Partners and the Community
With the new record number of participants, the AVON RUNNING Berlin Women’s Run is the largest event in the international AVON running and walking series and it boosts a great atmosphere. A total of 89,439 women and girls have participated in all of the 23 editions of the Berlin race so far.
There is a choice of two distances being offered at the AVON RUNNING Berlin Women’s Run - 5 and 10 k - which are open for Walkers and Nordic Walkers as well. More than 2,000 schoolgirls participate in the 5 k race. The programme includes a children's 800 m race for kids up to 10 years old. Boys are allowed to participate in the Bambini run as well.
Vattenfall BERLIN HALF MARATHON
The Vattenfall BERLIN HALF MARATHON, held on the first Sunday in April, is well on the way to become a race with a similar reputation as the real,- BERLIN MARATHON. During the last few years the race has grown enormously. In 2006 there were more than 20,000 participants for the first time. On the flat course world class times are run by elite athletes. At the last edition Kenya’s Paul Kosgei clocked 59:07 minutes to set a brilliant new course record. Disregarding courses that do not meet the standards for records this was the second fastest time ever run and a Kenyan record as well. Only Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) has ever run faster. He clocked 58:55 minutes in 2006. In the women’s race Edith Masai from Kenya set also a new course record as well as the world leading time in 2006 with 67:16 minutes. Runner up Deena Kastor (USA) broke four US records at 12 k (38:24), 10 miles (51:31), 20 k (64:07) and the half marathon (67:34). Both latter records are also North/Central American records.
The history of the Vattenfall BERLIN HALF MARATHON is a piece of Berlin’s history as well. The events leading up to today’s event could really only have happened in this city. Its predecessors came from East- and West Berlin.
On 29th November 1981 the Lichtenberg Marathon was staged in East-Berlin. This race was one year later succeeded by the “Berliner Friedenslauf” (Berlin Peace Run), which covered various distances up to a marathon. The “Friedenslauf” was the biggest road race in the former GDR. While in former years the east German government showed no interest in city races, that attitude changed, when big and spectacular city races developed in western countries. Suddenly the government decided that it would be good to have a big race as well – and as usual in those times it was dedicated to peace. For the runners the motto did not matter. They were just happy to finally get what they had asked for for many years.
