2021: Preview

Event
Magazine
ORGANISED BY
#BERLINLEGEND
#RESTARTRUNNING
ALL INFO ABOUT
YOUR MARATHON
WEEKEND
PLUS: THE STARS, THE CITY, THE HISTORY

Message from the
Governing Mayor of Berlin
Welcome to the 2021 BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON! I’m
delighted that over the next
two days, tens of thousands
of people will be thronging
the streets of Berlin again to
pursue their passion for run-
Michael Müller
ning. That’s a very welcome
development, and something
that can’t be taken for granted
in these pandemic times.
I would therefore like to start
by thanking the BMW Group,
the SCC EVENTS GmbH orga-
– 3 –

nization team, and the many
volunteers for making this
world-class running event
possible during the pandemic.
Just as in previous years, we
will see top athletes joined at
the starting line by recreational
runners, sending a positive
signal about sports and the
values they reinforce – fairness,
diversity, and community.
Not to mention the many
thousands of spectators along
the route who do everything
they can to cheer the runners
on, one kilometer after another.
Once again, Berlin will be a
huge international sporting
arena and a place that sparks
enthusiasm and inspires people
to join in. That’s what makes
our city what it is – an open,
creative, and vibrant capital
that invites people from all
over the world to join us for
magnificent sporting events
like the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
and many others. Welcome!
Michael Müller
Governing Mayor of Berlin
– 4 –

Christian Jost
Greetings from the organisers
For the past months, the
path to the BMW BERLIN-
MARATHON 2021 became a
marathon for us as organisers.
We benefited from the fact
that our company philosophy
entails much of the essence
of endurance sports. Qualities
such as determination, conscientiousness,
willpower, a healthy
dose of self-confidence
and, last but not least, stamina
and concentration, which are
essential for successful marathon
preparation, were also
demanded of us once again..
When we had to cancel the
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON last
year due to the Corona pandemic,
it was a painful setback,
comparable to a serious injury
that a runner may experience.
After such moments, in sports
as in business, you have to keep
calm, reorient yourself and refocus.
That‘s what we did, de-
spite or even because of all the
additional adversities, such as
reductions in work time. We always
motivated one another -
everyone in the team did their
part. And just as the athlete
needs outside input in order
to make it to the finish, be it
from a coach or other experts,
we also sought dialog with our
specialists. Together we developed
concepts so that the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON & Inline
– 6 –

Skating could return to its full
strength. Building upon each
experience, like with a training
plan, we optimized our #restartrunning
as we moved from the
adidas RUNNERS CITY NIGHT
to the GENERALI BERLIN
HALF MARATHON to the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON. We drew
conclusions from each event
and week to week we fine-tuned
our implementation plan.
Now, like our participants, we
are well prepared for the start.
Before we really get started,
though, we would like to thank
the Berlin authorities, the Senate
and especially our partners,
without whose support and
trust the event implementation
would not have been possible.
Jürgen Lock
Now the moment has come: The
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON & Inline
Skating 2021 can begin. We
want to see you, dear participants,
finally running, finishing
and smiling again. Go get your
medals! Let‘s #restartrunning!
Christian Jost & Jürgen Lock
Managing Directors of SCC EVENTS
– 7 –

E V E N T V I D E O
T H E
Contents
26 The event comeback
Now in its 47th edition, the BMW BERLIN-
MARATHON is a beacon event that shows
how big running events can again be safe
and fun in Corona times.
36 What you need to know
What is taking place where and when? Where
does the course go? All the important information
at a glance. With a detailed timetable.
42 The top runners
Will Kenenisa Bekele come close to the
world record? Will the women set a course
record? And what can the German runners
Philipp Pflieger, Rabea Schöneborn and
Laura Hottenrott achieve? We dare to make
our first predictions.
72 The city
On your marathon weekend, you‘ll want to
explore Berlin. Find the best tips for experiencing
this fascinating city, where everyone
can do their thing, in an authentic way.

86 The Info Manager
With the assistance of up to a hundred children
and youth, Burkhard Zimmermann makes sure
that the public along the course is provided with
all the information they need about the marathon.
92 Who is that running?
Amy Robach is a TV star in the USA as a host on
„Good Morning America“. In Berlin she is one of
thousands of recreational runners. We introduce
her here together with two others.
108 Eating for a marathon
Nutrition in the last days before the start and during
the race is a major concern for runners. We
list the most important rules that will help you
get through the marathon in good shape.
130 On wheels
Inline skaters are also eagerly awaiting the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON. For them, it‘s the biggest
event of the year. And after a year‘s break due
to COVID, the anticipation is even greater. We
take a look at the race with all the stars.
Additionally
10 — The most beautiful photos from the last BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2019
144 — From Tokyo to Berlin:
The stars of the Paralympics will be competing in the wheelchair and handcycle events
156 — Eleven world records and plenty of highlights: The history of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
190 — Imprint and organisation of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON

Finally time to enjoy the atmosphere at the
start together again: Even if it won‘t be as
crowded on the Strasse des 17. Juni on
September 26 as it was in 2019 before the
Corona pandemic hit—the anticipation for the
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON grows from day to
day after the forced break last year

Drei Striche weisen den Weg zur Bestzeit: Wer
auf den Straßen Berlins nach langen Monaten
der Wettkampfabstinenz auf seine Zeit schaut,
sollte der Ideallinie folgen
The race is on: Like in 2019,
Ethiopia‘s Kenenisa Bekele will
be among the first who get to set
out on the course in the chase
for the marathon world record

42.195 kilometres of sightseeing: In Wenn kurz nach dem Start die Siegessäule passiert
2021, the course will again pass all wird, steigt die Stimmung bei allen Teilnehmer:innen
the major sights such as the Kaiser des GENERALI BERLINER HALBMARATHON, ...
Wilhelm Memorial Church

... um dann im Ziel am
Brandenburger Tor komplett
zu eskalieren

Experience authentic Berlin:
The marathon takes you to
beyond the glamorous parts
of the German capital

Diversity of nations: The BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON is probably the
most international sporting event
in Germany. Athletes from over one
hundred countries have registered
for the 47th edition in 2021

A place of yearning: it is hard
to imagine a more emotional
marathon destination than
the Brandenburg Gate

When running takes off: After
42.195 kilometres, mascot
Fridolin Flink cheers on
„Flying Kristen”

©SCC EVENTS/camera4
©SCC EVENTS/camera4
m Montag, 27. September, exklusiv im Tagesspiegel:
lle Zeiten, alle Läufer –
Am Montag, 27. September, exklusiv im Tagesspiegel:
Am Montag, 27. September, exklusiv im Tagesspiegel:
ie große Ergebnisbeilag
Alle Zeiten, alle Läufer –
Alle Zeiten, alle Läufer –
die
icht
große
verpassen!
Ergebnisbeilage.
die
Nicht
große
verpassen!
Ergebnisbeilage.
Nicht verpassen!
rhältlich im Handel und online unter epaper.tagesspiegel.de
Erhältlich im Handel und online unter epaper.tagesspiegel.de
Erhältlich im Handel und online unter epaper.tagesspiegel.de

One star created from six medals:
Gibt es eigentlich irgendwo Whoever auf finishes der Welt the ein marathons schöneres in
Start-Ziel-Gelände als Tokyo, den London, Berliner Boston, Tiergarten Chicago beim and
GENERALI BERLINER New HALBMARATHON York in addition und to Berlin beim receives a
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON? big Abbott World Marathon Majors medal
24

25

MARATHON MOMENTS
The
Comeback

After a great decade, the sport of running was hit
hard by Corona. Although significantly more
people have been out running in the past 18
pandemic months than before, running events are
struggling with much lower numbers of
participants in their first editions since the
outbreak. The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, as a
beacon event, hopes to demonstrate that thanks
to progress from the vaccine and with sophisticated
hygiene plans, running events can be safe
and fun even in Corona times. In his guest article,
laufen.de editor-in-chief Christian Ermert writes
about why great moments are so important—like
this one at 11:16 a.m. on September 16, 2018,
exactly 19 seconds before Eliud Kipchoge reached
the finish line at the Brandenburg Gate as the new
world record holder.
© imago images/Sebastian Wells

MARATHON MOMENTS
It was like pulling the emergency
stop while moving full
speed. There is no other way to
describe what happened to the
running scene in the spring of
2020. Everywhere, people were
preparing for another glorious
year. For a whole decade, new
records had been set. Especially
in Berlin. In 2011, 2013,
2014 and 2018, the BMW BER-
LIN-MARATHON had been won
in world record times. In total,
eleven world records have
been run at the BMW BERLIN-
The author
Christian Ermert
is editor-in-chief of
the internet portal
laufen.de and the
accompanying
magazine LÄUFT. In
the 1990s, he was
one of Germany‘s
best middledistance
runners, running the 800 metres in
1:47.20 minutes. Today he doesn‘t run quite as
fast, but longer. He has been part of the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON for many years, initially as
a runner and later as a journalist.
2015
MARATHON since 1977—eight
by men, three by women—more
than in any other race worldwide
over the classic distance
of 42.195 kilometres. Recently
a completely new type of running
shoe was developed with
carbon plates in well cushioned
soles. Equipped with the new
gear, top athletes have been
pushing into completely new
levels of performance since
2017.
Also, the years from 2015 to
today have been marked by
an extraordinary athlete from
Kenya, who most recently
became Olympic marathon
champion for the second time
in Sapporo: Eliud Kipchoge.
In 2015, he won at his second
start in Berlin in 2:04:00
hours, despite the fact that
the insoles of his running shoes
had slipped out after just
a few kilometres. The fastest
marathon runner in the world
that year with two insoles
hanging out at the heels—that

In 2015, Eliud Kipchoge
hinted at what might be possible
with his first victory at the
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON in
2:04:00 hours; the Kenyan
already earned the title of world
champion in the 5,000 m in Paris
in 2003 at the age of just 18
© imago images/Hartenfelser

MARATHON MOMENTS
2017
has only happened in Berlin.
One year later, Eliud Kipchoge
became Olympic marathon
champion for the first time in
Rio de Janeiro. In May 2017, in
an irregular race under laboratory
conditions on the Formula
1 racetrack in Monza, he
attempted to become the first
person to run 42.195 kilometres
in under two hours.
The sport of running
gains new attention
He just missed the mark with
a time of 2:00:25, but the attempt
drew worldwide attention
to running like never before.
His run almost four months
later at the BMW BERLIN-MA-
RATHON 2017 was also epic:
In the pouring rain, he ran to
victory in 2:03:32. Despite the
adverse weather conditions,
he missed the official world
record at the time by just over
half a minute. In 2014, Dennis
Kimetto also broke the world
record in Berlin with a time of
2:02:57. One year later, in top
weather, the time had come
again: Eliud Kipchoge set a
new world record at the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON and, with
a time of 2:01:39, achieved the
biggest improvement in 50 years.
And then just one year later
at the BMW BERLIN-MARA-
THON, Kenenisa Bekele missed
this record, seemingly created
for eternity, by a tiny margin of
two seconds, while Eliud Kipchoge
completed his „marathon
under two hours“ project
in Vienna in another irregular
race, running the 42.195 kilometres
in 1:59:40.
Running where
history is made
More and more people want
to run where so many of the
running world’s dramas and
heroic stories are being written.
In Berlin. The field of
participants was able to be
increased once again in 2019
thanks to smart organisati-
– 30 –

© imago images/Christian Thiel
2018
Eliud Kipchoge narrowly
missed the world record in
the pouring rain in 2017,
then celebrated his world record
time of 2:01:39 a year
later, which was the biggest
improvement to the record
in 50 years
– 31 –

MARATHON MOMENTS
2019
on. 43,987 runners reached
the finish line two years ago.
More than ever before. There
are only a few 42.195 km races
that have ever seen more finishers.
New York, Chicago and
Paris are among them. The
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is
world-class in every respect
and, despite being able to increase
the number of participants,
has had to have a drawing
for the race entries year
after year, since many more
people want to run in Berlin
than there is room for them
on the course.
New ideas follow
the standstill
But the marathon was not the
only event growing. In the first
weeks of 2020, it looked like
the GENERALI BERLIN HALF
MARATHON was well on its
way to reaching similar dimensions.
Berlin was preparing to
welcome over 35,000 runners
in April 2020. But then a new
virus spread across the globe
at top speed. Initial premonitions
became certainty
in March: the danger of contracting
the new Coronavirus
made it impossible to hold major
running events during the
pandemic. All races worldwide
were cancelled. From March
2020 onwards, things came to
a standstill.
Races were later organised
for the elite, where records
and best performances were
set, but the congregation
of recreational athletes and
world-class athletes together
at the start and on the course,
which makes running so unique,
no longer existed. Instead,
during the Corona pandemic,
more and more people
started running on their own.
Clearly, fitness and health
were more important than
ever before, and at the same
time clubs, gyms and sports
halls were closed. What remained
was running.
– 32 –

Finisher record: 43,987 runners crossed the finish line at the BMW BERLIN-
MARATHON in 2019. However, the course is not as crowded as the numbers and
pictures like this suggest. Scientific research was already carried out to find
out how much space there actually is on the course. The result is hardly
surprising for experienced runners: except at the refreshment stations, a
minimum distance of two metres is almost always maintained - after all, if it
gets any tighter than that, running is hardly possible ...
– 33 –

MARATHON MOMENTS
Getting people excited
about big events again
Of those who discovered running
during the pandemic, however,
not very many have yet
found their way to the running
events that are now gradually
starting to take place again
with the increases in vaccinations
and the implementation
of thorough hygiene and safety
plans. This is shown by the
figures, which are still a
long way from those that we
were used to before Corona.
13,279 runners finished at the
GENERALI BERLIN HALF
MARATHON in August. And
about 25,000 are expected at
the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON.
This makes the race one of the
largest runs worldwide to take
place since the beginning of
the Corona pandemic. A great
new start — made possible by
the hygiene concept devised
by SCC EVENTS together with
the Berlin Senate Department
for the Interior and Sport. The
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is
a beacon event that will show
that things are about to start
speeding up in the running
world despite Corona.
After Kenenisa Bekele missed the
marathon world record in Berlin by
only two seconds two years ago, he is
hoping to provide more great moments
on September 26.

MARATHON
AM TAG,
LIEBLINGSCOUCH
AM ABEND.
HÖFFNER,
DIE GANZE WELT
DES WOHNENS
JETZT 23× IN
DEUTSCHLAND.
www.hoeffner.de
Höffner Möbelgesellschaft GmbH & Co. KG • Am Rondell 1 • 12529 Schönefeld
– 35 –

Your guide to the
Marathon week
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19
Kunstfabrik Schlot
32nd Literature Marathon
5:00 pm
Berlin-Mitte | Invalidenstraße 117 (Edison-Höfe)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
Brandenburg Gate
Hall of Fame
12:00 - 6:00 p.m.
BMW BERLIN MARATHON
Berlin-Tiergarten | Platz des 18. März
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
Tempelhof Airport
MARATHON EXPO
3:30 - 8:00 pm
Berlin-Tempelhof | Platz der Luftbrücke 5
Brandenburg Gate
Hall of Fame
12:00 - 6:00 pm
BMW BERLIN MARATHON
Berlin-Tiergarten | Platz des 18. März
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
Tempelhof Airport
MARATHON EXPO 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
Berlin-Tempelhof | Platz der Luftbrücke 5
Brandenburg Gate
Hall of Fame
12:00 - 6:00 p.m.
BMW BERLIN MARATHON
Berlin-Tiergarten | Platz des 18. März

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
Tempelhof Airport
MARATHON EXPO 9:00 am - 7:00 pm
Berlin-Tempelhof | Platz der Luftbrücke 5
Brandenburg Gate
Hall of Fame
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
BMW BERLIN MARATHON
Berlin-Tiergarten | Platz des 18. März
Strasse des 17. Juni
BMW BERLIN MARATHON
Start Inlineskating
3:30 pm
Berlin-Tiergarten | Start: close to „Kleiner Stern“
Finish: close to „Sowjetisches Ehrenmal“
Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
Ecumenial marathon prayer 3:30 pm
Berlin-Charlottenburg | Breitscheidplatz
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
Strasse des 17. Juni
BMW BERLIN MARATHON
Start Handcyclists (Elite)
8:50 am
Start Wheelchair Competitors 8:57 am
Start Handcyclists
8:57 am
Start Runners (1st wave)
9:15 am
Start Runners (2nd wave) 9:35 am
Start Runners (3rd wave)
10:05 am
Start Runners (4th wave)
10:30 am
Berlin-Tiergarten | Start: close to „Kleiner Stern“
Finish: close to „Sowjetisches Ehrenmal“
Brandenburg Gate
Hall of Fame
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
BMW BERLIN MARATHON
Berlin-Tiergarten | Platz des 18. März
GROSSE PASTA-PARTY!
24. & 25.
SEPTEMBER
AUF DIE PASTA, FERTIG, LOS!
Freut euch auf Pizza, Pasta & Co. und viele weitere Event-Highlights zum Berlin-
Marathon. Bei Vorlage der Startnummer gibt es unsere Extraportion Kohlenhydrate
gratis. Die Pasta-Party findet an folgenden Tagen auf unserer Piazza statt:
FR, 24.09.2021 17–20 Uhr · SA, 25.09.2021 13–20 Uhr
STOP CORONA

COURSE MAP
B I G G E R
M A P

41
1

KILOMETRES
LEADING
HANDBIKERS
LEADING
LEADING
WHEELCHAIR COMPETITORS
RUNNERS
LAST RUNNERS
LOCATION
PASSING TIMES
START 08:50 08:56 09:15 10:59 Straße des 17. Juni (Kleiner Stern)
1 08:51 08:57 09:17 11:07 Straße des 17. Juni (after Siegessäule)
2 08:52 08:59 09:20 11:16 Straße des 17. Juni (before Charlottenburger Brücke)
3 08:54 09:01 09:23 11:25 Marchstraße (before Einsteinufer )
4 08:55 09:03 09:26 11:34 Alt – Moabit (before Zinzendorfstraße)
5 08:57 09:05 09:29 11:43 Alt Moabit 96 (Mc Fit)
6 08:58 09:07 09:32 11:52 Alt Moabit 130 (after Invalidenstraße)
7 08:59 09:09 09:35 12:00 Konrad-Adenauer-Straße (after Otto v. Bismarck Allee)
8 09:01 09:10 09:38 12:09 Friedrichstraße 130 C (after Reinhardtstraße)
9 09:02 09:12 09:41 12:18 Torstraße 158/160 (before Ackerstraße)
10 09:04 09:14 09:44 12:27 Torstraße 46 (after Rosa-Luxemburg-Straße)
11 09:05 09:16 09:46 12:36 Otto-Braun-Straße (before Alexanderplatz)
12 09:07 09:18 09:49 12:45 Strausberger Platz (after Lichtenberger Str.)
13 09:08 09:20 09:52 12:53 Michaelkirchstraße (before Köpenicker Str.)
14 09:09 09:22 09:55 13:02 Heinrich-Heine-Str. 70 (after Einfahrt Parkplatz Lidl)
15 09:11 09:24 09:58 13:11 Reichenberger Straße/Erkelenzdamm (after Erkelenzdamm)
16 09:12 09:25 10:01 13:20 Kottbusser Damm 13 (after Böckhstraße/U-Bhf. Schönleinstr.)
17 09:14 09:27 10:04 13:29 Hasenheide 16/14 (after Conrad)
18 09:15 09:29 10:07 13:38 Südstern
19 09:16 09:31 10:10 13:46 Gneisenaustraße 98 (after Solmsstraße)
20 09:18 09:33 10:13 13:55 Yorckstraße 24 (before Katzbachstraße)
21 09:19 09:35 10:15 14:04 Goebenstraße 20/21 (before Kirchbachstraße)
HM 09:19 09:35 10:15 14:05 Goebenstraße 24/25 (before Steinmetzstraße)
22 09:21 09:37 10:18 14:13 Grunewaldstraße 11 (before Gleditschstraße)
23 09:22 09:38 10:21 14:22 Martin-Luther-Straße 88 (after Wartburgstraße)
24 09:24 09:40 10:24 14:31 Hauptstraße (unter S-Bahn)
25 09:25 09:42 10:27 14:39 Rheinstraße 8 (after Schmargendorfer Straße)
26 09:26 09:44 10:30 14:48 Wiesbadener Straße 12/13 (before Rheingaustraße)
27 09:28 09:46 10:33 14:57 Breitenbachplatz (before Dillenburgerstr., Haltestelle BVG)
28 09:29 09:48 10:36 15:06 Lentzeallee 44 (before Hellriegelstraße links)
29 09:31 09:50 10:39 15:15 Rheinbabenallee 20 (after Heydenstraße)
30 09:32 09:52 10:42 15:24 Hohenzollerndamm 124 (before Auguste-Viktoria-Straße)
31 09:33 09:53 10:45 15:32 Hohenzollerndamm 152 (before Fritz-Wildung Straße)
32 09:35 09:55 10:47 15:41 Hohenzollerndamm (after Ruhrstraße)
33 09:36 09:57 10:50 15:50 Konstanzer Straße 59 (after Düsseldorfer Straße)
34 09:38 09:59 10:53 15:59 Kurfürstendamm 204 (after Knesebeckstraße)
35 09:39 10:01 10:56 16:08 Tauentzienstraße 13 A (after Rankestraße)
36 09:41 10:03 10:59 16:17 Kleiststraße 3-6 (after Courbierestraße)
37 09:42 10:05 11:02 16:25 Potsdamer Straße 113 (before Kurfürstenstraße)
38 09:43 10:06 11:05 16:34 Potsdamer Straße 35 (gegenüber Sigismundstraße)
39 09:45 10:08 11:08 16:43 Leipziger Straße 5 (after Bundesrat)
40 09:46 10:10 11:11 16:52 Jerusalemer Straße (after Leipziger Straße)
41 09:48 10:12 11:14 17:01 Französische Straße 14 (before Glinkastraße)
42 09:49 10:14 11:16 17:10 Straße des 17. Juni (after Brandenburger Tor)
ZIEL 09:50 10:16 11:17 17:12 Straße des 17. Juni (Sowjetisches Ehrenmal)

FOLLOW THE
#PULSEOFTHECITY
In das Herz einer Stadt einzutauchen und ihre Atmosphäre im Zuge einer
persönlichen Herausforderung aufzusaugen – diese Vision möchte Maurice
Lacroix als offizieller Zeitnehmer des BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
verwirklichen. Das Sportevent bringt begeisterte Läuferinnen und Läufer
zusammen, die unter anderem drei Merkmale teilen: Ambition, Fokus und
Leidenschaft. Merkmale, die auch Maurice Lacroix verinnerlicht hat und
die die urbane Marke folglich mit den Hochleistungssportlern teilt.
Vor dem Lauf verbringen die Teilnehmer viele Stunden damit zu trainieren
und ihre Leistungsfähigkeit zu steigern. Auch Maurice Lacroix hat viel
Zeit und Mühe in die Optimierung der eigenen Produkte investiert, um
erschwingliche Kreationen mit ausdrucksstarkem Design und hohem wahrgenommenen
Wert anzubieten. Ähnlich wie die Ausnahmesportler ist die
Marke innovativ und strebt nach Erfolg. Genau diese gemeinsamen
Werte machen Veranstaltungen wie den BMW BERLIN-MARATHON für
Maurice Lacroix zu einem ausgezeichneten Partner.

THE ELITE RACES
The chase
begins
Numerous world-class athletes will compete at the 47th
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON: While Ethiopia’s superstar
Kenenisa Bekele will run for the fourth time in Germany’s
biggest and most spectacular road race, his compatriot
Hiwot Gebrekidan will come to Berlin for the first time.
She currently holds the fastest time in the world for the
marathon this year. Although the best German marathon
runners competed at the Olympic Games last month and
are therefore not yet able to run in Berlin again, three top
German runners are participating: Philipp Pflieger, Rabea
Schöneborn from Berlin and Laura Hottenrott.
Text: Jörg Wenig

THE MEN’S RACE
Can Guye Adola
threaten Bekele?
After Kenenisa Bekele stormed
to the finish line in
Berlin two years ago in just
2:01:41, missing the world record
by an annoying two seconds,
it can be assumed that
he will again aim for an extremely
fast race in his Berlin as
he defends his title. We’ll have
to wait and see whether he can
endanger the world record, as
it depends on many factors.
Due to his unique successes as
a long-distance runner on the
track and as a cross-country
runner, Kenenisa Bekele has
long earned his spot among the
greatest long-distance runners
in the history of sports. These
include the Finn Paavo Nurmi,
the Czech Emil Zatopek and
the Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie.
Kenenisa Bekele still needs
a major success in the mara-
thon to lock down his status.
While it is very unlikely that
the 39-year-old could still become
Olympic champion over
the classic distance, a world
record may still be possible.
That would be the crowning
finale to his extraordinary career.
Only one runner has ever
managed to set world records
in the 5,000 m, 10,000 m and
marathon: Haile Gebrselassie.
If Kenenisa Bekele comes to
Berlin in top form, he will be
hard to beat. Two compatriots
are among the athletes
most likely to threaten the Ethiopian.
Guye Adola already
caused one sensation at the
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. He
ran one of the best marathon
debuts of all time in 2017. He
was in the lead until kilometre
40, ahead of superstar Eliud
– 44 –

The fastest runners in Berlin in 2021
Time Runner Country Year
2:01:41 Kenenisa Bekele ETH 2019
2:03:46 Guye Adola ETH 2017
2:04:11 Marius Kipserem KEN 2019
2:05:21 Eliud Kiptanui KEN 2015
2:06:05 Philemon Kacheran KEN 2019
2:06:13 Festus Talam KEN 2017
2:06:13 Tadu Abate ETH 2019
2:06:15 Olika Adugna ETH 2020
2:06:18 Tesfaye Lencho ETH 2020
2:06:26 Hidekazu Hijikata JPN 2021
Guye Adola comes to Berlin with the second-best
time. In 2017, the Ethiopian ran to
second place at the Brandenburg Gate. Could
he pose a threat to the favourite Kenenisa
Bekele this time?

Kipchoge. Only then was the
Kenyan able to overtake the
surprise contender and eventually
win ahead of Guye Adola,
who achieved his best time
of 2:03:46, which still holds
today. In 2019, the Ethiopian
put in another world-class
performance, finishing third
in Valencia in 2:04:42. Olika
Adugna, only 22, also caused
a sensation at his debut: in
2020, the Ethiopian stormed
to victory in the high-profile
Dubai Marathon in 2:06:15, but
due to the Corona pandemic,
he has not run a single international
race since.
The situation is similar for
many top African runners. For
perhaps the strongest Kenyan
runner at the start, Marius Kipserem,
the BMW BERLIN-MA-
RATHON will also be his first
international race this year. He
triumphed at the 2019 Rotterdam
Marathon with a course
record of 2:04:11 hours.
The only top German marathon
runner in Berlin’s elite field is
Philipp Pflieger. The 34-year-old
from Regensburg, who
competes for the Haspa Marathon
Hamburg running team,
has been coached by the successful
Italian coach Renato
Canova for one and a half years
and has since set a number
of personal best times. In the
marathon, Philipp Pflieger has
so far achieved 2:12:15, a time
he wants to beat in Berlin.
– 46 –

Marathon bests
MEN’S RECORDS
WOMEN’S RECORDS
World record
2:01:39 Eliud Kipchoge (KEN)
Berlin (2018)
European record
2:04:16 Kaan Özbilen (TUR)
Valencia/ESP (2019)
German record
2:07:18 Amanal Petros (TV Wattenscheid)
Valencia/ESP (2020)
2021 Yearly Leader
2:02:57 Titus Ekiru (KEN)
Milan/ITA (May 16, 2021)
Course record
2:01:39 Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 2018
World record
2:14:04 Brigid Kosgei (KEN)
Chicago/USA (2019)
European record
2:15:25 Paula Radcliffe (GBR)
London/GBR (2003)
German record
2:19:19 Irina Mikitenko (TV Wattenscheid)
Berlin (2008)
2021 Yearly Leader
2:19:35 Hiwot Gebrekidan (ETH)
Milan/ITA (May 16, 2021)
Course record
2:18:11 Gladys Cherono (KEN) 2018

THE WOMEN’S RACE
The course record
could crumble
In the women’s race, the fastest
runner in the world so
far this year is on the start
list: Ethiopian Hiwot Gebrekidan
won the Milan Marathon in
April in 2:19:35, setting a personal
best. The 26-year-old is
aiming for a time of under 2:19
hours at the BMW BERLIN-MA-
RATHON, which might even put
Gladys Cherono’s Berlin course
record in danger. The Kenyan
ran a time of 2:18:11 in 2018.
Shure Demise could pose Hiwot
Gebrekidan’s fiercest competition.
However, unlike her
compatriot, she has not competed
internationally for a long
time. In the sweltering heat,
she dropped out of the marathon
early at the World Cham-
pionships in Doha in September
2019. Before that, Shure
Demise impressed with a thirdplace
finish at the Tokyo Marathon
in 2:21:05. She just missed
her best time of 2:20:59 set in
Dubai in 2015 by six seconds. A
Berliner who has made her way
to the ranks of the top runners
in recent years will be competing
in her home marathon for
the first time: Rabea Schöneborn
(LG Nord Berlin) already
improved her time to 2:27:03
in her second marathon in Enschede
in April and now wants
to run even faster in front of
her home crowd. Laura Hottenrott
(PSV Grün-Weiß Kassel) is
a second German runner with
similar performances.
– 48 –

In Milan, Hiwot Gebrekidan ran the
fastest marathon by a woman so far
this year. With a time of 2:19:35, she
demonstrated that she might be able
to attack the Berlin course record
(2:18:11), which Gladys Cherono
set in 2018
The fastest runners
in Berlin in 2021
© imago images/La Presse
Time Runner Country Year
2:19:35 Hiwot Gebrekidan ETH 2021
2:20:59 Shure Demise ETH 2015
2:23:29 Ruth Chebitok KEN 2018
2:23:38 Bethelhem Moges ETH 2021
2:27:03 Rabea Schöneborn GER 2021
2:27:47 Iwona Bernardelli POL 2015
2:28:02 Laura Hottenrott GER 2021
2:28:12 Izabela Paszkiewicz POL 2021
2:29:03 Edith Chelimo KEN 2020

FAVOURITES IN FOCUS
KENENISA BEKELE
Race
against time
Kenenisa Bekele has twice narrowly missed the world record as he
won in Berlin. In 2016, he missed it by six seconds, in 2019 by just
two. Now the defending champion is back and has another chance
at the world record: to do so, he would have to be faster than
Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge ran when he won in Berlin in 2018 with a time
of 2:01:39. That’s a tall order. And at age 39, time is gradually running
out for one of the greatest track runners of all time to celebrate the
elusive success in the marathon like he has enjoyed so many times in
the stadium.
– 50 –

– 51 –

FAVOURITES IN FOCUS
KENENISA BEKELE
Kenenisa Bekele returns to
the BMW BERLIN-MARA-
THON as defending champion.
For the 39-year-old Ethiopian
superstar it will already be
his fourth start at the biggest
German marathon spectacle.
Kenenisa Bekele has not participated
in any other 42.195
km race as often as he has in
Berlin. He won in 2016, didn’t
finish a year later and in 2019
he triumphed again. In both
victories, the Ethiopian missed
the world records by just a few
seconds. „There is still work to
be done,“ says Kenenisa Bekele
with regard to the BMW BER-
LIN-MARATHON. Even though
he does not go on to explain
the unfinished business in
more detail, it is clear what he
means by this: Kenenisa Bekele
is coming to Berlin to attack
In 2019, Kenenisa Bekele misses the
world record in Berlin by two seconds.
This time he wants to be faster than
the world record time of 2:01:39 set
by the Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge
– 52 –

the marathon world record.
Breaking this record is the last
big goal in his unique career.
In terms of long-distance running
on the track and cross
country, Kenenisa Bekele is
certainly the greatest long-distance
runner of all time. He held
the world records in the 5000
m (12:37.35 min) and 10,000 m
(26:17.53 min) for 15 years—longer
than anyone else in history.
Bekele won gold in the 5000
m at the 2008 Olympics and
at the 2009 World Championships,
in the 10,000 m at the
2004 and 2008 Olympics and
at the 2003, 2005, 2007 and
2009 World Championships, as
well as eleven gold medals at
World Cross Championships.
While he dominated the track
and cross events for years,
Kenenisa Bekele‘s marathon
career has been bumpy. In his
past six races over the classic
distance, he failed to finish
three times. These included the
races in Dubai in 2017, where he
was aiming to attack the world
record, and in Berlin the same
year. He was also unlucky a year
ago when he had to withdraw
from the London Marathon a
few days beforehand due to a
pulled muscle.
Twice just missing
the world record
But twice Bekele had managed
to transfer his enormous
potential to the 42.195 kilometres.
Nevertheless, each of
these performances also came
with disappointment, as he missed
the world records by just
seconds. In 2016, he scraped
past the world best time by six
seconds in Berlin. He won the
race with an improved time of
2:03:03. The world record at
the time was held by Kenya‘s
Dennis Kimetto, who had run
a time of 2:02:57 in Berlin in
2014. In his victory two years
ago, Kenenisa Bekele‘s time
of 2:01:41 in Berlin missed Eliud
Kipchoge‘s world record by
– 53 –

FAVOURITES IN FOCUS
KENENISA BEKELE
just two seconds. Missing a best
time in the marathon by two seconds
is like a sprinter missing
the 100-meter world record by
less than five thousandths of a
second.
Kenenisa Bekele loves
to run in Berlin
Kenenisa Bekele remains the
second fastest runner in marathon
history with his Ethiopian
record from Berlin 2019. He
likes to return to Berlin. „The
course is good, there is usually
good weather this time of
year, the air is clear and clean,
and there are a lot of spectators
along the road—that‘s why
I like Berlin,“ said Kenenisa Bekele,
whose nomination for the
Olympics vacillated this year.
First he wasn‘t nominated by
the Ethiopian Athletics Federation,
then the National Olympic
Committee reportedly nominated
him anyway—but in the end
Bekele didn‘t fly to Japan and
instead focused on his world
record attempt in Berlin. In the
Olympic marathon, he would
not have been in the favourite
position in the battle against
the future winner Eliud Kipchoge.
„I‘m looking forward to my
race at the BMW BERLIN-MA-
RATHON and my training is focused
on it. Things are going
well. I am doing everything to
prepare perfectly,“ said Kenenisa
Bekele. „I ran very fast
times twice in Berlin, missing
the world record by just a few
seconds each time.“
Aside from the London Half
Marathon in March 2020,
which he won in 60:22 without
any real competition, Kenenisa
Bekele has not run a race since
the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
2019. Even in the time before
– 54 –

that, he rarely competed. The
last time Kenenisa Bekele competed
in more than five races
a year was in 2013, so it‘s really
special to have him on the
start line.
He thinks a time
of 2:01:30 is possible
Kenenisa Bekele was born in
the small town of Bekoji as
the second of six children. The
town located to the south of
Addis Ababa is home to a number
of world-class Ethiopian
runners, including the Dibaba
sisters Ejegayehu, Tirunesh
and Genzebe, and Olympic
marathon champions Gezahegne
Abera and Tiki Gelana.
Kenenisa Bekele, who is married
to Ethiopian film actress
Danawit Gebregziabher and
has three children, has made
investments in Ethiopia with
the money he earned from
starting fees, bonuses and advertising
contracts. In 2012,
for example, he built a modern
400-meter running track with
six lanes in the city of Sululta.
He also built a hotel nearby
for the international athletes
training there.
Before Bekele competed in
the Dubai Marathon in 2017,
when asked what time he
thought he could achieve in
the marathon in the future,
he replied, „If everything comes
together in a race, I think
2:01:30 is possible for me.“
He already came very close
to this result in Berlin in 2019.
He will try to achieve this time
in his fourth start at the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON. At age
39, the race offers Kenenisa
Bekele what is possibly one of
his last chances to set a world
record for the 42.195 kilometres,
as well.
– 55 –

FAVOURITES IN FOCUS
HIWOT GEBREKIDAN
The next star
from Ethiopia?
Hiwot Gebrekidan comes to
Berlin as number one in
the current annual world best
list. The 26-year-old Ethiopian
improved to a world-class time
of 2:19:35 at the elite-only marathon
race in Milan in May. This
makes her the favourite at the
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. No
other runner has achieved a
time of under 2:20 so far this
year.
After winning a silver medal in
the 3000 m at the 2012 World
U20 Championships, Hiwot Gebrekidan
decided to focus on
road races despite this success.
Ironically, it was during the Corona
crisis, with limited competition
opportunities, that Hiwot
Gebrekidan made the step up
to the world class. In early December
2019, when there were
already Corona cases in China,
she won the marathon in Guangzhou
with a personal best
of 2:23:50.
Two strong races
in Istanbul
Last year she ran only one race.
She was second in the Istanbul
Marathon in 2:24:30. Hiwot Gebrekidan
returned to Istanbul
this spring for the half marathon,
where she finished second
in a strong time of 66:47
minutes.
This was followed by her triumph
at the Milan Marathon,
which the Ethiopian won with a
lead of over three minutes. She
had already left all competitors
behind at the 10-km mark and
at times ran a pace that would
have achieved a final time of
– 56 –

© imago images/LaPresse
2:18:30 hours. At the end, however,
Hiwot Gebrekidan slowed
down a bit. But she demonstrated
that she could be the next
great Ethiopian marathoner.
„I‘m really looking forward to
my next marathon. Berlin, I‘m
ready for you,“ says Hiwot Gebrekidan.
„After my personal
best time in Milan, I feel strong
and ready for a fight.“ For Hiwot
Gebrekidan, Berlin will be the
first start in an Abbott World
Marathon Majors race.
– 57 –

GERMAN STARS
RABEA SCHÖNEBORN
– 58 –

Berlin
instead of
the Olympics
Rabea Schöneborn (right) had achieved the
standard for the 2021 Olympic Games in
Japan.But since three other German
runners, including her twin sister Deborah
(left), were faster, she was left behind
while they got to compete in Sapporo. Now,
27-year-old Rabea, who lives with her sister
in Berlin, will have her own highlight of the
year at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. And
Debbie will of course be supporting her at
her hometown race.
– 59 –

GERMAN STARS
RABEA SCHÖNEBORN
Rabea Schöneborn missed
qualifying for the Olympic
marathon in Japan by a hair‘s
breadth. Only nine seconds
were missing for the Berliner
in April in Enschede, Netherlands,
where she achieved her
personal best time of 2:27:03.
However, she would have displaced
her twin sister Deborah
Schöneborn, who had run
a time of 2:26:55, in the battle
for a spot at the Olympics.
That helped keep her disappointment
about the justmissed
Olympic premiere in
check. While Deborah Schöneborn
finished with an excellent
18th place at the Olympic
marathon in Sapporo, Rabea
Schöneborn now has the opportunity
to run a marathon
in her hometown for the first
time: The BMW BERLIN-MA-
RATHON is like a perfect
„consolation prize“ for Rabea
Schöneborn.
„I am very happy that I can
now run in Berlin. Up until now
I have only competed in elite
marathon races, so now I get
to experience the flair of a
big city marathon for the first
time. If the preparation continues
to go well until the race,
my goal is to run a personal
best“, says the 27-year-old Rabea
Schöneborn, who runs for
the club LG Nord Berlin and
trains there together with her
sister with Detlef Müller.
Extensive training
for Berlin
Since she was initially nominated
as a substitute runner for
the Olympic Games and had
prepared herself for a possible,
last-minute entry, Rabea
Schöneborn now has extensive
training for the BMW BER-
LIN-MARATHON in her legs. „I
also completed altitude training
for the first time in the
process. I was in St. Moritz
for four weeks and coped well
with the altitude.“
The fact that her twin sister

At the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON Rabea
Schöneborn improved her time this year to 70:35 minutes
then achieved a top-20 finish
at the Olympics is inspiring:
„That is great motivation. If
one of us can achieve such a
strong performance, then the
other can do the same,“ says
Rabea Schöneborn, who watched
from Berlin as her sister
made up quite a few places in
the last third of the race. „It
was hard to guess beforehand
what would be possible. But I
wasn‘t surprised that Debbie
ran so well. It‘s a strength of
ours that we can adapt well to
difficult conditions. You also
have to be patient in a race
like this.“
Rabea Schöneborn has developed
strongly next to her
twin sister over the last two
years and pushed herself into
the top ranks of the German
long-distance runners. Both
– 61 –

GERMAN STARS
RABEA SCHÖNEBORN
© imago images/Andreas Gora
are on an almost identical performance
level. The longer the
distances, the better the twins
perform.
In the half marathon, Rabea
Schöneborn surprisingly improved
her best time to 71:40
minutes in Barcelona in February
2020. She then finished
54th in the elite World
Half Marathon Championships
and won the bronze medal
with the German team, which
also included her sister.
Two times
under 2:30 hours
This was followed by a good
marathon debut in Valencia
in December with a time of
2:28:42. This spring the Berliner
then provided the best
performance of her career so
far at the Enschede Marathon:
She finished third in 2:27:03
hours. After another best
time at the GENERALI BER-
LIN HALF MARATHON about a
month ago, where she finished
– 62 –

in 70:35 minutes, she now will
compete in the BMW BERLIN-
MARATHON.
Rabea Schöneborn, who has
completed her psychology degree
and, despite the considerable
training load, is planning
on working in addition to pursuing
her sport, comes from
an athletic family. „My grandfather
played tennis, my father
did endurance sports, among
other things, and has a marathon
best time of 2:42 hours,“
says Rabea Schöneborn.
.
Sister Lena is
an Olympic champion
The sports star of the family
is her eight-year older sister
Lena. She was Olympic champion
in the Modern Pentathlon
in Beijing in 2008. Lena Schöneborn
was also World Champion
in Berlin in 2015 and
has won several team medals
in this sport. A 3000-meter
cross-country race in combination
with shooting (similar
to the biathlon) is part of the
Modern Pentathlon.
Rabea and Deborah Schöneborn
also pursued modern
pentathlon for several years.
However, when it became increasingly
difficult to combine
the extensive training times
with their studies and to further
improve their performance,
the twins decided to
focus just on running.
The twins have been training
with the LG Nord since 2017.
And relatively quickly, they
focused completely on longdistance
running. An additional
incentive came from their
father: „He said that if we
beat his best marathon time,
he would give us a trip,“ says
Rabea Schöneborn.
Both she and her sister each
clearly beat the family record
at the first attempt. „We have
yet to cash in on the holiday
though - Southeast Asia would
be a nice destination or even a
ski trip.“

GERMAN STARS
LAURA HOTTENROTT
Among the top
German runners
Laura Hottenrott has pushed
herself into the broad
circle of top German marathon
runners in recent years. The
29-year-old, who comes from
Kassel and competes for PSV
Grün-Weiss Kassel, turned to
road running in 2017, after previously
focusing mainly on the
3000 m and 5000 m events
on the track. Her long-distance
performances on the road
were significantly better than
on the track.
In 2017, Laura Hottenrott ran a
convincing marathon debut in
Frankfurt and finished twelfth
in a top field with a time of
2:34:43. In February 2018, she
improved her time at the Seville
Marathon to 2:33:01, finishing
eighth. This qualified her
for the 2018 European Cham-
pionships in Berlin, where she
wasn’t able to finish during a
hot race. Things went much better
two years later at the World
Half Marathon Championships
in Gdynia, Poland. Here, Laura
Hottenrott improved her time
to 70:49 minutes, finished 26th
and won the bronze medal with
the German team.
Clear improvement
with a time of 2:28:03
Based on her half marathon
performance, a significant improvement
in the marathon
was not unexpected. At the
elite-only race in Enschede in
April, she ran 2:28:03 and finished
fourth. But as this was not
fast enough to qualify for the
Olympics (a time under 2:26:55
was required), Laura Hotten-
– 64 –

rott competed in another race
just five weeks later to try to
reach the qualification, in Loipersdorf
(Austria), but she had
to drop out after about 25 kilometres.
Laura Hottenrott received
a track scholarship in the
USA where she studied biology,
and after that she attended
the Sport University Cologne.
Laura Hottenrott is now working
on her doctoral thesis in
the field of exercise science at
the University of Bochum.
– 65 –

GERMAN STARS
PHILIPP PFLIEGER
Ready
for the
next step
In 2015, Philipp Pflieger ran the marathon in
Berlin in 2:12:50 hours. Then followed difficult
years with setbacks, in which he thought about
ending his career. With a new coach, he
has now found his way back to success. After
achieving a time of 2:12:15 last year, he hopes
the next step towards 2:10 will be possible.
– 66 –

– 67 –
© imago images/Andreas Gora

GERMAN STARS
PHILIPP PFLIEGER
© imago images/Andreas Gora
Philipp Pflieger missed his best time by only 13 seconds and ran the second
fastest time of his career at the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON in 63:03
minutes. The race was part of his training for the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON.
For the fourth time, Philipp
Pflieger will start at the
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. The
34-year-old has not run in any
other marathon as often as
he has in Berlin. In doing so,
Pflieger maintains a two-year
rhythm: so far he has run this
race in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
However, after a strong showing
six years ago, the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON no longer
proved to be a success story
for Philipp Pflieger. In 2017 and
2019, the Regensburg native,
who competes for LT Haspa
Marathon Hamburg, failed to
finish. But he plans on chan-
– 68 –

Courageous step:
New club, new coach
Philipp Pflieger thought about
ending his career. But then he
made the most courageous
step instead, and he pulled
the emergency brake. At the
end of 2019, the runner left his
long-time club, LG Telis Finanz
Regensburg, and his long-time
coach Kurt Ring, who had
led him to the top ranks of the
national runners. At first, he
was left in a lurch, as the initially
planned transfer did not
materialise. While he did then
join the Haspa Marathon Hamburg
running team, he initially
lacked a coach.
Without a coach, he trained on
his own and then demonstraging
that this time. To make
it happen, Philipp Pflieger has
changed a few things in his environment.
Six years ago, Philipp Pflieger
had a surprising finish as the
best German with a time of
2:12:50 at the BMW BERLIN-
MARATHON, a time that would
suffice for an Olympic nomination.
The Berlin race was meant
to be the first of several steps
towards reaching the top ranks
of the European runners. But
Philipp Pflieger stumbled, and
the second step never really
happened. Instead, injury-related
problems followed again
and again, like before his start
at the Rio Games. He had setbacks
at the season highlight
with a knock-out in Berlin in
2017 just ten kilometres before
the finish, and the following
year he had to drop out as well.
In between those races, he also
was unable to finish at the European
Championships marathon
in Berlin.
Some things obviously weren’t
working well anymore for the
further development of Philipp
Pflieger‘s career. Five years
after the BMW BERLIN-MARA-
THON 2015, his best time remained
2:12:50 hours.
– 69 –

GERMAN STARS
PHILIPP PFLIEGER
ted what he was capable of in
Barcelona in February 2020:
he finished his first sub-63-minute
half marathon with a time
of 62:50 minutes, a result he
had chased in vain for four years.
Did he pull the
emergency brake too late?
He probably should have pulled
the emergency brake sooner.
„Maybe I should have
taken this step two years earlier,“
says Philipp Pflieger. „But
would I have ended up with Renato
Canova then? Probably
not.“ So, the belated changes
could still possibly have had a
positive effect in the end, as he
is now coached by the stellar
Italian coach.
Philipp Pflieger met Sondre
Moen in the winter of 2020,
when he was training without
a coach in Iten, Kenya. „Sondre
was curious and asked
me: don‘t you want to have a
coach?“ The Norwegian had
developed into one of the top
European marathoners under
Renato Canova, even setting a
continental record in 2017 with
a time of 2:05:48. That‘s how
the connection came about. „I
thought at first: Renato Canova?
Surely he‘s not interested
in Philipp Pflieger! But that
wasn’t the case.”
„Renato‘s training workload is
a big challenge. But he has an
absolutely positive aura and I
get a lot of new impulses. Often
I reach my limits, but three
weeks later I go beyond them.
That was impossible before,“
Philipp Pflieger says. „Maybe
I used to set limits for myself
that were not justified.“
„Renato has virtually breathed
new life into me. I feel
a bit like I did when I was 16,
when there was a tension before
the training runs because
I always wanted to know what
was possible—that feeling is
back,“ says Philipp Pflieger,
who in the meantime impro-
– 70 –

ved his time to 2:12:15 hours at
the Valencia Marathon in December
2020.
However, he faced more bad
luck before that race, as he
got a false positive COVID test
during his final preparations.
While the targeted time of about
2:10 hours was out of reach
then, such a result could
now be possible at the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON.
© imago images/Andreas Gora
Renato Canova - the coach
who makes runners better
Philipp Pflieger is certainly encouraged
by the many other
athletes who have gradually
and tremendously improved
under Canova during his decades
of coaching. In addition
to Sondre Moen, this was also
the case with Arne Gabius,
for example. When he ran a
sensational marathon debut
in Frankfurt in 2014 and then
broke the German record there
a year later with a time of
2:08:33 hours, it was also Re-
nato Canova who designed his
training.
Arne Gabius is a good example
for Philipp Pflieger for another
reason too: At 34, there
is still time for success in the
marathon. Arne Gabius was 34
when he ran his German marathon
record. And after that
Arne Gabius ran at a high level
for several more years.
– 71 –

THE BEST TIPS FOR THE MARATHON WEEK
More than
running
– 72 –

This fascinating city, where everyone can be and
do whatever they want, has so many exciting and
entertaining activities to offer: shows and history,
nightlife, theater, pubs, cabaret, jazz clubs,
restaurants, urban neighborhoods, green islands,
museums, monuments and attractions, shopping
malls and art markets. Here are some tips for an
entertaining marathon weekend for runners, their
families, friends and fans.
– 73 –
© Adobe Stock/Maurice Tricatelle

SIGHTSEEING
Berlin,
© Adobe Stock/Sergey Kelin
spsg.de
Charlottenburg Palace
Surrounded by a beautiful baroque garden, this magnificent ediface
is the largest and most important palace complex of the Hohenzollern
dynasty in Berlin. With a park to enjoy as well.
berlinstory.de
Berlin Story Museum
No time to rest! History is being
made. The continuous narrative
about this unique city. 30 individual
stations guide you through
Berlin’s history with audio guides
in ten languages - from the beginnings
of the city to the present
day. The best museum on Berlin’s
history.
© Adobe Stock/Joerg Huettenhoelscher

© Adobe Stock/Leungchopan
zoo-berlin.de
Zoo and Aquarium
The Berlin Zoo and Aquarium offer Berlin!
a wealth of species that is unrivalled
anywhere in the world. The Berlin Zoo is more than 175 years old. sure to visit the pandas: Their offspring Pit and Paule turned two this
summer.
olympiastadion.berlin
Olympic Stadium
A professional guide takes you
on a 60-minute tour of the stadium,
to areas not otherwise open
to the public.
© Adobe Stock/Uslatar

SIGHTSEEING
Berlin,
© Adobe Stock/Kreativ4insider.com
smb.museum
Pergamon Museum. The Panorama
The greatest treasures of antiquity and an exhilarating 360° panorama
of Pergamon, which was set up to offer visitors to the Museum Island an
attractive experience during the renovation of the Pergamon Museum.
Topography
of Terror
www.topographie.de
This documentation
centre on the crimes
of the National Socialists
is one of the most
frequented places of
remembrance in Berlin
with over one million visitors.
© Adobe Stock/Thomas Röske
76

Berlin from above
© Adobe Stock/Sliver
© imago images/Photopress Müller
© Adobe Stock/Laiotz
TV Tower: Towering Victory Column: The Funkturm: Enjoy the
over the city at 368m, walkable column breathtaking views
it is the highest building
in Germany. The panorama view on lin´s sights and into
offers a fantastic over many of Ber-
restaurant sphere Berlin‘s centre and the Grunewald forest
from the 126m-
makes a full 360° rotation
every hour at a
the start Berlin!
of the BMW
high outlook plat-
height of 207m.
BERLIN MARATHON.
form.
tv-turm.de
funkturm-messeberlin.de
is only 300m from
EVENT TIPS: CULTURE
Thursday, September 23
Variety/Revue: The 20s | Wintergarten Berlin (8 pm)
Exhibition: Van Gogh - The Immersive Experience |
STATION-Berlin (10 am to 8 pm)
Dance/Acrobatics: Magic Mike Live | Club-Theatre
at Marlene-Dietrich-Platz (7:30 pm)
Friday, September 24
Variety/Revue: The 20s | Wintergarten Berlin (8 pm)
Exhibition: Van Gogh - The Immersive Experience |
STATION-Berlin (10 am to 8 pm)
Dance/Acrobatics: Magic Mike Live | Club-Theatre
at Marlene-Dietrich-Platz (7:30 pm)
Saturday, September 25
Variety/Revue: The 20s | Wintergarten Berlin (8 pm)
Exhibition: Van Gogh - The Immersive Experience |
STATION-Berlin (10 am to 8 pm)
Dance/Acrobatics: Magic Mike Live | Club-Theatre
at Marlene-Dietrich-Platz (7:30 pm)
Sunday, September 26
Exhibition: Van Gogh - The Immersive Experience |
STATION-Berlin (10 am to 8 pm)
Dance/Acrobatics: Magic Mike Live | Club-Theatre
at Marlene-Dietrich-Platz (7:30 pm)
– 77 –

© Adobe Stock/Art Konovalov
Route 100 double-decker bus
Go on a journey of discovery through the city centre with the Route 100
double-decker bus. On the route between Zoologischer Garten and Alexanderplatz,
the highlights line up like a string of pearls. The box seats
with the best view are the window seats on top at the very front.
EVENT TIPS: SPORT
Berlin,
Thursday, September 23
Baketball Bundesliga
Alba Berlin - Telekom Baskets Bonn
Max-Schmeling-Halle (8:30 p.m.)
Saturday, September 25
Football Bundesliga
Union Berlin - Arminia Bielefeld
Stadion an der alten Försterei (3:30 pm)
© imago images/Camera 4
– 78 –

SHOPPING
Berlin!
© Adrian Schulz
Mall of Berlin
mallofberlin.de
The heart of the heart - the highly prominent location in the city of Berlin
is absolutely unique and offers huge potential. A touristic highlight
and a Mecca for fashion and lifestyle.
Budapester Str. 38 | 10787 Berlin
adidas pop-up store in BIKINI BERLIN
Filling about 600 square metres, the temporary adidas pop-up store
in the Concept Shopping Hall is the place to go in western Berlin for
all sports enthusiasts, running shoe and lifestyle fans. Open during
marathon week on Thursday and Friday from noon to 8 pm and on
Saturday from 10 am to 8 pm.
– 79 –

FOOD & MORE
Berlin,
© Stephan Lemke für 25hours Hotels
www.monkeybarberlin.de
Monkey Bar on the roof of Hotel 25 hours
Chill out in Europe‘s best hotel bar. From the tenth floor of the 25hours
Hotel Bikini the guests can see the grand boulevard Kurfürstendamm on
one side and the zoo on the other.
lon-mens-noodle-house.business.site
Lon Men‘s Noodle House
Small snack restaurant with that
certain something. Noodles, tofu
and meat specialities from Taiwan.
Always well frequented, but somehow
there‘s always a free table. You
can also find the best Asian soups
in Berlin here.
Fleischerei
fleischerei-berlin.com
If you are looking for high-quality
meat, ranging from from Paderborn
free-range chickens to Havelland
apple pork and Pomeranian
beef, then you‘re in the right place
at the Fleischerei restaurant.
– 80 –

Da Giorgio
dagiorgio-berlin.de
Need a quick piece of pizza? Then
off to Da Giorgio – people from all
over the world work at this Italian
restaurant, except for Italians.
Nevertheless, the pizza is some of
the best in the city.
www.goodies-deli.com
Goodies Berlin
Vegans (and everyone else, of
course) who are looking for delicious
food with plenty of power
will find it at Goodies. And if you
ask, they will provide the recipes
for free.
schleusenkrug.de
Schleusenkrug
A large beer garden directly at
the Tiergartenschleuse (Tiergarten
Park sluice) right next to
Berlin Zoo. Hearty German and
international cuisine. Beautifully
located by the water and under
old trees.
TIPP
© Adobe Stock/Hanohiki
Berlin!
LOST SOMETHING?
→ Berlin‘s municipal
lost property
Tempelhof, Platz der Luftbrücke,
to the right of the
main entrance to the former
Tempelhof airport
where the HALF MARA-
THON EXPO takes place
+49 (0) 30 902 773 101

FAMILY
Berlin,
© SDTB/Hattendorf
Technikmuseum
technikmuseum.berlin
The colourful world of technology is brought to life here. The urge to
explore can be satisfied to one‘s heart‘s content. Discovering and experimenting
is also the motto for adults.
visitsealife.com/berlin
Sea Life & Aqua Dom
Dive into the magical
underwater world right
in the middle of the city,
where you can experience
the lives of the sea
dwellers up close.
© Adobe Stock/Rkbox
– 82 –

www.jumphouse.de/berlin
Jumphouse Berlin
With more than 4,000 m2 of
space for over 120 trampolines in
ten different fun and action areas,
the whole family can let off some
steam. Register ahead of time.
www.schokowerkstatt-berlin.ritter-sport.de
Ritter Sport Schokowerkstatt
Chocolate tastes delicious. Homemade chocolate with all of your favorite
ingredients tastes even better. If you want to try it out, go to the Bunte
SchokoWelt by Ritter Sport (register ahead of time online!).
legolanddiscoverycentre.de
Legoland Discovery Centre Berlin
At the Legoland Discovery Centre, there’s lots to learn about the little
bricks made by the world’s biggest toy manufacturer. Of course, both
young and old can also build to their heart’s content.
Berlin!

Thank you!

We would like to thank the following institutions
Senatsverwaltung für Inneres und Sport
Senatsverwaltung für Umwelt, Verkehr und Klimaschutz
Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung und Wohnen Abt. III — Geoinformation
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
Berliner Leichtathletik-Verband e.V. | Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG)
S-Bahn Berlin GmbH | Deutsche Lebensrettungsgesellschaft (DLRG)
Johanniter Unfall-Hilfe e.V. | Evangelische Kirche | Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche
Landessportbund Berlin e.V. | Landesverwaltungsamt Berlin | Olympiastadion Berlin
Akademie für Sozial- und Gesundheitsberufe | Euroakademie Berlin
ILB-Medizinische Akademie Berlin | Krankengymnastik-Paxis Andreas Schwarz
Körperwerkstatt Berin | Rebabilitationszentrum 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
Comline AG Berlin
Die Sportografen
Höffner Möbelgesellschaft
Weingut Castelfeder
Lichtenauer Mineralquellen
Mall of Berlin
Marathon-Photos
realbuzz
Rollerblade
ver.di Bezirk Berlin Fb. 9
Zoll Medical
Medienpartner
TV: ARD, rbb
Radio: inforadio, Radio Eins
rbb 88,8, Antenne Brandenburg
Print: 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.

BEHIND THE SCENES
Along the marathon
course with 100
children and youth
For more than 30 years, Burkhard Zimmermann has driven up to the
organisation office a few days before the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
and packed piles of programme booklets into his Renault van. On
race day, he then distributes them along the course with the help of
up to 100 children and youth. To save paper, this year an informational
flyer is being distributed instead that sends readers to the digital
event magazine on the internet. Of course, the 70-year-old now
is now organising the distribution of the flyers. He has been involved
with the youngest members of society for much longer than that,
though— out of conviction. The money the group receives for distributing
flyers is used, among other things, for educational trips—for
example to the former concentration camp Auschwitz.
Hopefully it won‘t rain! That‘s
not only what many of the
runners at the BMW BERLIN-
MARATHON are thinking, but
also Burkhard Zimmermann‘s
children and youth group. For
Text: Anja Herrlitz
more than 30 years, they have
been distributing the programme
booklet or, as is the case
this year, the course flyer at the
big Berlin event. In order to get
an early start on the morning
– 86 –

of the marathon morning, the
packages of flyers get dropped
off along the route the evening
before. Some can be placed under
a little protection from the
weather, some are at the mercy
of the weather gods that they
aren’t simple turned into papiermâché.
„It‘s all happened before,“
he says.
100 youth and children
along the course
On the day of the marathon,
up to 100 children and youth
will be on the course handing
out information material to
the spectators. „This is a huge
event for us every year,“ says
Burkhard Zimmermann. He
has no problems finding volunteers.
Everyone is on the
road from the early hours of
the morning, and starting at
3 p.m. they meet up to eat
pizza together and talk about
what they experienced along
the course. Later, they check
again to make sure that no
programme booklets or flyers
have been left behind.
Commitment to children
for over 30 years
They have been doing this for
more than 30 years. Starting
back then, Burkhard Zimmermann
has been volunteering
with children, because they are
especially close to his heart.
„After all, it is the children who
are so often forgotten by society,“
he says. He wants to counter
that. He used to work for an
independent German children‘s
and youth association, Falken,
in the districts of Steglitz and
Zehlendorf. Today he is a board
member of the organisation
Kinderring Berlin e. V., which
was founded at the time of the
fall of communism and provides
leisure and recreational activities
for children and young people.
This also includes holiday
camps. This year, for example,
around 150 children and youth
– 88 –

» The children are
too often forgotten «
With his sentence, Burkhard Zimmermann is referring to society—and not to the
BERLIN-MARATHON, whose mini-marathon and Bambini run are usually integral
to the programme at the Brandenburg Gate and at the former Tempelhof airport.
During the Corona pandemic, the races have to be held decentrally and digitally
went on a three-week camp to
Sweden with the Kinderring
Berlin and the SJD Falken Steglitz-Zehlendorf
association.
„That was really great,“ says
Burkhard Zimmermann. They
organised trips like that 30 years
ago too. Back then, a father
of a participating child worked
for the company that produced
the programme booklet for the
BERLIN-MARATHON, and he
asked Burkhard Zimmermann
and his team if they would like
to help distribute it. They did.
And the money they have re-
– 89 –

ceived for their work year after
year since then has been well
invested. All the children and
young people who help with
the distribution get a little bit
of cash.
The rest is used as a subsidy
for the youth group‘s various
trips. „For example, we take
kids to the former concentration
camp in Auschwitz 15
times a year,“ says Burkhard
Zimmermann. 40 to 50 youth
attend each of these trips, a
journey that leaves a lasting
impression on each of them. It
is important to Burkhard Zimmermann
to help provide them
with an understanding of this
part of German history.
Working with youth
keeps you young
When these trips were not
possible during the Corona
pandemic, they provided alternatives.
„We have a very good
connection to Sally Perel,“ says
Burkhard Zimmermann. Sally
Perel, born in 1925, is a Jew of
German origin. He managed to
hide his Jewish identity during
National Socialism and thus
survive it.
He later wrote his autobiography
„I was Hitlerjunge Salomon“,
which was filmed in 1990
under the title „Hitlerjunge Salomon“.
He shared his story
online with the young people
of Berlin. This October, the real
trips to Auschwitz will finally
start up again.
When the 70-year-old talks about
his work with the children,
you can really hear the enthusiasm.
„It‘s great fun and keeps
me young,“ he says. „I always
say: if I don‘t spend time with
the children anymore, I‘ll become
old,“ he laughs. And that‘s
why we will hopefully see him
out with his kids on the Berlin-Marathon
course for a long
time to come. Preferably without
rain.
– 90 –

– 91 –

Who
is that
running?
Robert Puppel prefers to
finish in fashionable,
but in terms of heat
management suboptimal
costumes. The 51-yearold
works as an event
manager, likes to go out
and travel and cites as his
motto in life: "I am happy
and cheerful; happiness is
my companion

Texte: Christian Ermert & Anja Herrlitz
The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2021 is one of the biggest running
events worldwide to take place in the second year of the Corona
pandemic. We are introducing you to three of the approximately
25,000 people who will be at the start on September 26 on the
Strasse des 17. Juni. One of them is a real star in the USA: Amy
Robach has hosted "Good Morning America", the US breakfast
television show on ABC News, for almost ten years. Robin Puppel
and Tim Jansen, on the other hand, are almost normal runners. Why
almost? Well, one of them likes to run in costumes that are actually
way too warm. The other is participating in his 100th marathon on
September 26. And at only 42 years of age, he is already running for
the 20th time at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON.
Texte: Jochen Schmitz & Anja Herrlitz
When he was in high
school, he skipped gym
class for long stretches at a
time. In the turmoil of the late
1980s in East Berlin, a lot of
things were possible. Years later,
Robert Puppel received a
voucher from good friends for
a four-week membership at a
gym. With the intention of impressing
the ladies there, he
attended an aerobics course,
only to leave it shortly afterwards,
completely exhausted.
After this darkest moment in
his pretty much non-existent
athletic career, Robert began
to actually work on his physical
condition: he returned to
the gym, but he now preferred
the bicycle ergometer.
In 1997, during a holiday in
Australia, the Berliner suddenly
discovered his passion

WHO‘S THAT RUNNING?
for running. What began on
the beaches Down Under, he
continued in Germany. But he
only ran on the treadmill, as
he didn’t want anyone at the
gym to miss seeing the improvements
to his physique. After
a few weeks, he was drawn
outside. But the training was
harder than he had hoped.
Robert was used to the prescribed
speed and the fixed
rhythm of the treadmill. At
some point it finally clicked.
Treadmill adieu!
His enjoyment of outdoor exercise
increased and in 2001,
it was time for the first running
event: the BERLIN HALF
MARATHON. With appropriate
preparation, he humbly got
ready for his running debut.
Everything went perfectly,
until the evening before. On
that evening, Robert attended
a party with the aim of distracting
himself from the big
day. Of course, he knew that
fatty food and alcohol were
taboo. He stuck with water
until 10:30 pm, when, unfortunately,
for whatever reason, it
was followed by Pinot Grigio
in higher dosage.
The next morning he faced
that agony of the hangover,
which stuck with him on the
course. Robert, who was wearing
a cotton tracksuit, cursed
himself and his behaviour. His
clothes did not make the situation
any better. The sweat
ran out of all pores. Despite all
the suffering, he stayed true
to his intent and completed
the half marathon. In retrospect,
crossing the finish line
at this EVENT remains in his
memory as one of his most
beautiful running moments—
and he was so motivated,
Robert felt ready for more.
In the same year he finished
the BERLIN-MARATHON—this
time without partying the
night before.
Since then, Robert has run
the BERLIN HALF MARATHON
– 94 –

and the BERLIN-MARATHON
countless times and is a member
of the Jubilee Club. Running
has become an integral
part of his life. That's why he'll
be at the start of this year's
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON and
is particularly looking forward
to it after his forced break due
to the COVID pandemic.
"Finally being able to compete
in a running event again
is a step towards normalisation
and an incredible experience,"
he says, and is particularly
looking forward to
the crackling tension during
the minutes before the start.
In his opinion, it is high time
that events like the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON finally
can take place again after the
forced pause due to Corona,
so that running enthusiasts
can gather together again at
the starting line and on the
course. "Sport keeps the body
and mind healthy—and that's
what we all want."
ROBERT PUPPEL
– 95 –

© imago images/MediaPunch

WHO‘S THAT RUNNING?
Amy Robach has hosted „Good
Morning America“ on ABC News
since 2012. Here, the 48-yearold
reveals why she chose Berlin
for her first marathon after
Corona and what running
means to her after
being diagnosed with
breast cancer in 2013.
AMY ROBACH
From US
© imago images/MediaPunch
morning show TV to
the Victory Column

It was supposed to be a report
like so many others that presenter
Amy Robach does week
after week: In 2013, she did a
screening for breast cancer in
front of running cameras to take
away women‘s fear of it. But in
the process, it came out that she
had breast cancer herself. She
went through treatment and
beat the cancer. „I used to run
now and then before that, like
my father did,“ says the 48-year-old,
who co-hosts „Good Morning
America“ and „20/20“ on
the US network ABC News. „But
it wasn‘t until after that that
I started challenging myself. I
wanted to know how long I could
run. Five years ago, I ran my first
half marathon.“
A few years later, it was the New
York Road Runners organisation
that convinced her to run
in the 2019 New York Marathon
for their Team For Kids charity.
After a brief hesitation, Amy
Robach agreed, ran with them—
and got hooked. Together with
her husband, actor Andrew
Shue, she made plans for 2020:
„We thought it would be great to
run the BMW Berlin-Marathon
and then go to Munich for Oktoberfest.“
Great plan, but that
unfortunately fell victim to the
Corona pandemic. „We were so
disappointed, but we are glad
we can run this year. Even if Oktoberfest
doesn‘t happen. But
we‘ll definitely still be drinking
some great German beer.“
She prepared carefully for the
BMW Berlin- Marathon, even
though it was not always easy
to juggle training, work and a
family that includes five teenagers.
„Some days I had to get
up before the sun came up to
brave the New York City heat
and run my long runs before
going to work on Good Morning
America.“ Her work usually
starts at 5:30 a.m. in the
studio. She also flew to Tokyo
for three weeks to cover the
Olympics and completed her
runs in the Tokyo heat. „It defi-
WHO‘S THAT RUNNING?

nitely wasn‘t fun,“ she says, adding
with a laugh. „My kids are
all teenagers, so they‘re more
than happy for mom to be out
for a few hours. Although they
do complain about how much
I sweat when I get back to our
apartment.“
Her training plan went five
months, and she recently ran
up to 70 kilometres a week. Now
she is looking forward to finally
competing in Berlin. Together
with her husband, father and a
few friends she will run through
the streets of Berlin. „I‘m looking
forward to Berlin. I‘ve never
been there before, but I‘ve
heard so much about this cool
city. I hope there will be people
coming out to cheer us on
despite the pandemic.“ And it
certainly won‘t be her last marathon.
„Running a marathon is
an incredible experience and a
small miracle. And as a cancer
survivor, I also know that daily
exercise is a big part of staying
healthy and living longer.“
© imago images/MediaPunch
US morning show host Amy Robach
will be in Berlin for the first time

WHO‘S THAT RUNNING?
100 times 42.195 kilometres in
competition. And that at the age
of 42. Tim Jansen is celebrating
his anniversary in Berlin.
And the man from Flensburg is
donating to a charity campaign
organized by his home radio station
RSH in Schleswig-Holstein.
Tim Jansen will be celebrating
a double anniversary at
the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON:
Not only will be he running his
20th BERLIN MARATHON in a
row in the capital, but he will
be completing a competitive
42.195 kilometres for the 100th
time. And that at the age of
just 42! The man from Flensburg
has put a lot of effort into
making it happen.
Rostock and Marburg
saved the 100
„My last marathon was in
Frankfurt in October 2019 -
that was the 97th. In order to
run my 100th in Berlin, I had to
run two others before that, but
they were both cancelled last
year,“ he says. And since there
were only a few events this
year as well, he had to look hard
, he has already
At
42 .195 k 100 times
run

TIM JANSEN
to run two more marathons before
the BMW BERLIN-MARA-
THON. But it worked out. „At
the end of July I ran in Rostock
in a small event with 1000 runners.
And then luckily I found
another one at Marburg at the
end of August.“ Now nothing
stands in the way of his double
anniversary in Berlin.
There are several reasons why
he chose to celebrate it in Berlin:
On the one hand, Tim Jansen
loves running in Berlin, because
he enjoys city marathons
with many participants
and a great atmosphere
along the
course. In Berlin, he
particularly likes the route past
the numerous sights, as well as
the supporting programme.
And over all the years he has
also built up a certain connection
with the BMW BERLIN-MA-
RATHON. „For a few years now,
I‘ve always helped support the
inliners in the first section of
the course for one to one and
a half hours on Saturday. I‘ve
become good friends with the
woman who runs the section,
and I even stay at her place
when I visit,“ says Tim Jansen.
Tim Jansen (STV Sörup) celebrates a
double anniversary in Berlin: He will be
running his 20th BERLIN-MARATHON
and his 100th marathon in total
– 101 –

Perhaps the anticipation this
year is even a little greater
than usual. The many months
in which all major events were
cancelled because of Covid-19
were not easy for him. „I work
in service for the catering industry
and was at home for
eight months,“ he reflects.
He will therefore particularly
enjoy his 100th marathon in
Berlin. In general, marathon
running has become more and
more about enjoyment for
him, whereas in the past the
focus was on faster times. He
has already run the marathon
once in 2:47 hours – but back
Running as a substitute
for work in the
Corona pandemic
He was glad that he could at
least continue to run on his
own—which he did almost every
day last year. Never before
has he run so many miles in
a year. „But I noticed that because
of the lack of competitions,
I lack the pace I usually
have,“ he says. „For runners,
competitions are often social
events, and that has been
missing. There are people I haven‘t
seen for ages because I
usually only meet them at running
events.“
WHO‘S THAT RUNNING?

then he also invested a lot of
time in the 140 or so kilometres
of training that he completed
every week. Now it‘s
70 to 80 kilometres, and he
needs between 3:30 and 4:00
hours for the marathon. But
the joy is undiminished. He
often runs in costume or initiates
small fundraisers—both of
which he is doing in Berlin this
year. „I sold my 100 marathons
symbolically for 2 euros each
and will donate 222 euros to
‚RSH helps helping. This is a
campaign by a radio station
in Schleswig-Holstein that primarily
supports children,“ he
explains.
Hope for some
normalisation of the scene
Tim Jansen hopes that the
running scene with all its small
and large events will return
to normal despite the Corona
pandemic. He has loved competing
in them ever since he
ran his first marathon in 2001
at the age of 22. In his younger
years, he completed up to
eight marathons a year; he‘s
now settled in at around four.
He has also completed several
50- and 100-kilometre runs.
And he even ran 136 kilometres
in a 24-hour race.
A hundred marathons is
not the end of the road by
a long shot
He likes long runs, with his heart
mainly belonging to half
marathons and marathons. „If I
have a good pace, I can run the
kilometre in 4:15 to 4:30 minutes.
That‘s good on long runs,
but on ten kilometres or less
you won‘t win a pot of gold with
that,“ he says with a laugh. And
that‘s why the 100th marathon
he will have under his belt after
the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
will certainly not be the last.
There are still a few more to
come!
– 103 –
Tim Jansen sometimes shows up for the marathon wearing a Spiderman costume

HYGIENE CONCEPT
We are all so happy that we can finally get back to the starting line
again. However, in order for everyone to reach the finish line safely, a
few rules must be observed. The organizers of the BMW BERLIN-MARA-
THON are asking that all participants follow the rules of the safety and
hygiene concept and thus contribute to making this event a wonderful
#restartrunning festival.
NEITHER VACCINATED NOR RECOVERED?
On your marks…
Anyone who wants to take part
in the BMW BERLIN-MARA-
THON in any capacity without
being fully vaccinated against
Covid19 or having recovered
from the disease must have a
current negative PCR test for
the Coronavirus. For participants
who have neither been
vaccinated nor recovered, this
means that when they check in
at the EXPO in the halls of the
former Tempelhof Airport, they
will not only need their start
passport, identity card or passport
and a medical mouth/nose
mask, but also a negative PCR
or rapid test that is digitally
stored in an app. Verification in
the German Corona-Warn app,
the European CovPass app or
the Luca app are accepted. In
order to be able to start on
Saturday (inline skaters) or
Sunday, all unvaccinated and
not recovered participants are
obliged to take another PCR
test at the EXPO. This test
must be taken within the last
48 hours before the start. For
inline skaters who have neither
been vaccinated nor PCRtested,
this means that they
must collect their race kits and
104

take the PCR test at the EXPO
on Thursday (September 23)
or Friday (September 24) before
their start on Saturday
(September 25). For all other
unvaccinated or not recovered
participants who start on Sunday
(September 26), race kit
pick-up and the PCR test at the
EXPO will only be possible on
Friday (September 24) and Saturday
(September 25). Those
who have already booked the
PCR test in advance can go directly
to the test station at the
EXPO. Otherwise, the test must
be booked and paid for at the
EXPO. After the test, participants
will receive a wristband
with a QR code on which the
test result will be stored virtually
within eight hours. Access
to the event area on Saturday
and Sunday is only possible for
participants with a race bib and
wristband with the PCR test
result. The test result will be
checked on race day with the
help of the QR code wristband.
If the result is negative, the QR
code wristband will be exchanged
for a fabric wristband on
site. The PCR test result can
also be called up in advance
by smartphone (approx. eight
hours after the test). If the result
is positive, participants will
be asked not to come to the
marathon site but instead seek
medical support.
FULLY VACCINATED OR RECOVERED?
Get set!
Those who can prove their
full vaccination digitally do
not need a negative test certificate
to enter the EXPO
grounds or the cordoned-off
event areas on Saturday or
Sunday. The same applies to
anyone who has recovered
from a Covid19 illness and has
also been vaccinated at least
105

once. When checking in at the
halls of the former Tempelhof
Airport, they will also need digital
proof of vaccination or
recovery stored in an app, in
addition to their start passport,
ID card or passport and
medical mouth-nose mask.
Verification in the German Corona-Warn
app, the European
CovPass app or the Luca app
are accepted. Those who thus
prove that they have been fully
vaccinated or recovered for
at least 14 days will receive a
fabric wristband at check-in
for access to the EXPO and
the race. For anyone who
had Covid19 no more than six
months ago but has not gotten
an additional vaccination
will need digital proof of their
negative PCR test at that time
or a digital certificate from the
health department to receive
the fabric wristband. Entrance
to the event area on Saturday
and Sunday is only possible
for participants with their race
bib and wristband, which must
be worn until the end of the
race day.
AND THIS IS WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS AT THE START
Go!
In order to enter the start are, booked a poncho, which will be
all participants will need, in made available to them after
addition to their wristband, the finish as weather protection).
The usual hygiene regu-
a medical mouth/nose mask,
their start bib and their official lations apply both at the EXPO
clothing bag (if they have not and on the event grounds.

BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE MARATHON
What
should
I eat?

Texte: Christian Ermert & Anja Herrlitz
Deciding on the right nutrition in the last days before the start
and during the race is something many runners think about.
But it is not so difficult if you follow the most important rules.
Carbohydrates and water are important. The following
pages provide you with the details.

THE WEEK BEFORE THE MARATHON
Competition nutrition for manding variants each include
a marathon starts days a very intensive training session
before the race. You may have a few days before the marathon.
heard the term “carbo-loading” However, only really well-trained
before. This means the targeted runners can cope with this well
replenishment of carbohydrate enough to be able to then perform
at full capacity over the full
stores, preferably with pasta,
rice or potatoes. Having full carbohydrate
stores in your muscnal
runners run the risk of start-
42.195 km distance. Recreatioles
and liver improves endurance.
However, to achieve that you this disadvantage cannot be
ing the race not fully rested, and
must have already expanded the made up, even with well-filled
capacity of your stores through carbohydrate stores.
proper training and the right Nevertheless, we will explain
diet.
here how the methods work: Variant
number two involves emp-
The simplest method of carboloading
is a high carbohydrate tying the “tanks” three or four
diet: this is a simple increase in days before the competition by
carbohydrate intake compared doing an intensive, but not too
to fats and protein in the last long run. Immediately afterwards,
the depots are then re-
three days before an important
competition. This method plenished by carbohydrate-rich
is recommended for most recreational
athletes, while the Variant number three, the so-
food.
next two variants are reserved called Saltin diet, is the extreme
for highly trained athletes. The form of carbo-loading. By combining
reduced carbohydrate in-
background: The two more de-
Nutrition

intake then increases again, the
carbohydrates are immediately
“bunkered” by the body. However,
this method is only recommended
for professionals.
In addition to increasing your
take together with hard training,
the glycogen depots get almost
completely emptied about four
days before the competition
through an additional extra-long
run. Only then does the carboloading
begin. The idea behind
the Saltin diet: due to the temporary
lack of carbohydrates,
the body has to adapt in order
to compensate for the lack of
energy. When the carbohydrate
carbohydrate intake, you should
also increase your fluid intake
in the last few days before the
race. Balanced hydration is one
of the mosaic stones for a successful
marathon.
– 111 –

BREAKFAST BEFORE THE MARATHON
Even if you’re not a breakfast could be too heavy for your stomach.
There are usually two or
person and the tension has
actually spoiled your appetite, three hours between breakfast
you should still eat something and the race. You should use
light and carbohydrate-rich for this time to hydrate. A sports
breakfast. Classic: wholegrain drink will refill your energy
toast with honey or muesli with tank. A banana or a muesli bar
fruit – basically you should eat in the last half hour before the
as you would before a normal start will also provide you with
training session. You should leave
out fat and protein, as both use during the race.
fast carbohydrates that you can
Nutrition

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FOOD & DRINK FOR THE MARATHON
Your contribution to
environmental
M O R E
I N F O R M AT I O N
protection
The environment is especially
important to us endurance athletes,
as we interact with it during
competition and training. What
would a long jog in the forest
be without fresh air? For SCC
EVENTS, intelligent environmental
management is a matter of
course, and long-standing environmental
protection
measures are now being
continuously developed. Now
you can help and make the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON even
greener. After all, we all want a
clean environment in which we
can feel good. And that’s why
it’s time to give a thumbs-up to
everyone who runs with a
drinking system and thus helps
to reduce the consumption of
disposable cups.
– 114 –

Water is extremely important
in a marathon. You need
to drink along the way to be
able to perform. So far, this
has led to environmental impacts
at the BMW BERLIN-MA-
RATHON by the waste created
along the supply points – such
as the approximately 800,000
used PET recycling disposable
cups. Even if the streets of Berlin
are as tidy after the cleaning
as they were before the
event, SCC EVENTS as the organiser
wants to act in a more
resource-conserving way in the
future.
One of the approaches in this
area is to save cups by having
athletes wear drinking
systems. In order to obtain
tangible results for future environmental
protection measures,
the BMW BERLIN-MA-
RATHON 2021 has set up the
hydration systems project. For
this project, we are looking for
participants of the BMW BER-
LIN-MARATHON who wear a
hydration backpack, vest or
belt for self-supply. After the
event, participants will be contacted
by email and asked about
their experiences.
Do you want to do your part for
the environment and become
part of the hydration systems
project? Then please register
by e-mail by September 20,
2021 at the latest at trinksysteme@scc-events.com
with your
last name, first name, year of
birth and zipcode.
By registering to participate,
you agree that SCC EVENTS
may contact you by e-mail for
further processing and for a
subsequent survey. Of course,
you can revoke your consent
to participate at any time in
writing to trinksysteme@sccevents.com.
PARTICIPATION PAYS OFF!
Register now at
trinksysteme@scc-events.com
© imago images/MediaPunch

FOOD & DRINK FOR THE MARATHON
During the race, you should
take every opportunity
to drink. In the early stages
of a marathon, water is still a
good choice. The longer the
race progresses and the emptier
your carbohydrate stores
become, the more often you
should also reach for special
sports drinks or gels at the aid
stations. They contain quickly
usable carbohydrates and sodium.
The energy will already
be available after a few minutes.
The same applies to bananas,
which are also available at
the refreshment stands. At the
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, we
will be serving a very special
energy source: GEL 100 from
Maurten. It provides exactly
the carbohydrates that athletes
need for long-lasting performance—and
in a form that
prevents stomach problems
that can arise when highly concentrated
carbohydrates are
consumed under stress. You
can read more about how this
works on the following pages.
– 116 –

FOOD & DRINK FOR THE MARATHON
Carbohydrates
for the whole
marathon
At the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, there will be offered special energy
drinks and gels at some of the refreshment points. All participants
can grab some Maurten GEL 100 or sports drink. Thanks to a
very special composition, both will provide energy for the 42.195
kilometres without weighing down your stomach. The big stars in the
endurance sports world have been depending upon Maurten for years.
GEL 100 from Maurten is unique.
From a technical per-
Theoretically, other products
cing a lack of carbohydrates.
spective, conventional gels are
syrups – mixtures of water and
carbohydrates, often with added
flavors and preservatives.
GEL 100, on the other hand, is
a hydrogel - a biopolymer matrix,
with a unique fructose to
glucose composition (ratio 0.8
: 1), which allows the tolerable
also can supply enough carbohydrates
during a marathon
that allow the organism to
not switch to the more laborious
way of energy production
from fats (which makes you
feel like you “hit the wall”).
But the mixture of maltodextrin,
fructose and sodium
intake of up to 100 grams of used in conventional gels often
carbohydrates per hour.
causes stomach problems
This makes it possible to run under stress if it is supplied
the entire 42.195 kilometres of in the concentration needed
to achieve the a marathon without experien-
– 118 –
necessary

AD
Eliud Kipchoge also used
Maurten gels for his 2018
marathon world record in
Berlin. You get the best
results out of Maurten if
you ideally already use it
during training
– 119 –

FOOD & DRINK FOR THE MARATHON
intake of almost two grams of
carbohydrates per kilogram of
body weight in one hour.
Maurten has come up with a
sports drink solution that supplies
enough carbohydrates without
overloading the stomach.
Their Drink Mix 320, which gets
stirred into 500 ml of low-calcium
water, contains 80 grams
of carbohydrates per serving. In
Berlin, of course, the drinks will
be prepared and ready to go. In
addition to the carbohydrates,
the drinks also contain plant
substances that ensure that
the carbohydrates slip past the
stomach and only go into action
in the small intestine, where
they enter the blood. Since
the stomach has a difficult
time reabsorbing carbohydrates,
runners can quickly notice
their presence there as slight
nausea. But when the digestion
of the carbohydrates takes
place in the small intestine,
the runner does not experience
that effect. The substances
developed by Maurten called
“hydrogels” ensure that the
carbohydrates pass through the
stomach virtually undetected.
With Drink Mix 320, the protective
hydrogel develops when
the drink comes in contact with
the stomach. The stomach acid
ensures that the carbohydrates
are encapsulated by a substance
formed from the two plant
substances: alginate-extracted
from the cell walls of brown
seaweed — and pectin — as
found in apples, lemons, carrots
and tomatoes. As soon as the
gel moves from the very acidic
stomach to the intestine, where
neutral to slightly alkaline pH
values prevail, it dissolves, and
the carbohydrates enter the
blood as glucose and provide
energy for running.
Numerous world-class performances
— from Eliud Kipchoge’s
2018 marathon world
record in Berlin to his 2019 subtwo-hour
run in Vienna to Jan
Frodeno’s 2019 Ironman victory
in Hawaii — have been achieved
using this race nutrition.

AD
Don’t try this on race day *
* A bold statement from the brand that wants to sell you the product, sure. But getting used to nutrition is one thing
many athletes don’t prioritize in training. Some even risk it all by trying new products on race day. So, use whatever
you’ve trained with or get used to what you’re getting on-course. In this case the GEL 100 and DRINK MIX 160.
Find exclusive offers for registered athletes on: maurten.com/berlin

EATING & DRINKING AFTER THE MARATHON
Once the finish has been reached,
you can eat and drink
basically anything you feel like.
But generally, you should do the
same as after training: try to
eat and drink something soon
after crossing the finish line. At
the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
there is, of course, a catering
service at the finish where the
athletes can stock up on lots of
tasty treats free of charge—most
of which are also rich in carbohydrates
and protein and thus
support your regeneration ...
But remember to eat slowly. Because
your metabolism is still
running at full speed, a large
part of the blood in your body
is still being distributed to the
– 122 –

muscles and is missing in the
gastrointestinal tract. If you
can’t keep anything solid down,
you should at least drink. After a
few hours at the latest, you will
start to feel hungry.
Non-alcoholic beers are becoming
increasingly popular as
thirst quenchers after sports.
The good news: as far as their
ingredients are concerned,
they are a good choice. The
proportion of carbohydrates
is very similar to that in sports
drinks. In addition, protein and
vitamins are also included. However,
non-alcoholic beer lacks
one substance that is quite
crucial for runners, as so much
is lost through sweat and must
be compensated: Sodium. But
you can solve this problem simply
by eating something salty
with your drink. So go ahead
and enjoy a delicious ER-
DINGER ALKOHOLFREI at the
finish line at the BMW BERLIN-
MARATHON.

HIGHLIGHTS 2021/2022
The most important
running events in
the capital and in
Brandenburg

OCTOBER 8, 2021
5 km – easy done!
teamstaffel-brandenburg.de
Run in a team of 4 on a wonderful lap through the historic city Brandenburg
an der Havel. The special team event at the beginning of autumn.
Distances
4 x 5 km relay
500 m/1.000 m bambini run
– 125 –
Team

OCTOBER 24, 2021
crosschallenge.de
Faster, higher, dirtier in „Döberitzer Heide“
Is “Back to nature” just your thing? Do you look forward to extensive
mud battles, 30 crazy obstacles and ultimate team spirit? Then let your
hair down at the Cross Challenge in the beautiful natural landscape of
the Döberitzer Heide.
Distances
YOUTH Challenge (5 k) | SPRINT Challenge (5 k) |
PINK Challenge (10 k) | BLACK Challenge (19 k) |
Cross
400 m / 800 m bambini run
– 126 –

DECEMBER 31, 2021
berliner-silvesterlauf.de
Get fit for the longest night — with „Pfannkuchen“
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 9,9 k for women and men
New years eve

APRIL 3, 2022
generali-berliner-halbmarathon.de
Half distance – double fun
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 and skating)
500 m / 1.000 m bambini run
M
– 128 –

MAY 14, 2022
From strong women, for strong women
18.000 women celebrate their special party at Germanys biggest womens
run in the heart of Berlin.
Distances
10 k for runners, walkers and nordic walkers
5 k for runners, walkers and nordic walkers
500 m / 1.000 m bambini run
WEITERE SCC EVENTS
berliner-frauenlauf.de
StWB TEAM-Staffel Brandenburg June 9, 2022
Berlin Wasserbetriebe 5x5 k TEAM Relay June 15– 17, 2022
GERMAN MANAGEMENT RUN June 15, 2022
VeloCity Summer 2022
Berlin Road Race „Generalprobe“ August 28, 2022
BMW BERLIN MARATHON September 24/25, 2022
Cross Challenge October 23, 2022
Berlin New Year‘s Eve Run December 31, 2022
– 129 –

The race
on wheels

“It is the greatest destination for the entire
inline scene”—this is how Pascal Briand, winner
of the first edition in 1997, describes the
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON Inline Skating. Briand
is also one of the fast-rolling participants this
year. Whether fitness-oriented or with ambitions
of winning—after a year’s break, the anticipation
felt by inline skaters for September 25 can be
felt everywhere.

42.195 kilometres
at top speed
Enjoy Berlin at high speed on wheels: This is just as much fun
for top athletes as it is for the many recreational skaters who
start at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON

In the professional scene, the
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
is considered the Wimbledon
of skating. Instead of English
grass, they look for fame and
glory on the Berlin asphalt.
Here they are in the limelight.
And that’s why former pros are
drawn back to Berlin time and
again. Seldom have so many
former winners been at the
start as this year. On the following
pages, we present the “legends”
as well as the current
favorites for the race on September
25.
European champions
set course for Berlin
In July, Nolan Beddiaf and Marine
Lefeuvre, both from EOS-
KATES WORLD TEAM from
France, took the titles in the
marathon at this year’s European
Championships. Now
they want to repeat their victories
in Berlin. However, in
the men’s race, Belgian Bart
Swings (POWERSLIDE MAT-
TER INTERNATIONAL) is not
only the six-time winner of the
race, but also the course record
holder (56:49 min.). Swings
has already demonstrated several
times that he is capable
of breaking away from the
field on his own. No less ambitious
will be Swings’ teammate
Felix Rijhnen from Darmstadt,
who was the first German to
win in 2019. The Rollerblade
Speed Team also boasts riders
who are used to success: Ewen
Fernandez (France), winner
in 2011 and 2012, and Severin
Widmer (Switzerland), winner
in 2010, who will be joined by
Frenchman Douclin Pédicone.
#RESTARTSKATING

INLINE-SKATING
Portuguese Diogo Marreiros
(Team WIC PORTUGAL) could
also cause a sensation. He was
one of the most successful
athletes at this year’s European
Championships.
In the women’s race, the biggest
competition for Lefeuvre
also comes from POWERSLIDE
MATTER INTERNATIONAL:
two-time winner Sandrine Tas
from Belgium as well as Katharina
Rumpus from Darmstadt,
who won in 2018. Manon
Hekman-Kamminga (Netherlands),
winner in 2013, 2014
and 2016, will be competing
in her first race after a baby
break.
Final of the GERMAN
and WORLD INLINE CUP
In both the GERMAN INLINE
CUP (GIC) and the WORLD
INLINE CUP (WIC), the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON will once
again be the stage for the final
major races this year. The GIC
will decide who finishes at the
top after four races in Germany
and Austria. In the men’s category
Nicolas Iten and Severin
Widmer are leading, ahead of
Felix Rijhnen, before the final
race; in the women’s category
Katarzyna Otrebska and Sarah
Scheuer are ahead of Katharina
Rumpus. In the fitness category,
Sergio Melilli and Katrin
Leschner are in the lead. In the
WIC Felx Rijhnen and the Mexican
Valentina Letelier Cartagena
start as leaders with best
chances for the overall victory.

Landing on your rear is only an
option just before the start.
Especially if the photographer
has fun with it
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INLINE-SKATING
Course records Men: Bart Swings 56:49 (2015) | Women: Maira Arias 1:06:35 (2017)
Favourites
BART SWINGS
Bart Swings from Belgium has already won the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON on
wheels six times
» »
and has held the course record with a time of 56:49 since 2015.
In speed skating he won Olympic silver in the mass start in Pyeongchang in 2018.
I am currently preparing for the 2022 Winter
Olympics. I am often asked whether the BERLIN
MARATHON interferes with my preparation. I
can only say: For me, I have to fit it in. Starting
in Berlin has an enormous meaning for me. The
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is the most important
inline race in the world. I won’t be at the World
Championships in November. That’s when the first
World Cups get underway on the ice.”

»
»
I’ve been on the ice since July.
I hope that I will qualify for the
Olympic Games. But a start in
Berlin is obligatory, of course.”
SANDRINE TAS
The Belgian Sandrine Tas will return
as the defending champion. Before
her victory in 2019, she had already
won the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
on inline skates in 2015.
»
KATHARINA RUMPUS
I was on summer holidays until recently, so
I had no problems with training. I have now
reduced my distances and increased the
intensities. As a result, I can manage both
training and my full-time job as a teacher
very well. I am still very motivated. Even in
the past year, my motivation has not suffered.
I’m used to training a lot on my own, so the
Corona restrictions didn’t mean much of a
change for me.”
Katharina Rumpus from Darmstadt is one of the best German speed
skaters and won the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2018.
© SCC Events/Camera 4

INLINE-SKATING
Legends
– 138 –

NICOLAS ITEN
Nicolas Iten from Switzerland won the
legendary rainy race at the Brandenburg
Gate in 2007. He is still fast on
skates and 14 years later is competing
again at the BMW BERLIN-MARA-
THON. He shares here why his 2007
victory was so special.
What does your victory at the BERLIN-MARATHON
mean to you looking back 14 years later?
To this day, this victory is probably my most important
win. I always like to talk about the rainy
race, which demanded everything. Crossing
the finish line after passing through the Brandenburg
Gate is still in my mind as if it was last
year. Winning the first and last World Cup race
of the season in my first year with the Rollerblade
World Team surpassed all my childhood
dreams.
What does your life look like now?
I live with my wife Fabienne and our two children
about 45 kilometres from Lucerne, where I have
been working as a gymnastics and sports teacher
for ten years. My priorities have changed
– 139 –

»
INLINE-SKATING
Legends
a lot as a result, of course. I try
to reconcile sport and family as
much as possible, so I often cycle
home from work instead of
taking the train. In my free time,
I am currently still busy working
on my house, and I like to
do multiple sports, like standup
paddling, race kayaking, slacklining
or riding around with my
family on a 4-person tandem.
What are your plans for this year’s
race?
Since I only train on skates a
few times a year, my expectations
are pretty modest compared
to prior years. To skate with
the first main group into the
finish would be great. I try not
to put myself under too much
pressure, so that way I am sure
to have fun at the race.

»
I didn’t have that much time for regular
training in the past weeks because
I had a lot to do at work. Everywhere
you look, among the athletes everyone
is talking about the marathon. It is
the greatest destination for the entire
inline scene—especially now, when
there are not so many races taking
place. As a manager, I help young
skaters get on the team and establish
themselves there.”
PASCAL BRIAND
Frenchman Pascal Briand went
down in the history of the BMW
BERLIN MARATHON in 1997 as
the inline marathon’s first winner.
Today, he is closely associated
with the scene as manager of the
POWER-SLIDE MATTER INTERNA-
TIONAL team.
SEVERIN WIDMER
The victory at the 2010 BERLIN MARATHON was my greatest success celebrated
to date. It means a lot to me. It is the biggest and most prestigious
event with the best atmosphere due to the many athletes on the course
and the spectators throughout the whole city. At the moment I am working
full time as a designer and developer, so of course I don’t have much time
for training. That’s why I’m all the happier to be able to take part in Berlin,
despite my lack of preparation. It is important for me to be able to get to the
start filled with joy, to meet old friends, to have fun and to stay at the front
of the race for as long as possible. I’m looking forward to the great atmosphere
along the course, which you won’t find anywhere else, and the support
of my friends from Switzerland.“
Severin Widmer of Switzerland won the BMW BERLIN MARATHON in 2010

INLINE-SKATING
With three victories in
Berlin, Manon Kamminga
from the Netherlands is
one of the biggest stars on
wheels. Why she will be enjoying
the scenic highlights along
the course this time—rather
than trying to win again like
she did in 2013, 2014 and
2016—she explains in the
interview.
Legends

What does your life look like now?
I’ve had a lot going on this
year. I started a new 4-year
degree, moved, and most importantly
had a son. The Corona
restrictions weren’t too
bad for me; that eliminated
MANON KAMMINGA
some of my responsibilities
which gave me time to do other
things. We took trips in our
RV frequently since we didn’t
have many obligations to stay
home for. This always gave me
time to ride my bike through
the woods or go hiking.
When did you decide to start in Berlin
this year?
Since July 22, our life has revolved
primarily around our
son Odin. As much as it was
possible, I worked as a coach
on the side and decided to
come to Berlin with some of
my skaters. At first it was just
a crazy, joking idea to start in
Berlin so soon after the birth.
But then I got really excited
and decided to take on the
biggest marathon again. I resolved
to really pay attention
to the city this time, too, instead
of just focusing on the
race.
What is so appealing about the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON?
The race is really something
special, in terms of the speed
and the times that are achieved
here. But the course and
the number of spectators are
also fantastic. I love the hours
leading up to and the countdown
to the start. It’s a very
special feeling!
– 143 –

THE WHEELCHAIR & HANDCYCLE RACES
Motion on
three wheels
Just a few weeks ago, they
celebrated success at the
Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
Now the racing wheelchair
athletes and hand cyclists
are heading for Berlin.

Switzerland has dominated
the wheelchair racing
scene for years. In 2019,
Manuela Schär and Marcel
Hug ensured a double victory
for the Swiss—for Hug it was
his sixth victory at the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON, for
Schär her fifth. And we can’t
forget to mention racing
wheelchair legend Heinz
Frei, who won the race 20
times.
Hug will pose the greatest
challenge to anyone hoping
to take his crown: in August,
he won gold at the Paralympic
Games in Tokyo in the
marathon distance (and also
in the 800 m and 1,500 m
on the track). But Heinz Frei,
who in the past years has
been mainly competing as a
handcyclist—is always good
for a surprise, even at the
age of 64.
In Tokyo, at his 10th Paralympics,
the exceptional athlete
defied all the attacks of his
younger competitors and won
FROM TOKYO TO BERLIN: THE FAVOURITES
IN RACING WHEELCHAIRS: MARCEL HUG & MANUELA SCHÄR

a spectacular silver medal in
the handcyclists‘ road race.
Manuela Schär was beaten in
the Paralympic marathon by
Australian Madison de Rozario
in the final metres. In Berlin
she has a renewed chance
to take on the Australian gold
medallist.
German handcyclists
with the best chances
Vico Merklein, the local hero
from Berlin, is the favourite
in the handcyclists‘ competition.
Two years ago, the 2018
winner lost to both Jetze Plat
from the Netherlands and
Jonas van de Steene from
Belgium. This year, he wants
to finish at the top of the podium
again.
In the women‘s race, all eyes
will be on Annika Zeyen. After
a Paralympic gold medal
in wheelchair basketball in
London, she added another
gold and a silver medal in
handcycling to her collection
of medals in Tokyo.
ON HANDCYCLES:
© imago images/Beautiful Sports (3), Kyodo News
VICO MERKLEIN & ANNIKA ZEYEN

EQUIPMENT
New styles
for your
races
Just in time to #restartrunning, Adidas is launching a new running shoe
collection that has something for every runner. We are presenting the new
styles to accompany your marathon and other autumn races.
ADIZERO PRIME X
ADIZERO BOSTON 10
ADIZERO ADIOS PRO 2

Setting
records
THE ADIZERO ADIOS PRO 2
– 150 –

The carbon shoes by adidas
are already on their way to
becoming legendary. Amanal
Petros wore them when he set
the German marathon record of
2:07:18 hours in autumn 2020.
Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir became
half marathon world champion
with them in 2020, improving
the world record for an all-woman
race with a time of 1:05:16.
In Tokyo she won the olympic
gold medal in the women‘s marathon.
And Germany‘s great marathon
hope Melat Kejeta also wore
the shoe when she sensationally
finished second behind Peres
Jepchirchir in Gdynia, Poland,
improved the German half marathon
record to 1:05:18, winning
World Championship silver.
This list could go on and on, but
for now here is the - slightly
revised - second version of the
shoe, which has become a little
bit lighter, without restricting
the functionality of the central
elements.
The decisive feature of the
Adizero Adios Pro remains the
carbon elements that are built
into the midsole. Adidas does
not use a closed carbon plate,
but rather a five-beam element
that acts like an extension of
the five metatarsal heads in the
midfoot. Adidas has named the
element Energyrods. It consists
of five interconnected rods interspersed
with carbon, which
imitate the shape of the metatarsal
bones. This design helps
athletes optimise their running
economy.
In addition to the carbon infused
Energyrods, the midsole of
the Adizero Adios Pro 2 uses
Lightstrike Pro cushioning material.
It is Adidas‘ lightest and
most responsive foam material
to date. It offers maximum
– 151 –

damping and even more energy
return. However, the most important
improvements in the
second generation of the shoe
are in the upper material and
the outsole: The Celermesh upper
continues to provide flexibility
and breathability, but has
been slimmed down in some
areas, making the shoe lighter.
The outsole is made of a lightweight
rubber. It offers cushioning
and grip and is super light
at the same time. New in the
second edition is the traction
zone under the big toe. The
rubber compound from Continental,
long proven for other
adidas styles, now ensures an
even better footprint in all conditions.
– 152 –

New for every pace
Those who knew the Boston
as a classic lightweight trainer
that was also super suitable
for fast competitions might
rub their eyes in surprise when
they look at the tenth edition.
The Boston of 2021 has only the
name in common with its predecessors.
It is a completely new
running shoe that uses many of
the same features that make the
Adizero Adios Pro 2 so unique. It
features the same Lightstrike
Pro midsole material. The Boston
also uses Energyrods - those
five-part carbon elements that
act like an extension of the metatarsal
bones and create extraordinary
dynamics. The midsole
construction also features robust
Lightstrike EVA foam. This
ensures durability and stability,
making the Boston a reliable and
enduring companion for all training
runs. At the same time, it
is also a great competition shoe
for all those who want to run the
half marathon in their personal
best times, but are a far from
the pace of elite runners. The
Boston has the proven Continental
rubber compound under
the entire sole, which provides
optimal traction on any surface
and in all conditions.
THE ADIZERO BOSTON 10

Too fast to be legal
First things first: If you want
to set official records or place
yourself on the leaderboards,
you have to keep your hands
off this shoe. The brand-new
Prime X from adidas does not
comply with the rules set by the
World Athletics Federation for
road running shoes worn in official
competitions. The height
of the midsole under the heel
is the issue: There is so much
Lightstrike Pro foam in the Prime
X that it provides five centimetres
of cushioning material,
which makes for exceptional reactivity.adidas
has created this
shoe for everyone who wants
to push it to the limits over long
distances. Of course, they are
also fine for amateur runners
to wear in a race. If you want to
see what the latest adidas innovations
can do for your feet,
the Prime X is the shoe for you.
Developed by designers with
limitless ideas, it is even more
comfortable, stable and at least
as fast as the Adizero Adios Pro
2 thanks to the Lightstrike Pro
midsole with Energyrod carbon
technology.

THE ADIZERO PRIME X
– 155 –

From a
local race ...
HISTORY
The first BERLIN-MARATHON took place in 1974, and in 1983 (photo),
it still started in the shadows of the Wall in front of the Reichstag
... to a
global event

P I C T U R E S
H
I S T O R I C A L
World records made in Berlin
Date Runner Country Time
1977-09-10 Christa Vahlensieck GER 2:34:48
1998-09-20 Ronaldo da Costa BRA 2:06:05
1999-09-26 Tegla Loroupe KEN 2:20:43
2001-09-30 Naoko Takahashi JPN 2:19:46
2003-09-28 Paul Tergat KEN 2:04:55
2007-09-30 Haile Gebrselassie ETH 2:04:26
2008-09-28 Haile Gebrselassie ETH 2:03:59
2011-09-25 Patrick Makau KEN 2:03:38
2013-09-29 Wilson Kipsang KEN 2:03:23
2014-09-28 Dennis Kimetto KEN 2:02:57
2018-09-16 Eliud Kipchoge KEN 2:01:39
1974
The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON reflects
the history of running in Germany – once
a minor sport that turned into a popular
trend with millions of joggers – and the
history of the once divided city of Berlin.
A stunning number of eleven world
records have been broken. No other
marathon in the world can match this.
Text: Jörg Wenig
© imago images/Reiner Zensen

HISTORY
When the first BERLIN-
MARATHON was organised
in 1974 the start and the
finish were just outside the
Mommsen Stadium in Charlottenburg.
It was an out and
back multiple lap course in
between West Berlin’s motorway
Avus and the Grunewald,
a forest area. 286 runners
entered for the first marathon
which had few spectators.
Local Berlin runners
Günter Hallas and Jutta von
Haase won the first edition
in 2:44:53 hours and 3:22:01
hours respectively.
Already back in 1977 the BER-
LIN-MARATHON produced
the first highlight regarding
the elite performances. Germany’s
Christa Vahlensieck
clocked a world best time of
2:34:47.5 hours (there were
no marathon world records
listed at that time). At the
1990
In 1990, the Brandenburg
Gate is open and the
Quadriga is being repaired.
The course of the BERLIN
MARATHON passes through
the gate for the first time.
The historic race is won
by Uta Pippig three days
before reunification

beginning of the 80ies Race
Director Horst Milde and his
organising team intended to
move the race into the city
centre. However at first they
did not get permission from
the police. Roads are made
for cars, Milde was told. However
the French Allied Forces
did stage a major road
race in spring 1981 in the city,
the “25 km de Berlin“. With
the support of the American
forces Milde and his team finally
did get the permission
to stage a city marathon at
the end of September 1981.
Almost 3,500 runners entered
the first edition with the
finish line positioned right
on Kurfürstendamm. Most of
the organising team consisted
of volunteers, including
the Race Director. During
the period of the Cold War
they developed the race in
1998
In 1998, nasal strips
are very much in
vogue and Ronaldo
da Costa from Brazil
runs the first men‘s
world record at the
BERLIN-MARATHON.
His time: 2:06:05
hours
In 1999, Tegla Loroupe
from Kenya improves
the world record to
2:20:43 hours. The
first women‘s world
record in Berlin since
Christa Vahlensieck
1999

HISTORY
West Berlin into the biggest
and best quality German marathon.
After the fall of the
Berlin Wall in November 1989
organisers of the SC Charlottenburg
worked tirelessly to
reach their ultimate goal: a
marathon through Brandenburg
Gate. They were successful
and around 25,000
athletes ran through East
and West on 30th September
1990, three days before German
reunification. The elite
race developed strongly after
the fall of the wall. In 1990
Steve Moneghetti of Australia
won with a world-class
time of 2:08:16. Berlin’s Uta
Pippig was the women’s winner.
After the historic race
of 1990 entry figures were
dropping and then stagnating
for a couple of years. It
was around the Millennium
when figures started rising
2001
© imago images/Contrast
In 2001, the marathon is marked
by the attacks on September 11 in
the USA. It is run under the motto
„United we run“. The highlight is
Japan‘s Naoko Takahashi, who is
the first woman to run the marathon
in less than 2:20 hours
(2:19:46)

significantly again. In terms
of elite racing the BERLIN-
MARATHON had done extremely
well in the 90ies.
The 25th edition in 1998 was
crowned by the first men’s
world record in Berlin: Brazil’s
Ronaldo da Costa clocked
2:06:05 hours and
became the first runner in
history to achieve an average
time of sub 3:00 per kilometre.
A number of major time
barriers were broken during
world record performances in
Berlin in the following years.
For a long time the best women
marathon runners had
dreamt about breaking 2:20.
It was in Berlin where it finally
happened: Japan’s Naoko Takahashi
broke the barrier in
2001 with a time of 2:19:46
hours. After the New York terror
attacks on 11th September
2001 runners held up a huge
2003 2007
© imago images/Hoch Zwei
In 2003, Paul Tergat was the first
person in the world to break the 2:05
barrier
In 2007, Haile Gebrselassie celebrated
his first world record at the Brandenburg
Gate with a time of 2:04:26. The
Ethiopian runs his way into the hearts
of the Berliners more than any other
marathon winner

HISTORY
banner at the start reading
’United we Run’.
It was the 30th edition of
the race which was crowned
by another historic performance:
Kenya’s Paul Tergat
became the first runner to
achieve a sub 2:05 time in the
marathon. He clocked 2:04:55
hours at the new spectacular
finish at Brandenburg Gate,
which caught international
attention. 30,709 finishers
were counted on that day, a
record for a German marathon.
After Ethiopian superstar
Haile Gebrselassie became
the first runner to achieve a
time of under 2:04 in Berlin in
2008 (2:03:59) and Kenya‘s
Dennis Kimetto ran under
2:03 in 2014 (2:02:57), Olympic
champion Eliud Kipchoge
(Kenya) made the greatest
improvement in the mara-
2008
© imago images/Bernd König
In 2008, barriers are
broken in both the men‘s
and women‘s races: Haile
Gebrselassie is the first
man to complete the marathon
under 2:04 hours,
with a time of 2:03:59. Irina
Mikitenko remains the first
German woman to finish under
2:20 hours, with a time
of in 2:19:19. Her time is still
the German record

thon world record in over 50
years in 2018: He beat Dennis
Kimetto‘s best mark by 1:18
minutes to finish in 2:01:39.
However, an athlete who is
one of the top runners of all
time on the track came sensationally
close to this mark
in 2019: Kenenisa Bekele missed
the world record by just
two seconds with a time of
2:01:41. The Ethiopian thus
became the second-fastest
runner in marathon history
behind Eliud Kipchoge. Kenenisa
Bekele was also unlucky
for the second time in his second
Berlin triumph: in 2016
he won in 2:03:03 and missed
the then world record by
six seconds—this last time he
was an annoying two seconds
short.
The BMW BERLIN-MARA-
THON has been the fastest
men’s marathon of the
2011 2013
In 2011, Patrick Makau set a new marathon world
record of 2:03:38
In 2013, the record was broken again: this time
Wilson Kipsang improved the world record to
2:03:23. Afterwards, race director Mark Milde
shows him the way

HISTORIE
world for many years. When
the World Marathon Majors
(WMM) were established in
2006 the BERLIN-MARA-
THON was a founding member
together with Boston,
London, Chicago and New
York. Since then the world’s
best marathon runners collect
points at each of the
AWMM races and an annual
champion is crowned. Because
of the Abbott AWMM
series interest in the BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON soared.
In 2019, a record number of
46,983 runners from 150 nations
registered for the 46th
edition. Over 44,000 of them
crossed the finish line at the
Brandenburg Gate, including
the one millionth female finisher
in the history of the
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON.
2014 2018
2019
© imago images/Zuma Press
2014, Dennis
Kimetto is the
first to run 42.195
kilometres in less
than 2:03 hours:
His world record of
2:02:57 hours will
last four years
– 164 –
© imago images/Gora
In 2018, Eliud Kipchoge
pulverises Dennis Kimetto‘s
mark with a time of 2:01:39.
At that point, no one believes
that Kenenisa Bekele would
run to within two seconds
of that record in 2:01:41 as
early as 2019

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

Six
stars.
One
dream.
The Abbott World Marathon Majors are made up of six of the biggest
and most prestigious marathon races in the world: Tokyo Marathon,
Boston Marathon, Virgin Money London Marathon, BMW BERLIN-
MARATHON, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and TCS New York
Marathon. Here we present the five races joined by the BMW BERLIN-
MARATHON to form the community of the most important marathons.
Whoever finishes in all six becomes a six-star marathon runner and
can show that off with this medal.

The first series of World Marathon
Majors was launched
in 2006. The organisers
of the races hope to work together
to develop their sport,
raise the profile of elite runners
and increase the number
of marathon runners worldwide,
regardless of age or ability.
In addition to the series for elite
runners—Series XIII will be
completed this autumn—and
wheelchair racers, the Abbott
World Marathon Majors also
launched initiatives for recreational
athletes.
At the end of each series, the
top three male and female
athletes receive prize money.
For the runners, US$250,000
goes to each of the men’s
and women’s champions and
$50,000 to the silver medallists
and $25,000 to the
bronze medallists.. For the
wheelchair racers, the prizes
are US$50,000, 25,000 and
10,000, respectively.
World rankings
for age groups
The Abbott WMM Wanda World
Rankings for age groups officially
began at the 45th BMW
BERLIN-MARATHON on September
16, 2018, marking the
start of a year-long qualifying
period that ended in Berlin in
2019. The top placed male and
female runners in each age
group qualified for the Abbott
WMM Wanda Age Group
World Championships, which
was supposed to make its debut
at the 2020 Virgin Money
London Marathon. The London
race could not take place
due to the Corona pandemic.
The title battles will now be
held at the Virgin Money London
Marathon on October 3,
2021.
Six Stars finishers are those
who have run everywhere
The „Six Star Finishers“ classification
began with the 2016
MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION FOR THE SIX STARS

Tokyo Marathon and was created
for marathon runners with
a broad range of interests.
Those who have successfully
participated in all six Abbott
World Cup races receive the
highly sought-after „Six Star
Medal“. To be included in this
classification, runners must
register at www.abbottwmm.
com.
Abbott World Cup
Global Run Club
The club was launched in August
2020 in the midst of the
coronavirus pandemic. The aim
is to bring together marathon
runners from around the world
on a virtual platform. As part of
these efforts, there have already
been a number of opportunities
to compete in virtual races.
At the Abbott World Marathon
Majors, there are not only series
champions for the runners, but
for the wheelchair athletes as
well. The last series winner was
Manuela Schär in Tokyo in 2019
© imago images/Zuma Press
WWW.ABBOTTWMM.COM

Abbott World Marathon Majors
LONDON
On the Mall in front of Buckingham
Palace towards the finish line: The last
metres are also a great experience at
the London Marathon
Next race
October 3, 2021
Largest field
42.549 runners at the finish (2019)
Course records
2:02:37 Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 2019
2:15:25 Paula Radcliffe (GBR) 2003
© imago images/Zuma Press
The world
is watching
– 170 –

virginmoneylondonmarathon.com
The first London Marathon
took place on March 29,
1981. More than 20,000 runners
wanted to take part, 7,747
were admitted. 6,255 runners
finished, led by American Dick
Beardsley and Norwegian
Inge Simonsen, who ran hand
in hand across the finish together,
causing a sensation.
Joyce Smith won the women’s
race with a new British record.
In 1982, more than 90,000 runners
from all over the world applied
for a race entry, but only
18,059 were admitted.
– 171 –

Abbott World Marathon Majors
LONDON
In the meantime, the London
Marathon has grown to more
than 40,000 starters, and
the prize money for the elite
runners is 313,000 US dollars.
World records for both
men and women have been
set at the race, including that
by Paula Radcliffe, who achieved
a time of 2:15:25 in 2003.
The London Marathon is now
broadcast by the BBC to 196
countries around the world;
between four and five million
TV viewers watch the live coverage
in the UK alone. Runners
in the London Marathon
have already raised over a billion
British pounds for charitable
causes.
Finest hour at the London Marathon:
On April 13, 2013, Paula Radcliffe of
the UK ran a world record in 2:15:25.
The mark was to stand until 2019,
when it was broken by Brigid Kosgei
from Kenya, who ran 2:14:04 in
Chicago
© imago images/Kosecki

#LondonMarathon
#WeRunTogether
Sunday 3
October 2021
#WeRunTogether
The 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon will be a Marathon
Day like no other, with 50,000 people running on the
streets of London and 50,000 people taking on the virtual
Virgin Money London Marathon wherever they are in the world!
Find out more at
virginmoneylondonmarathon.com

Abbott World Marathon Majors
CHICAGO
Superstars like Madonna regularly
perform at the Chicago Theatre, and
runners pass through the imposing
edifice on their 42.195-km journey
through the third-largest city in the USA
Next race
October 10, 2021
Largest field
45,932 runners at the finish (2019)
Course records
2:03:45 Dennis Kimetto (KEN) 2013
2:14:04 Brigid Kosgei (KEN) 2019
© imago images/Zuma Press
Fast, big,
colourful
– 174 –

chicagomarathon.com
In 1976, a small group of
running enthusiasts met to
make plans for a Chicago marathon.
Backed by Chicago‘s
athletics-loving mayor, Michael
Bilandic, and the leadership
of Lee Flaherty, the group
put their ideas into action on
September 25, 1977: The first
Chicago Marathon was launched
with 4,200 participants.
In recent years, the Chicago
Marathon has grown to a field
of over 45,000 runners. The
race is watched by an estimated
1.7 million spectators
along the course.
The flat course begins and
– 175 –

Abott World Marathon Majors
CHICAGO
ends in Chicago‘s historic
Grant Park. It passes through
29 culturally diverse neighbourhoods
such as Lakeview,
Greektown, Little Italy,
Pilsen, Chinatown and Bronzeville.
The race has seen two
men‘s world records (1984:
Steve Jones 2:08:55, 1999:
Khalid Khannouchi 2:05:42)
and three women‘s (2001:
Catherine Ndereba 2:18:47,
2002 Paula Radcliffe 2:17:18,
2019: Brigid Kosgei 2:14:04).
© imago images/Zuma Wire
Chicago has already seen
three world records set in
the women‘s marathon. The
most recent in 2019 by Kenyan
Brigid Kosgei with a time of 2:14:04

10.10.2021
This fall we’ll reunite for the return of the
Bank of America Chicago Marathon. A diverse
community brought together by a commitment
and the miles that lead us to this moment. Let’s
bring the people’s race back to the streets of
Chicago.
Lion ®️ The Art Institute of Chicago
#MyChicagoMarathon
chicagomarathon.com

Abbott World Marathon Majors
BOSTON
The finish line in Boston gained
sad notoriety worldwide in 2013
when three people died in a
bombing at the world‘s oldest
marathon. Since then, security
measures at major running events
around the world have continued
to be enhanced
Next race
October 11, 2021
Largest field
35,868 runners at the finish (1996)
Course records
2:03:02 Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) 2011
2:19:59 Buzunesh Deba (ETH) 2014
The
classic
– 178 –

baa.org
Inspired by their experiences
at the 1896 Olympics, some
members of the Boston Athletic
Association created their
own marathon in 1897. With
the exception of the 2020
race (victim to the Corona
pandemic), this race has been
held every year (although the
1918 race was held as a military
relay instead of an individual
race) and is the oldest
annual marathon in the world.
The position of the start and
finish lines have changed over
the years, but the rest of the
course has remained largely
the same.
– 179 –

Abott World Marathon Majors
BOSTON
Since 1924, the race has started
in the town of Hopkinton
and runs from there through
Ashland, Framingham, Natick
and Wellesley. In Newton, the
course gradually climbs to the
famous Heartbreak Hill. After
the runners cross Brookline,
they run into Boston, where
the race ends on historic Boylston
Street. Participants must
qualify for the Boston Marathon
with certain times, depending
on their gender and
age. The race celebrates its
125th anniversary in October.
Thanks to Uta Pippig, SCC Berlin,
the club behind the BMW BERLIN-
MARATHON, has a very special
connection to the Boston Marathon:
the Berliner started for the SCC in
the 1990s and won the world‘s
oldest marathon three times in a
row in 1994, 1995 and 1996

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Abbott World Marathon Majors
TOKYO
On March 3, 2019, at the last staging of
the Tokyo Marathon as a mass race before
the Corona pandemic, it poured down rain.
Nevertheless, thousands enjoyed the finish
line in front of the main station of the
Japanese metropolis
Next race
October 17, 2021
Largest field
35,460 runners at the finish (2019)
Course records
2:03:58 Wilson Kipsang (KEN) 2017
2:17:45 Lonah Salpeter (ISR) 2020
© imago images/Aflosport
Running
with heart
– 182 –

marathon.tokyo/en
Organised by the Tokyo Marathon
Foundation, the
premiere was launched on February
18, 2007. Before the
first race, 95,044 athletes applied
for a race entry. Of these,
30,870 were permitted to start.
Since then, 300,000 runners
hope to take part every year,
out of which just under 36,000
are admitted under normal
circumstances. With its motto
‚The Day We Unite‘, the Tokyo
Marathon has been bringing
runners, volunteers and spectators
together for 13 years.
In 2011, the Tokyo Marathon established
its own charity pro-
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Abott World Marathon Majors
TOKYO
gramme, ‚Running with Heart‘.
Donations are used to support
various charity programmes.
With the 2016 race - the 10th
anniversary edition - the Tokyo
Marathon logo was renewed.
It shows runners, helpers
and cheering spectators along
the course and thus symbolises
the motto of the race, ‚The
Day We Unite‘. Since 2017, the
Tokyo Marathon has had a new
route. The finish line is now in
the immediate vicinity of the
main railway station. It is not
yet certain whether the Tokyo
Marathon can take place in
October due to the pandemic.
© imago images/Zuma Wire
In 2020, shortly after the
pandemic broke out in the spring,
the Tokyo Marathon was one of the
few major marathons to take place
at all. In the elite-only race with
numerous hygiene measures, winner
Lonah Salpeter from Israel set a new
course record of 2:17:45 hours

Abbott World Marathon Majors
NEW YORK
This skyline, this crowd, this city:
the marathon through the Big Apple
is a dream destination for runners
from all over the world. And those who
take part celebrate accordingly
Next race
November 7, 2021
Largest field
53,640 runners at the finish (2019)
Course records
2:05:06 Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) 2011
2:22:31 Margaret Okayo (KEN) 2003
The
biggest
– 186 –

tcsnycmarathon.org
The TCS New York City
Marathon is the premier
event of the New York Road
Runners (NYRR) and the largest
marathon in the world.
The race attracts elite athletes
and recreational runners
alike seeking one of the challenges
of a lifetime. The marathon
has grown tremendously
since its premiere in
1970, which saw only 127 runners
who ran four laps around
Central Park. Normally, more
than 50,000 runners from all
over the world flock to New
York City in early November
to race through the five bo-
– 187 –

Abott World Marathon Majors
NEW YORK
roughs. This year, however,
the field is being reduced due
to the Corona pandemic.
Runners start at the Verrazano-Narrows
Bridge on Staten
Island and finish in Central
Park. Some run for the prize
money, others for a good
cause or for a personal best.
All are cheered on by more
than a million spectators.
Around 650 million people
last watched the spectacle on
television.
© imago images/Zuma Wire
In the 1980s, German marathon
runners played a different role on a
global scale than they do today:
Herbert Steffny won bronze at the
1986 European Championships in
Stuttgart, and two years earlier
he had also finished third in the
New York Marathon. Today, the
68-year-old still participates
every year in New York and coaches
running groups from Germany

ORGANISATION
Promoter
Sport-Club Charlottenburg e.V.
Organiser
SCC EVENTS GmbH
Olympiapark Berlin
Hanns-Braun-Straße/Adlerplatz
14053 Berlin
Tel. 030 – 301 288 10
Fax 030 – 301 288 20
www.scc-events.com
Management & Team Leading
Managing Directors
Christian Jost, Jürgen Lock
Race Director
Mark Milde
Operations Director
Carsten Humrich
Team Leading Event Service
Antje Jüntgen
Team Leading Communications
Robert Fekl, Jochen Schmitz
Team Leading Operations
Michael Gerlach
Teamleitung Financials
Aike Fokkena
Team Leading Marketing & Sponsoring
Anni Genthner
Organisational team
BMW BERLIN-MARATHON
Participants/Event Service
Sylvia Ackermann, Mareike Dehmel,
Johannes Dinter, Maximilian Fauser,
Anika Günther, Antje Jüntgen, Judy Kumutat,
Markus März, Marcus Mahlo, Anja Reisner
Athlete Hospitality
Carsten Helterhof, Michael Hermann,
Nadine Mietke, Chiara Skambraks
EXPO
Ute Hessenberger, Oliver Schulze,
Ümit Cakmak, Oliver Simon
Broom Wagon
Christian Löw
Results Services
mika:timing
Gathering Point
Alexander Horn
Driving Service
Gabi Mahn, Mario Mahn, Hendrik Hübscher
Blue Line
Wolfgang Weising
Wheelchair drivers/Handcyclists
Ulrich Anke, Jörn Kreinburg, Errol Marklein
Volunteers
Ralf Burzlaff, Sonja Glauert, Vivian Schneider
Inline Skating
Gerte Buchheit, Julia Seifert
Clothing Drop-Off
Peter Fielhauer, Yves Imbert,
Alexander Schröter
Poncho hand-out
Vivien Wichert
Communications/Media Centre
Gerte Buchheit, Frauke Constantin, Vincent
Dornbusch, Robert Fekl, Stephanie Kamen,
Isabel Krüger, Diana Putzu, Jochen Schmitz,
Thomas Steffens, Lara Vogel, Jörg Wenig
Marketing & Sponsoring
Nicole Altenhof, Frauke Binder, Nina Ertel,
Rick Gaedke, Anni Genthner, Ute Hessenberger,
Laurie Magdeburg, Dominique Schwarz,
Jakob Wartchow, Vivian Wolf
Massage Services
Matthias Vogel
Office
Aike Fokkena, Antonella Giglio, Sandra Kinkel,
Yvonne Meißner, Monika Nagel
Sports Medicine
Angela Hänsel, Fabian Köppe,
Priv. Doz. Dr. med. Matthias Krüll,
Dr. med. Margrit Lock, Simone Salzger,
Felix Scholkmann, Medical Team SCC EVENTS
Music/Course
John Kunkeler
Police Head of Operations
Oliver Hartwich
Protocol/VIP
Monika Nagel, Rotraud Zylka
Announcer
Jonas Frank, Marco Guhl,
Dr. Karsten Holland, Sven Stöcklein
Start
Marcel Heß, Maureen Kirner, Steffen Kirner,
Achim Rau, Roland Winkler
Course
Gregor Pfennig

Course Measuring
John Kunkeler, Siegfried Menzel,
Gregor Pfennig
Aid Stations
Max Roy
Operations
Oliver Bach, Ümit Cakmak, Christian Fahr, Daniel
Hoppe, Michael Gerlach, Carsten Humrich,
Odin Reinhardt, Gregor Pfennig, Oliver Schulze
Mascot Fridolin Flink
Britt Munzlinger
Victory Ceremony
Yvonne Meißner, Stefan Neumann
Medical Service
Johanniter Unfallhilfe e.V.
Aid Stations Runners
Start
SCC Berlin e.V.
5 km Refreshment point: Zur Ruder-Schänke
„Zur Ruderer-Schänke“ | Ruder-Club Tegel
Markus Hardt, Tobias Lohr
9 km Supply point
FU Freizeitsport e.V.
Antje Köhler, Harald Knetsch
12 km Refreshment point
THW Jugend
Sascha Barneswske
15 km Supply point
Berliner Schwimmverband (Jugend)
Manuela Krause, Jürgen Preuß
17,5 km Refreshment point
IBM-Club
Holmer Jankowski, Holger Werner
20 km Supply point
Luise-Henriette-Gymnasium
Marco und Tabea Ludwig
22,5 km Refreshment point
Konstanze Krumpholz
25 km Supply point
Hauptzollämter/Judo-Karate-Club Nippon
Carla Sparmann
27,5 km Refreshment point
LG Süd Berlin
Maximilian Totel, Sarah Wagner
30 km Supply point
Schadow-Gymnasium
Reino Bangel, Andreas Knoll
32,5 km Refreshment point
TÜV Rheinland Akademie Berlin
Roland Zamecki
34,5 km Refreshment point
„Knackpunkt“ | Nordberliner Lauffreunde
Bernd Hübner, Jörg Busche, Christian Meier
36 km Supply point
LAC Berlin
Stefan Bauer
38 km Refreshment point
LC Cottbus
Roland Füssler
40 km Refreshment point
„Zur letzten Tränke“ | SCC-Langstreckler
Karsten Kupsch
Finish
ABC Zentrum Berlin
Kai-Thomas Arndt
Aid Stations
Inlineskating
20 km: Kids & Co
Marco Ludwig
30 km: Motor Eberswalde
Detlev Mierig
36 km: SCC-Langstreckler
Karsten Kupsch
IMPRINT
Event 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,
Christian Ermert, Anja Herrlitz, Julia Seifert,
Jochen Schmitz, Jörg Wenig
Graphics
CNG sports & media GmbH, Köln
Photos
If no other copyright indicated:
Archiv SCC EVENTS, SCC Skating, camera4,
sportografen, Petko Baier, imago images,
Norbert Wilhelmi, Adobe Stock