BMW Berlin Marathon

50 Years Later

Before the gun goes off in Berlin let us jump back to where it all started, estimated to have occurred in 490 BC. The legend of ‘The Greek Messenger’ states that the first-ever marathon was run. Although at this time it was for communication between the town of Marathon and Athens within the war, The ‘Battle of Marathon’ to be precise, to exclaim to the Greeks ‘We have won’!

Why is a marathon 42,195km you may ask?

As the Greek messenger found out, this is the exact distance from Marathon to Athens by foot.

The marathon as we know it today was only introduced to the modern Olympics in Athens in 1896 to tie in ancient Greek history with a modern popularized sports discipline. The marathon has been one of the most watched Olympic events ever since.

The 29th of September 2024 marks the 50th BMW Berlin Marathon. Over 50’000 runners, walkers, wheelchair athletes, hand cyclists, and inline skaters will take to the streets of Berlin with the same goal: completing the 42.195km course!

It wasn’t always like this; in 1974 the 1st Berlin Marathon was a glimpse into the future through a vision of Horst Milde, a local West Berlin pastry chef. With only 244 finishers, only runners, and limited to the streets of West Berlin the then entitled ‘Berlin People’s Marathon’ was underway. The finishing times have also got a little quicker over the years, from 2:44:53 by Günter Hallas in 1974 to the record-breaking time of 2:01:09 by Eliud Kipchoge in 2022. It is worth noting that the marathon world record has been broken in Berlin on 13 occasions, more than any other world marathon course.

6 of these times were done so by adidas athletes: Haile Gebrselassie in 2007 & 2008 in the adidas AdiZero CS then adidas AdiZero Adios, Patrick Makau Musyoki in 2011 in the adidas AdiZero Adios 2, Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich in 2013 in the adidas AdiZero Adios Boost, Dennis Kipruto Kimetto in 2014 in the adidas AdiZero Adios Boost 2 and Tigst Assefa in 2023 in the adidas AdiZero Adios Pro Evo 1.

The current world record of 2:00:35 was set in Chicago in 2023 by the late Kelvin Kiptum, who passed in a car accident in early 2024. Maybe 2024 will be the year we see the record go under the mythical 2-hour barrier.

One thing that hasn’t changed much over the years is the iconic course, having only changed in 1990 after the fall of the Berlin Wall to allow for the full use of the city and allowing athletes to run through the Brandenburg Gate for the first time! (arguably the most sought-after finish line in all of marathon running)

Known for being the ‘World Record Course’ and the ‘flat & fast course’, there is a reason people come from all over the world to run Berlin. Whether that be for a personal best, national record, Boston Qualifying time, or even a world record.

Who knows what will happen in 2024?