A record number of 58,212 runners have registered for the 50th Berlin Marathon next Sunday. “Our vision from the beginning was that we wanted to have 50,000 finishers for the anniversary,” said managing director Jürgen Lock of the organizer SCC Events. Experience has shown that not all of those who register actually take part in the 42.195-kilometer race.
According to the organizers, more than 80,000 participants from 161 nations are expected this weekend, including handbike and wheelchair athletes as well as skaters. The inline skating race will take place on Saturday.
The first marathon took place in 1974 in Berlin’s Grunewald with 286 runners. In 1981, the race was held for the first time on a course through the city center in the former western part. Since 1990 and German reunification, the course has led through both parts of the once divided capital.
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