Posted: February 10, 2005

Athletics: 7,000+ For Berlin Marathon

Already over 7,000 people registered for the Bewag BERLIN HALF MARATHON anniversary race, Berlin is among the top ten in the world

Germany’s largest half marathon is celebrating its anniversary: On April 3, the 25th Bewag BERLIN HALF MARATHON will get underway. Once again, the race is also the first large international running event of the season in Germany. So far there are already over 7,000 people registered.

In addition to runners, on April 3 inline skaters, walkers, wheelchair athletes and hand cyclists will also take the start. Parallel to the half marathon, the Bewag FUN RUN (3.5 km) will also take place again, an ideal start for beginners and youth. Like last year, the start and finish will be on the boulevard Unter den Linden on the Palace Bridge (Schloßbrücke). This year the time has changed, however, and the start will be moved back to 12 noon. The later start should mean even more spectators than last year along the course. In 2004, over 100,000 people lined the streets along the 21.0975 km course through the city.

Through the excellent winning times and the strong increase in participation over the past few years, the Bewag BERLIN HALF MARATHON has moved ahead internationally. Just six years ago there were less than 4,000 participants. In April 2004, a total of 17,046 athletes participated. In the rankings of the largest half marathon races in the world, the Bewag BERLIN HALF MARATHON is thus now among the top eight. SCC RUNNING has as its goal to hold or even improve that position.

Up until February 25 it is possible to register for the 25th Bewag BERLIN HALF MARATHON for the low price of 25 Euros; after that date the fee will increase by 5 Euros. In addition to the numerous offers for group training, SCC RUNNING is now for the first time also offering a personal online training planner. All of these variations are free of charge.

Further information is available at tel. 030 – 3012 8810 or online at: www.berlin-marathon.com.

The largest half marathon races in the world

1. BUPA Great North Run		Newcastle/GBR	38.374
2. Göteborg Half Marathon	Sweden		27.000 *
3. Lagos Half Marathon		Nigeria		23.100 *
4. Indianapolis Life		USA		19.577
5. Paris Half Marathon		France		15.014
6. Chang’s Rock ’n’ Roll	USA		13.835
7. Rock ’n’ Roll Virginia	USA		12.728
8. Bewag BERLIN HALF MARATHON	Germany		11.211
9. Rio de Janeiro		Brasil		 9.690
10. Greifenseelauf		Switzerland 	 9.472

* = The exact number is not available
The numbers listed are the runners who finished in 2004.
Source: Road Running Information Center (USA) – www.runningusa.org.