berlin. I have never experienced 

anything like it. It was so 

loud on the last kilometre, it 

was crazy. The music and the 

people were screaming at me 

like crazy. I just had to go all 

out. Now I‘m happy to have 

done it. And it was a great experience 

to be in a race with 

Eliud Kipchoge. 

For four months before the 

Berlin Marathon, I lived and 

trained in a village near Iten 

in Kenya. Eliud‘s home near 

Eldoret is only about 20 kilometres 

away. Two or three 

times a week Eliud trains with 

his group where we also ran, 

so you see each other. That 

is very motivating, and I learned 

a lot of new things about 

running during my long time 

in Kenya—namely patience, 

stamina, discipline and not to 

complain when hard training 

is on the agenda. 

Train, eat, sleep, rest 

The hardest thing for me to 

learn was definitely discipline. 

It‘s a big challenge for me 

to go without a lot of things I 

really like for such a long time 

before an important race. I like 

to eat cake and burgers more 

often, meet friends and celebrate. 

But if you want to be a 

world-class marathon runner, 

that‘s not possible. That was 

also one reason why I spent 

so much time in Kenya. The 

only things you can do there 

are what you need to do for 

performance development. In 

the village where I was, there 

were no distractions. You can 

– 4 –

only train, eat, sleep and rest. 

That‘s usually different in 

high-altitude training camps. 

In St. Moritz in Switzerland or 

in Flagstaff in the US, you lose 

four hours a day to shopping, 

cooking, meeting friends, organising 

training partners. 

And four hours a day is a lot in 

marathon preparation when 

you run 210 to 215 kilometres 

every week and need the appropriate 

rest in between. 

Full focus on 

training in Kenya 

In Kenya it‘s completely different. 

There is none of that, 

and you can focus completely 

on training. We have a hotel 

for meals. The training track 

and the training partners are 

never more than 400 metres 

away. You just go to the meeting 

point, see which group 

you want to train with and get 

started. 

We communicate a lot and always 

find solutions to harmonise 

the training in the group 

with the individual plans. As 

far as my personal training 

is concerned, I still coordinate 

all my training with my 

former Wattenscheid coach, 

Tono Kirschbaum. On site, Renato 

Canova controls the training 

of my group, but Tono 

looks at the plans and checks 

everything. If he finds something 

that doesn‘t seem right, 

it is corrected. 

Speed and strength 

still have room for 

improvement 

Even though I achieved a great 

race in Berlin and am currently 

number 13 in the world, 

there are still areas I have to 

» 

I also want to break the 

German record over 10,000 

metres on the track.“ 

– 6 –

Amanal Petros is now 

the fourth-fastest 

European of all time 

and even faster than 

Great Britain‘s running 

superstar Mo Farah 

(2:05:11 h). 

work on before the Olympic 

Games next year in Paris. 

I still have room to grow in 

speed and strength. I need 

to build up my hip muscles 

in particular. And for speed, 

track races over 10,000 metres 

are important for me, 

even though it‘s always a bit 

of a gamble to run with spikes 

in a stadium, when you‘re 

used to always running in road 

running shoes. My goal is to 

run the German record over 

10,000 metres as well. I want 

to run 27:20 or 27:15 minutes 

and thus beat the 26-year-old 

best time of Dieter Baumann, 

who ran 27:21.53 minutes. 

In preparation for the Olympics 

next year, I will certainly 

be training in Kenya again 

for four or five months, even 

if my flat in Bochum always 

feels a bit neglected and my 

plants die during such a long 

time away. In spring, I definitely 

want to run another marathon 

before the final preparation 

for Paris begins. 

I think I will be running in the 

Adizero Adios Pro Evo again 

then, like I did in Berlin. At 

138 grams, it is the lightest 

– 7 –

acing shoe Adidas has ever 

produced. I‘m sure it made 

up a minute difference in my 

time compared to the Adizero 

Adios Pro 3 I ran in before. 

The new shoe is my absolute 

favourite. However, you 

still have to be able to run in 

it. It is less stable than the 

Pro 3. You have to be able to 

find a good balance between 

your body and the shoe. I 

was able to do that well, and 

then the shoe really pushes 

you forward. It felt extremely 

good. 

» 

ran 

I‘m sure the Adizero 

Adios Pro Evo made 

up a minute difference 

in my marathon 

time compared to the 

Adizero Adios Pro 3 I 

in before.“

– 9 –

E V E N T V I D E O 

T H E 

Content 

12 Running Fest 

What a marathon: Tigst Assefa runs into 

completely new dimensions with a world record. 

Eliud Kipchoge wins for the fifth time. 

Amanal Petros pulverises the German record. 

And Domenika Mayer becomes the second-best 

German of all time. 

16 The best photos 

The best shots from our photographers tell 

the story of your marathon. 

60 Facts & Figures 

More than 60,000 participants from 

156 nations ran and skated through the 

streets of Berlin. Exactly 43,010 of them 

finished the running marathon. Read about 

these and many more facts and figures. 

78 Faster than ever before 

How Amanal Petros became the first German 

to finish under 2:05 hours. What the secrets 

of Tigst Assefa‘s success are. And what 

to expect from Eliud Kipchoge on his way 

from Berlin to the Olympics in Paris.

108 A guest of friends 

The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is popular with 

runners from all over the world. We asked at the 

finish line what makes the run through Germany‘s 

capital so special. 

156 On wheels through Berlin 

Gabriela Rueda from Colombia and Jason Suttels 

from Belgium won the inline skating competition. 

All about the most important skating race 

in the world. 

140 Youngsters in the spotlight 

166 World record in a wheelchair 

Also 

In 2023, the R5K Tour for under 23-year-olds was part 

of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON for the first time. 

What a race! With Catherine Debrunner, Eden 

Rainbow Cooper and Manuela Schär, three stayed 

under the old world record. 

172 Who’s that running? 

Here, three finishers, who we portrayed in the 

event magazine before the marathon, tell us 

how the marathon went for them. 

72 — In costume for the record: The Guinness World Records 2023 

106 — Registration for the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2024 

150 — The next top events in Berlin and the area 

186 — Anniversary: The 50th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 

IMPRINT 

Finisher Magazine 

BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 

Publisher 

SCC EVENTS GmbH 

Responsible for Content 

Christian Jost, Jürgen Lock 

Production 

DLM RunMedia GmbH, Köln 

Editorial Team 

Gerte Buchheit, Vincent Dornbusch, 

Jochen Schmitz, Christian Ermert, 

Jörg Wenig, Anja Herrlitz, 

Norbert Hensen 

Graphics 

CNG sports & media GmbH, Köln 

Photos 

SCC EVENTS, Vincent Dornbusch, 

Tilo Wiedensohler, sportografen, 

Petko Baier, Steffen Hartz, 

Sebastian Wells, 

Jean-Marc Wiesner, 

Norbert Wilhelmi, Achim Kindler 

Franziska Dietz, Thomas Wendt, 

Marvin Ibo Güngor, Adidas

Running festivities at 

the Brandenburg Gate

W 

hat was that BMW 

BERLIN-MARATHON like? 

September 24th will go down in 

history as one of the greatest 

festive days in running: Even 

before the first starting shot 

was fired, a record number of 

47,912 entries from 156 nations 

had been allocated. And that 

is just the marathon runners. 

Of these, 43,010 reached the 

finish line at the Brandenburg 

Gate. This is the second highest 

number of finishers in the history 

of the race. In 2019, 43,987 

finishers were counted. 2023 

is unsurpassed, though, with 

regard to the successes at the 

front of the race. The action 

around Eliud Kipchoge, Amanal 

Petros, Domenika Mayer, but 

especially the new world-record 

holder Tigst Assefa was simply 

breathtaking. Tigst Assefa won 

the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 

with a fabulous world record. 

The Ethiopian stormed to the 

finish line at the Brandenburg 

Gate in a sensational time of

2:11:53, beating the mark of Brigid 

Kosgei of Kenya, who had 

run a time of 2:14:04 in Chicago 

in 2019, by 2:11 minutes. The 

29-year-old Tigst Assefa ran 

a time of historic sporting significance 

in Berlin. Such times 

under 2:12 hours were previously 

unattainable for women. 

The last time there was an even 

greater improvement in the 

global women‘s best time for 

the 42.195 kilometres was in 

1983. 40 years ago, US American 

Joan Benoit improved the 

mark from 2:25:29 to 2:22:43. 

Tigst Assefa‘s world record was 

the 13th one set in the history of 

the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. 

No other race over the 42.195 

kilometres has seen more world 

records broken than in Berlin. 

Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge also 

became the record winner of 

the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, 

triumphing for the fifth time in 

Berlin with a world-class time 

of 2:02:42 hours. Although the 

38-year-old clearly missed his 

own world record of 2:01:09, he 

still achieved the eighth-best 

time ever run. Measured according 

to the two winning times, it 

was the fastest race ever over 

the classic distance. Added together, 

the time was 4:14:35. 

For the second time after 1999, 

the race in Berlin now is home 

to the women‘s and men‘s marathon 

world records. 

Amanal Petros (Marathon Team 

Almost a classic: The start under the 

rainbow-coloured archway, which sets 

a sign for tolerance and diversity.

Berlin) ran a sensational German 

record. The 28-year-old finished 

in ninth place in 2:04:58 

and was the first German to 

break the 2:05 hour barrier. This 

time achieved by Amanal Petros 

would have been a world record 

about 20 years ago. It is the first 

German men‘s record in the history 

of the race, which began in 

1974 in the Grunewald Forest. 

One year before the Olympic 

Games, Amanal Petros is on his 

way to catching up with the extended 

world elite. He is now the 

fourth fastest European of all 

time and has even left Britain‘s 

running superstar Mo Farah behind 

him in this list. 

The fastest German woman in 

Berlin was Domenika Mayer (LG 

Telis Finanz Regensburg), who 

ran to 14th place with a personal 

best and a German best time of 

2:23:47 for the year. 

In this digital finisher magazine we 

have compiled all the stories and the 

best photos from the 49th BMW BER- 

LIN-MARATHON for you. We hope 

you enjoy reading, looking at the 

photos and reminiscing! 

Tigst Assefa made running history 

at the Brandenburg Gate with her 

fabulous marathon world record of 

2:11:53 hours.

THE TOP PHOTOS 

Off to the EXPO to pick 

up your race number and 

capture the anticipation on 

camera: This is how the BMW 

BERLIN-MARATHON weekend 

started for most.

M O R E 

E X P O 

P H O T O S

THE TOP PHOTOS

Hall of Fame: At the BMW BERLIN- 

MARATHON, this allows fans to get 

very close to their idols like Eliud 

Kipchoge on the Friday evening 

before the race directly at the 

Brandenburg Gate. 

M O R E 

H A L L O F FA M E

THE TOP PHOTOS

The internationality of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is already visible 

at the Breakfast Run on Saturday morning: about 9,000 runners head 

from Charlottenburg Palace to the Olympic Stadium in the western 

part of the city. 

M O R E 

P I C S


M O R E 

K I D S 

R U N 

Saturday noon before the marathon at the former airfields of Tempelhof Airport: 

Hundreds of kids and their parents experience how inspiring running can be as a 

group experience in the shadows of the „candy bombers“ from the days of the 

Berlin Blockade.

YOUR 

AFTER 

ISOTONIC 

REDUCED CALORIES 

CONTAINS VITAMINS 

MORE INFO >>


Even if it wasn‘t part of the BMW BERLIN- 

MARATHON, the mini-MARATHON would be 

a huge event in its own right: on Saturday 

afternoon, more than 9,000 schoolchildren 

set off from Potsdamer Platz to run the last 

4.192 kilometres of the original marathon 

course to the Brandenburg Gate.

M 

I N 

I 

M A R AT H O N 

M O R E


On Saturday afternoon, the 

streets of Berlin (and the lawn in 

front of the Bundestag) belonged 

to the inline skaters, who were 

clearly enjoying themselves.

I N L I N E 

P H O T O S 

M O R E


Once Iggy Pop and David Bowie celebrated 

their legendary Berlin parties here. On 

Saturday evening after the marathon on inline 

skates, the Metropol was handed over to all 

those skaters who were still fit enough and 

ready to party. And there were a heck of a 

lot of them ...

M O R E 

PA RT Y P I C S

THE TOP PHOTOS

A city in motion: That‘s Berlin on every last weekend in 

September. This was the case on September 24, 2023, and 

it will be the case again on September 29, 2024.

THE TOP PHOTOS

Always helpful and friendly: that‘s also Amanal 

Petros, who moved the German record to under 

2:05 hours in Berlin. Here he is tying a 

competitor‘s shoes before the start.


No words are needed to describe how amazing the atmosphere 

is at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, even before the start.


Run for Joy. John and 

Patrick feel what the 

motto of the BMW 

BERLIN-MARATHON 

really means.

THE TOP PHOTOS

This is what (female) running happiness 

looks like on the streets of Berlin.


Music, fans and lots of goose 

bumps: There has never been 

so much going on at the BMW 

BERLIN-MARATHON course as in 

2023. Race Director Mark Milde 

shared this feeling along with 

many other observers.


This man put on a boxing 

glove to encourage as many 

as possible via fist bump 

without hurting himself.

R U N N 

I N G 

M O R E 

P H O T O S


The female wheelchair racers also went down in the 

history of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON with a fantastic 

new world record. The Swiss Catherine Debrunner won by 

a razor-thin margin in 1:34:16 hours ahead of Eden Rainbow 

Cooper (1:34:17 h/USA) and Manuela Schär (1:34:17 

h/SUI). All three riders were well below the previous 

world record time of Manuela Schär (1:35:42 h).

M O R E 

P H O T O S

THE TOP PHOTOS

Unbelievable: When Tigst Assefa reached the 

final metres before the finish, the spectators 

could hardly believe their eyes: The Ethiopian 

is the first woman to complete a marathon in 

less than 2:12 hours. And at the end she can 

still do a sprint like the 800-metre runner she 

once was. 

M O R E 

P H O T O S

THE TOP PHOTOS

The best motivational sayings— 

with such support most of the 

runners could fight through the 

experience of hitting the wall.


Moments of greatest happiness 

between the Brandenburg Gate 

and the finish line.

THE TOP PHOTOS

It was not only the athletes who showed full 

commitment in Berlin, but also spokesman 

Karsten Holland, who celebrated everyone 

at the finish line as always.

THE TOP PHOTOS

At the destination of dreams: 

one of 43,010 finishers with 

a well-deserved medal in front 

of the Bundestag. 

R U N N 

I N G 

M O R E 

P H O T O S

THE TOP PHOTOS

Eliud Kipchoge arrived as one runner among 

runners as he worked his way to the stage 

at the marathon party in the Metropol at 

the end of the weekend.

THE TOP PHOTOS

And once on stage, the world record holder was 

incredibly celebrated, together with world-record 

holder Tigst Assefa—it was the start of a wild 

party night that one would hardly expect from 

runners who had just run 42.195 kilometres. 

M O R E 

PA RT Y 

P I C S

SUSTAINABILITY 

The round thing must 

go into a square 

We have learned a few things over the years: In the past almost all drinking 

cups ended up on the street after use, but now most participants now aim 

precisely and hit the bins so that the used cups can be recycled. 

– 60 –

Probably no other German 

running event produces 

as many discarded plastic 

cups as the BMW BERLIN- 

MARATHON. That‘s why the 

organisers of Germany‘s biggest 

marathon make a special 

effort to organise their event 

as sustainably as possible. For 

a long time, a major point of 

criticism was the mass of once-used 

plastic drinking cups 

that first end up on the street 

and then in the rubbish. This 

could be avoided completely if 

all participants ran with their 

own drinking system. At the 

BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, 

more and more runners do 

use them and take advantage 

of the stations where they 

can refill their own drinking 

systems. In addition to handing 

out water in plastic cups 

made from recycled PET, water 

was also handed out in 

reusable cups made from renewable 

raw materials on a 

Such drinking systems are the most 

sustainable way to provide one‘s own 

water supply in the marathon. 

trial basis at the 49th BMW 

BERLIN-MARATHON. After 

use, these were collected, 

rinsed and reused. The reusable 

cups were provided by the 

Alfred Wegener Institute for 

Polar and Marine Research. 

The background: current studies 

estimate that a truckload 

of plastic ends up in the 

sea every minute worldwide. 

A plastic bottle decomposes 

– 61 –

At the EXPO in the former Tempelhof 

Airport, used sports shoes were 

dropped off to benefit those in need. 

300 pairs were collected. 

At the start, volunteers filled 45 bins 

with discarded warm clothing, which 

was later distributed to people who 

can make good use of the items. 

there after about 450 years, 

but never completely. The 

cups tested in Berlin are produced 

by the company Cuna, 

which is committed to establishing 

a bio-based reusable 

system. The new cups, called 

„Sprint“, are precisely tailored 

to the needs of a large 

city marathon. For example, 

they have six predetermined 

breaking points so that—in 

contrast to conventional reusable 

cups—they neither become 

a tripping hazard nor 

pose a high risk of injury due 

to sharp edges if they end up 

on the road. Until now, these 

were important arguments 

against the use of returnable 

cups for running—the tests in 

Berlin should disprove them. 

Another important concept 

at the BMW BERLIN-MARA- 

THON is to always support 

people in need with items 

that are tossed off by the

more well-off participants in 

running events. At the EXPO 

at the former Tempelhof Airport 

in Berlin, used running 

shoes can be donated to benefit 

those in need. Running 

clothes that were brought 

to the start to keep warm at 

the start and then discarded 

when they set off are turned 

into outfits that can be put to 

good use in Berlin. Both campaigns 

were very successful 

in 2023: at the Expo, the 

Berlin City Mission collected 

300 pairs of sports shoes. 

That was twice as many as at 

the GENERALI BERLIN HALF 

MARATHON in April. And at 

the start on the Strasse des 

17. Juni, 40 volunteers collected 

sportswear left behind 

by participants. This action 

filled 45 large grey bins with 

gear, where it was processed 

and distributed to those in 

need. 

Ex-national player 

running the marathon 

Among the 43,010 finishers of the 

49th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 

were also some prominent former 

professional athletes. Two ex-professional 

footballers crossed the 

finish line at the Brandenburg Gate 

after 42.195 kilometres: Robert 

Huth (photo) is the only German 

national player who has never played 

in a Bundesliga match because 

he spent his entire career playing 

in England. The now 39-year-old 

has represented Germany 19 times, 

including at the 2006 World Cup on 

home turf. Robert Huth finished in 

4:00:47 hours.

FACTS & FIGURES 

7,5 

M E D A L S 

tonnes are the weight 

of the medals that were 

hung around the necks of all 

finishers behind the finish line 

in 2023. The total weight of 

the medals distributed 

since 1974 is over 103 

tonnes. 

V O L U N T E E R S 

7,500 

volunteers lend a hand 

to make the BMW BERLIN- 

MARATHON a 

perfect experience. 

P R O G R A M M E 

0 

To avoid paper, the magazine 

for the event 

was only available in digital 

form. With success: over 

60,000 people read it. 

– 64 –

V O L U N T E E R S ‘ V I D E O 

One million drinking cups 

were needed to supply all 

participants with water. 

900,000 of them were made 

of recycled PET. 100,000 were 

made from renewable raw 

materials and are recyclable. 

W O M E N ‘ S 

Q U O TA 

33.46 

percent of participants 

in the BMW BERLIN- 

MARATHON were women. 

In 2021, it was still only 

28 percent. The marathon 

is no longer a male 

domain.

Pure inspiration 

On his way to becoming a Six-Star finisher: Together with his guides Amanda 

Kenny and Raymond Braun, Chris Nikic finished his fifth race of the Abbott 

World Marathon Majors in Berlin. He wants to be the first person with Downs 

Syndrome to run all six Major Marathons.

The 49th BMW BERLIN- 

MARATHON was also 

completed by two Special 

Olympics athletes, who motivate 

and inspire many others 

with their impressive performances: 

Matthias Hoffmann 

and Chris Nikic were both 

born with mental and physical 

impairments. But that doesn‘t 

stop them from living 

their dreams. Matthias Hoffmann 

from Germany won silver 

in the 10,000m and bronze 

in both the 5,000m and 

the German 4x400m relay at 

the World Games for Mentally 

and Multiply Disabled People 

in Berlin in June. In the marathon, 

he had set himself the 

goal of staying under three 

hours. The 35-year-old just 

missed this mark, but he was 

„totally satisfied with 3:03:40 

hours. It was a great run. The 

atmosphere was great, the 

spectators on the sidelines 

were great, they made a real 

atmosphere,“ he told the Bild- 

He won three medals at the Special Olympics. 

And now he has finished the BMW BERLIN- 

MARATHON in 3:03:40 hours. That‘s Matthias 

Hoffmann‘s running record in 2023.

Zeitung newspaper at the finish. 

Matthias Hoffmann‘s 

right side of his body is less 

developed than his left. With a 

lot of will, diligence and huge 

motivation, he has trained to 

make the impairment become 

almost unrecognisable. “You 

can hardly even see it anymore.“ 

US-American Chris Nikic 

is on his way to becoming 

the first person with Downs 

Syndrome to run all six major 

marathons. In Berlin, he 

finished in 5:57:05 hours. „He 

did a great job, I am proud. 

Now marathon number five is 

also done. Amazing, what an 

achievement,“ said Amanda 

Kenny, Nikic‘s running guide. 

After Boston, New York, Tokyo, 

London and now Berlin, 

Nikic will start at the Chicago 

Marathon on October 8.

– 69 –

FACTS & FIGURES 

M A S S A G E 

O I L 

250 

litres were 

distributed on 

the legs of the tired 

runners to provide 

enjoyable massages on 

the course and 

beyond the 

finish. 

A total of 47,912 runners from 156 nations registered 

for the 49th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. 

That was more than at any other previous event. If 

you include the other competitions (inline skating, 

mini-MARATHON, Bambini Run, Breakfast Run, 

wheelchair and hand cycle races), there were over 

61,000 participants. 46,970 finishers reached the 

marathon finish line, including 43,010 runners, 

3,835 skaters and 125 hand cyclists and wheelchair 

users. 

Top 15 nations 

Country 

Runner 

Germany 21.291 

USA 8026 

Great Britain 3319 

Mexico 1775 

France 1707 

Brazil 1435 

Netherlands 1346 

Italy 1301 

Spain 1124 

Denmark 1011 

Poland 846 

China 827 

Canada 766 

Norway 646 

Ireland 618

P I N N E D 

W E L L 

272,000 

safety pins were 

distributed to attach 

the race bibs to the 

race shirt after the 

obligatory selfie. 

Tigst Assefa received 110,000 euros for her world record run 

in Berlin. The prize money consists of a world record bonus 

of €50,000, the victory bonus of €30,000 and a bonus of 

€30,000 for a time under 2:16:00 hours. 

– 71 – 

Medal produced, 

medal earned 

Bart van den Bosch is the man 

who makes sure that the medals 

handed out at the BMW BERLIN- 

MARATHON are ones that finishers 

fall in love with. At the 49th edition 

of the event he earned one of these 

himself by completing the 42.195 

kilometres: „Wow! What a rush. I 

achieved my goal of staying under 

3:30—3:28:31. Personal best time. 

The incredible atmosphere along 

the course, the many bands, the 

wonderfully crazy fans, this great 

city. Unique. And then a nice volunteer 

handed me one of the medals 

that SCC EVENTS had ordered from 

me six months before. It doesn‘t 

get any better than that!

CREATIVE RUNNING 

The somewhat 

different 

records 

– 72 –

The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is a race of records. This is not only 

true for the absolute best performances at the front of the field by 

Eliud Kipchoge and Tigst Assefa, who ran their world records 

in Berlin. Further back in the field, too, world records are 

run year after year that are recognised by the responsible 

institution for such thing, the Guinness World Records. 

Usually, it is costumed runners who set records in 

their respective outfits. 

FASTEST MARATHON AS A NINJA 

Masakazu Kono 3:23:42 

“This Guinness World Record belongs 

to Japan,” said Masakazu Konno, 

shouting loudly at the finish line: 

“Yes, I did it.” The 35-year-old beat the 

old record for running a marathon as a 

ninja fighter by a good ten minutes with 

a time of 3:23:42. The German Patrick 

Deufel had set this record a year earlier 

in Berlin. The ninja runners have to 

wear ninja shoes too. These resemble 

modern barefoot shoes, but they have 

no cushioning. “My feet hurt, I have a 

lot of blisters, but it doesn‘t matter 

now,” said the Japanese man, who lives 

in the USA.

CREATIVE RUNNING

FASTEST MARATHON AS A MUMMY 

Grzegorz Galezia 3:15:57 

Poland‘s Grzegorz Galezia also 

did not miss the opportunity, with 

creativity and hard training, to set 

a marathon world record in a costume. 

The 50-something set a crazy 

world record for the fastest run as 

a mummy with a time of 3:15:57 

hours—almost two minutes faster 

than Britain‘s Andrew Roberts two 

years earlier in London. “Today I feel 

like a world champion, but it was 

very hot. Now I‘m looking forward 

to cooling down,” said Grzegorz. 

MORE GUINNESS RECORDS IN BERLIN 

The fastest marathon ... 

... as a handcuffed couple: 

3:08:46 Andy Brown & Caroline Brown 

... as a Christmas cookie 

3:54:36 Joan Pons Laplana 

... in a lawyer‘s gown 

3:41:24 Jochen Glasbrenner 

... as a hospital patient 

3:37:20 Kate Maher 

.... as a Morris Dancer (English folk dance) 

3:48:28 Oliver Narbett

THANK YOU! 

RUN FOR JOY TO BECOME A 

#runforjoy #berlinlegend berlinmarathon bmw-berlin-marathon.com

We would like to thank the following institutions 

Senatsverwaltung für Inneres und Sport 

Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr und Klimaschutz 

Senatsverwaltung für Bildung, Jugend und Familie, 

Tiefbauämter von Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, 

Mitte-Tiergarten, Neukölln, Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Steglitz-Zehlendorf, 

Gartenbauämter von Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf und Mitte-Tiergarten 

Der Polizeipräsident in Berlin | Berliner Feuerwehr 

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S-Bahn Berlin GmbH | Johanniter Unfall-Hilfe e.V. 

Evangelische Kirche | Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche 

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Ministerium für Bildung, Jugend und Sport des Landes Brandenburg | Olympiastadion Berlin 

Akademie für Sozial- und Gesundheitsberufe | Euroakademie Berlin 

ILB-Medizinische Akademie Berlin | Krankengymnastik-Paxis Andreas Schwarz 

Körperwerkstatt Berin | Rehabilitationszentrum Berlin 

Staatlich anerkannte Lehranstalten für Physiotherapie und Massage 

Prof. Dr. Med. Vogler Schule | Wannsee-Schule e.V. Schule für Gesundheitsberufe 

alle Medien 

Also, an additional thank you to the sponsors and promoters 

who support the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON and SCC EVENTS 

ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg 

BLACKROLL 

Die Sportografen 

Freche Freunde 

Höffner Möbelgesellschaft 

Mall of Berlin 

Netto Marken-Discount 

Picnic GmbH 

realbuzz 

Rollerblade 

Super Sparrow 

ver.di Bezirk Berlin Fb. 9 

Weingut Castelfeder 

WWF 

Zoll Medical 

Medienpartner: 

Der Tagesspiegel 

Our special thanks go to the many volunteers from 

associations and schools in Berlin and from within SCC EVENTS, 

whose great commitment behind the scenes and along the course 

of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON helps make this event possible. 

A big thank you also to our many fans and spectators, 

who enthusiastically support our participants along the course and 

create the very special atmosphere of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. 

– 115 –

THE FABULOUS WORLD RECORD HOLDER 

Tigst Assefa

It was Kipchoge-Assefa 2.0 at 

the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON: 

A year ago Eliud Kipchoge ran 

a world record of 2:01:09 and 

Tigst Assefa won in the then 

third fastest time of 2:15:37. This 

year, it was the same two champions 

at the Brandenburg Gate, 

but in terms of the times achieved 

it was the other way round. 

The Ethiopian woman ran to 

a world record triumph with a 

time of 2:11:53 and the Kenyan 

man achieved the eighth fastest 

time ever of 2:02:42. Tigst 

Assefa’s path to the marathon 

world record was unusual. Starting 

as an 800-metre runner, she 

achieved a best time of 1:59.24 

minutes. That was fast, but not 

good enough to compete at 

the top of the major championships 

internationally. At the 2016 

Olympic Games, she was eliminated 

in the preliminary heat. 

After a break of about two years, 

Tigst Assefa switched from the 

track to the road at the end of 

2018. She ran her first 10K and 

a little later her first half marathon. 

Then came another break 

during the COVID pandemic and 

ensuant lockdowns. In 2022, 

Tigst Assefa returned to international 

road racing and achieved 

solid best times in the 10K (30:52 

Text: Jörg Wenig

DER SIEGER: ELIUD KIPCHOGE 

Tigst Assefa provided one 

of the greatest moments 

in running history at the 

Brandenburg Gate with her 

improvement of the women’s 

world record from 2:14:04 

to an almost unbelievable 

2:11:53.

minutes) and in the half 

marathon (67:28). In March 

2022, she ran her marathon 

debut in Riyadh, Saudi 

Arabia, finishing seventh in 

2:34:01. 

“However, the 2:34 hours 

in Riyadh did not reflect my 

actual level. I had an injury 

before the race that hampered 

me, but I didn’t want to 

cancel my start. It was also 

about gaining experience 

in the marathon. That race 

was a lesson for me. I realised 

that I had to train much 

harder,” said Tigst Assefa, 

who is part of Gemedu Dedefo’s 

training group in Addis 

Ababa. The marathon world 

champion of 2021, Tamirat 

Tola, the Berlin winner in 

2021, Guye Adola, and Amane 

Beriso, whose Ethiopian 

record she broke on Sunday, 

belong to her training group. 

Just as the Adizero Adios Pro Evo entered 

the market, the brand-new carbon 

shoe from Adidas, weighing just 138 

grams, becomes the model with which 

Tigst Assefa smashed the women’s 

world marathon record.

“I have been preparing for 

the marathon in Berlin for 

half a year.” 

Tigst Assefa had her breakthrough 

race here a year ago, 

and now the 29-year-old captured 

the world record. “I hope 

that my performance will also 

be a motivation for young female 

athletes in Ethiopia and 

that this world record one year 

before the Olympic Games will 

give our country a boost for 

Paris. I now expect to be nominated 

for the Games,” said 

Tigst Assefa. 

The evolution of the world record* 

Time Runner Location Year 

2:34:47 Christa Vahlensieck (GER) Berlin 1977 

2:32:29 Grete Waitz (NOR) New York 1978 



2:25:28 Grete Waitz (NOR) London 1983 

2:22:43 Joan Benoit (USA) Boston 1983 

2:21:06 Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) London 1985 

2:20:47 Tegla Loroupe (KEN) Rotterdam 1998 

2:20:43 Tegla Loroupe (KEN) Berlin 1999 

2:19:46 Naoko Takahashi (JPN) Berlin 2001 

2:18:47 Catherine Ndereba (KEN) Chicago 2001 

2:17:18 Paula Radcliffe (GBR) Chicago 2002 

2:15:25 Paula Radcliffe (GBR) London 2003 

2:14:04 Brigid Kosgei (KEN) Chicago 2019 

2:11:53 Tigst Assefa (ETH) Berlin 2023 

*) since 1977

27.07.2024 

berlin-citynight.de 

– 83 –

Die Entwicklung des Weltrekords* 

AN OVERVIEW OF THE WOMEN’S EVENT 

Sensational 

speed 

The women’s race had a 

sensational pace from the 

start. At the ten-kilometre 

point, 13 female athletes in the 

first group were on course to 

run a world record with an intermediate 

time of 31:45 minutes. 

There has probably never 

been anything like it in a marathon 

race. Tigst Assefa ran 

so easily that she grabbed a 

water cup at the aid station at 

kilometre 15 and handed it to 

her pace maker. Shortly after-

The Top 10 Women 

Place Runner Country Time 

1. Tigst Assefa ETH 2:11:53 

2. Sheila Chepkirui KEN 2:17:49 

3. Magdalena Shauri TAN 2:18:41 

4. Zeineba Yimer ETH 2:19:07 

5. Senbere Teferi ETH 2:19:21 

6. Dera Dida ETH 2:19:24 

7. Workenesh Edesa ETH 2:19:40 

8. Helen Bekele ETH 2:19:44 

9. Charlotte Purdue GBR 2:22:17 

10. Fikrte Wereta ETH 2:23:01 

With an outstanding time of 2:17:49, 

Kenyan Sheila Chepkirui finished 

second. This time would have been a 

course record in Berlin until 2021.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE WOMEN’S EVENT 

wards, she tore the lead group 

apart with a huge increase in 

pace. Tigst Assefa ran the 15- 

to 16-kilometre segment with 

Workenesh Edesa in 2:59 minutes. 

It was her fastest kilometre 

of the race and a pace that is 

run when targeting a finish 

time of around 2:06:00 hours. 

Her compatriot then dropped 

back a few kilometres later and 

Assefa stormed over the half 

marathon mark in 66:20 minutes—a 

time that would win 

many international races at 

that distance. 

Tigst Assefa ran even faster 

in the second half of the race, 

recording a time of 65:33 minutes. 

“In the first half I saved 

some energy for the second 

part,” said Tigst Assefa, who 

would have won the men’s 

race of the BMW BERLIN-MA- 

RATHON in the 1980s with her 

winning time of 2:11:53. In 1983, 

the Belgian Karel Lismont won 

in 2:13:37, a year later the Dane 

John Skovbjerg triumphed in 

2:13:35. 

Eight women under 2:20: 

That is also a record 

With an outstanding time of 

2:17:49, Kenyan Sheila Chepkirui 

finished second. This time 

would have been a course record 

in Berlin until 2021. Surprisingly, 

debutant Magdalena 

Shauri came in third, setting 

a record for Tanzania with 

2:18:41. Eight runners finished 

under 2:20:00 hours in Ber- 

Good spirits at high speed: Deborah 

Schöneborn on the first kilometres of her 

home marathon, which she finished in 

2:27:35 hours.

lin—something that has never 

happened before in the world 

in the women’s marathon. Domenika 

Mayer was by far the 

fastest German woman. The 

32-year-old improved her best 

time of 2:26:50 by three minutes 

to 2:23:47, making her the 

second-fastest German marathon 

runner of all time. Deborah 

Schöneborn finished 19th 

in 2:27:35, while her twin sister 

Rabea (both Marathon Team 

Berlin) abandoned the race after 

the 25 km mark. Laura Hottenrott 

(PSV Grün-Weiß Kassel) 

finished 24th in 2:29:38, while 

Britain’s Charlotte Purdue was 

the best European in ninth 

place with an improvement to 

2:22:17, and Fabienne Schlumpf 

ran a Swiss record of 2:25:27 

for 15th place. 

Domenika Mayer was the fastest German 

at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 

2023. Read more about her on the 

following pages.

BEST FEMALE GERMAN RUNNER 

Domenika Mayer finished 14th 

with a time of 2:23:47 hours, 

making her the second-fastest 

female German marathon runner 

of all time. Only Irina Mikitenko, 

who won in Berlin in 2008 with a 

German record of 2:19:19 hours, 

was faster. 

Text: Christian Ermert 

Domenika Mayer

It was only one and a half 

years ago that Domenika 

Mayer spontaneously decided 

to run her first marathon. 

And she went out and immediately 

won in Hanover with 

a time of 2:26:50. It was one 

of the fastest debuts of a German 

women in the marathon 

distance. Four months later, 

it was hardly surprising that 

she finished sixth at the European 

Championships in Munich 

and was the second-best 

German woman in the marathon, 

even winning gold with 

the DLV team. Nonetheless, 

no one expected her to finish 

a good three minutes faster at 

the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. 

No one but Domenika: “I knew 

I could run 2:24. The training 

was good, all the data were 

right. However, I held back on 

predictions beforehand because 

I didn’t want to shout 

it out,” explained the runner 

from LG Telis Finanz Regensburg. 

In Berlin, things went really 

well for her right from the 

start. She reached the halfmarathon 

mark in 71:50 minutes. 

“But then I had a stinging 

pain in my foot. It hurt so much 

that I had to decide whether 

to keep running or stop. But I 

knew that this foot wasn’t going 

to get better in four weeks, 

so I decided to go through with 

it.” Which she did. Despite the 

foot pain, she was able to keep 

up the pace in the second half 

and eventually improved her 

best time of 2:26:50 by a good 

three minutes to 2:23:47. “I’m 

glad my foot held up to the finish,” 

she said afterwards. 

Her pacesetter played a big 

part in her performance. Chris 

Thompson from Great Britain 

is an experienced and, at 42, 

still very fast marathon runner. 

In 2010, he won silver at the 

European Athletics Championships 

in Barcelona in the 10K. 

However, he ran his fastest 

marathon in 2021 in London in 

– 89 –

2:10:52 hours. In Berlin, he was 

the “rock in the wall” for Domenika 

Mayer—especially as 

the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 

was her first really big international 

marathon. “Chris helped 

me a lot at my first mega 

event,” says Domenika Mayer, 

for whom it was a completely 

new experience to run in the 

midst of such crowds as in 

Berlin: “The crazy atmosphere 

carried me most of the time, 

but there were also phases 

when it was hard and the noise 

and the many people even 

bothered me a little. Then I 

just looked at Chris’ back and 

found my way back into my 

tunnel that way.” 

With her run in Berlin, she took 

a big step towards the 2024 

Olympics in Paris. She clearly 

beat the standard of 2:26:50, 

but that will not be decisive 

in view of the high-performance 

density among the top 

German women. It is more 

important that she now leads 

the field of Olympic candidates. 

With a clear lead over Fabienne 

Königstein (MTG Mannheim/2:25:48) 

and Deborah 

Schöneborn (Marathon Team 

Berlin/2:25:52), who finished 

her home race in 2:27:35 hours. 

“I came a big step closer to my 

goal, even though you never 

know what the others might 

still do,” said Domenika Mayer, 

who has Miriam Dattke and 

Melat Kejeta on her list as her 

biggest competitors. Mayer’s 

club colleague Miriam Dattke 

will compete in the Frankfurt 

Marathon after cancelling her 

start in Berlin at short notice 

due to an infection. And Melat 

Kejeta, who has been replaced 

by Domenika Mayer as number 

two on the all-time best 

list, plans to make her Olympic 

start clear at the Valencia 

Marathon on the first weekend 

in December. 

Domenika Mayer, however, 

might have fulfilled a big dream 

with the Berlin race in her 

– 90 –

A little dance in honour: Of course, no 

one wanted to deny Domenika Mayer 

that—in view of the pure joy she was 

feeling at the finish line. 

– 91 –

second athletics career, after 

her first attempt as a promising 

young talent ended at the 

age of 17: With good times in 

the middle distances, she initially 

said goodbye to track 

and field. After graduating 

from high school, she studied 

at the Bavarian Police University 

of Applied Sciences, 

resumed running and met her 

husband and coach Christian. 

However, her second career 

only really got rolling after 

the birth of her two children. 

In March 2021, she first improved 

her 10K time in Berlin to 

32:34 minutes and then in the 

half marathon two weeks later 

in Dresden to her still current 

best time of 69:52 minutes. 

The two girls, now aged four 

and five, were not present in 

Berlin. They were looked after 

by grandma and grandpa 

at home in the Amberg-Sulzbach 

district, east of Nuremberg. 

After her race, Domenika 

Mayer was looking forward 

to seeing them again—and to 

the fall break, when she plans 

to recover from the marathon 

and spend quality time with 

her family. 

Two Berlin legends met at the 

marathon finish: Uta Pippig is one 

of two German women to have 

run 42.195 kilometres faster than 

Domenika Mayer. However, the 

2:21:45 hours with which she won 

the Boston Marathon in 1994 do 

not count for the official record 

lists because the point-to-point 

course did not qualify.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE MEN’S EVENT 

Seldom so much 

excellence 

Eliud Kipchoge began at very 

fast tempo, led by three 

pacemakers. The double Olympic 

champion had already twice 

broken the world record here, 

firstly with 2:01:39 in 2018 and 

last year with 2:01:09. Similar to 

last year he was running so fast 

that split times indicated a possible 

finishing time of 2:00:00. 

He passed the 10k mark in the 

leading group after 28:27. Then 

– 94 –

The Top 10 Men 

Place Runner Country Time 

1. Eliud Kipchoge KEN 2:02:42 

2. Vincent Kipkemboi KEN 2:03:13 

3. Tadese Takele ETH 2:03:24 

4. Ronald Korir KEN 2:04:22 

5. Haftu Teklu ETH 2:04:42 

6. Andualem Shiferaw ETH 2:04:44 

7. Amos Kipruto KEN 2:04:49 

8. Philemon Kiplimo KEN 2:04:56 

9. Amanal Petros GER 2:04:58 

10. Bonface Kiplimo KEN 2:05:05 

After improving his own German record by almost one and a half minutes and 

finishing ninth, Amanal Petros thanked race director Mark Milde for making 

this marathon possible for him.

THE MEN‘S RACE 

With a time of 2:03:13, Vincent 

Kipkemboi was number two at the 

Brandenburg Gate. 

the pace calmed down a bit. 

The signs looked good when the 

group went through halfway in 

60:21 and well on world record 

schedule. 

It was a surprise to see beside 

him the unheralded Derseh 

Kindie, whose best before to- 

day was 2:08:23. The Ethiopian 

stayed in contention for much 

of the race but came to a stop 

around 10km from the finish and 

dropped out. At this point Eliud 

Kipchoge’s pace had dipped 

and he was no longer on world 

record schedule. It was from 25k 

onwards when the projected finishing 

times were above his record 

mark. 

Eliud Kipchoge’s pace dropped 

further and behind him the Kenyan 

marathon debutant Vincent 

Kipkemboi was making up 

the leeway. But Eliud Kipchoge 

put in another effort and moved 

clear, winning by a clear margin 

in 2:02:42. Kipkemboi finished 

a highly creditable second in 

2:03:13 and yet another debutant, 

Tadese Takele of Ethiopia, 

was third in 2:03:24. “I missed 

the world record but I now have 

the record for the number of 

wins in Berlin, that’s also something 

special,” reflected Eliud 

Kipchoge. 

Nine men ran under 2:05:00 to 

– 96 –

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give the BMW BERLIN-MARA- 

THON outstanding strength in 

depth. In ninth place was Amanal 

Petros who had set himself an 

ambitious pace from the start, 

going through halfway in 62:12. 

His split at 30km was 1:28:16 

which would have given a finishing 

time of 2:04 but he could 

not quite maintain that fine pace 

to the end. Nonetheless, he took 

a big slice off his personal best 

from 2:06:27 to 2:04:58. The 

improvement of just a second 

short of one and a half minutes 

was the biggest among German 

men since the double Olympic 

champion Waldemar Cierpinski 

ran 2:09:55 in 1976. 

“I loved the atmosphere around 

the course. The last two kilometres 

were fantastic although I 

was very tired. This race was something 

special. I had this kind of 

time in my sights but, of course, 

in a marathon anything can happen,” 

said a delighted Amanal 

Petros, who was proud to move 

up to number four on the European 

all-time list. „It is my aim to 

further improve my time and do 

very well at the Olympic Games 

in Paris next year. This race today 

gives me great motivation 

for the Olympics.“ 

Behind Amanal Petros two more 

Germans improved significantly 

Samuel Fitwi from Silvesterlauf Trier e.V. 

was the second best German in Berlin. 

After being on course for the Olympic 

standard of 2:08:10 for a long time, he 

narrowly missed it at the end in 2:08:28 

hours in 18th place.

and achieved sub 2:10 times for 

the first time. Samuel Fitwi was 

18th with 2:08:28 while Hendrik 

Pfeiffer clocked 2:08:48 for 

20th position. While Fitwi was 

around four minutes quicker in 

his second marathon Pfeiffer 

improved by exactly one and 

a half minutes. However they 

did not quite reach the Olympic 

qualifying mark of 2:08:10. 

There was a Swiss record in 

the men’s race as well: Tadesse 

Abraham improved his own 

mark by around one and a half 

minutes to 2:05:10 and finished 

eleventh. With this time the 41 

year-old not only broke his national 

record but also smashed 

the world master record (age 

group of above 40). Tadesse 

Abraham took the record from 

Ethiopia’s superstar Kenenisa 

Bekele, who ran 2:05:53 in London 

in 2022. 

With a time of 2:08:48 hours, Hendrik 

Pfeiffer from TK Hannover secured his 

future as a sports soldier. In order to 

be further supported, he had to beat 

2:08:50. He managed a precision 

landing in 20th place.

WINNING RECORD HOLDER

Eliud Kipchoge 

Eliud Kipchoge is now the sole record winner of the BMW 

BERLIN-MARATHON. With five wins in Berlin, Eliud Kipchoge 

now has one more than Ethiopia‘s Haile Gebrselassie, who 

set world records in Berlin in 2007 and 2008 and also 

won in 2006 and 2009. 

Eliud Kipchoge did not quite 

manage to set a world 

record this time. But the Kenyan 

achieved an absolute 

top time of 2:02:42 hours and 

is sure that this performance 

will be enough to be nominated 

for next year‘s Olympic 

Games despite the extremely 

strong competition in Kenya. 

The next, probably last, very 

big career goal of 38-year-old 

Eliud Kipchoge is to become 

the first runner in the history 

of the sport to win the marathon 

for the third time at the 

Olympic Games in Paris in 

2024. 

Text: Jörg Wenig 

„I am absolutely confident 

about the Paris 2024 Olympic 

Games,“ said Eliud Kipchoge, 

who won Olympic 

marathon gold in both 2016 

and 2021. Twice in his career 

he set a world record over 

the 42.195km: in 2018 he ran 

2:01:39 in Berlin, four years 

later he improved the time in 

the German capital to 2:01:09. 

In a non-record-breaking race 

in Vienna in 2019, he became 

the first and only runner to 

break the two-hour barrier 

(1:59:40.2). Of 21 marathon 

races he has competed in since 

2013, the Kenyan has only 

– 101 –

Six starts, five victories, two 

world records. That is Eliud 

Kipchoge‘s record at the 

Brandenburg Gate after his 

triumph in 2023 in 

2:02:42 hours. 

failed to finish as the winner 

three times. 

Eliud Kipchoge has taken the 

elite marathon race to a new 

dimension. And so he was not 

surprised with Tigst Assefa‘s 

fabulous world record at the 

BMW BERLIN-MARATHON: „I 

always say ‚No human is limited‘ 

- of course that also 

applies to women. There is 

no limit and that is why the 

world record now stands at 

2:11. Tigst Assefa has shown 

– 102 –

the way. I am sure the other 

runners will now change their 

attitude and say to themselves 

that 2:11 is now the ‘fast’ 

time. They can train hard and 

break the world record.“ 

Eliud Kipchoge repeatedly 

spoke in Berlin of the development 

that the marathon elite 

race has taken in recent years—the 

individual sport is increasingly 

taking on the characteristics 

of a team event 

in the background. When he 

first won in Berlin, in 2015, 

it was quite different, Eliud 

Kipchoge explained. Now, he 

said, the team—the Olympic 

champion is the head of the 

NN Running Team—plays a 

The unique marathon record 

of Eliud Kipchoge 

Year Race Place Time 

2023 BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 1st 2:02:42 

2023 Boston-Marathon 6th 2:09:23 

2022 BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 1.st 2:01:09 WR 

2022 Tokyo-Marathon 1st 2:02:40 

2021 Olympic Games, Sapporo 1st 2:08:38 

2021 Enschede-Marathon 1st 2:04:30 

2020 London-Marathon 8th 2:06:49 

2019 Vienna „Ineos 1:59 Challenge“ 1st 1:59:40,2 * 

2019 London-Marathon 1st 2:02:37 

2018 BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 1st 2:01:39 WR 


2017 BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 1st 2:03:32 

2017 Monza „Breaking 2“ 1st 2:00:25 * 

2016 Olympic Games, Rio 1st 2:08:44 


2015 BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 1st 2:04:00 


2014 Chicago-Marathon 1st 2:04:11 

2014 Rotterdam-Marathon 1st 2:05:00 

2013 BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2nd 2:04:05 

2013 Hamburg-Marathon 1st 2:05:30 

*) non-record races

much bigger role. „It‘s really 

teamwork. When I started it 

was about individual athletes, 

now it‘s about the team. I‘m 

coached by a team and that‘s 

the way we are today,“ said 

Eliud Kipchoge, whose team 

is also helping him cope with 

the enormous pressure the 

superstar often feels. „We are 

spreading the pressure across 

the team. Of course, I‘m under 

pressure, but we‘re one 

team, we speak one language, 

we see things with two eyes, 

we hear with two ears and we 

look forward.“ 

Eliud Kipchoge was also not 

surprised by the German record 

by Amanal Petros, who improved 

to 2:04:58 in Berlin: „He 

had this time in mind and worked 

hard for it. Even a German 

runner can run under 2:05.“ 

An important Berlin 

success factor for Eliud 

Kipchoge is his „Bottle 

Man“ Claus-Henning 

Schulke. He has perfected 

handing drink bottles at 

high speed so that nothing 

can go wrong.

R E G I S T E R 

N O W 

Do it 

again! 

This way to your registration for the 

50th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 

on September 29, 2024 

107 

www.bmw-berlin-marathon.com

Harald Sorger from Leobersdorf in Austria is an 

old hand at the marathon in Berlin. This year, for 

the 17th time, he set out on the 42.195-kilometre 

course through the streets of Berlin. This year, for 

the first time, donning a costume. “It is unbelievable 

what response you get back from the people. 

People are happy, they laugh, they cheer you 

on—you feel a lot of love,” says Harald. Usually, 

he likes to run against the clock. “But this year I 

just wanted to enjoy the race.” He was out on 

the course for just under four hours. In October 

he plans to run in Chicago — next time without a 

costume and happily 40 minutes faster again. And 

why did he choose to run as a Smurf in Berlin? 

“Because I’m so small, I thought it suited me.”

Lots of love 

A total of 47,912 registered participants from 156 nations. 

This was one of many records set at this historic race. The 49th 

BWM BERLIN-MARATHON put a smile on the faces of thousands 

of people. We met some of them at the finish line. 

Texts: Norbert Hensen | Photos: Franziska Dietz 

The police could be relied on both on and off the course. At the German Police 

Championships, which were held as part of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, Johannes 

Flesch (left), Mike Thull (centre) and Johannes Licht (right) took to the 

course with four other colleagues for the Rhineland-Palatinate police. “We started 

together, didn’t see each other for 42 kilometres and then found each 

other again at the finish line,” says Johannes Flesch, the fastest runner 

of the trio in 2:49:31 hrs. The fact that he didn’t see his colleague Mike, who 

crossed the finish line only 16 seconds after him, shows how much he was in the 

tunnel. Johannes Licht also finished well under three hours in 2:52:01. The police 

officers were quick to pinpoint the culprit for the fast times. “Here in Berlin, you 

are simply five minutes faster because the crowd is cheering so brilliantly.”

“I took it easy today,” said Lynn Whitnall from London, who was on the course 

for just over 5 hours. “It was so great, I wanted to enjoy every metre.” The 55-year-old 

is involved in animal welfare and raises funds for various organisations. The 

predator costume earned a lot of applause and approval on Berlin’s streets. However, 

she not only collects money for a good cause, she also collects medals. She 

only has one race left to achieve the Abbott World Marathon Majors 6-Star 

Finisher medal. She will run that in London in the spring. “I’m already getting 

excited,” says Lynn. 

– 110 –

Foto: ® skynesher / iStockphoto 

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Natalia Gajdecka and Michal Michalski from Poland proudly presented their 

medals. After crossing the finish line, they looked longingly at the blue Abbott tent, 

where the runners of the World Marathon Majors were presented with their 6-Star 

Finisher medals. “This will now be our challenge too,” said Natalia. Michal added: 

“Berlin was the first step, now we have to move on.” Their next challenge 

will be the Boston qualifier. “We’re not the fastest, but then we’ll just wait until we’re 

a bit older,” laughed Natalia, who together with Michal reached the finish line after 

4:50:23 hrs. 

– 112 –

Hilmar Schmundt lives in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin. “I thought, if 

I live in the ,Berg‘ (what means ,hill‘), I might as well wear the leather trousers,” he 

said, doing an impressive little traditional Bavarian Schuhplatter dance. “I did my 

civil service with the Red Cross in Bavaria, and that stuck with me,” laughed Hilmar, 

who grew up in Hanover. “In costume, you feel like Mick Jagger on the course, 

you get cheered on everywhere like you’re a star.” He has also run through Boston 

and New York in the outfit—and people went crazy there, too, he says. But the 

capital city marathon remains number one for the Berlin native. 

– 113 –

They came to Berlin together from Brazil. But Barbara Danc and Carina de Sá 

ran their own races. For Barbara it was her first marathon ever, and she wanted to 

concentrate entirely on herself. “I’ve never experienced anything like it, the spectators 

pushed me on; it wasn’t even possible to run slowly,” she told us enthusiastically 

after finishing in 3:12:24 hrs. Her running friend Carina stood at a marathon 

start line for the fifth time and she too flew along the course. “I love Berlin!” she 

exclaimed at the finish line. With a time of 3:12:05 hrs she also achieved a personal 

best. “I think we will celebrate and drink a lot in the next few days before heading 

back to Sao Paulo,” Carina said and laughed. 

– 114 –

Ali Kilic is a true Westphalian. The experienced runner from Bad Oeynhausen 

completed his 25th marathon in Berlin. “My goal is to finish 100 marathons,” 

said Ali. He collects finisher medals all over the world. He completed six of 

his marathons in Berlin. “Now I need four more starts so that I don’t have to go 

through the draw.” All runners with ten participations are guaranteed a starting 

place at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. He particularly enjoys coming to Berlin. “I 

was in New York last year, which was also great, but as far as the organisation 

is concerned, no race in the world can compete with Berlin. Everything is 

perfect here.” 

– 115 –

“That was my tenth finish in Berlin today, so from now on I am part of the Jubilee 

Club. I am very proud,” Rita Solaro cheered at the finish line. The Berliner from 

the district of Steglitz has been taking to the course in costume for years. “Today the 

marathon was somehow six kilometres too long for me,” Rita said with a laugh. Yet 

with a finish time of 4:10:11 hrs, she still ran faster than a 6:00 pace. As a member of 

SCC Berlin, she is already looking forward to next year. She “found her costume 

in her closet “. Her treasure trove is large. But next year she will certainly come 

up with something very special for her club’s 50th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. 

– 116 –

Mexico is traditionally strongly represented in Berlin. This year, there were about 

1500 runners from the Central American country. One of them was José Luis 

Valerio from the capital Mexico City. The little runner with the nimble legs celebrated 

several premieres. For the first time he travelled from his home country to 

Europe—so of course he was also in Germany and in Berlin for the first time. “A great 

marathon, a very fast course. I had heard a lot of good things—it’s all true,” 

laughs José Luis, who finished in 3:15:12 hrs. And Mexico even provided a champion! 

Horacio Tobias won in the over-80 age group in a fabulous time of 3:54:17 hrs. 

– 117 –

As a coach, she provides support to many runners in Berlin in their mental 

preparation for sporting highlights. And what “psycho-trick” did Mareike “Mari” 

Dottschadis herself use for her marathon run? “I ran to the Brandenburg Gate four 

days ago. And I connected with the gate. I built up a relationship with the event 

again. Someone gave me the tip that you should protect such a relationship. 

That’s what I did. Along the course I felt all the love Berlin sent to everyone 

who was out on the course today.” The runner from the Berlin Track Club did 

everything right—and finished a sub-3-hour marathon for the first time in 2:56:41 

hrs. 

– 118 –

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Not only did he survive the race, David Baker was also pretty darn fast at it 

(3:22:40 hrs). His grandparents emigrated from Scotland to the USA many decades 

ago. Loving his Scottish roots, David runs every one of his many marathons 

in a traditional kilt. “At some point I started doing it, people get excited and 

I always think of my ancestors,” the 53-year-old told us. The marathon collector 

wants to compete in London next year and then later in Tokyo to get the coveted 

Abbott World Marathon Majors medal. In a kilt, of course. 

– 120 –

“My last name is Gutekunst,” Heather calls out to us, jumping up and down 

in front of the camera. The lively runner from North Carolina wore a kind of functional 

dirndl. It looked quite artistic. She likes to stand out. “People are all chanting 

your name, which is great and very motivating.” The US-American loves 

the marathon, and with her Berlin finish (3:28:40 hrs) she has already successfully 

completed five of the six World Marathon Majors. “Next year I’ll run in Tokyo and 

then I’ll get the medal… and then I’ll retire,” Heather laughs. 

– 121 –

“Our motto was ‘Run for Joy’, we just wanted to have a lot of fun on the 

course,” said Maria Edelmann, who came to Berlin with her club colleague Benjamin 

Beisel from LT SG Rothenberg. “Probably more people called me by name 

today than Eliud Kipchoge,” said Benjamin, who finished in 3:58:20 hrs. “When 

your name is called out, it really pushes you,” added Maria. It was the second marathon 

for the two running buddies—and definitely not the last. 

– 122 –

WIR SIND ÜBERFLIEGERINNEN. 

Erlebe die Sportmetropole der Frauen. 

©Camera4

What a story: In 1999, Gillian Punt took part in the London Marathon. Together 

with her brother, she entered to raise money for cancer research. Her father 

had been diagnosed with cancer shortly before that. “The doctors said he had six 

weeks to live,” said Gillian, “He was always a big sports fan and loved the London 

Marathon.” Gillian hasn’t stopped fundraising. Since she started, over £1.4 million 

were raised. This even earned her an audience with the Queen. In Berlin, she 

received her 6-Star Finisher medal “on the side”. “It took me a long time, because 

I had to race in London all the years”, says Gillian. 

– 124 –

The 13th marathon brought René Mirre luck. The 45-year-old from Berlin runs 

for the organising team from SCC Berlin and increased his personal best time to 

3:06:35 hrs. “I was six minutes faster than last time,” said René at the finish. 

For him, the local marathon is and remains the most beautiful in the world. 

But next year, the Berliner is heading across the pond. “The New York Marathon 

is a dream I’d like to fulfil in 2024—so unfortunately I won’t be there for next year’s 

anniversary.” But in his mid-40s, René is in his prime marathon age and still 

has many starts ahead of him at the home marathon in the German capital. 

– 125 –

Not only was it Kriste Hincaite’s first time in Berlin, it was also her marathon debut 

at one of the six major international marathons that are part of the Abbott World 

Marathon Majors. The 32-year-old from Lithuania was thrilled. “The atmosphere 

is really great, the weather perfect; I will seriously be celebrating my new 

best time today.” This now stands at 3:09:40 hrs—and with it she can fulfil her 

next marathon dream: to compete in Boston in 2024. She wants to earn the 6-Star 

Finisher medal. But she is also definitely planning on returning to Berlin. “I like the 

city and the people, unfortunately I have to go back to Vilnius tomorrow, but 

I’ll just have to come back.” 

– 126 –

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Namira Adjani Ramadina was in Berlin for the first time. For the 20-year-old from 

Indonesia, it was her first marathon ever. “It was so much fun, so many great 

people along the course—I love Berlin,” said Namira, who required 4:45:05 

hrs for her premiere. She was accompanied by her mum, who already knew the 

course. “I ran my first marathon here in 2017,” she said. And many more have followed 

after that. “I completed all the World Marathon Majors, but I left the medal at 

home.” And will Namira emulate her mother? “We will see. I am young and still 

have a lot of time. But I will definitely come back to Berlin.” 

– 128 –

Greg Latanik crossed the finish line after less than 3 hours. But he was 

only casually interested in his own best time (2:58:22 hrs). So he was still 

standing a few metres behind the finish line almost two hours later, high-fiving 

all the runners near him. “I’m proud of everyone, they’re all true heroes,” 

Greg said. And had tears in his eyes. Born in Poland, he emigrated to 

Canada, where he still lives today. At the finish line, he happened to meet a 

former compatriot. Marlena Molinska crossed the finish line half an hour after 

Greg. “Marathon connects people, that’s why I love this sport.” 

– 129 –

The two Japanese women Asami Endo and Kazuko Hirota ran through Berlin 

as Pokemon twins. “We stayed together for the whole marathon,” said Asami. “All 

the people along the course cheered us on, it was overwhelming,” said Kazuko. Together 

they crossed the finish line just behind the Brandenburg Gate after 3:39:01 

hrs. The two friends are experienced marathon runners. They live in a special 

marathon city themselves: Tokyo. “We’ve already run there four times, that’s our 

home, but Berlin is just great.” Now all they need is Boston to pick up the 6-Star 

Finisher medal someday. 

– 130 –

Esteban Garcia Herrera and Cesar Suaza were two of more than 400 starters 

from Colombia. The two friends from Bogota were in Berlin for the first time and 

enjoyed the race together. It was only at the end of the race that Cesar told his 

buddy Esteban that he should run and not wait for him. The last minutes and passing 

through the Brandenburg Gate were very emotional for Cesar. “I ran the 

marathon for my mother, who died last year.“ He had a thank-you to his mother 

printed on the backside of his jersey. At the finish line, the joy of being able to experience 

this run with his friend, who was waiting there for him, prevailed. 

– 131 –

If you have just run 120 marathons in 120 days, then you can add the 121st without 

further ado. “That was my home run, so to speak,” laughed Joyce, who had 

completed her 5200-kilometre circumnavigation of Germany three days earlier. 

For four months, the Berliner ran a marathon every day, collected donations 

and motivated many to run with her. She had taken a little time off from her job to 

complete this project of her heart. The media response was huge, and not only on 

Instagram. On the course, too, many runners wanted a photo of Joyce, who seemed 

to easily cross the finish line after 4:05:24 hrs. “My legs hurt a lot, but otherwise 

I’m fine,” said the 35-year-old. 

– 132 –

Wolfgang Schmidbauer donned his favourite frog hat for the race. Born in Bavaria, 

he lives near Munich and has been a regular in Berlin for many years. He has now 

completed his ninth BMW BERLIN-MARATHON in a time of 3:30:45 hrs. “I’m not a 

medal collector, I try to run one marathon every year—and I’m always drawn to 

Berlin,” says Wolfgang. Times no longer interest him. “I want to enjoy the city and 

the people, so I look for a fun outfit. I used to care about times, but at almost 50, 

it doesn’t matter anymore.” Just like the marathon, Wolfgang is celebrating his 

50th birthday next year. “Of course, I’ll have to be part of it again then.” With 

or without his hat. 

– 133 –

Hard to believe, but true: “Until a year and a half ago, I never ran more than 

a mile at a time in my life,” Leonardo Claros told us after receiving his 

6-Star Finisher medal. “This medal belongs to all the people who motivated 

me.” The Bolivian-born runner has lived in the US for many years –but also 

runs for his fellow countrymen. “Any person can do this if I can do this. 

Believe in yourselves, go out and run marathons.” This marathon took him 

4:42:10 hrs. And he is not thinking of stopping for a long time yet. “I will keep 

running—hopefully many, many more marathons.” 

– 134 –

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Sofia Rebollo Farfan lives in Puebla, Mexico. This is the second time the 25-yearold 

has been on the starting line of a major marathon. Last year she surmounted 

the Chicago Marathon—and now the 49th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. “I am totally 

overwhelmed. Such a great atmosphere, such an exciting city, it’s a shame 

I’m flying back tomorrow,” Sofia said after finishing the race in 4:05:49 hrs. 

She has already made plans for the next race: she wants to run the New York City 

Marathon in 2024. 

– 136 –

A real Greek with an original Berlin spirit. You can hear right away that Zacharias 

Panagiotidis has spent 27 years of his life in Berlin. “Ick bin in Tempelhof uffjewachsen.” 

He cannot hide his Berlin dialect. He now lives in Katerini in northern 

Greece. One half of his life here, the other there—that was his plan. “At some point 

I crossed over,” says Zacharias. He started running four years ago. “Today was my 

first marathon in Berlin”. He has already planned the next one: He wants to run 

the Olympic Marathon in his home country. 

– 137 –

Climate-friendly 

joy of driving 

Around ten minutes ahead of the inline skating field, five 

BMW CE 04 eScooters and a brand-new BMW CE 02 eParkourer 

whizzed along the course on Saturday to complete 42 emission-free 

kilometres—on a very special course test.

The course provided a home 

game in a couple of respects: 

the electrically powered twowheelers 

have been specially developed 

for urban riding fun and 

are manufactured at the BMW 

Group Plant Berlin, the home of 

international BMW motorcycle 

production. 

Five journalists had the opportunity 

to test the all-electric BMW 

CE 04 scooters. „It took us a little 

less than an hour to cover the distance, 

so we were going about as 

fast as the top skaters—it‘s quite 

impressive how fast the skaters 

whizz through Berlin,“ said Norbert 

Hensen. The running sports 

journalist normally runs the marathon. 

As a passionate motorcyclist, 

he didn‘t want to miss the 

opportunity to roar around the 

closed-off course on the BMW 

CE 04. The agile and powerful 

eScooter was used as a course 

and organisation vehicle, just like 

the all-electric BMW automobiles. 

„It was my first time on an electric 

motorbike,“ said Hensen, 

„cruising silently through the city 

was really fun.“ With a maximum 

power of 31 kW (42 hp), 120 km/h 

top speed and a range of around 

130 kilometres with very impressive 

acceleration, it is an ideal vehicle 

in the city and surrounding 

country roads and highways. 

The urban cruiser BMW CE 02 is 

expected to be available starting 

in spring 2024. It appeals in 

particular to young people and is 

made for the city: nimble, practical, 

robust, cool in design and reduced 

to the bare essentials.

YOUNG RUNNERS

Young talents 

shine in Berlin 

A big stage for young runners: Berlin was also the venue for the grand 

finale of the R5K Tour for talented youth runners in Germany on the 

marathon weekend. The five-kilometre race marked the end of a series 

of races in four German cities that formed the R5K Tour in 2023: Hanover, 

Paderborn, Hamburg and at the end the grand finale at the BMW 

BERLIN-MARATHON. At the finale, Sven Wagner, Tristan Kaufhold, Kiara 

Nahen and Linda Meier secured the prize money.

Talent show 

THE RACES OF THE R5K TOUR 2023 

ADAC Marathon Hanover (March 25) 

U23 winner: Julian Gering 14:56 

U20 winner: Tristan Kaufhold 14:57 

U20 winner: Sonja Lindemann 17:29 

Paderborner Osterlauf (April 8) 

U23 winner: Sven Wagner 14:26 

U23 winner: Kiara Nahen 16:23 

U20 winner: Jonas Kulgemeyer 15:27 

U20 winner: Linda Meier 16:33 

BARMER Alsterlauf Hamburg (September 3) 



U20 winner: Tristan Kaufhold 14:55 


BMW BERLIN-MARATHON (September 23) 



U20 winner: Jakob Dieterich 14:42 


R E S U LT S 

he overall winners of the 

TR5K Tour have been determined: 

The prize money went 

to Sven Wagner, Tristan Kaufhold, 

Kiara Nahen and Linda 

Meier at the finale that took 

place during the BMW BERLIN- 

MARATHON . Not only did their 

running dreams come true, but 

all of the other young athletes 

who participated in the R5K 

Tour were also able to show 

what they are capable of on 

the very big stage of the BMW 


The R5K Tour is a series of 

three five-kilometre races plus 

the grand finale in Berlin, where 

young runners in the U20 

and U23 2023 classes compete 

for prize money, training camps 

and, above all, a regular test of 

strength against the best in 

the country. The whole thing

O V E R A L L 

R A N K I N G 

R 5 K 

is organised by German Road 

Races (GRR) with the support 

of the German Athletics Association 

(DLV). As an association 

of major running events 

in German-speaking countries, 

GRR represents the interests 

of running on the road. 

Running where 

history is written 

After the first three races at 

the ADAC Marathon Hannover, 

the Paderborn Osterlauf and 

the Barmer Alsterlauf in Hamburg, 

the finale attracted runners 

to a place where running 

history is regularly made: On 

the last five kilometres of the 

BMW BERLIN-MARATHON between 

Potsdamer Platz and the 

Brandenburg Gate in the German 

capital. There, where Eliud 

Kipchoge set his world records, 

The overall ranking of 

the R5K-Tour 

U23 men 

Sven Wagner (Königsteiner LV) 43:53 

14:26 in Paderborn | 14:50 in Hamburg | 14:37 in Berlin 

Theodor Schucht (SCC Berlin) 44:52 


Philipp Tabert (VfL Eintracht Hannover) 45:02 


U23 women 

Kiara Nahen (LC Paderborn) 49:37 


U20 men 

Tristan Kaufhold (SSC Hanau-Rodenbach) 44:50 

14:57 in Hanover | 14:55 in Hamburg | 14:58 in Berlin 

Jakob Dieterich (Laufteam Kassel) 45:09 


Jonas Kulgemeyer (OTB Osnabrück) 45:20 


U20 women 

Linda Meier (LAC Passau) 49:09 


Sonja Lindemann (LG Wedel-Pinneberg) 51:51 


Johanna Ewert (Schweriner SC) 54:21 

18:29 in Hanover | 18:13 in Hamburg | 17:39 in Berlin

Sven Wagner not only took the day’s 

victory at the final in Berlin, but also 

won the overall men’s classification 

in the U23 class. 

the best German junior runners 

met for the finale of the 

R5K Tour as part of the 49th 

BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. 

Thousands of spectators lined 

the course and cheered on the 

young runners. To finish at the 

top of the R5K overall standings, 

they had to compete in 

Berlin. In the end, the winner 

was whoever was ahead in the 

addition of the result of Berlin 

with the two fastest times 

in the previous R5K runs (2+1 

rule). The reward for the overall 

victory: In the U23 category 

there was prize money of 1000 

Euros and a training camp grant 

in the same amount. In the U20 

category the prize money was 

500 Euros plus 1000 Euros for 

training camps. 

Sven Wagner wins the 

day and overall victory 

The fastest runner in Berlin 

was U23 overall winner Sven 

Wagner (Königsteiner LV), who 

won the race in 14:37 minutes, 

five seconds ahead of U20 runner 

Jakob Dieterich (Laufteam 

Kassel/14:42 min). “It was cool 

– 144 –

to run here and win,” said the 

21-year-old, who became German 

champion over 1500 metres 

last summer. “The scenery 

was unbelievable, but still 

it was a bit hard for me at the 

beginning.” Like most junior 

aces, he had taken a few days 

off after the end of the track 

season and before the R5K final 

in Berlin and only got back 

into training shortly before the 

race. “It took me two or three 

kilometres to get into the groo- 

ve. Then behind the Brandenburg 

Gate I pushed hard for the 

last 300 metres.” 

Tour helps identify talent 

Marathon national coach Matthias 

Kohls, who presented the 

awards to the top runners with 

GRR board member Sascha 

Wiczynski in Berlin, was enthusiastic 

about the new format. 

“The finale was a good advertisement 

that will help the series 

continue to grow next year. The 

Kiara Nahen (left) and 

Linda Meier, overall female 

winners of the U23 and 

U20, crossed the finish line 

together in Berlin.

R5K Tour does its part to find 

talent and develop it towards 

top-level sport. We don’t have 

many problems in road running 

at the moment compared to other 

athletics disciplines, but we 

have to make sure that it continues 

when the current strong 

athletes like German marathon 

record holder Amanal Petros, 

European marathon champion 

Richard Ringer or our fast marathon 

runners who won team 

gold at the 2022 European 

Championships in Munich are 

no longer running some day.” 

More races in 2024 

That’s why more races are to 

be added to the series next 

year. “We started the R5K Tour 

together to bring together the 

most talented young people 

from athletics clubs, but also 

to identify those who are fast 

but without any ties to organised 

athletics, in professionally 

organised road races in 

front of a large audience. After 

the successful start of the series 

this year, we are planning 

a continuation together for 

2024,” says Jürgen Lock, who 

Tristan Kaufhold won the 

overall men’s ranking in 

the U20 class. He will use 

his training camp grant 

for a stay in South Africa 

next year.

as managing director of SCC 

Events, the makers of the BMW 

BERLIN-MARATHON and initiators 

of Marathon Team Berlin, 

was instrumental in ensuring 

that the finale of the new series 

in 2023 could be held as 

part of the marathon in Berlin. 

A new stop has already been 

set: in addition to Hanover, Paderborn, 

Hamburg and Berlin, 

the NTT Data Citylauf Dresden 

will be part of the R5K Tour in 

2024. 

The female U20 overall winner 

in 2023 is already looking forward 

to this. “I’ll be back next 

year and want to continue the 

success story in the U23,” said 

Linda Meier from LAC Passau 

after winning in Berlin in 16:40 

minutes, the same time as second-placed 

U23 winner Kiara 

Nahen (LC Paderborn). “It was 

a great feeling to run towards 

the Brandenburg Gate, but I 

didn’t really realise my surroundings 

before that as I was 

so focused on myself,” said the 

athlete, who is currently training 

with Klaus Hammer-Behringer 

in Passau before she 

moves to Tübingen in autumn 

to join Isabelle Baumann’s 

strong group. 

Running with the 

stars of the scene 

A highlight was being able to 

join all the winners of the R5K 

at the start of the BMW BER- 

LIN-MARATHON at the front 

of the field alongside the elite 

marathon runners and accompany 

them on the first kilometres 

of the course—a special 

treat for the talents, awarded 

to them by Berlin’s marathon 

race director Mark Milde at the 

award ceremony. 

Kiara Nahen, the overall female 

U23 winner, also appreciated 

it: “It was already mega cool to 

be able to travel through Germany 

and experience the cities 

thanks to the series,” she enthused, 

“but the atmosphere 

at the Brandenburg Gate was

With a strong race in Berlin 

and the fastest U20 time of 

the day, Jakob Dieterich moved 

up from fourth to second 

place in the overall standings. 

something very special. It’s a 

great honour to be able to run 

where Eliud Kipchoge set his 

world records.” 

Not entirely satisfied his time 

was U20 overall winner Tristan 

Kaufhold of SSC Hanau-Rodenbach, 

who is considered one 

of Germany’s greatest running 

talents. In the 10K road race, 

the runner is the fastest under 

18-year-old that the German 

athletics program has ever 

produced. With a time of 30:19 

minutes in 2022, he had already 

set a new German U18 best, 

which he improved again this 

year to 30:04 minutes. 

Goosebumps at the start 

In Berlin, he had to settle for second 

place in the U20 in 14:58 

minutes behind Jakob Dieterich, 

who delivered a strong 

14:42 finish between Potsdamer 

Platz, Gendarmenmarkt, 

Unter den Linden and the Brandenburg 

Gate. 

“I already had goosebumps 

at the start and the course 

was super fast, but Jakob was 

too strong today,” said Tristan 

– 148 –

www.r5k-tour.de 

Kaufhold. “It was a cool event 

with an amazing atmosphere. 

The prize money and the grant 

for the training camp are very 

motivating. The money will 

help me to realise my training 

in South Africa in March.” He is 

planning on attending the training 

camp together with U23 

winner Sven Wagner, as the two 

train in coach Benjamin Stalf’s 

strong training group in Frankfurt 

despite their different club 

affiliations. 

The R5K-Tour is a campaign of

HIGHLIGHTS 2023/2024 

Must Runs 

Berlin 

(& Rides) 

by 

Brandenburg

DECEMBER 31, 2023 

Getting fit for 

the longest night 

berliner-silvesterlauf.de 

The ideal preparation for your wild New Year´s Eve party. Get fit for the 

longest night of the year. You can choose if you want to climb one or two 

peaks in the “Berliner Grunewald”. Enjoy your special party in Berlin! 

Distances 

2 k and 4 k for women and youth 

6,3 k and 10,3 k for women and men 

New years eve

APRIL 7, 2024 

generali-berliner-halbmarathon.de 

Half the distance. 

All the fun. 

Full respect! 

D 

L 

H 

B 

The sensational season opener on the sightseeing course along many 

of the Berlin highlights and over the finish line 200 meters behind the 

Brandenburg Gate. As attractive as the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, but 

easier to run! 

Distances 

21,0975 k for women and men (running, skating, wheelchair, hand cycling) 

500 m / 1000 m bambini run 

M 

– 152 –

MAY 11, 2024 

Die wichtigsten 

Lauf-Events in der 

Hauptstadt und im 

Brandenburger Umland 

Be yourself! 

berliner-frauenlauf.de 

18,000 women celebrate their special party at the 

biggest women‘s run in Germany in the heart of Berlin. 

Distances 

10 k for runners, walkers and nordic walkers 

5 k for runners, walkers and nordic walkers 

500 m / 1000 m bambini run

MAY 23, 2024 

Cross the finish 

line Im Team as a ins team! Ziel! 

teamstaffel-brandenburg.de 

Run in a team of 4 on a wonderful lap through the historic city Brandenburg 

an der Havel. The exciting TEAM event in early summer. 

Distances 

4 x 5 km relay 

500 m/1000 m bambini run

AUGUST 4, 2024 

We ride You ride 

Berlin! 

velocity.berlin 

After the exciting second edition of 

the new cycling event on Berlin‘s 

magnificent boulevards, past the 

capital‘s landmarks to the finish 

between the Brandenburg Gate and 

the Victory Column, we are looking 

forward to the third one. 

Distances 

60 km Bike Race City 

100 km Bike Race City 

Kid‘s & Youth Race 

42.195 km Bike Race Fixed42 

FURTHER SCC EVENTS 

SwimRun Rheinsberg June 30, 2024 

Berliner Wasserbetriebe 5x5 km TEAM-relay Summer 2024 

adidas Runners City Night July 27, 2024

A perfect day 

on wheels

Gabriela Rueda from Colombia and Jason Suttels from Belgium secured the 

victories in the inline skating competition. The two 22-year-old young stars 

had started the race extremely spiritedly and both more than earned the laurel 

wreath. 4,423 registered participants from all over the world enjoyed the 

cheers of the spectators in the inline skaters’ race on Saturday, who moved 

their music systems to the streets and created an amazing atmosphere.

INLINE SKATERS: THE WOMEN’S RACE 

Duo Infernale 

We really wanted to break 

the course record, so 

we took a lot of risks at the 

start,” said Gabriela Rueda of 

Team Powerslide. After just a 

few kilometers, she and her 

teammate Eliana García Arias, 

also from Colombia, took 

off. At the finish line, the two 

were ahead of the chasing 

pack by almost two minutes. 

Yet the two were unable to 

beat the course record set by 

Maria Arias (01:06:35 h/2017) 

despite a fantastic race. “The 

solo run right after the start 

took a little too much energy,” 

concluded the happy winner. 

Marie Dupuy, last year’s 

winner, played out her absolute 

sprinting strength in the 

mass sprint of the chasing 

pack and secured third place 

on the podium. 

The Top 3 – Women Skaters 

Place Skater Time 

1. Gabriela Rueda (Colombia/powerslide world team) 1:08:59 

2. Eliana García Arias (Colombia/powerslide world team) 1:08:59 

3. Marie Dupuy (France/powerslide world team) 1:11:57 

– 158 –

They wanted the course record and took a 

lot of risks right from the start: Gabriela 

Rueda and Eliana García Arias may not 

have managed a new best mark, but were 

rewarded with first and second place.

INLINE SKATERS: THE MEN’S RACE 

Two Belgians close 

to the course record 

The course of the men’s 

race was similar. Here it 

was the also only 22-year-old 

Jason Suttels, who started extremely 

courageously into the 

race and at the same time timed 

the perfect moment for 

a breakaway. “When the pace 

at the front slowed down a 

bit after a very fast first few 

kilometers, I sprinted off,” 

said Suttels. Just before the 

half-marathon mark, another 

Powerslide rider from Belgium, 

teammate Bart Swings, 

closed in. As a duo, they reached 

the home stretch, where 

Swings gave way to the 

– 160 –

You could already see their determination 

at the start: Jason 

Suttels (blue jersey) and Bart 

Swings (white jersey). The duo set 

the pace of the race. 

The Top 3 – Men Skaters 

Place Skater Time 

1. Jason Suttels (Belgium/powerslide world team) 57:01 

2. Bart Swings (Belgium/powerslide world team) 57:01 

3. Nolan Beddiaf (France/Eoskates World Team) 59:41 

ten-year younger Suttels . “I 

didn’t give Jason the win today. 

Jason did an incredible 

job today and took his victory 

for himself with his extremely 

strong performance,” the 

eight-time BMW BERLIN-MA- 

RATHON winner clarified at 

the finish line. Lucky third on 

the podium was Frenchman 

Nolan Beddiaf of Team EOSkates, 

who won by a razorthin 

margin over Felix Rijhnen 

from Darmstadt in the mass 

sprint. Suttel’s time of 57:01 

minutes is only just above the 

course record of 56:46 minutes 

set by Swings in 2022. 

– 161 –

INLINE SKATERS 

Bringing the party 

and motivation 

Heroes are created year after 

year at the BMW BER- 

LIN-MARATHON Inline Skating—but 

not only at the head 

of the field. For twelve years, 

the organizers of Rollnacht 

Düsseldorf and, for several years, 

Skate Night Münster have 

helped out with a dedicated 

team at the back of the field. 

Kids Skating for 

the youngsters 

The youngsters also had an 

opportunity to show their 

enthusiasm for the fast roller 

sport. At the KidsSkating on 

Saturday afternoon the young 

skaters gave it their all. Mixed 

Providing encouragement 

when strength and motivation 

are flagging, creating a 

slipstream and bringing as 

many participants as possible 

to the finish line—Adrian and 

his music are legendary, and 

he provides an opportunity for 

maximum fun rather than maximum 

speed for many participants. 

He offers a great service 

for the many skaters who 

skated along for the first time 

this year. 

in between the races of the fastest 

sprinters in the Open German 

100-meter Sprint Championships, 

the spectators were 

able to experience inline skating 

in its various facets. 

– 162 –

Skating away 

from alcohol 

Koichi Sakamoto has long 

dreamed of competing in 

the BMW BERLIN-MARA- 

THON. This year, the Japanese 

athlete made his dream 

come true—and in an anniversary 

year: on December 

14, he will have been “sober” 

for 35 years to the day. 

The 64-year-old particularly 

enjoyed the ride through 

Berlin’s streets. He finished 

in 1:56:28 hours and made a 

solid statement afterwards: 

“I will celebrate this race every 

year now. Because this 

race alone is worth living a 

life without alcohol.” He had 

been addicted to alcohol for 

many years before making 

the leap with the help of the 

Japan Sobriety Organization 

in 1988. “My start in the 

BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 

Inline Skating stands for the 

fact that there are countless 

possibilities if we continue to 

live sober.” 

– 164 –

Das Radrennen in Berlin 

4. AUGUST 2024 

Follow us @VeloCity.Berlin 

www.VeloCity.berlin 

#WeRideBerlin

World record & 

series winner 

No less than three racing wheelchair athletes, led by Catherine 

Debrunner, broke the world record, while Marcel Hug celebrated 

his ninth victory in Berlin. In the hand cyclists‘ race, a 

new course record was only missed by a hair‘s breadth.

Berlin is his race! Swiss Marcel 

Hug won the BMW BERLIN-MA- 

RATHON for the ninth time.

THE WHEELCHAIR RACE 

What a race! With the champion 

Catherine Debrunner, Eden Rainbow 

Cooper and Manuela Schär, 

no less than three racing wheelchair 

athletes finished under the 

previous world record.

V I D E O : T H E 

R A C E 

World 

record! 

The female wheelchair racers 

also went down in 

the history of the BMW BER- 

LIN-MARATHON with a fantastic 

new world record. The 

Swiss woman Catherine Debrunner 

won in 1:34:16 hours 

by a razor-thin margin ahead 

of Eden Rainbow Cooper 

(1:34:17 h/USA) and Manuela 

Schär (1:34:17 h/SUI). All 

three athletes finished well 

below the previous world record 

time of Manuela Schär 

(1:35:42 h). In the men‘s race, 

Marcel Hug of Switzerland 

celebrated his 9th victory in 

Berlin, clearly ahead of Daniel 

Romanchuk (1:30:16 h/ 

USA) and David Weir (1:30:17 

h/GBR). „I was able to move 

up after only six kilometres; 

after that it was a lonely race, 

but it was huge fun,“ Hug said 

at the finish. 

– 169 –

THE HAND CYCLE RACE 

The French dominate 

The men‘s hand cycle 

competition missed 

a new course record by 

only four seconds. Frenchman 

Joseph Fritsch won 

in 1:00:05, ahead of his 

– 170 –

Excellent trio: Julia Dierkesmann 

took the victory and the laurel 

wreath in her first Berlin start. 

compatriot Johan Quaile 

(1:00:09 h). Both had already 

broken away from the 

field immediately after the 

start. Vico Merklein from 

Berlin won the final sprint of 

the chasing pack in 1:08:46 

hours and came in third. 

The women‘s race was won 

by Berlin debutant Julia 

Dierkesmann (GER/1:17:51 

h) ahead of Katrin Möller 

(GER/1:17:52 h) and Meggie 

Gay (FRA/1:34:04 h).

WHO’S THAT RUNNING? 

I finally made 

the Jubilee Club

42-year-old Björn Maciosek from Berlin has only been running for 

twelve years. Nevertheless, he has already finished all six World Marathon 

Majors competitions and has crossed the finish line at more than 

40 marathons and ultras in total. In Berlin, he competed for the tenth 

time this year, thus joining the Jubilee Club. There was a different 

goal he did not achieve in return, as sometimes, he told me afterwards, 

things just go a little differently than planned when running. 

Recorded by: Tom Rottenberg

am proud. It is unbelievably 

I awesome to look at this medal 

and know: I did it. Again— 

and despite everything. And 

even though I clearly fell 

short of my expectations (I 

was aiming for a time under 

three hours for my tenth BMW 

BERLIN-MARATHON), I am 

still satisfied. Ups and downs 

are part of the game. Even if 

things didn’t go so well along 

the way: With my ten Berlin finishes 

I’m now part of the “Jubilee 

Club”—and I’m really happy 

about that. Emotionally you 

can compare it to the Six Star 

Medal you get for finishing in 

all six World Marathon Majors 

(London, Tokyo, Chicago, Boston, 

New York and Berlin). 

Looking back, I know I came 

by my time of 3:24 honestly: I 

underestimated the recovery 

time needed after the “100 

miles of Berlin”. The run was 

on August 13, but 100 miles 

really takes it out of you: I 

lost a lot of energy on Sunday, 

I really suffered —but I’m 

still proud and satisfied today. 

Everything started out according 

to plan: I felt good, it was 

still cool at the start—pretty 

ideal. Start block B is awesome: 

I started two minutes behind 

the elite. Everything was 

great until kilometre 15. I ran 

4:15 minutes per kilometre, 

kept up with the pacer and 

really enjoyed the run: wonderful. 

But then the sun came 

out. It really burnt me out. The 

longer the run went on, the 

tougher it got—and not just for 

me. One thing that helped me 

most was that in Berlin you 

always see people you know 

along the route. When they 

call your name, it helps enormously. 

That pushes you, comforts 

you and compensates for 

a lot. 

Nevertheless: From kilometre 

20 onwards it went rapidly 

downhill. I tried to keep my 

head above water with gels. 

On the last kilometres I met a 

nice Frenchman who was fee- 

WHO’S THAT RUNNING?

ling the same way. That also 

helps: you share—the good as 

well as the suffering. We carried 

each other to the Brandenburg 

Gate. 

But I never thought for a second 

about quitting. Annett, 

my wife, always says “You 

know you can drop out at 

any time—but you also know 

you’ll regret it a second later”. 

That’s true. Also because 

I know Annett is waiting at 

the finish line: a small privilege 

because she works in the 

medical team. But this year 

it was different: they were 

really busy. They had to take 

help more people than usual. 

Annett only had a very short 

time for me this time. But that 

is ok: Medical care has priority, 

of course. 

But she was there for the ceremony 

for the Jubilee finishers. 

That made the honour twice 

as nice. Being in the Jubilee 

Club is a great confirmation: 

At least ten times running 

Berlin! I would have thought 

that at 42 I would be one of 

the youngest, but not the case 

Some people must have started 

really early ... By the way, 

the “club” also has a practical 

advantage: Jubilee members 

always get a race entry. Guaranteed. 

That’s a load off your 

mind. But first and foremost, 

of course, there is the joy and 

pride of belonging to the circle 

of those who have run the 

marathon in my hometown at 

least ten times. 

After the marathon is always 

before the marathon: Berlin 

will remain my big focal point. 

In the next few years, too. My 

plan: pay more attention to 

the quality of my training—and 

choose only a few competitions, 

but choose them very 

consciously. I’ll probably run 

the marathon in Hanover in 

the spring, then the “100 Miles 

of Berlin” again—and of course 

the Berlin Marathon again. I 

will definitely not miss the anniversary 

race, the 50th BMW 


BJÖRN MACIOSEK


Steffi Fuchs grew up in East Berlin before the 

fall of the Wall. Today she lives in the USA, 

in a remote small town near the Canadian 

border. Running through the Brandenburg 

Gate in Berlin was the fulfilment of a dream 

she had not just as a runner, but as a child. 


» Still my Berlin— 

but much nicer «

As a native of East Berlin, the run 

through the Brandenburg Gate was 

particularly emotional for Steffi 

Fuchs. The medal will always remind 

her of this experience. 

STEFFI FUCHS 

It was incredible. And I feel 

amazing: I already ran 

through Berlin on Monday, the 

day after, to take photos with 

the medal. I don‘t feel like I ran 

a marathon—more like I ran five 

kilometres. There‘s not even a 

sore muscle! 

I probably did a few things 

right by taking it easy. It was 

clear that Berlin would not be 

a best time—and because I had 

already qualified for Boston in 

the USA, I could simply enjoy 

Berlin. I ran relaxed—and that 

went better than expected. 

I ran 4:20. But I would also 

have been happy with a 5-hour 

time. I thought I would stop 

more often to take photos, but 

then it went so well that I didn‘t 

want to stop. I enjoyed every 

step, as well as the crowds 

along the course and especially 

the groups of drummers. I‘m 

a real fan: bands are great, but 

a drumline on the side of the 

track is the ultimate. And Berlin 

had so many to offer. 

But first things first: I arrived 

on Monday from Oroville, a 

small town between Seattle 


and the Canadian border. Then 

I explored the city and walked 

about 20 kilometres—to places 

of interest, but also to places 

of my childhood: Berlin is still 

my Berlin. Of course, a lot has 

changed. Mostly for the better. 

Some buildings are no longer 

there. I remember Alexanderplatz 

differently as an East 

German—to be honest, it‘s not 

as nice today. But other buildings 

have been wonderfully 

restored. It‘s still my Berlin— 

but more beautiful, much more 

beautiful. 

There was a lot that I looked at 

critically. And I think it‘s good 

that you can see where and 

how the Wall stood. That‘s part 

of Berlin. 

On marathon Sunday, I entered 

starting block F. And it was brilliant 

there. The atmosphere! 

New York and Chicago can‘t 

compete with that. I mention 

those two because they are 

the only „big“ ones I‘ve run so 

far—but the atmosphere and 

organisation in Berlin were 

amazing. Simply awesome. 

I was already starting to get jittery 

two weeks before the race. 

On Sunday I woke up at four in 

the morning and headed out 

at five—even though there was 

still plenty of time. But once 

I was in the starting block, I 

wasn‘t nervous anymore: when 

it starts getting serious, I‘m 

calm and cool. 

I started slowly. I ran according 

to my pulse. But when the first 

half was over, I had the stupid 

idea to try a negative split. I 

stepped on the gas—and suddenly 

it became totally stressful. 

I felt like I was running 

much faster, but actually I was 

running slower. That‘s when 

you realise that it‘s really all in 

your head. I then said to myself, 

„Stop stressing, just run!“ 

And immediately it was easier 

and better. 

I just ran according to my fee-

ling. Of course, it dragged on 

for the last few miles. You keep 

asking yourself: „Where is the 

Brandenburg Gate? When is 

it finally coming?“ But when 

it appeared, everything was 

good. Then it got exciting. 

Before the start, my buddies 

reminded me to look friendly 

for the photos: There‘s hardly 

a running photo of me that 

shows me laughing or looking 

happy—because I always get 

super emotional. And that happened 

here too! As a former 

East Berliner, running through 

this gate, which was so close 

and yet unreachable, is something 

special. I hardly took any 

photos during the run itself— 

but I did make a video: I will 

watch it often. 

The feeling was indescribable. 

There was only one thought: 

„You are running through here. 

You‘re really running through 

here!“ This moment is what I 

wanted as a runner for three 

years. But in reality, it is something 

I wanted since I was 

a child. Still, it‘s almost unreal. 

You think, „Is this me? Am I actually 

here?“ But because your 

race bib has your name on it, 

people keep calling it out: Yes, 

it‘s you! You‘re actually here! 

And suddenly I was at the finish 

line. The first thought? 

„Did I get the medal? Where 

is my medal? Ah, there! It‘s all 

good.“ But it takes time until 

you really realise that. 

On Monday, I was out in the 

city all day with my medal. Physically, 

I was doing great. When 

I saw other finishers struggling 

on all fours up and down the 

stairs, I was proud of myself— 

without gloating: It‘s not just 

luck, I did some things right. I 

want to build on that: My next 

big race is Boston. In spring. 

And next autumn I want to run 

in Berlin again: This year was a 

great party—what will the 50th 

anniversary be like? 


– 180 –

Deutschlands größter Charity-Frauenlauf. 

11. Mai 2024 

Sei du 

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Live- & Virtual-Event: 

Jetzt anmelden! 

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#laufengegen krebs


The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON has a special place in Jürgen Karl’s 

heart—and on his back, as well, since 2018: a large tattoo that covers 

his entire back. This time, the 54-year-old printer from Stolberg 

near Aachen took part for the eighth time. For him, it was his 

best run through the German capital. He shares his story here. 


» My most beautiful 

Berlin Marathon « 

That was my eighth Berlin 

Marathon. And even 

though Berlin is always beautiful, 

this year was the most 

beautiful run—but it also felt 

like the longest. Of course, it’s 

always 42 kilometres. And I’m 

not usually the fastest either. 

But this year I was on the 

road for almost six hours: it 

was harder than usual. Warmer 

too. Fresh in the morning, 

warm in the morning—and really 

hot by noon. 

Nevertheless: it was awesome. 

Unbelievably cool. The 

most beautiful route, the 

most beautiful final straight. 

As always. But the best atmosphere, 

the best spectators I 

have ever experienced: I don’t 

know how many times I heard 

my name being called—from 

along the course, but also 

from other runners. In 1,000 

languages ... that is goosebumps 

and pure emotion. 

I was also interviewed on the 

live TV broadcast this year: 

About the marathon, but 

especially about my Berlin 

Marathon tattoo on my back: 

Why I got it in 2018 and what 

it stands for. 

The marathon party already 

started on Friday. As usual, 

we first went to the Brandenburg 

Gate, then to the expo. 

On Saturday, we watched the 

inline skating marathon. For 

me, that is an integral part: it’s 

customary among athletes to 

cheer each other on—and just 

like at the marathon, it’s tho- 

– 183 –

se at the very back who need 

the most support: I stand there 

until the last one passes by 

and cheer. 

The night before the marathon 

I slept really poorly this 

time. I woke up around three 

and just tossed and turned. 

Since 2018, Jürgen Karl now always 

carries the Berlin Marathon with 

him. As a tattoo that adorns his 

entire back. 

Maybe it’s because of my 

sciatica: it started to give me 

problems a few weeks before 

the race. It had never been an 

issue before. But then, during 

the run itself, the pain was 

gone. 

Berlin is an emotional affair 

for me—this year, for personal 

reasons, especially so. Maybe 

that also played a part. But for 

me, it’s never about time, about 

pace: if I walk, that’s okay 

for me, too. But up to the Wild 

Boar (Wilder Eber) at kilometre 

28, it went very well. I was 

very happy with myself. I ran 

almost the whole time. 

I also was feeling a bit of pressure 

because of the planned 

live TV interview. We had agreed 

on a time. So I had to be 

at the “Eber” on time. Then I 

told them about how the tattoo 

came to be. Why I had the 

course map tattooed on my 

back in 2018. How long it took, 

what it cost, and of course 

I showed off my tatoo—I’m 


proud of it. But then getting 

back into running was hard. 

Really hard. It is fascinating 

how such an interruption can 

take you out of the flow. The 

editor also asked me what the 

last few kilometres would be 

like: I said that I would arrive— 

no matter how and no matter 

when. 

I walked the last seven kilometres. 

All the way until the 

home stretch, when you see 

the Brandenburg Gate: That’s 

where I started running. Carried 

by this unbelievable wave 

of cheers. In Berlin, the crowd 

carries you from the start to 

the finish. 

This year I arrived at the 

finish in 5:54 hours. The 

27,777th of 43,000. But that 

doesn’t matter: everyone is 

a winner—because everyone 

has proven what he or she 

can do. Only that counts. Every 

year anew. But this time it 

was still my best Berlin Marathon 

yet. Everything fit: The 

JÜRGEN KARL 

motivation, the weather, the 

atmosphere. There were so 

many people—I still get goose 

bumps. 

Goosebumps—that’s what it 

was until the very last moment: 

almost at the finish line, 

a cameraman shot images for 

the big video wall. I showed 

him my back one last time and 

then saw myself on the big 

wall. “My” Brandenburg Gate 

at the Brandenburg Gate: this 

moment, this feeling—it will 

stay with me. No one can ever 

take that away from me again.

Record-breaking, colourful, and inspiring for 50 years. That and 

so much more characterises the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. Along 

the course, the capital is transformed into a gigantic party mile. It 

is THE sporting event for running and sports enthusiasts. Anyone 

who wants to experience these incredible moving moments will 

find them at our 50th anniversary edition in 2024. We are already 

looking forward to celebrating this very special event with you!

Thanks 

for being 

part of it! 

See you in Berlin!

BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2023: The Finisher Magazine

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