Berlin Germany

Berlin Marathon - Every year at the last weekend of September the city of Berlin turns into a big running track. The Berlin Marathon is one of the most important events for runners besides the events in New York, Chicago and London.

It was first organized in 1964 with only 700 participants. Today, the marathon attracts ten thousands of runners from all over the world. Besides a large number of recreational athletes, the Berlin marathon is also popular with celebrities from tv and show business running for good causes. Start and finish is the splendid Brandenburg Gate in the middle of Berlin. 

In 2008 running idol Haile Gebrselassie from Ethiopia set up a new marathon world record in Berlin by running the track in 2:03:59 hours. Overall, about 40,000 runners started of whom 32,000 made it to the finish line.

Since 1997, there is simultaneously a challenge for inline-skaters - the Berlin Skater Marathon. It is the biggest marathon for inline skaters worldwide with a distance of 42 kilometers (ca. 26 miles) and since 2004 it is the main event of the World-Inline Cup. The men's record for the track is held by the US-American Joey Mantia with 1:00:33 hours. The best woman ever on this marathon is Angèle Vaudan from Fance with a time of 1:08:29 hours.