Berlin Marathon 2014
The 41st Berlin Marathon kicks of this September at the Brandenburg Gate.
The Berlin Marathon has been running since October 1974 and has grown from humble beginnings being held on a minor road next to the organisers club, to Grunewald Forest in 1980 and then finally through the streets of West Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
When the Berlin Wall was still standing, those first few years saw the maximum number of participants at around 400. Three days before German reunification in September 1990, 25,000 runners ran through the Brandeburg Gate and the Berlin Marathon then established itself as one of the fastest marathons in the world. Today, the organisers cap the limit of participants to 40,000, and these spots get nabbed within 3 or 4 hours of places opening up and running bibs going ‘on sale’.
Open to athletes from all over the world and at last count, runners from over 120 different countries have participated, but this is not just for those on foot, the race is also including wheelchair racers, handbikers and power walkers.
These days there’s a lot more to the Berlin Marathon than cheering these long distance athletes around the streets of Berlin. The event itself has grown into a celebration of all things sport, fitness and music with other proceedings happening all over the city coinciding and culminating with the race.
Above image © SCC EVENTS/PHOTORUN, Below © BMW BERLIN-MARATHON/Jiro Mochizuki
Runners at the Victory Column
Bambini run
An excellent initiative to gets kids involved in fitness and in racing on foot is the Bambini run, held at the Tempelhof airport on September 27th, the day before the big race, starting at 11am. Children under 10 can participate in two different categories of age and length of track.
Tempelhof is a great location for such an event as there is plenty of space in a contained area, a good track (the old airstrip!) and it runs along side the Berlin Vital Expo which is in the aircraft hanger, and where you register your children to run at only €3 a pop! Great fun for the whole family!
Berlin Vital Expo
Utilising the cavernous air hanger at Tempelhofer Feld is an expo of all things fitness. Nutrition, sports wear, sports medicine, exercise and heath take centre stage at this lifestyle trade show. Running for three days in the lead up to the big race (25th, 26th, 27th September), here you will find lots activities to get your feet into like, climbing skating cycling and a kinderplay area for the kids. For all types of athletes, whether professional or hobbyist, you’ll find heaps here to inspire through sport and technology, special offers and lots and lots of exercise.
Image © PHOTORUN/SCC EVENTS
The finish line
Music Marathon
What constitutes a music marathon? 1,000 musicians, 80 bands and continuous music along the Berlin marathon track!
Emerging in the 80’s from the presence of a drumming group and cheerleaders encouraging the runners on at the 35 kilometre mark, in recent years this has turned into a music point every 500 metres serving as inspiration and motivation for the athletes to keep going as well as some entertainment for the spectators who are there to cheer as well.
Berlin Marathon App
Head to the app store or Google Play and download the Berlin Marathon app for your smart phone or hand held device and get the low down on training, stretching and strength exercises, training plans and medical information and you’re good to go! It’s free and available in German and English.
The Berlin Marathon 2014 is on September 28th from 9am and the track starts and finishes in Mitte between the Brandenburger Tor and the Kleiner Stern on Straße des 17. Juni. Spectators are welcome to watch from the sidelines at any point along the 42.195 kilometres of track but the beginning and end are particularly exciting spots to soak up this epic long haul in all it’s glory. Bring your enthusiasm and help cheer on those professional and amateur runners, from all over the world, who have come to Berlin especially for this sporting event. It’ll be pretty exciting to be part of.
Image © SCC EVENTS
Winner 2013 W. Kipsang
