About the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON

The 39th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2012 will take place on Sunday 30th September 2012.

A group of runners from one of Germany’s most prestigious athletics clubs, SC Charlottenburg, organised the first BERLIN-MARATHON in 1974. It was not until 1981 that the race moved from the Grunewald (a big forest) into the city center of West Berlin. Supported by the three western allied forces (Britain, France and U.S.) it quickly developed into Germany’s biggest and best quality marathon. It was after the Berlin Wall collapsed in November 1989 when a new era started. On September 30, 1990, three days before reunification, the course of the Berlin Marathon led through Brandenburg Gate and both parts of Berlin. In 2001 Naoko Takahashi became the first woman to break the 2:20 barrier in Berlin. The flat and fast loop course then was changed significantly for the 2003 race. Paul Tergat, who ran the world record of 2:04:55, became the first man to cross the new finish line, passing through Brandenburg Gate – the symbol for reunification.

In 2007 the Ethiopian world class runner Haile Gebrselassie broke the world record on the streets of Berlin: He improved at the 34th real,- BERLIN-MARATHON the world's best time to 2:04:26. Just one year later he returned to Berlin and set yet another World record of 2:03:59, going sub 2:04 for the first time ever. The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON has developed into one of the world’s best road races.

Capacity:  
40,000 

Inaugural Running: 
1974

Largest Field:  
35,913 finishers (2008)

Recent Participation:

Estimated Number Of Spectators:
1.5 Million

Prize Purse:  
$340,000 ($64,000 for the male and female champions)

World Records (Men): 
2:03:38 - Patrick Makau, 2011
2:03:59 – Haile Gebrselassie, 2008
2:04:55 – Paul Tergat, 2003
2:06:05 – Ronaldo da Costa, 1998

World Records (Women): 
2:19:46 – Naoko Takahashi, 2001
2:20:43 – Tegla Loroupe, 1999
2:34:48 – Christa Vahlensieck, 1977