Live ticker | 50th Berlin Marathon – +++ Big stars are missing +++ Road closures at the weekend +++ Record number of participants for the anniversary +++
Image: IMAGO / Funke Photo Services
The Berlin Marathon enters its 50th edition this weekend. More than 80,000 people roll, skate and run through the city. Everything you need to know about this mega event in our live ticker.
Thursday, September 26th
12:31 p.m.: The really big stars of the scene are missing
Unlike in many previous years, this time a few weeks after the Olympic Games there is no big name at the start 50th Berlin Marathon. Aces like Haile Gebrselassie and Eliud Kipchoge have set several world records on the flat course. Last year, the Ethiopian Tigst Assefa set a fabulous record of 2:11:53 hours. Another record – also a German one – would be a surprise this time.
Also not taking part this time is the German record holder Amanal Petros, who, like Kipchoge, gave up at the Olympics.
Wednesday, September 25th
10:45 a.m.: Traffic restrictions on the marathon weekend
As every year, Berliners will have to prepare for traffic restrictions on the streets and in local public transport on the marathon weekend.
The closure has been in place since Wednesday Street of June 17th to the Great Star expanded and also includes the Yitzhak Rabin Street. This, as well as the closure of Ebertstrasse, ends on October 1st, around 6 p.m. The first streets in the wider city area will be closed on Saturday from around 11:20 a.m. as part of the inline skaters’ race.
There is an overview of the closures here in detail.
Image: imago images/dts news agency
Tuesday, September 24th
4:11 p.m.: The biggest milestones of the Berlin Marathon
When the Berlin Marathon takes place for the 50th time on Sunday, more runners than ever before will race through the German capital. When a marathon took place in Berlin for the first time, the city was still divided – and the field of participants was manageable.
“In 1974, in what was then West Berlin – surrounded by a wall – there were exactly 286 participants at the start – at that time there were still few women,” remembers Horst Milde, initiator or “inspirator” of the Berlin Marathon, as he himself says , in conversation with rbb. The complete article on the biggest moments and milestones from 50 years of the Berlin Marathon is available here.
Monday, September 23rd
5:26 p.m.: Record number of participants at the 50th edition
A record number of 58,212 runners have registered for the 50th Berlin Marathon next Sunday. “Our vision from the start was that we wanted to have 50,000 finishers for the anniversary,” said managing director Jürgen Lock from the organizer SCC Events. Experience has shown that not everyone who registered actually takes part in the 42.195 kilometer race.
According to the organizers, more than 80,000 participants from 161 nations are expected at the weekend, including handbike and wheelchair athletes as well as skaters. The inline skating race will take place on Saturday.
Tuesday, September 17th
6:15 a.m.: Postman Günter Hallas wins the premiere and will also be there in 2024
In 1974, postman Günter Hallas won the first Berlin Marathon. For the 50th anniversary, the 82-year-old will compete there one last time – with an artificial knee and in a duo with a second anniversary.
Even after 50 years, Günter Hallas has not really deciphered the secret of his first marathon victory. “I don’t know how that happened either… Suddenly I was in front,” says the 82-year-old, when asked about October 13, 1974. And Hallas stayed in front. “One kilometer before the finish I was hanging in the fence on the side of the track,” he remembers, “but a friend spurred me on.”
After 2:44 hours, the Berliner crossed the finish line at the Mommsenstadion. A two-minute lead made him the winner of the first ever Berlin Marathon. Here there are the whole story about Günter Hallas.
Monday, September 9th
6:15 a.m.: The multimillion-dollar business with the Berlin Marathon
The 50th anniversary of the Berlin Marathon is coming up. In addition to possible records, the capital is looking forward to thriving business. But who particularly wins? And how does the city benefit? One thing is clear: the run enjoys a special status.
The marathon is an important economic factor in Berlin, although the organizer SCC Events generally does not provide any information about financial aspects. The biggest cost factor for the organizers is likely to be the entry fees for the marathon stars.
Before Corona there was a study about the Berlin Marathon. She speaks of a whopping 383 million euros in added value. More about the multimillion-dollar business of the Berlin Marathon is here.
Broadcast: rbb24, September 29th, 9:45 p.m
