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SABASTIAN SAWE

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

KENYA

BIRTHDATE
16. March 1995

PERSONAL BEST
2:02:05 (Valencia, 2024)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

27.4.25    TCS London Marathon        1st    2:02:27

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

1.12.24    Valencia Marathon            1st     2:02:05

CAREER NOTES:

Sabastian Sawe is Kenya’s new marathon shooting star. Two races, two major victories, both with world leading times and fifth on the list of the fastest runners of all time - that is the impressive marathon record of the 30-year-old Kenyan after just two races over the 42.195 k distance.

Sabastian Sawe ran his marathon debut last December in Valencia, where he left a very strong field behind him and won in 2:02:05. This time made him the fastest marathon runner in the world in 2024. This spring Sabastian Sawe also won the classic in London and once again leads the annual world list with 2:02:27.

Sabastian Sawe was a late starter. The Kenyan only ran his first races outside of Africa at the beginning of 2022. He was immediately successful. He won the Seville Half Marathon in a fast 59:02. This was a course record, a world lead and one of the fastest half marathon debuts of all time. A few weeks later Sabastian Sawe ran exactly one minute faster: at the traditional Rome Ostia Half Marathon he smashed the course record and triumphed in 58:02 with a lead of well over a minute. This is still his personal best time. However since the course of the race in Italy is slightly downhill the time cannot be included in the official lists. In the second half of the year he was sixth in the Valencia Half Marathon (59:23) and then won in Manama (Bahrain) with a course record of 58:58.

Sabastian Sawe also caused a surprise in the summer 2022: at the athletics meeting in Brussels he won the high-calibre hour race with a distance of 21.250 km. While he was unable to maintain the world record in hot temperatures of 27 degrees Celsius, he still established a world best time for 15,000 metres. Sabastian Sawe passed this point in 41:51.64 minutes. In doing so, he took the world best time from none other than Haile Gebrselassie. The Ethiopian superstar had run 42:18.7 in Ostrava in 2007.

After finishing seventh at the high-calibre World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst (Australia) in 2023, Sabastian Sawe won the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON in 59:00. In October 2023, the Kenyan also triumphed at the World Half Marathon Championships in Riga (59:10). After another seventh place at the World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade in 2024 and half marathon victories in Prague (58:24) and Copenhagen (58:05), the reigning World Half Marathon Champion is now focussing on the marathon distance.

GABRIEL GEAY

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

TANZANIA

BIRTHDATE
10.9.1996

PERSONAL BEST:
2:03:00 (Valencia, 2022)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

10.8.24    Olympic Games Paris        DNF
15.4.24    Boston Marathon            DNF
17.4.23    Boston Marathon            2    2:06:04
18.4.22    Boston Marathon            4    2:07:53
8.9.21        Olympic Games, Sapporo (JPN)    DNF

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

4.5.25        Cali Marathon, COL        DNF
23.2.25    Daegu Marathon            1    2:05:20
3.12.23    Valencia Marathon            5    2:04:33
4.12.22    Valencia Marathon            2    2:03:00
17.7.22    World Championships, Oregon    7    2:07:31
5.12.21    Valencia Marathon             8    2:06:10
16.5.21    Milano Marathon            5    2:04:55
8.3.20        Otsu Marathon             DNF

CAREER NOTES:

Gabriel Geay is the Tanzanian marathon record holder. The 29-year-old has a world-class personal best of 2:03:00 and is 13th on the list of the fastest runners of all time.
Gabriel Geay initially ran 5,000 and 10,000 m on the track and also covered these distances on the road - but without achieving international top times. It also took him a few years to run his first race under the hour in the half marathon: in 2000 he improved to 59:42 in Houston. It was a different story in the marathon. After failing to finish on his debut in Otsu (Japan) in 2020, he broke the Tanzanian national record in his second attempt. In 2021 he ran 2:04:55 in Milan and qualified for the Olympic Games in Japan. However in the Olympic race he did not finish in hot weather conditions.

Gabriel Geay bounced back in 2022 with a strong fourth place in Boston. After finishing seventh at the World Championships in Oregon (USA), he ran his best time of 2:03:00 in Valencia at the end of the year and took second. Gabriel Geay then followed this up with a second place in Boston in 2023 and ran very fast again in Valencia (2:04:33). Once again he was qualified for the Olympic Games. However 2024 was not his year as he did not finish in Boston or at the Olympics in Paris. But he then achieved his first marathon victory in February 2025: Geay won in Daegu, South Korea, in 2:05:20, having previously improved his half marathon PB to 59:18 in Houston.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Gabriel Geay comes from Arusha in north-east Tanzania. He lives in the city with his wife and two children. He trains north of the city in Ilboru at an altitude of around 1,500 metres. His hobbies include drawing and his favourite dish is the maize porridge Ugali.

MILKESA MENGESHA

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

ETHIOPIA

BIRTHDATE
16.4.2000

PERSONAL BEST
2:03:17 (Berlin, 2024)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

27.4.25    London Marathon                10.    2:09:01
29.9.24    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON        1.    2:03:17
21.4.24    London Marathon                DNF
27.8.23    World Championships, Budapest        6.    2:10:43

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

2.4.23        Daegu Marathon                1.    2:06:49
4.12.22    Valencia Marathon                7.    2:05:29

CAREER NOTES:

Defending champion Milkesa Mengesha returns to the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. It came as a surprise when the Ethiopian took the 50th anniversary race in 2025.

Milkesa Mengesha was a track and cross country runner first but turned to the marathon early. In 2019 he took the World Junior Cross Country title and two years later Mengesha managed to qualify for the Olympic Games with a strong 5,000 m personal best of 12:58.28. In Tokyo the Ethiopian qualified for the final where he placed tenth.

Despite the success in cross country and on the track he then focussed more on road running. Winning the competitive Copenhagen Half Marathon in 2022 he improved to 58:58. Three months later he ran a fine marathon debut in Valencia, finishing seventh in 2:05:29. He went on to take the Daegu Marathon in South Korea in spring 2023 and was then selected for the World Championships. In very high temperatures Milkesa Mengesha, who grew up in Welega in western Ethiopia with six siblings, achieved a fine sixth place.

He did not finish the TCS London Marathon 2024 but then bounced back in superb style when he took the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON.

This year Milkesa Mengesha has only competed twice: He won the Hong Kong Half Marathon with 61:27 and then placed tenth in the TCS London Marathon.

HAYMANOT ALEW

ETHIOPIA

BIRTHDATE
11.11.1997

PERSONAL BEST
2:03:31 (Berlin, 2025)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

29.9.24    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON    3.    2:03:31

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

28.4.24    Hamburg Marathon            2.    2:05:30
21.1.24    Mumbai Marathon            2.    2:09:03
15.10.23    Amsterdam Marathon            7.    2:08:25
11.6.23    Lanzhou Marathon, CHN        3.    2:11:10
12.2.23    Dubai Marathon             3.    2:05:57
6.11.22    Porto Marathon            3.    2:11:10

CAREER NOTES:

Haymanot Alew returns to the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, where he produced his best performance so far a year ago. He improved to a world-class time of 2:03:31 and placed third. The Ethiopian has not run a marathon since.

Haymanot Alew's international career began ten years ago at the World Cross Country Championships in Qingzhen, China. As a 17-year-old, he finished 17th in the junior race and won the silver medal in the team competition with the Ethiopian team. In the following years Haymanot Alew mainly competed in road races. He performed well but did not reach a world-class level.

After a 2:11:10 marathon debut in Porto Haymanot Alew, like many other Ethiopian athletes, achieved his breakthrough at the Dubai Marathon. On the super-flat course he smashed his PB by over five minutes in early 2023. He was third in 2:05:57. Just over a year later he improved this time to 2:05:30 as runner-up in the Hamburg Marathon. This was followed by the world-class race in Berlin.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Haymanot Alew was inspired by Ethiopia's running legend Haile Gebrselassie. Like almost all Ethiopian world-class runners he lives in Addis Ababa and trains in a large group near the capital. His coach is Tessema Abshero, a former marathon runner who ran his best time of 2:08:26 in Hamburg in 2008 (4th place). Haymanot Alew enjoys watching films and reading.

GUYE ADOLA

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

ETHIOPIA

BIRTHDATE
20.10.1990

PERSONAL BEST
2:03:46 (Berlin, 2017)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

26.9.21    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON        1.    2:05:45
22.4.18    London Marathon                17.    2:32:35
24.9.17    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON        2.    2:03:46

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

1.12.24    Valencia Marathon                DNF
29.10.23    Frankfurt Marathon                3.    2:07:44
2.4.23        Paris Marathon                2.    2:07:35
3.12.19    Valencia Marathon                3.    2:04:42

CAREER NOTES:

Guye Adola returns to the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, where he achieved his best performances of his career. He ran his PB here in 2017 and won the race four years later.

The Ethiopian caused a major surprise in his marathon debut at the 2017 BMW BERLIN-MARATHON: He clocked an unofficial world debut record of 2:03:46. Taking second place he came closer to beating Kenya’s superstar Eliud Kipchoge than anyone else since 2013. Adola was even leading the Olympic Champion until around 40 k before Kipchoge finally managed to overhaul him and win by just 14 seconds. At that time Guye Adola became the 11th fastest marathon runner ever.

However the marathon newcomer of 2017 had a bumpy ride in the marathon afterwards. Injuries and illnesses repeatedly stopped him. Guye Adola regained his old strength in Valencia in December 2019 with a time of 2:04:42. In 2021 - after the corona lockdowns - he celebrated the biggest victory of his career at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON after beating Ethiopia's superstar Kenenisa Bekele, among others, in the race. Guye Adola ran 2:05:45 in difficult, warm weather conditions, but his rollercoaster ride continued due to injuries. In 2023 he produced two solid races in Paris and Frankfurt. Since then he has not finished a marathon.

Guye Adola has a fine half marathon PB of 59:06 from New Delhi in 2014. In the same year he won a bronze medal at the World Half Marathon Championships.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Guye Adola comes from the village which carries his surname: Adola is in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. He started running in 2008 and joined the Addis Abeba based training group. Since then he lives in the capital. His coach is Gemedu Dedefo. This group is currently the strongest marathon group in the world. Olympic marathon champion Tamirat Tola is among the athletes. Most of the runners are managed by Italian Gianni Demadonna. Guye Adola is the eldest of eight children and the only one running. He began running after a younger brother had stopped. After a while he realised he had a future in the sport.

LEUL GEBRESILASE

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

ETHIOPIA

BIRTHDATE
20.9.1992

PERSONAL BEST
2:04:02 (Dubai, 2018)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

2.3.25        Tokyo Marathon            23    2:09:16
21.4.24    London Marathon            DNF
27.8.23    World Championships Budapest    3    2:09:19
23.4.23    London Marathon            4    2:05:45
2.10.22    London Marathon            2    2:05:12
29.9.19    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON        DNF
28.4.19    London Marathon            8    2:07:15

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

25.5.25    Lanzhou Marathon            2    2:11:50
15.9.24    Sydney Marathon            6    2:10:03
10.4.22    Rotterdam Marathon            2    2:04:56
17.10.21    Amsterdam Marathon            3    2:04:12
16.5.21    Milano Marathon            4    2:04:31
6.12.20    Valencia Marathon            9    2:05:29
1.12.19    Valencia Marathon            9    2:07:19
2.12.18    Valencia Marathon            1    2:04:31
26.1.18    Dubai Marathon            2    2:04:02

CAREER NOTES:

Leul Gebresilase is another Ethiopian athlete who initially competed over shorter distances  but was unable to reach a world-class level over these distances. Like many other compatriots he then successfully switched to the marathon. The classic distance became by far his strongest distance. As a number of Ethiopian marathon stars Leul Gebresilase also ran his debut in Dubai and achieved a world-class time of 2:04:02 at his first attempt in 2018. He finished just two seconds behind Mosinet Geremew of Ethiopia in second place. His debut time is still his personal record.

In his second marathon race Leul Gebresilase put in another top-class performance: he won the Valencia Marathon in December 2018 with a course record of 2:04:31. This was still the time before the new performance-enhancing carbon running shoes triggered a flood of records.

In the following years Leul Gebresilase achieved a series of fast times and strong positions in top marathons. In 2022 he was second in London and a year later he won the bronze medal at the World Championships in Budapest. After this tough World Championship race in hot temperatures, he has not yet managed to come back to this level. 
The Ethiopian did not finish in his only start at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON in 2019.

Leul Gebresilase has a good half marathon PB of 59:18 from 2017.

DANIEL MATEIKO

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

KENYA

BIRTHDATE
04.8.1998

PERSONAL BEST
2:04:24 (Valencia, 2024)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

21.4.25    Boston Marathon            9    2:07:52
21.4.24    London Marathon            DNF
8.10.23    Chicago Marathon            DNF
23.4.23    London Marathon            DNF

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

1.12.24    Valencia Marathon            3    2:04:24

CAREER NOTES:

Daniel Mateiko's path to a marathon finish was a difficult one. When he ran his debut over the 42.195 k in London in spring 2023, he was regarded as a potential future marathon star from Kenya. Daniel Mateiko had previously achieved a series of exceptionally strong results in the half marathon. His best time over this distance was 58:26 at that time. However Daniel Mateiko did not finish in his debut in London, nor did he in his two subsequent marathon attempts in Chicago 2023 and again in London 2024.

But Daniel Mateiko did not give up. In the summer season of 2024 he first improved his time over 10,000 metres to a top-class 26:50.81 and then finished eleventh in the Olympic final over this distance. In October he ran a PB of 58:17 for second place at the Valencia Half Marathon. Mateiko then competed in the Valencia Marathon for the first time and made the long-awaited breakthrough: He finished third in 2:04:24. After a ninth place in Boston in the spring, he is now coming to the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Daniel Mateiko grew up in the Mount Elgon region near the Kenyan border with Uganda. He trains together with Kenya's running superstar Eliud Kipchoge in Kaptagat, south-west of Eldoret. His coach is Patrick Sang, who also coaches Kipchoge and several other world-class runners.

HAFTU TEKLU

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

ETHIOPIA

BIRTHDATE
21.01.2000

PERSONAL BEST
2:04:42 (Berlin, 2023)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

15.04.24    Boston Marathon            DNF
24.9.23    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON        5    2:04:42

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

16.3.25    Seoul Marathon            1    2:05:42
19.3.23    Seoul Marathon            3    2:05:53
9.10.22    Lisbon Marathon            2    2:06:33

CAREER NOTES:

Haftu Teklu initially ran middle and long distances on the track. However with personal bests of 3:37.43 (1500 m), 13:15.61 (5000 m) and 27:30.88 (10,000 m) he was not fast enough to make an impact internationally. The young Ethiopian produced stronger results once he turned to the roads. It was in Berlin where he won his first road race in 2019: Haftu Teklu took the 10 k race in October with 28:27. Two years later he had a successful debut over the half marathon distance, winning the race in Barcelona in 59:39 minutes. In 2022 he won this race again and improved his PB to 59:06. That is still his personal best today.

He then achieved more success in the marathon. After a 2:06:33 debut he competed in Seoul in 2023 and finished third (2:05:53). Later that year he came to the BWM BERLIN-MARATHON and impressed with a fifth place finish in 2:04:42. This year he celebrated his first marathon victory: Haftu Teklu won in Seoul with a time of 2:05:42 in March.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Haftu Teklu comes from the city of Mekele, which is part of the Tigray region, where civil war raged for two years from November 2020. However Teklu lives and trains in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. His coach is Getamesay Molla and his training partners include Ethiopian running legend Kenenisa Bekele, Leul Gebresilase and Chala Regasa. 

CHIMDESSA DEBELE

ETHIOPIA

BIRTHDATE
13.09.2003

PERSONAL BEST:

2:04:44 (Valencia, 2024)

MARATHON RACES

13.4.25    Rotterdam Marathon            3    2:05:26
1.12.24    Valencia Marathon            6    2:04:44

CAREER NOTES:

Chimdessa Debele is still a newcomer to marathon running. He ran his debut over the 42.195 k distance less than a year ago. He immediately achieved a high-class time of 2:04:44 in Valencia. The Ethiopian confirmed this performance in Rotterdam this spring where he finished third in 2:05:26.

The international career of the 22-year-old Ethiopian began when the major road races gradually returned in autumn 2021 after the Corona lockdowns. Chimdessa Debele won his first two races outside Ethiopia: a half marathon in Trento, Italy, in 60:15 and a 10 k race in Lille with 27:14.

A series of other good races followed in 2022 and in 2023 he achieved a strong eleventh place at the extremely competitive World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia. A year later he qualified again for the World Cross Country Championships and finished 16th in Belgrade.

In 2025 Chimdessa Debele has only run one other race besides the Rotterdam Marathon so far: In Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, he improved his half marathon PB to 59:28 despite windy conditions and finished fourth.

KENGO SUZUKI

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

JAPAN

BIRTHDATE
11.06.1995

PERSONAL BEST
2:04:56 (Otsu, 2021)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

3.3.24        Tokyo Marathon            28    2:11:19
17.7.22    World Championships Oregon    DNS
6.3.22        Tokyo Marathon            4    2:05:28
10.10.21    Chicago Marathon            4    2:08:50
25.2.18    Tokyo Marathon            19    2:10:21

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

24.2.25    Osaka Marathon            8    2:06:18
15.10.23    Grand Championship Tokyo         DNF
28.2.21    Otsu Marathon            1    2:04:56
8.3.20        Otsu Marathon            12    2:10:37
15.9.19    Grand Championship Tokyo        7    2:12:44
28.4.19    Hamburg Marathon            13    2:11:36

CAREER NOTES:

Kengo Suzuki is the Japanese marathon record holder. Due to the enormous popularity of marathon running in Japan, he is a sports star in his home country.

Kengo Suzuki's development went almost unnoticed for a long time. He was never part of a Japanese junior team. Suzuki studied at Kanagawa University in Yokohama and was a member of the university's running team. He was nominated for the 2017 Hakone Ekiden race. Japanese Ekiden races are relay races over various distances. The Hakone Ekiden covers 217 kilometres with sections of varying lengths. The race between Japanese universities is broadcast live on television and watched by millions of viewers. Kengo Suzuki caused a sensation as a nobody because he was the fastest runner on the most competitive second stage, a section of 23.1 k. After this success, his ultimate goal was clear: the marathon.

After university, he joined a professional Japanese running team. Japan's best runners are recruited by corporate teams. Suzuki competes for the technology company Fujitsu.
From then on his big goal was the Olympic marathon. However after a very aggressive race he only managed seventh place in the Olympic qualifying marathon in Tokyo in 2019. Suzuki had missed out on qualifying for the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, but he produced a second sensation in the early Olympic year after his race at the Hakone Ekiden four years earlier. Kengo Suzuki had run four marathons, but had never achieved a time of under 2:10:00. On 28 February 2021 he stormed to an unexpected Japanese record at the Otsu Marathon. With a time of 2:04:56 he became the first Japanese to break the 2:05:00 barrier. Had he broken the record a year earlier he would have received a bonus of just under one million US dollars, which the Japanese athletics association had offered for national marathon records at the time. However this only applied to the period from 2015 to March 2020.

After finishing fourth in the 2022 Tokyo Marathon (2:05:28) Kengo Suzuki could not run in the 2022 World Championship Marathon because of a Corona infection. After that he had a hip injury and in 2023 he dropped out early in Tokyo during the Olympic qualifying race for Paris 2024. But in Osaka this February he bounced back with a fine time of 2:06:18.  

PERSONAL NOTES:

When Kengo Suzuki was eleven years old his father, a former athlete, suggested that he could join a club. He remained with the club throughout his school years and developed into a strong runner. He then joined the running team at university. His current coach at the Fujitsu team is Tadashi Fukushima. Another coach on the team, Naoki Mishiro, said in an interview about Kengo Suzuki: “If you don't stop him, he'll just keep running and will never stop!“

CHALA REGASA

ETHIOPIA

BIRTHDATE
30.4.1997

PERSONAL BEST
2:05:06 (Rotterdam, 2025)

MARATHON RACES

13.4.25    Rotterdam Marathon        2.    2:05:06
14.12.24    Abu Dhabi Marathon        1.    2:06:16
21.4.24    Vienna Marathon            1.    2:06:35
16.4.23    Rotterdam Marathon        5.    2:06:11

CAREER NOTES:

Chala Regasa comes to the BMW BERLIN MARATHON a year later than originally planned. The Ethiopian was already on the starting list for the 50th anniversary race in 2024 but then had to withdraw due to an injury. Now he is making a new attempt. He could become one of the next great Ethiopian marathon runners. It would be no surprise if Chala Regasa significantly improves his PB in Berlin. His role model and training partner is Kenenisa Bekele, and the inspiration for marathon running came from Eliud Kipchoge.

At the beginning of his career he ran the 1,500 m but could not produce international top times. His PB stands at 3:34,57. Since he focused more on road races from 2019 onwards he became more successful. When Kenya’s superstar Eliud Kipchoge broke through the two hour barrier in Vienna in 2019 in a marathon race which was not record eligible (1:59:40.2) Chala Regasa was among his pacemakers. „We made history on that day and in my whole life I will never forget that race and this great city. It was in this race when I saw what is possible in the marathon. After that experience I decided to turn to the marathon myself,“ said Chala Regasa. Due to the pandemic and an injury it took almost four years before he finally ran his debut. In 2022 he first ran a couple of strong half marathons. Regasa was second in Barcelona in his PB of 59:10 and then took the highly competitive New Delhi Half Marathon with 60:30. It was in Rotterdam in 2023 when he ran the marathon and finished fifth in a fine 2:06:11.

Due to an injury he had to wait until spring 2024 for his second marathon. He returned to Vienna and despite windy conditions he surged away from his rivals and won the Vienna City Marathon by over four minutes with 2:06:35. At the end of the year he took the Abu Dhabi Marathon with 2:06:16 and this spring he was runner-up in Rotterdam with a PB of 2:05:06.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Chala Regasa grew up in Ethiopia’s Oromia region. This is the area where a large number of Ethiopian world-class runners come from, among them Kenenisa Bekele. “I come from a village called Fitche. As a child I ran three kilometres to school in high altitude of around 2,900 to 3,000 metres. I then started training at the age of ten, inspired by my elder brother Solomon. He was a runner and helped me. And he also supported me financially,“ said Chala Regasa, whose parents are wheat farmers and also have cattle. “As a child I helped them on the farm.“

For over three years now Regasa trains with the group of Kenenisa Bekele in Addis Abeba. “I wanted to join them and approached Kenenisa’s coach Getamesay Molla,“ said Chala Regasa. “My dream is to win major marathons in the future and to become Olympic Champion. I know that I will have to run at least 2:02 to achieve this.“

SAMWEL MAILU

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

KENYA
BIRTHDATE
7.2.1993

PERSONAL BEST
2:05:08 (Vienna, 2023)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

29.9.2024    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON    DNF

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

16.3.2025    Barcelona Marathon        7.    2:06:47
1.12.2024    Valencia Marathon            DNF
29.10.23    Frankfurt Marathon            15.    2:13:54
23.4.23    Vienna Marathon            1.    2:05:08
30.10.22    Frankfurt Marathon            3.    2:07:19

CAREER NOTES:

Samwel Mailu made a big step towards world-class with a major victory at the Vienna City Marathon in 2023. Later that year he confirmed that this was not a one-off: Mailu won the bronze medal at the highly contested World Half Marathon Championships in Riga where he improved to 59:19.

In autumn 2022 Samwel Mailu ran a marathon debut that was not planned. He was racing as a pacemaker at the Frankfurt Marathon. When he was supposed to drop out beyond the 30k mark he asked to continue since he felt strong. Mailu crossed the finish line as runner-up with 2:07:19. In his next marathon he produced a thrilling race in April 2023, taking the 40th edition of the Vienna City Marathon. Despite warm temperatures he smashed the nine year-old course record with 2:05:08.

In late summer he was a very late addition to the Kenyan team for the World Half Marathon Championships. Despite limited time for preparation Samwel Mailu won the bronze medal. He returned to the Frankfurt Marathon as a hot pre-race favourite and aimed at a sub 2:05 time. But in cool temperatures, wind and rain he struggled and ran 2:13:54.

Injury problems hampered him in 2024. He had to withdraw from the Hamburg Marathon and failed to finish the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON and the Valencia Marathon. But in March 2025 Samwel Mailu came back with a solid marathon race in Barcelona (2:06:47).

PERSONAL NOTES:

Samwel Mailu, whose parents are vegetable farmers, grew up in a village called Ulawani, which is located not far from the Tanzanian border and Mount Kilimanjaro. He did not live in high altitude and in contrast to many world-class athletes from Kenya running to school did not form the basis for his career. “My school was just about one kilometer away from our home. I became interested in running when I saw my fellow-pupils competing in school championships. I was 15 years old when I started training at primary school“, explained Samuel Mailu, who then moved to a different part of Kenya when he switched to high school. “There I lived about seven kilometers away from the school, but I often took the bike to get there.“ He did not train for three years but re-started when he was doing a college course to become a primary teacher. “I competed at the national teachers’ championships in 2019 and won the 1,500, the 5,000 and the 10,000 metres.“

Instead of taking up a teachers’ job he then decided to try running again. “I met my present coach Dickson Ngei and started training seriously in 2020, when I moved to his training camp in Machakos southeast of Nairobi where we train in an altitude of up to 2000 metres. We are eleven runners and our coach still competes as well“, said Samwel Mailu, whose idol is Eliud Kipchoge. While his international career is just a few years old Mailu already thinks about helping others to start a career in athletics as well. “In the area where I grew up football and other ball games dominate while running has not much significance. This is why I decided to organize a 10k running event there in Ulawani. We will help some young athletes by paying their school fees and try to guide them,“ explained Samwel Mailu, who has two brothers and two sisters.

Samwel Mailu’s manager is Philipp Kopp from Berlin, whose late father Christoph Kopp had a decisive influence in the enormous development of the BERLIN-MARATHON. For many years Christoph Kopp was the elite race coordinator and it was he who originally formed the BERLIN-MARATHON into one of the world’s best elite marathons. 

ROSEMARY WANJIRU

KENYA

BIRTHDATE
9.12.1994

PERSONAL BEST
2:16:14 (Tokyo, 2024)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

2.3.25        Tokyo Marathon            5.    2:19:57
3.3.24        Tokyo Marathon            2.    2:16:14
26.8.23    WC Budapest            6.    2:26:42
5.3.23        Tokyo Marathon            1.    2:16:28
25.9.22    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON    2.    2:18:00

CAREER NOTES:

Rosemary Wanjiru originally intended to run the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON a year ago. And the Kenyan would have been a major favourite at the 50th jubilee race in 2024. She had improved her PB to 2:16:14 earlier last year in Tokyo, but then got injured and was forced to cancel her start in Berlin. Now she targets Berlin again.

Rosemary Wanjiru will return to the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, where she started her marathon career with an impressive performance in 2022. She was runner-up with a world-class time of 2:18:00, which at that time was the second fastest debut ever.  

Half a year later Rosemary Wanjiru stormed to her biggest career win so far: The Kenyan took the Tokyo Marathon with 2:16:28. As one of the big favorites she started the World Championships’ marathon in Budapest in the summer of 2023. However in very hot conditions she could not win a medal and placed sixth. With another PB of 2:16:14 she confirmed her enormous potential in Tokyo in March 2024. After her break due to the injury she came back to the Tokyo Marathon this year and ran 2:19:57 for fifth place.

In 2018 Rosemary Wanjiru had started to run road races in Europe and the United States. In February 2020 she had an excellent half marathon debut in Ras Al Khaimah (UAE). Rosemary Wanjiru clocked a very fast time of 65:34 which remains her PB. At the World Half Marathon Championships 2020 she placed 10th. Wanjiru also has a strong 10k PB of 29:50. She was fourth in the 10,000m final at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, in 2019.

PERSONAL NOTES:

As a teenager Rosemary Wanjiru moved to Japan. At the age of 17 she competed over middle distances and lived in the country for many years. In Japan runners are usually competing for companies who finance professional teams and athletes. With the support of sports scholarships a number of Kenyan athletes had a similar career. 

DEGITU AZIMERAW

ETHIOPIA

BIRTHDATE
24.1.1999

PERSONAL BEST
2:17:58 (London, 2021)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

2.3.25        Tokyo Marathon            8    2:20:26
13.10.24    Chicago Marathon            6    2:20:52
18.4.22    Boston Marathon            8    2:25:23
3.10.21    London Marathon            2    2:17:58

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

25.5.25    Lanzhou Marathon             1    2:24:12
10.3.24    Barcelona Marathon        1    2:19:52
6.12.20    Valencia Marathon            5    2:19:56
20.10.19    Amsterdam Marathon        1    2:19:26

CAREER NOTES:

Degitu Azimeraw is a runner who has focused on road running right from the beginning of her career. In December 2017 she won her first international race in Kolkata, India, covering the 25 k distance in 1:26:01. She has only run a single track race so far: In 2019 she competed in the 10,000 m in Hengelo, Netherlands, and clocked 31:03.32.

In her first half marathon race in 2018 she set a world junior record at the age of 19. She was sixth in Ras Al Khaimah (United Arab Emirates) with 66:47. No other junior (under 20 years of age) has ever been faster in a half marathon until now. A year later she was fourth in the race in Ras Al Khaimah and ran her current personal best of 66:07.

Digitu Azimeraw was even more successful in the marathon. She won her debut race in Amsterdam in October 2019 running under 2:20:00 (2:19:26). In the following years she focused mainly on the marathon distance. In 2021 she caused a surprise by finishing second in the very competitive London Marathon. She was only 15 seconds behind the winner Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya and improved her time to 2:17:58. After giving birth Degitu Azimeraw returned to the marathon in 2024 and won in Barcelona with 2:19:52. This spring she showed good form at the Tokyo Marathon with a time of 2:20:26.

Degitu Azimeraw grew up in the West Gojjam region in north-western Ethiopia.

DERA DIDA

ETHIOPIA

BIRTHDATE
26.10.1996

PERSONAL BEST
2:18:32 (Dubai, 2025)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

15.4.24    Boston Marathon            10    2:25:16
3.11.24    New York Marathon            DNF
24.9.23    BERLIN-MARATHON        6    2:19:24

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

13.4.25    Paris Marathon            2    2:20:49
12.1.25    Dubai Marathon            2    2:18:32
7.1.24        Dubai Marathon            3    2:19:29
12.2.23    Dubai Marathon            1    2:21:11
24.1.20    Dubai Marathon            5    2:22:52
28.10.18    Frankfurt Marathon            5    2:22:39
26.1.18    Dubai Marathon            7    2:21:45

CAREER NOTES:

Dera Dida has already produced a strong perforamce at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON a couple of years ago: She was sixth in 2023 with 2:19:24. It is obvious that the Ethiopian likes to run on flat and fast courses. She already competed five times at the Dubai Marathon.

Dera Dida mainly competed on the track during her first couple of years as an international athlete, from 2015 to 2017. In 2018 she then ran her marathon debut in Dubai, a very popular venue for Ethiopian athletes. Running without carbon shoes at that time she achieved a strong time of 2:21:45. She confirmed this performance with fifth places in the marathon races in Frankfurt in 2018 and Dubai in 2019. In spring 2019 Dera Dida caused a major surprise by taking second place at the extremely competitive World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. She had already won silver in the junior women's race at the World Cross Country Championships in 2015.

When the Dubai Marathon returned after the coronavirus lockdowns in 2023, Dera Dida turned it into a family affair. After her brother-in-law Abdisa Tola won the men's race she crossed the finish line as the winner around 15 minutes later. Dera Dida is married to Tamirat Tola, the Olympic marathon champion from Paris 2024. “It was a very emotional moment when I realised that Abdisa had also won,“ said Dera Dida, who finished third in Dubai a year later and improved to 2:18:32 for second place this year. Suffering from stomach cramps in the last kilometre, she was overtaken by her training partner Bedatu Hirpa on the home straight in Dubai in January. Three months later it was the same outcome in the Paris: Hirpa won once again a few seconds ahead of Dida.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Dera Dida grew up in the Arsi region southeast of Addis Ababa. Her role model was Ethiopia’s superstar Tirunesh Dibaba. Dida is married to the Olympic Marathon Champion Tamirat Tola. The couple lives with their daughter outside of the Ethiopian capital. Both are coached by Gemedu Dedefo, who currently trains the world's strongest marathon training group. “I mostly train with Tamirat but for certain training sessions I join the group. Seeing the success of the other runners in the group is motivating. Some are stronger than me, but I want to reach that level too. It's great to be able to train in such a group,“ says Dera Dida. “After Tamirat became Olympic champion, our life didn't change. We get a lot of media requests, but we turn them all down because we don't have time. We have to train and to take care of our daughter."

MESTAWUT FIKIR

ETHIOPIA

BIRTDATE
2.3.2000

PERSONAL BEST
2:18:48 (Berlin, 2024)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

29.9.24    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON    2.    2:18:48

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

16.3.25    Seoul Marathon            3.    2:23:10
7.4.24        Paris Marathon            1.    2:20:45

CAREER NOTES:

Mestawut Fikir returns to the BMW BERLIN MARATHON where she achieved the best performance of her career so far in 2024. The Ethiopian was runner-up and improved her time to an impressive 2:18:48.

Mestawut Fikir can still be considered a newcomer to the marathon. She has only run three races over the 42.195 k distance so far. In spring 2024 she won her debut in Paris in 2:20:45, and this spring she was third in Seoul. Mestawut Fikir ran her half marathon PB of 66:44 two years ago, winning the race in Larne, Northern Ireland.

During the first years of her international career, which began in 2017 and then was interrupted in 2020 and 2021 during the Corona pandemic, Mestawut Fikir ran very few races, most of them in Brazil.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Mestawut Fikir lives and trains in Addis Ababa. Her coach is Nigatu Worku. Mestawut Fikir is married to Belay Tilahun who is a professional runner as well. This year he improved his marathon PB to 2:06:58 when he was seventh in Sevilla.

TIGIST GIRMA

ETHIOPIA

BIRTHDATE
12.7.1993

PERSONAL BEST
2:18:52 (Valencia, 2022)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

3.10.21    London Marathon            9    2:22:45
1.3.20        Tokyo Marathon            5    2:21:56

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

23.2.25    Daegu Marathon / KOR        3    2:26:45
12.1.25    Dubai Marathon            3    2:20:47
4.12.22    Valencia Marathon            7    2:18:52
18.9.22    Sydney Marathon            1    2:25:10
6.12.20    Valencia Marathon            6    2:19:56
20.10.19    Amsterdam Marathon        2    2:19:52
26.5.19    Ottawa Marathon            1    2:26:34
9.12.18    Guangzhou Marathon / CHN    1    2:26:44
10.6.18    Lanzhou Marathon / CHN        4    2:32:53
10.2.18    Lagos Marathon / NGR        2    2:38:36
12.11.17    Beirut Marathon            2    2:29:00
11.6.17    Lanzhou Marathon     / CHN    2    2:32:15
15.1.17    Mumbai Marathon            3    2:33:19
13.11.16    Beirut Marathon            1    2:32:48
12.6.16    Lanzhou Marathon / CHN        7    2:42:16
31.1.16    Marrakesh Marathon        2    2:33:03

CAREER NOTES:

Tigist Girma is a very experienced marathon runner who has fully focussed on the classic distance since 2016. However it took her several years to achieve times that are internationally significant. In 2019 she improved her PB to 2:19:52, finishing second in the Amsterdam Marathon. Three years later she ran another personal record of 2:18:52 for seventh place in Valencia. This remains her personal best.

Only once in her career has Tigist Girma competed in an internationally relevant race that was not a marathon: In 2021 she won the Olympic qualifying race, which the Ethiopian Athletics Federation had scheduled over 35 k in Sebeta (Ethiopia) in May. The race was controversial and a number of top stars did not compete. In the end Tigist Girma was not among the three Ethiopian runners who started the Olympic marathon in Sapporo, Japan.

Girma grew up near Sheshemane, roughly 200 kilometres south of Addis Ababa. She became a professional runner in 2015 when she moved to the capital where almost all Ethiopian elite athletes train.

HONAMI MAEDA

JAPAN

BIRTHDATE
17.7.1996

PERSONAL BEST
2:18:59 (Osaka, 2024)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

15.10.23    Grand Championship Tokyo    7    2:27:02
7.8.21        Olympic Games Sapporo        33    2:35:28
15.9.19    Grand Championship Tokyo    1    2:25:15
16.9.18    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON    7    2:25:23

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

28.1.24    Osaka Marathon            2    2:18:59
12.3.23    Nagoya Marathon            3    2:22:32
31.1.21    Osaka Marathon            2    2:23:30
3.3.19        Tokyo Marathon            12    2:31:42
28.1.18    Osaka Marathon            2    2:23:48
27.8.17    Sapporo Hokkaido Marathon    1    2:28:48
29.1.17    Osaka Marathon            12    2:32:19

CAREER NOTES:

Honami Maeda is Japan’s national marathon record holder. In January 2024 stormed to a sensational 2:18:59 in Osaka, which is also the current Asian marathon record. The 29 year-old broke the record of Mizuki Noguchi, the 2004 Olympic Marathon Champion from Athens. Noguchi won the BERLIN-MARATHON in 2005 with 2:19:12.

With her record breaking run Honami Maeda managed to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris. However one day before the Olympic race the Japanese athlete had to withdraw due to a stress fracture in her right thigh. She did not run another race until early May 2025 (5 k in Tokyo in 15:48). At the end of June she ran a half marathon in Hakodate (Japan) in 71:54. The BMW BERLIN MARATHON will be her first marathon since she broke the Japanese record in Osaka in 2024.

At the beginning of her career Honami Maeda mainly ran long-distance track events. She then ran 2:32:19 in her marathon debut in Osaka in 2017. A year later she improved significantly at the same venue with 2:23:48. Another eight months later Honami Maeda competed in the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON and finished seventh. In 2019 she won the Japanese Olympic qualifying race in Tokyo. But she then had to settle for 33rd place in the Olympic marathon in Sapporo in 2021. After qualifying for the Olympics again, in Paris she unfortunately had to withdraw due to a thigh injury.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Honami Maeda grew up in Amagasaki a little north of Osaka. She is 1.66 m tall and weighs 46 kilos. Maeda competes for Tenmaya, which is a company that runs department stores in Japan and is involved in other businesses as well.

SHARON CHELIMO

KENYA

BIRTHDATE
27.7.1994

PERSONAL BEST
2:19:33 (Barcelona, 2025)

MARATHON RACES

16.3.25    Barcelona Marathon            1    2:19:33
1.12.24    Singapore Marathon            5    2:40:51
27.1.24    Buriram Marathon                1    2:27:59
29.10.23    Frankfurt Marathon                3    2:22:07
15.5.22    Geneve Marathon                3    2:33:03
6.6.21        Eldoret Marathon                DNF

CAREER NOTES:

Sharon Chelimo produced the best performance of her career this spring. With a significant improvement the Kenyan surprisingly took the Barcelona Marathon. With 2:19:33 she ran sub 2:20 for the first time and smashed her personal best by over two and a half minutes.

In the early years of her career, from 2017 to 2019, Sharon Chelimo competed internationally only in South America. It was after the coronavirus lockdowns when she ran in Europe for the first time in spring 2022. Sharon Chelimo clocked 2:33:03 in the Geneva Marathon. She then improved this time by almost eleven minutes a year and a half later in Frankfurt. With third place and a time of 2:22:07 she had achieved a performance with international relevance for the first time. The next step followed in Barcelona this spring. In Berlin Sharon Chelimo will compete in a World Marathon Majors race for the first time.

ABERU AYANA

ETHIOPIA

BIRTHDATE
17.9.2000

PERSONAL BEST:
2:20:20 (Berlin, 2024)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

29.9.24    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON    4.    2:20:20

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

23.3.25    Wuhan Marathon, CHN        5.    2:27:49
17.11.24    Nanjing Marathon, CHN        6.    2:35:02
7.1.24        Xiamen Marathon            4.    2:27:00
8.10.23    Lisbon Marathon            1.    2:25:06
28.5.23    Ottawa Marathon            4.    2:30:58
19.2.23    Sevilla Marathon            2.    2:21:54
24.4.22    Madrid Marathon            6.    2:28:26
17.10.21    Paris Marathon            8.    2:28:26
30.5.21    Prague Marathon            8.    2:28:02
2:43:20    Lagos Marathon, NGR        12.    2:43:20
29.9.19    Warsaw Marathon            3.    2:37:07
19.5.19    Copenhagen Marathon        3.    2:34:39
17.2.19    Sevilla Marathon            6.    2:28:49
11.11.18    Ravenna Marathon, ITA        1.    2:36:32

CAREER NOTES:

Aberu Ayana is still a young marathon runner at the age of 25. Despite this she has already competed in 15 international marathons, some of them very competitive. The Ethiopian focused on long distance road races from the start of her career and she mostly runs marathons.

She ran her best race a year ago at the BMW BERLIN MARATHON. Finishing fourth Aberu Ayana improved her personal best by over a minute and a half to 2:20:20. Her next major goal will certainly be a time under 2:20:00.

The Ethiopian achieved fine results in 2023 as well. Aberu Ayana improved to 2:21:54 when she was runner-up at the Sevilla Marathon, then she took fourth place in Ottawa and in the autumn she achieved her biggest career win so far: Ayana took the Lisbon Marathon with 2:25:06.

AZMERA GEBRU

ETHIOPIA

BIRTHDATE
31.10.1995

PERSONAL BEST
2:20:48 (Amsterdam, 2019)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

29.9.24    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON    DNF
1.3.20        Tokyo Marathon            6.    2:22:58

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

13.4.25    Rotterdam Marathon        3.    2:22:15
18.2.24    Sevilla Marathon            1.    2:22:13
19.3.23    Barcelona Marathon        6.    2:24:58
5.12.21    Valencia Marathon            5.    2:24:01
20.10.19    Amsterdam Marathon        3.    2:20:48
14.4.19    Paris Marathon            2.    2:22:52
21.10.18    Amsterdam Marathon        3.    2:23:31

CAREER NOTES:

Azmera Gebru will give it a second try at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. A year ago she was among running in the leading group for the first 20 k and her half marathon split time of 68:05 pointed towards a world-class finishing time of 2:16. However she slowed considerably and then dropped out beyond the 30 k mark.

Azmera Gebru’s career is somehow split in two parts. First she produced amazing results as a young teenager. She was just 14 years old when she managed to qualify for the World Junior Championships (age group of under 20!) at 800 m. She was unlucky because she suffered of stomach problems and did not qualify from her heat. However in the following year she managed to qualify for another major competition in the under 20 category: Gebru took a sensational silver medal at the World Junior Cross Country Championships at the age of 15. She was narrowly beaten by Kenyan Faith Kipyegon, one of today’s superstars.

In the following years Azmera Gebru mainly ran on the track and competed in major athletics meetings. But with personal bests of 4:08.39 for 1,500m and 14:57.38 for 5,000m there was no major breakthrough.

Azmera Gebru then joined the training group of Getamesay Molla, who coaches a number of top marathon runners in Addis Ababa. Among them is for example Kenenisa Bekele. This was when the second part of her career started. From then on Azmera Gebru focused on road running. She ran a 70:40 half marathon in December 2017 in Valencia, which was followed by a break since she took care of her mother who was ill in her home in Tigray. When Gebru came back she ran a fine marathon debut in Amsterdam with 2:23:31 in autumn 2018. “I saw quickly that Azmera would be a very good marathon runner - she had the step, the strength and the endurance,“ said Getamesay Molla.

Apart from her DNF in Berlin Azmera Gebru has never been slower than 2:25:00 in all her marathon races. In 2019 she set her personal best in Amsterdam with 2:20:48. In 2024 she achieved her biggest career win so far, taking the Sevilla Marathon. Since her debut in 2018 Azmera Gebru has solely competed in the marathon.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Azmera Gebru comes from Maychew, which is in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region. Together with her six siblings she grew up on a farm. She regularly played football and realized that she could run very fast. A teacher then encouraged her to start athletics and she concentrated on sprinting 200 and 400 m first. When she won the 400 and the 800 m at a national competition for under 14 year-olds an athletics club from Addis Ababa took care of her. She moved to the capital where she lives and trains since. In her spare time Azmera Gebru likes listening to Ethiopian music and watches historic documentaries.

LINET MASAI

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

KENYA

BIRTHDATE
5.12.1989

PERSONAL BEST
2:21:01 (Barcelona, 2025)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

28.4.19    London Marathon            11    2:26:06

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

16.3.25    Barcelona Marathon        3    2:21:01
27.10.24    Frankfurt Marathon            7    2:23:52
21.4.24    Enschede Marathon        4    2:29:59
2.4.23        Paris Marathon            6    2:24:49
21.10.18    Amsterdam Marathon        5    2:23:46

CAREER NOTES:

At the age of 35 Linet Masai is stronger than ever in the marathon. For a long time the Kenyan runner was unable to transfer her enormous potential to the classic distance. But this spring she achieved a significant improvement: In Barcelona she was third with a time of 2:21:01. Linet Masai will certainly want to use the fast course of the BMW BERLIN MARATHON to improve further.

Around 15 years ago Linet Masai was one of the best long distance track and cross country runners in the world. It was in Berlin where she celebrated the greatest victory of her career: At the 2009 World Athletics Championships she won the gold medal in the 10,000 m. A year earlier she had won bronze in this race at the Olympic Games in Beijing and set a world junior record of 30:26.50 which still stands today. At the World Championships in 2011 she won another bronze medal in the 10,000 m. Additionally Linet Masai was the silver medallist at the World Cross Country Championships three times in a row (2009, 2010 and 2011).

From 2014 onwards Linet Masai focused much more on road races and slowly worked her way up to the longer distances. She ran her first half marathon in 2014 and her marathon debut in 2018. In Amsterdam she finished fifth in 2:23:46 – that was a good start before the era of the performance-enhancing carbon running shoes. However she was unable to match or improve this time in her subsequent marathon races in London in 2019, Paris in 2023 and Enschede in 2024.

“The transition from the track to the marathon was challenging for me,“ said Linet Masai during the Frankfurt Marathon, where she showed an upward trend last October with a time of 2:23:52. This was followed by her PB in Barcelona.

Linet Masai achieved her half marathon PB of 67:44 at the Great North Run in England in 2019.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Linet Masai lives with her family in Kaptagat where she also trains at high altitude. She has two daughters aged four and eight. In Kaptagat she trains in the group of Patrick Sang, who is also the coach of Eliud Kipchoge and 1,500 m Olympic Champion and world record holder Faith Kipyegon. Linet Masai has nine siblings, three of whom are or were successful international runners. Her older brother Moses Masai was third in the 10,000 metres at the World Championships in Berlin in 2009. In the marathon he achieved a time of 2:10:36 in Düsseldorf in 2014. Her younger brother Alex Masai improved his PB to 2:08:03 in Rotterdam this year. And her younger sister Magdalyne Masai ran a very strong 2:18:58 in Frankfurt last year after winning the Vienna City Marathon in 2023.

JACKLINE CHERONO

KENYA

BIRTHDATE
25.6.1998

PERSONAL BEST
2:21:14 (Rotterdam, 2025)

MARATHON RACES

13.4.25    Rotterdam Marathon        1.    2:21:14
6.10.24    Kosice Marathon            2.    2:21:40
28.4.24    Hamburg Marathon            4.    2:21:40
1.10.23    Kosice Marathon            1.    2:24:43
16.4.23    Enschede Marathon        4.    2:30:21
10.4.22    Eldoret Marathon            21.    2:45:08

CAREER NOTES:

Jackline Cherono started her career as a steeplechaser but also competed in middle and long distance races on the track. The Kenyan was unable to establish herself internationally in either the steeplechase or the other events. Her times were not fast enough.

In 2022 she competed in her first marathon in the performance-reducing high altitude of Eldoret, Kenya, and ran 2:45:08. A year and a half later Jackline Cherono won the traditional Kosice Marathon running under 2:30:00 for the first time and improving her personal best by over five minutes to 2:24:43. After her victory in Kosice the Kenyan focused on the marathon distance. She has not run on the track since then. The 42.195 k is clearly her strongest distance. Last year she ran 2:21:40 in both Hamburg and Kosice and this year she surprised with a victory at the Rotterdam Marathon in another personal best of 2:21:14.

Jackline Cherono also ran a personal best in the half marathon this year, winning the race in Paris with 67:16.

ALEKSANDRA LISOWSKA

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

POLAND

BIRTHDATE
12.12.1990

PERSONAL BEST
2:25:52 (Valencia, 2023)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

11.8.24    Olympic Games, Paris        35.    2:31:10
26.8.23    World Championships, Budapest    DNF
7.8.21        Olympic Games, Sapporo/JPN    35.    2:35:33

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

3.12.23    Valencia Marathon             28.    2:25:52
16.4.23    Rotterdam Marathon        5.    2:26:44
15.8.22    European Championships, Munich     1.    2:28:36
18.4.21    Debno Marathon            1.    2:26:08
6.12.20    Polish Marathon Championships    1.    2:30:47
27.10.19    Military World Games, Wuhan    6.    2:31:40
14.4.19    Warszawa Marathon        8.    2:35:55
11.11.18    Beirut Marathon            8.    2:38:57
22.4.18    Warszawa Marathon        4.    2:33:13
28.5.17    Ottawa Marathon            10.    2:40:12
2.10.16    Torino Marathon            5.    2:48:59
11.10.15    Poznan Marathon            5.    2:45:28

CAREER NOTES:

Aleksandra Lisowska is the European Marathon Champion from Munich 2022. The Polish marathon runner caused a big surprise when she won the gold medal in hot weather conditions. This victory is by some distance the biggest success of her career.

During the first couple of years of her career Aleksandra Lisowska mainly competed in middle and long distance races on the track. The Polish athlete also ran the 3,000 m steeplechase. She ran almost exclusively at a national level in Poland. Internationally she mainly competed in marathons. The 34 year-old achieved her best performances over the classic distance. She qualified for the Olympic Games twice, placing 35th on both occasions (2021 and 2024). The BMW BERLIN MARATHON will be her first marathon since the Olympics in Paris.

SAMANTHA HARRISON

^{© Archiv}

GREAT BRITAIN

BIRTHDATE
1.2.1995

PERSONAL BEST
2:25:59 (London, 2023)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

23.4.23    London Marathon            11    2:25:59
3.10.21    London Marathon            16    2:32:22

ADDITIONAL MARATHON

7.4.19        Manchester Marathon        10    2:51:45

CAREER NOTES:

Samantha Harrison will only run her fourth marathon and it will be the first time that she competes in the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. The 30-year-old from England has made an astonishing, even sensational development. The runner from Nottingham improved significantly in a relatively short period of time, and the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON played a role in this. When she competed here in 2022 she broke 70 minutes for the first time, improving by almost two minutes to 68:12. In the same year she followed this up with two sixth places in the 10,000 m at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the European Championships in Munich.

In 2023 Samantha Harrison returned to the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON and once again ran a personal best (67:17), which was followed by further top performances. First she improved by over six minutes at the London Marathon (2:25:59) and then she finished a very strong ninth at the World Half Marathon Championships in Riga. Three weeks later Harrison took seventh at the competitive Valencia Half Marathon and clocked her current PB to 67:10.

She had bad luck in the Olympic year of 2024 when an injury stopped her. After a break from competition for around seven months the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON in April was her first race. She ran a solid 69:23, finishing eighth. The BMW BERLIN MARATHON will now be the main race this year for Samantha Harrison.

PERSONAL NOTES:

From an amateur runner to a European elite athlete? Samantha Harrison achieved just that. The British athlete stumbled into running by chance and went on to become a top runner. To keep fit she started jogging and then ran more and more often. "At some point I asked myself: why am I doing all this? So I entered a race and was among the fastest,“ Samantha Harrison said in an interview with Yahoo UK. As she developed into a professional runner, she was able to significantly reduce her job as a dental assistant.

FTAW ZERAY

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

ETHIOPIA

BIRTHDATE
3.8.1997

PERSONAL BEST
2:29:15 (Hefei, 2019)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

25.9.22    BERLIN-MARATHON    DNF

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

22.9.24    Taiyuan Marathon, CHN    DNF
8.11.20    Istanbul Marathon        4    2:39:18
10.11.19    Hefei Marathon, CHN    1    2:29:15

CAREER NOTES:

Ftaw Zeray could be in for a surprise at the BMW BERLIN MARATHON. The 28-year-old Ethiopian has the potential to achieve a time well under 2:20:00.

Despite a surprise victory in her debut marathon in Hefei in 2019, she has not yet been able to transfer her potential to the classic distance. Her time of 2:29:15 from this race in China remains her personal best. “I suffered of stomach problems repeatedly in the marathon,“ says Ftaw Zeray, explaining why she failed several times over the 42.195 k. Nevertheless she believes she can achieve times in the 2:16 range in the future.

The half marathon has been her strongest event so far: Ftaw Zeray has focused very much on this distance and achieved her best results over the 21.0975 k distance. The 28-year-old achieved an impressive series of top times. In the past three years she has run under 68:00 minutes eleven times. And in five of these races she ran sub 67:00.

2023 was her most successful year so far. She took third place in the competitive Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in the United Arab Emirates with her current PB of 66:04. Then she finished in a very strong sixth place at the World Half Marathon Championships in Riga.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Ftaw Zeray grew up in Kotobe in eastern Addis Ababa. She has a sister and two brothers, but they don't run. Her role model was two-time Olympic 5,000-metre champion Meseret Defar (2004 and 2012). “She trained very hard, which impressed me,“ says Ftaw Zeray, who is coached by Dawit Hiluf in Addis Ababa. Among her training partners is Tiruye Mesfin, who finished third in the 2024 Valencia Marathon with a top time of 2:18:35.

KAROLINE GROVDAL

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

NORWAY

BIRTHDATE
14.6.1990

PERSONAL BEST
- - -

MARATHON RACE

27.4.25    Hamburg Marathon        DNF

CAREER NOTES:

Karoline Grovdal is one of the most promising and interesting marathon newcomers in Europe. It will be her second attempt at the distance and the Norwegian has the potential to place herself among the fastest Europeans. Running her debut at the classic distance in Hamburg this April she suffered of foot problems and dropped out before the 30 k mark. Before that she was on course for a time of just over 2:20:00. Her goal was to break the Norwegian record. This is an iconic mark: In 1985 Ingrid Kristiansen ran 2:21:06 in London, which stood as a world record for 13 years and is still untouched in Norway after 40 years.

Karoline Grovdal would be the complete runner if she could also run a good time in the marathon. She has achieved remarkable success and personal bests in middle and long distances, as well as in the 3,000 m steeplechase, cross country and road running – such a wide range is very rare at such a high level.

Karoline Grovdal achieved the greatest victory of her career at the European Athletics Championships in Rome in 2024, where she won the gold medal in the half marathon. Between 2021 and 2023 she won the European Cross Country Championships three times in a row. Prior to that she had already achieved four third places and one second place at the these championships. The Norwegian also won European Championship medals in the 10,000 m (bronze in 2016), 3,000 m steeplechase (bronze in 2018) and 5,000 m (silver in 2024). At the Olympic Games she finished seventh (2016) and eighth (2024) in the 5,000 m. She also placed eighth in the 5,000 m at the 2022 World Championships.

Karoline Grovdal holds a number of Norwegian records, including the mile (4:26.23), 3,000 m (8:27.02), 5,000 m (14:31.07), 3,000 m steeplechase (9:13.35) and 10 k (30:32). A year ago in Copenhagen she improved her PB in the half marathon to 66:55. She won the New York Half Marathon in March 2024. After failing to finish the Hamburg Marathon in April the Norwegian won the Gothenburg Half Marathon three weeks later in 68:33.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Karoline Grovdal originally comes from Alesund which is roughly 200 kilometres north of Bergen. She lives in Oslo and competes for the local club IK Tjalve. As a junior Karoline Grovdal also was among Norway's most talented cross country skiers. But at the age of 20 she decided to focus on running.

HENDRIK PFEIFFER

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

GERMANY

BIRTHDATE
18.3.1993

PERSONAL BEST
2:07:14 (Houston, 2024)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

2.3.25        Tokyo Marathon            37.        2:12:27
29.9.24    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON    24.        2:08:20
21.4.24    London Marathon            7.        2:10:00
5.11.23    New York Marathon            12.        2:12:53
24.9.23    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON    20.        2:08:48
17.4.23    Boston Marathon            16.        2:12:22
6.11.22    New York Marathon    (entered as non-elite)    16    2:22:45
8.8.21        Olympic Games, Sapporo (JPN)    49.        2:20:43

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

6.1.25        Houston Marathon            11.        2:11:14
1.12.24    Singapore Marathon        6.        2:21:12
14.1.24    Houston Marathon            3.        2:07:14
30.10.22    Frankfurt Marathon            7.        2:11:28
2.10.22    Köln Marathon (Pacemaker)    2.        2:16:26
15.8.22    Europ. Championships, Munich    24.        2:16:04
3.4.22        Hannover Marathon            1.        2:10:59
23.2.20    Sevilla Marathon            28.        2:10:18
13.10.19    Köln Marathon            1.        2:15:19
1.10.17    Köln Marathon            1.        2:13:42
24.4.16    Düsseldorf Marathon        3.        2:13:11

CAREER NOTES:

With his personal best of 2:07:14 Hendrik Pfeiffer is the fourth fastest German marathon runner of all times. Behind the trio of Samuel Fitwi, Amanal Petros and Richard Ringer he currently leads the second group of German top marathon runners.

Hendrik Pfeiffer specialized in the marathon early. In 2016 he finished his first ever marathon in Düsseldorf in sensational style, running  2:13:11 which was just enough to qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio. Due to serious heel injuries the dream to start at the Olympic Games had to wait. He missed the 2018 European Championships in Berlin as well. After two surgeries Hendrik Pfeiffer made his comeback in 2020. In Sevilla he ran his personal best in 2:10:18 which was enough to qualify for the 2021 Olympic Games in Japan. In Sapporo, host of the Olympic Marathon races, he finished 50th.

By winning the Hannover Marathon in 2022 in 2:10:59 Hendrik Pfeiffer achieved his biggest career victory so far. Following that he won the silver medal with the German team at the European Championships in Munich.

Hendrik Pfeiffer made a significant step at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2023: He ran sub 2:10 for the first time and improved to 2:08:48. Since this was not fast enough to qualify for the Olympic Games he made another attempt in January 2024, but had run the New York Marathon as well in between. In an amazing race in Houston he took third in 2:07:14 without pacemakers. Pfeiffer had to push the pace himself at the front for most of the distance and then missed Germany’s third Olympic spot by an annoying ten seconds.

In April 2024 he showed another fine performance, when he was seventh in London with 2:10:00. It was the best result by a German in London’s men’s race since 1988. Only Christoph Herle has ever achieved a better position in London, when he was fourth in 1985. After running too fast in the first half Hendrik Pfeifer still clocked 2:08:20 at the BMW BERLIN MARATHON 2024.

In less than ideal conditions, he ran two slower marathon races this year and then underwent foot surgery in the spring. In July he came back winning the adidas Runners City Night in Berlin. He ran a course record and personal best of 28:27 over 10 k.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Hendrik Pfeiffer first played football and as a left winger was tested in training by famous German club Schalke 04. However at the age of 14 they told him that he had too much weight and should go running first. That was how Hendrik Pfeiffer started with the sport. Pfeiffer, who studies Journalism, is now self coached but still gets advice from his former coach Tono Kirschbaum. Hendrik Pfeiffer is married to long distance runner Esther Pfeiffer (maiden name: Jacobitz) and coaches her as well. She improved significantly and placed 18th in the half marathon at the European Championships in Rome in 2024 (Hendrik Pfeiffer finished 34th in the men’s race).

SEBASTIAN HENDEL

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

GERMANY

BIRTHDATE
1.12.1995

PERSONAL BEST
2:07:33 (Berlin, 2024)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

29.9.24    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON    17.    2:07:33

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

28.4.24    Hamburg Marathon            10.    2:08:51
8.10.23    München Marathon             5.    2:10:14
23.4.23    Wien Marathon             9.    2:11:29
9.10.22    München Marathon             4.    2:10:37

CAREER NOTES:

Sebastian Hendel caused quite a surprise when he was the fastest German runner of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2024. He improved his PB significantly to 2:07:33 and moved up to fifth place on the German all-time list.

Sebastian Hendel’s strengths clearly are the long distance road events. The 29 year-old showed his best performances so far in the half marathon and the marathon. But originally he ran middle and long distances on the track. For some years now his focus is on the roads.

Running his debut at the distance he took second place at the 2021 German half marathon championships in Hamburg with 62:28. It took over a year before he then ran his first marathon in Munich with 2:10:37. In spring 2023 Sebastian Hendel improved to 61:52 at the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON. Later that year he returned to the Munich Marathon and clocked 2:10:14. He was unlucky since the leading group was misled and had to turn back. Otherwise he would have broken 2:10:00 in that race. He did manage to run well under that mark when he ran 2:08:51 at the Hamburg Marathon in 2024. Then he further improved at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. Because of health issues during the winter months Sebastian Hendel was unable to run a spring marathon this year.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Sebastian Hendel started running in an athletics club at a young age. But it was only when his father Udo Hendel took over coaching him that he prospered. At local and then regional level he started winning track, cross country and road championship races. After completing his A levels in 2014 he received a scholarship for sport at New York’s Iona College. There he met his future wife, Croatia’s long distance runner Kristina Bozic. Before their son was born in October 2016 they stopped their scholarships in New York. Since then the family lives near Zwickau, Germany. Kristina Hendel has a marathon PB of 2:27:29 and competes for Germany since 2022. Since this year the couple both compete for Marathon Team Berlin, which belongs to SCC Berlin, the club behind the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON.

HAFTOM WELDAY

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

GERMANY

BIRTHDATE
13.3.1990

PERSONAL BEST
2:08:24 (Valencia, 2023)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

29.9.24    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON        DNF
27.8.23    World Championships, Budapest    14.    2:11:25
25.9.22    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON        11.    2:09:06
26.9.21    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON        13.    2:13:47

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

6.4.25        Hannover Marathon            2.    2:11:06
19.1.25    Houston Marathon            12.    2:11:27
18.2.24    Sevilla Marathon            21.    2:08:29
3.12.23    Valencia Marathon            30.    2:08:24
23.4.23    Hamburg Marathon            8.    2:09:40

CAREER NOTES:

Haftom Welday will run the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON for the fourth time. A year ago he started very fast and did not finish, but in 2022 he ran his first sub 2:10:00 in Berlin.

When running events started to come back in 2021 after the Corona lockdowns Haftom Welday achieved a breakthrough in Berlin. First he improved by over four minutes in the half marathon (62:47), then he ran a 2:13:47 debut at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON.

One year later he improved his marathon PB significantly in Berlin, running 2:09:06. At that time he was number six on the German alltime list. Welday was selected for the World Championships’ marathon in Budapest in 2023. In hot weather conditions he achieved a fine 14th place and was the fastest German. However despite improving to 2:08:24 in Valencia later in the year he did not manage to qualify for the Olympic Games. A sub 2:07:05 was necessary for selection.

In February 2024 Haftom Welday ran his second fastest marathon with 2:08:29 in Sevilla. This year he was not yet able to reach a similar level. He will be eager to bounce back in Berlin.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Haftom Welday had Eritrean citizenship but grew up in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. “I liked to play football and was not fond of running at all“, recalled Haftom Welday, who fled the region in 2014. Coming through the Sahara and then crossing the Mediterranean Sea he arrived in Germany and lived in Pattensen near Hannover. “I realised that I was able to run fast when I had to run three kilometres to catch a bus. Then I did the Deutsches Sportabzeichen (a popular German sporting certificate) and Friedrich Weber, who recorded my performances for the Sportabzeichen, spotted my talent and supported me. At that time I was 25,“ reports Haftom Welday on his website. At the end of 2021 Haftom Welday moved to Hamburg together with his wife and the three children. In 2022 he received German citizenship. His dream is to run the marathon at the Olympic Games.

JOHANNES MOTSCHMANN

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

GERMANY

BIRTHDATE
3.8.1994

PERSONAL BEST
2:10:39 (London, 2024)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

21.4.25    Boston-Marathon                60.        2:22:36
29.9.24    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON            33.        2:12:02
21.4.24    London Marathon                9.        2:10:39
27.8.23    World Championships, Budapest        25.        2:14:19
5.3.23        Tokyo Marathon                33.        2:11:30
25.9.22    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON            24.        2:14:02

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

15.8.22    European Championships, München    16.        2:14:52
24.4.22    Hamburg Marathon                24.        2:17:08
24.10.21    Rotterdam Marathon            11.        2:12:18
13.12.20    Open Austrian Championships, Vienna    2.        2:14:38

CAREER NOTES:

Johannes Motschmann started into the year really strong, clocking two personal records. First he improved his personal best at 10k to 28:13 in Valencia, then, still in January, he clocked a half marathon PB of 61:03 in Houston. But it did not go well for him at the Boston Marathon, where he ran 2:22:36 in April.

Johannes Motschmann came to Berlin in 2019 and joined the team of race organiser SCC EVENTS, the Marathon Team Berlin. The former steeple chaser (PB: 8:33,12) ran a fine 2:14:38 marathon debut in December 2022 when he was second at the Austrian marathon championships in Vienna, where international competitors were accepted despite the pandemic. He continued on the roads and improved to 2:12:18 in Rotterdam. With this time he qualified for the European Championships in Munich, where he took 16th place. With the German marathon team he won a silver medal in the team competition (European Marathon Cup).

Johannes Motschmann improved to 2:11:30 at the Tokyo Marathon 2023. He was then selected for the World Championships. In very high temperatures he finished 25th at these championships in Budapest.

With a personal best of 2:10:39 and a ninth place Johannes Motschmann surprised at the London Marathon in 2024. Only four other German runners achieved a better position in the history of London’s men’s race. Motschmann was then unable to produce a similar performance in his next two marathon races in Berlin 2024 and Boston 2025.  

PERSONAL NOTES:

Johannes Motschmann comes from Magdeburg and studied psychology at New York’s Iona College for five years after receiving a sports scholarship. He then started studying medicine in Bochum, Western Germany. However at the moment running is his priority. Johannes Motschmann is self-coached. The places he spends most time during the year are Berlin and Blacksburg in Virgina, USA, where his girl friend studies.

DAVOR AARON BIENENFELD

GERMANY

BIRTHDATE
25.9.1997

PERSONAL BEST
Debut

CAREER NOTES:

Davor Aaron Bienenfeld will run his debut at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. His recent half marathon times indicate that he should have the potential for a sub 2:10:00 marathon time. However it remains to be seen if this will be possible in his debut at the classic distance.

Aaron Bienenfeld was running under the radar for a long time since he lives mainly in the USA since early 2018. The athlete from Frankfurt (Main) had received a running scholarship and went on to study marketing at the University of Cincinnati and later in Oregon, a mecca for US long-distance running. He ran most of his races in the US where he developed strongly.

In November 2020, during the Corona lockdown, he competed in an elite-only half marathon in Dresden. Finishing second behind Richard Ringer he achieved a huge improvement of almost six minutes to 62:33. After that, however, he did not run another half marathon for a long time and concentrated mainly on the track and occasionally on cross-country running. In 2022 Aaron Bienenfeld competed in the 5,000 metres at the European Championships in Munich and finished 20th. At the European Cross Country Championships in Milan that same year he finished 16th.

In 2023 he returned to the half marathon and improved his PB to 61:51 at the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON. Five months later he competed in the Half Marathon World Championships in Riga and finished 32nd with another personal best of 61:49. A 10,000 m PB of 27:42.83 in California in March and a further improvement in the half marathon to 61:45 in Valencia in October were his best results in 2024.

This spring Aaron Bienenfeld impressed twice in the half marathon: first he clocked another PB of 61:39 in Houston, then he finished in a strong sixth place in Istanbul with 62:14. In between he improved his 10,000 m time to 27:39.82 in California, making him the seventh fastest German runner of all time over this distance. The results suggest that Aaron Bienenfeld is ready for a good marathon debut.

DOMENIKA MAYER

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

GERMANY

BIRTHDATE
3.10.1990

PERSONAL BEST
2:23:47 (Berlin, 2023)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

11.8.24    Olympic Games, Paris             28.    2:30:14
24.9.23    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON        13.    2:23:47

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

6.4.25        Hannover Marathon                1.    2:24:22
14.4.24    Hannover Marathon                1.    2:23:50
16.4.23    Linz Marathon                2.    2:28:47
15.8.22    European Championships, Munich    6.    2:29:21
3.4.22        Hannover Marathon                1.    2:26:50

CAREER NOTES:

Domenika Mayer, Germany’s most consistent marathon runner of recent years, returns to the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON zurück. Two years ago the 34 year-old ran her personal best of 2:23:47 in the German capital and qualified for the Olympic Games in a stunning manner. At the Olympics in Paris the three-time winner of the Hannover Marathon finished in 28th position and was the best German runner.

Relatively late and during the Corona pandemic with regular lockdowns she managed to move up to the national elite in distance running. First she improved her 10k time to 32:34 in Berlin in March 2021. Two weeks later she clocked a half marathon time of 69:52 in Dresden.

A year later Domenika Mayer decided on relatively short notice to run her marathon debut in Hannover. Despite a Corona infection some time before the race and freezing conditions she won with 2:26:50 and became German Champion. She qualified for the European Championships in Munich, where she caused another upset in hot weather: Taking sixth position she was the second best German runner and won the gold medal with the team (European Marathon Cup). Another Corona infection and twisting her back was a far from ideal build-up to her spring marathon in 2023. But Domenika Mayer still managed to finish runner-up in Linz with 2:28:47.

Although she developed a foot problem during the BMW BERLIN MARATHON two years ago she managed to come through and improved her personal best by over three minutes. With 2:23:47 at that time she became the second-fastest German female runner ever behind Irina Mikitenko (2:19:19). She currently ranks third in the national all-time list.

At the 2024 Hannover Marathon Domenika Mayer missed her personal best by just three seconds. This year she won the race in Hannover for the third time and currently leads the German top list for this year with 2:24:22.

Domenika Mayer ran her half marathon PB of 69:46 in Warsaw in 2024. She finished tenth at the European Athletics Championships in Rome last year in the half marathon.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Domenika Mayer is married to Christian Mayer who is also her coach. He guided her into the group of Germans best marathon runners. They have two daughters and live near Nuremberg in Bavaria. Domenika Mayer works as a chief inspector for the police. She mainly trains in the surroundings of her home.

DEBORAH SCHÖNEBORN

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

GERMANY

BIRTHDATE
13.3.1994

PERSONAL BEST
2:24:54 (Houston, 2024)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

24.9.23    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON        19.    2:27:35
7.8.21        Olympic Games Sapporo (JPN)        18.    2:33:08

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

6.4.25        Hannover Marathon                3.    2:29:30
14.1.24    Houston Marathon                4.    2:24:54
19.2.23    Sevilla Marathon                5.    2:25:52
15.8.22    European Championships Munich    10.    2:30:35
24.4.22    Hamburg Marathon                9.    2:29:51
6.12.20    Valencia Marathon                12.    2:26:55
13.10.19    Köln Marathon                1.    2:31:18

CAREER NOTES:

Deborah Schöneborn improved her personal best by almost one minute when she clocked 2:24:54 in Houston early last year. She became the sixth fastest German runner ever but there was a sad feeling as well. Deborah Schöneborn missed qualifying for the Olympic Games in 2024 by just 23 seconds. In addition she suffered from a foot injury for a long time afterwards, meaning that she was only able to run a marathon again this spring. With a time of 2:29:30 in Hannover she was well off her best times. Her foot still caused her problems this year.

Parallel to her twin sister Rabea Berlin’s Deborah Schöneborn has developed strongly once she started training properly. Both moved up into the group of the top German long distance runners. The twins have always been on a very similar level of performance and the longer the distances they ran the better were the results. Both were among the German team that won a bronze medal at the World Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia (Polen) in 2020. And both were running strongly at the European Championships in Munich in 2022 where “Debbie“ Schöneborn finished tenth, two places ahead of her sister. With the German team they won the gold medal in the European Cup (marathon team competition).

“Debbie“ Schöneborn had already proved that she is a strong championships’ runner a year earlier, when she finished in a surprisingly strong 18th place at the Olympic Games marathon in Sapporo, Japan, which was run in very hot weather. In the qualifying period for those Olympics she was just eight seconds ahead of her sister, who did not qualify.

Deborah Schöneborn has a half marathon PB of 69:41.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Deborah Schöneborn has studied medicine in Berlin. She partly works for the department of SCC EVENTS that provides services in sports medicine and she belongs to the “Medical Team“. She also writes for “Runner’s World“ Germany about health topics and has her own monthly column called “Ask Debbie!“. Deborah and Rabea Schöneborn come from a sportive family. Her grandfather played tennis and her father has a marathon PB of 2:42. The sports star of the family was however the elder sister: Lena Schöneborn is the Olympic Modern Pentathlon Champion from 2008. She was also World Champion in Modern Pentathlon in 2015. Rabea and Deborah Schöneborn were Modern Pentathletes for several years, but then fully switched to running from 2017 onwards.

FABIENNE KÖNIGSTEIN

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

GERMANY

BIRTHDATE
25.11.1992

PERSONAL BEST
2:25:48 (Hamburg, 2023)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

15.4.24    Boston Marathon                DNF
24.9.17    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON    11.    2:34:14

WEITERE MARATHONRENNEN

6.4.25        Vienna City Marathon        4.    2:28:49
9.3.25        Nagoya Marathon            13.    2:28:20
23.4.23    Hamburg Marathon             8.    2:25:48
12.8.18    European Championships, Berlin    11.    2:33:44
29.4.18    Düsseldorf Marathon         2.    2:32:35

CAREER NOTES:

Fabienne Königstein will run the BMW BERLIN MARATHON for the second time, having started her marathon career there eight years ago. She actually wanted to run the BMW BERLIN MARATHON a year ago but an injury stopped her.

Throughout her career, Fabienne Königstein has repeatedly suffered from injuries or illness, resulting in long breaks – one exception was of course her pregnancy. As a result she has only competed in seven races over the classic distance during her eight-year marathon career.

In spring 2023 she caused a big surprise in the national women's marathon. In Hamburg Fabienne Königstein improved her personal best by almost seven minutes, from 2:32:35 to 2:25:48. This initially put her in a very good position in the race for one of the three spots at the Olympic Games’ marathon in Paris 2024. But in the end her time was not fast enough. Due to injury Fabienne Königstein was unable to run an autumn marathon in 2023.

The fact that Fabienne Königstein – formerly known as Fabienne Amrhein – was able to improve by such a margin in Hamburg was not expected, especially since she had only just returned to competition after giving birth. However it should be noted that she had not run with the performance-enhancing carbon shoes before. Before Hamburg she had last competed over this distance in 2018.

Due to an infection Fabienne Königstein was not able to finish the 2024 Boston Marathon. During the second half of the year she was once again sidelined by injury. This spring she made a surprise comeback with a double marathon start. First she ran in Nagoya, then she achieved a strong fourth place in Vienna. Fabienne Königstein ran both races in under 2:29:00.

Fabienne Königstein originally competed in middle and long distances on the track and also regularly ran cross country races. In 2017 she ran the half marathon that is staged parallel to the Vienna City Marathon. She won this event in 1:16:45. This was followed by her marathon debut in Berlin (2:34:14). In spring 2018 she became German champion in Düsseldorf and in the summer she was the best German marathon runner at the European Championships in Berlin in August (11th position).

Her half marathon PB is 69:32.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Fabienne Königstein lives and trains in Karlsruhe, but frequently travels to high altitude for training. She is married and has a three year-old daughter. Fabienne Königstein, who studied molecular biology in Heidelberg and then later sports management, is one of the athletes’ representatives in the German Olympic Committee (DOSB).

RABEA SCHÖNEBORN

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

GERMANY

BIRTHDATE
13.3.1994

PERSONAL BEST 
2:27:03 (Enschede 2021)

ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS

26.9.21    BMW BERLIN-MARATHON            9    2:28:49

ADDITIONAL MARATHONS

28.4.24    Hamburg Marathon                    13    2:35:07
3.12.23    Valencia Marathon                    45    2:31:05
15.8.22    European Championships, Munich        12    2:31:36
3.4.22        Hannover Marathon                    2    2:27:35
18.4.21    Enschede Marathon                    3    2:27:03
6.12.20    Valencia Marathon                    17    2:28:42

CAREER NOTES:

Rabea Schöneborn was hampered by injuries time and again for longer periods during the past couple of years. In 2024 she could not run an autumn marathon as originally planned. In fact she did not run any race during the second half of the year. So far in 2025 she has finished a half marathon (76:14) and a 10 k race (34:17).

Alongside her twin sister Deborah Schöneborn she has developed strongly over several years. In 2020 Rabea Schöneborn was part of the German team that sensationally won the bronze medal at the World Half Marathon Championships. She finished 54th in the individual classification of these competitive championships. In her second marathon in Enschede in spring 2021 Rabea Schöneborn improved her PB to 2:27:03. If she had run nine seconds faster she would have knocked her twin sister out of an Olympic spot. Instead of competing at the Olympics in Japan Rabea Schöneborn ran the BMW BERLIN MARATHON and finished ninth in 2:28:49.

The 31 year-old ran the best race of her career at the European Championships in Munich in 2022. The runner from Berlin finished 12th and won the team title for Germany (the team event European Marathon Cup is staged within this race). Half a year later the injury problems started and she needed foot surgery. In the process she was unable to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games’ marathon in Paris.

Rabea Schöneborn ran her half marathon PB of 70:35 at the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON 2021.

PERSONAL NOTES:

Rabea Schöneborn has a master in psychology and has a 20 hour per week contract as a consultant at a personnel service provider. Actual working times are flexible so that she can combine the work with her running career. Rabea Schöneborn comes from a sportive family. Her grandfather played tennis and her father has a marathon PB of 2:42. Deborah Schöneborn finished 18th in the Olympic marathon in Sapporo. The sports star of the family was however the elder sister: Lena Schöneborn is the Olympic Modern Pentathlon Champion from 2008. She was also World Champion in Modern Pentathlon in 2015. Rabea and Deborah Schöneborn were Modern Pentathletes for several years, but then fully switched to running from 2017 onwards.

The start of the racing wheelchair and handbike categories shortly before the impressive field of over 50,000 marathon runners is one of the special highlights of the marathon weekend. High speeds and top times are to be expected when the top-class elite set off on the classic distance of 42.195 kilometres. 

For the exceptional Swiss athlete Marcel Hug, Berlin has become something of a home turf. The racing wheelchair pro from Pfyn in Thurgau (Switzerland) has dominated the Abbott World Marathon Majors series for years and is one of the top favourites for the 2025 BMW BERLIN MARATHON. 

Hug has won the overall ranking six times in the seven years of the Abbott World Marathon Majors wheelchair ranking competition since 2016. In the current 2024/25 series, Hug leads with 58 points after victories in Boston and London, ahead of Japan's Suzuki with 33 points and Romanchuk with 25 points. However, Suzuki will not be competing in Berlin*.

Six-time Berlin winner Manuela Schär of Switzerland is one of the top favourites in the international field, especially as her compatriot Catherine Debrunner is not competing in Berlin this time. Debrunner won the last two series of Abbott WMM races, while Schär was victorious three times between 2017 and 2019. One of her strongest competitors is American Tatyana McFadden, one of the pioneers of the sport. She won the Abbott WMM series in 2016/17.

Among the hand cyclists, two legends of the BMW BERLIN MARATHON are among the favourites in the men's competition: Swiss athlete Heinz Frei (67), one of the world's best racing wheelchair athletes for many years, won twenty times in the racing wheelchair category between 1985 and 2013 before switching to the handbike category in 2021 after numerous top 10 finishes.

Berlin-born Vico Merklein (48) has regularly placed at the top since 2006, winning seven times between 2010 and 2024. In addition, Frenchman Joseph Fritsch could still play a role, with a personal best of 1:00:05. At 27, he is the youngest in the group.

In the women's race, last year's runner-up Julia Dierkesmann (who won in 2023) and 2022 winner Katrin Möller (runner-up in 2023) are considered the main rivals of Italy's Francesca Porcellato, the 2024 winner.

^{*The results of the TCS Sydney Marathon at the end of August are not included here (editorial deadline 25 August 2025).}

Men´s favourites:

Marcel Hug, SUI

16 January 1986

Best time:
1:17:47 (Oita, JPN 2021)

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

Marcel Hug is one of the most successful wheelchair athletes in the world. He was born with spina bifida, an ‘open back’. He started racing in a wheelchair at the age of ten and enjoyed early success. He was a multiple junior world champion and won two bronze medals at the Paralympics at the age of 18 before joining the world elite as a senior, where he won victories at various distances. His coach is Paul Odermatt who has been training him since his youth. Hug is also known by the nickname ‘Silver Bullet’, which comes from his distinctive silver crash helmet. He has won eight times in Berlin since 2011. He has won six of the seven AWMM wheelchair series to date.

In the 2024/25 AbbottWMM wheelchair series, he is well ahead of his closest competitors with 58 points* before the start in Berlin, of whom only the American Daniel Romanchuk will be competing in Berlin.

*The results of the TCS Sydney Marathon at the end of August are not included here (editorial deadline 25 August 2025).

David Weir, GBR

5 June 1979

Best time:
1:26:17 (Berlin 2018)

^{Middle © Norbert Wilhelmi}

David Weir won six gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Paralympics. Among his greatest successes are eight victories at the London Marathon, where he has also achieved several podium finishes. He has competed in Berlin five times so far: in 2015 he won ahead of wheelchair legend Heinz Frei, and in 2024 he was second behind Marcel Hug.
Weir is paraplegic due to a birth complication. He is the father of four children.

Jetze Plat NED

10 June 1991

Best time:
1:29:06 (Berlin 2022)

^{First from the right © Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

Jetze Plat is the most successful para-athlete in the Netherlands, who was particularly successful in the handbike category. Most recently, he won the racing wheelchair triathlon at the Paralympics in Paris, as well as the time trial and road race for handbikers. He has been active as a handbiker since 1995 and later also competed in the racing wheelchair category, where he is now also successful. He won the Para Triathlon (racing wheelchair) at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio, in 2021 in Tokyo and recently in Paris. At the BMW BERLIN MARATHON, he won four times in five starts in the handbike competition between 2014 and 2019, and came second in 2015. In 2022, he immediately achieved fourth place in Berlin in his debut in the racing wheelchair category.

Plat was born with two deformed legs and rode a handbike to school in his younger years. He has been trained by Guido Vroemen since 2013.

Women´s favourites:

Manuela Schär, SUI

5 December 1984

Best time:
1:28:17 (Boston 2017)

^{© Norbert Wilhelmi}

Manuela Schär is the world's most successful racing wheelchair athlete over the marathon distance. She has won three Abbott World Marathon Majors series titles to date and is currently third in the 2024/25 rankings. A victory in Berlin would close the gap to her leading rivals Debrunner (74) and Scaroni (73), as neither of them will be competing in Berlin. Schär is ranked third to date in the 2024/25 series* with 22 points.

Manuela Schär comes from Altishofen (Canton of Lucerne). Five years after an accident, she started racing in a wheelchair at the age of 14. Like other highly successful Swiss wheelchair racers, she also benefits from the infrastructure offered by the Paraplegic Centre in Nottwil, not far from her home.

*The results of the TCS Sydney Marathon at the end of August are not included here (editorial deadline 25 August 2025).

Tatyana McFadden, USA

21 April 1989

Best time:
1:35:06 (Boston 2014)

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

Tatyana McFadden is the most successful American wheelchair racer and one of the pioneers of the sport. She won the first AWMM wheelchair series in 2016/17. Between 2012 and 2016, she was undefeated in the Boston, London, Chicago and New York races. In 2013, she was the first to win these four races in a row. Four times in London, seven times in Chicago, five times in New York. In 2021, she finished second behind Manuela Schär in Berlin. At the age of 15, she won two medals at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens. In 2008 in Beijing, she won four more medals, and in 2012 in London, she won gold in the 400 m, 800 m and 1,500 m. Four years later in Rio, she came second in the marathon. She has won a total of 16 Paralympic medals, including one in cross-country skiing in Sochi in 2014. She also has 14 gold medals from three IPC World Championships (2011, 2013, 2017).

Tatyana McFadden was born in St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad, USSR) with spina bifida and lived in a Russian orphanage before being adopted by an American family. Until the age of six, she used to move around on her hands. Her sister Hannah is also a wheelchair athlete.

Eden Rainbow-Cooper (GBR)

17 May 2001

Best time:
1:34:17 (Berlin 2023)

^{© Victor Sailer / PHOTORUN}

Eden Rainbow-Cooper's greatest achievement in the marathon to date was her victory at the 2024 Boston Marathon. In Berlin in 2023, she finished second behind Catherine Debrunner. She also won two prestigious half marathons in her native Great Britain in 2022, the Big Half in London and the Great North Run in Newcastle.

Eden Rainbow-Coopers was born with sacral agnesia, a very rare congenital condition in which parts or all of the sacrum are missing, which can lead to complete paralysis of the lower limbs. She lives in Portsmouth.

Click here for the route map, start and finish area, altitude profile.

Start
SCC Berlin e.V.

5 km refreshment station
“Zur Ruderer-Schänke” | Ruder-Club Tegel
Markus Hardt, Tobias Lohr

9 km aid station
FV Freizeitsport e.V.
Lutz Berthold, Birgit Berthold

12 km refreshment station
THW Youth | Sascha Barnewske

15 km aid station
Berlin Swimming Association (Youth)
Manuela Krause, Sascha Weiß

17.5 km refreshment station
IBM-Club Berlin e.V.
Holmer Jankowski, Christian Bartsch

20 km aid station
Barbara Noack, Karin Lorenz

22.5 km refreshment station
Berlin Youth Fire Brigade
Dennis Langrock

25 km aid station
Sportstudio Nippon
Carla Sparmann, Esther Buchwald

27.5 km refreshment station
LG Süd Berlin
Maximilian Totel, Sarah Wagner

30 km aid station
Anne Meyer, Andreas Knoll

32.5 km refreshment station
TÜV Rheinland Academy Berlin
Melanie Balzer

34.5 km refreshment station
“Knackpunkt” | Nordberliner La
Jörg Busche, Christian Meier

36 km aid station
LAC Berlin
Stefan Bauer

38 km refreshment station
LC Cottbus
Kerstin Füßler, Roland Füßler

40 km refreshment station
“Zur letzten Tränke” | SCC long-distance runners
Karsten Kupsch

Finish
ABC Center Berlin
Kai-Thomas Arndt, Denise Thunich

Refreshment stations Inline skating

6/13/20/27/34 km:
Motor Eberswalde | Detlef Mieri

Refreshments along the route

There are nine refreshment stations at the following kilometer points: 9 – 15 – 20 – 25 – 30 – 36 km. There you will find (in the following order) water, tea and, from the aid station at km 9 onwards, sports drinks from Maurten, as well as bananas and apples. Vilsa mineral water is available at Olivaer Platz after kilometer 33. Erdinger ALCOHOL-FREE is also available at the finish line. Everyone will receive a bottle of Vilsa mineral water in their finish bag.

There are also eight refreshment points with water at 5 – 12 – 17.5 – 22.5 – 27.5 – 32.5 – 34.5 – 38 and 40 km.

All information can be found here: https://www.bmw-berlin-marathon.com/en/your-race/course

Here you can find the passing times at each kilometre.

It can be found in almost all major city marathons: the blue line marks exactly 42.195 km or 26 miles and 385 yards – the ideal line to the finish. The blue line was first painted on the road at the 1976 New York City Marathon. In Berlin in 1990, the London-based company Wilson & Scott Road Marking was specially commissioned to spray the dotted blue line onto the Berlin asphalt in a night-time operation (6 hours).

From 1992 onwards, the blue line operation was taken over by a Berlin company, supported by the Berlin police, as the line also runs partly in oncoming traffic. Gunnar Hamel and Gregor Pfennig are responsible for the Blue Line project. The line is applied to the road a few days before the race in dry weather. The project usually starts at 8:30 p.m. and can last until the middle of the night. In case of rain, it must be postponed. It then continues the next evening, provided it is dry again. So far, the weather has never been so bad that the line could not be applied to the road.

The measurement of the Berlin course complies with the requirements of AIMS (Association of International Marathons and Road Races) and the international athletics association World Athletics. The measurement is carried out by the Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment, Division III – Geoinformation. The surveyor responsible is Gregor Pfennig in cooperation with John Kunkeler. The verification is carried out annually and will be performed on the day of the event by Hugh Jones (London). The former English world-class marathon runner is the secretary general of AIMS.

Interested media representatives who would like to report on the marking of the blue line can obtain further information by calling 0178 – 6829568 (Robert Fekl) or 0173 – 9721150 (Jochen Schmitz).

The BMW BERLIN MARATHON offers one of the most attractive 42.195 km routes in the world. This is true in two respects: on the one hand, the course in the German capital is very flat and therefore ideal for achieving personal bests. On the other hand, it is extremely attractive for tourists. A sightseeing tour could hardly have more points on the agenda. The one-loop-course offers the perfect opportunity for spectators to follow the race. Here are a few tips on how to get the most out of the BMW BERLIN MARATHON.

BY BIKE

Ride your bike to the Victory Column. From the north side of Straße des 17. Juni, look towards the Brandenburg Gate to the start. The runners will come towards you and reach the Victory Column after about 500 meters into the race. Then you head north via Spreeweg and Paulstraße to Alt Moabit (approx. 5.5 kilometers into the race). Then ride back, cross the street, and continue straight ahead past the Victory Column. Via Hofjägerallee, Schillerstraße, and Martin-Luther-Straße, you will reach Grunewaldstraße at kilometer 22.6, shortly after the half-marathon mark. Then drive back a short distance and take Lützowufer to Potsdamer Straße and Potsdamer Platz at kilometer 38.5. From there, drive or run along Ebertstraße to the Brandenburg Gate, about 400 meters before the finish line.

BY U-BAHN AND S-BAHN

Hansaplatz subwaystation (U 9) is only about one kilometer away from the Victory Column (starting line). Simply walk through Altonaer Straße. From Hansaplatz, you can travel to Friedrich-Wilhelm-Platz (kilometer 25), for example. From there, take subway U9 back to Zoologischer Garten and change to the S-Bahn, which will take you to Friedrichstraße (any line). From there, it is only a few steps to the long home stretch on Unter den Linden at kilometer 41. You can also take subway U7. If you are at the start on Straße des 17. Juni and boarded subway U7 at Hansaplatz, you can change to U9 at Berliner Straße station. From there, take the subwayto Hermannplatz (kilometer 16). If you have a quick connection, you can get off at Eisenacher Straße (kilometer 21) on the way back. Then continue to Konstanzer Straße (kilometer 31). After that, go back to the Yorckstraße subway station and from there take the S-Bahn (various lines all heading north) to the Brandenburer Tor stop at kilometer 42.

START AND FINISH ON FOOT

This is no problem at all at the BMW BERLIN MARATHON. And you can see even more than just the start and finish. After the start, position yourself at the Siegessäule (Victory Column) (north side). Then walk along Spreeweg and Paulstraße to the railway underpass and turn right into Lüneburger Straße after the underpass. After a few hundred meters, you will reach the route, which runs along Alt Moabit. There you can walk along the route until you reach Reinhardstraße. Via Luisenstraße, you will reach Unter den Linden in about 10 minutes on foot, where the runners pass shortly before the finish line.

Tourist attractions along the course

0.6 k – Siegessäule (Victory Column) 

The 70-metre tall column is the first Berlin landmark along the course, which will be circled by the runners along both sides. The Siegessäule has a viewing platform. 

6.5 k – Bundeskanzleramt (Federal Chancellery) and Reichstag

Runners will approach the Bundeskanzleramt and the Reichstag. The Reichstag houses the Bundestag (German Parliament) and provides spectacular views of Berlin from atop the copula. 

23 k – Schöneberg City Hall

The former seat of the West Berlin Senate, John F. Kennedy spoke the famous words: „Ich bin ein Berliner“ here in 1963.

 28 k – Wilder Eber (Wild Boar)

The roundabout at „The Wild Boar“ is traditionally a highlight along the course. In this noble Berlin residential area, many spectators and a samba band assure great atmosphere. 

34 k – Kurfürstendamm

The course passes the famous boulevard Kurfürstendamm where masses of spectators gather for a whole kilometer. The finish was located on the Ku’damm from 1981 to 2000. It was then moved to Tauentzienstraße, where it remained until it was changed again in 2003 to the Brandenburg Gate. 

 34.5 k – Gedächtniskirche 

(Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church)

Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche is one of the major landmarks in Berlin. Built in 1895 and destroyed in WWII, the church stands in partial ruins as a memorial.

35,5 k – KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens)

The KaDeWe is one of the largest and most famous department stores in Europe.

 38 k – National Gallery and the Philharmonics

On Potsdamer Straße the runners reach the National Gallery (on the left) and the Staatsbibliothek (State Library) on the opposite side. The Philharmonie (Philharmonics) follows on the left.

 38.5 k – Potsdamer Platz

The Potsdamer Platz (Potsdam Square) was once the melting point of pre-war Berlin. After years of construction it has come back to life. Runners should check out the Sony Center located on the left.

41 k – Unter den Linden 

The splendid boulevard is run in its full length. Among other sites, it passes the Zeughaus Museum on the right and the Kronprinzenpalais across from it. Shortly thereafter follows the Humboldt University (on the right) and the Deutsche Staatsoper (German State Opera) on the opposite side.

42 k – Brandenburg Gate

The Brandenburg Gate is Germany’s most famous landmark. The Berlin Wall used to stand on this seam separating the East and West. Since 2003, the course of the BMW BERLIN MARATHON is passing through the Brandenburg Gate just before the finish. Those wishing to witness world-class results or the great joy of masses of runners crossing the finish line should come early to secure a spot in this area.

You can read everything you need to know about the supporting programme here.

All information about the MARATHON EXPO as part of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON can be found here.

The mini-MARATHON presented by GENERALI as part of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is organized for students from schools in Berlin and Brandenburg. More informations here.

Have you always wanted to stand next to a world record holder? In the Hall of Fame, you have the opportunity to get up close to the heroes of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. More here.

TASTE THE MARATHON-SPIRIT: On the day before the legendary BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, there is the opportunity to run the last 5 kilometers of the original course. More here.

The Bambini Run, as part of the Bambini Running Series presented by ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg, is a great event with a fantastic backdrop and lots of running fun. More here.

From minor issues to emergencies – the medical department of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is prepared for anything. All medical support systems are activated before the start to provide competent assistance as quickly as possible in the event of any complaints or emergencies along the course and at the finish line. As in previous years, the medical care for the marathon has been planned according to a comprehensive concept, which forms part of the event’s overall safety plan and in particular ensures networking with all systems and institutions of the State of Berlin.

The marathon course is integrated into the Berlin Fire Department’s emergency rescue system with exact meter precision, enabling the coordination and control center to ensure the fastest possible response time so that medical measures can be applied with pinpoint accuracy. The locations of stationary units are indicated by signs and so-called “beach flags” marked “First Aid / Erste Hilfe Station.” In addition, the Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe (JUH) will ensure a high density of medical care along the route, deploying mobile units on motorcycles (“First Responders”) as well as vehicles. The emergency personnel are always positioned along the roadside and are easily recognizable. The high standard is also maintained in the finish area, where, according to data from recent years, more than two-thirds of all medical assistance is provided. Here, additional specialists in intensive and emergency medicine are deployed under the direction of experienced emergency physicians and sports medicine doctors from the organizer’s “Medical Team” of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON.

The management of the event – with regard to medical matters – is carried out between the organizer’s Medical Board (medical operations management), the Berlin Fire Department / emergency rescue services, and the medical services through a medical coordination center (KOMED). All other aspects are coordinated with the involvement of all institutions (police, fire department, emergency services, security service, authorities, traffic control, organizer) via a central coordination center (KOST) located outside the event area. This enables all situations and scenarios – from severe weather conditions to potential major incidents during the event weekend – to be managed quickly and in a structured manner, allowing, for example, rapid changes to operational strategy to be decided and implemented when necessary.

BMW BERLIN-MARATHON Medical Team:

• 140 staff, including approx. 40 emergency physicians and paramedics (internists, anesthetists, cardiologists), orthopedists, trauma surgeons, and sports medicine doctors, as well as 60 nurses and intensive care nurses from Berlin hospitals
• 5 emergency teams of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON Medical Team, each with 2 doctors on bicycles
• 30 staff members forming the medical triage team in the immediate post-finish area
• Approx. 180 medical massage assistants (along the course and at the finish)

Medical services along the course and in the finish area (Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe and partners):

• 2 Medical Centers in the finish area with intensive care units and ice baths
• 6 additional First Aid Stations in the finish area with intensive care capabilities
• Approx. 30 First Aid Stations along the course
• 300 paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and support staff
• 10 First Responder teams on motorcycles (emergency units)
• Approx. 30 patient transport vehicles, operated by the Berlin Fire Department
• 10 fire brigade patrols equipped with AED devices dedicated to the event
• 3 emergency physician vehicles and 10 ambulances, additionally deployed by the Berlin Fire Department as required
• 20 ambulances on duty at fire stations in the immediate vicinity of the event area on race day

The first three men and women will be tested. Additionally up to 50 men and 30 women can be tested. The lottery will be carried out by World Athletics or by a responsible person of the National Anti Doping Agency Germany (NADA). The doping tests will be carried out by an institution, which is certified and licensed by the NADA and IAAF. The doping tests include pre-competition tests (blood tests) and in-competition tests (urine).

The SCC EVENTS medical team offers an easy-to-perform health test that anyone can easily undergo.
The so-called PAPS test can be carried out here >> but it is also offered as part of the registration process for SCC EVENTS events. The test allows you to find out how healthy you are and to what extent you are able to exercise. Depending on the results of the test, behavioural advice is given.

When registering for an SCC EVENTS event, this PAPS test must be completed before registration can continue.

SCC EVENTS GmbH

SCC EVENTS GmbH, which emerged in the 1980s as an organization from SC Charlottenburg due to the growth of ever-larger races, organizes numerous running events each year, inline skating races, a SwimRun competition (Rheinsberg), and a hiking marathon (Hiking Hero). Nearly 200,000 participants register for the various events annually. This makes SCC EVENTS one of the largest running event organizers worldwide. Under the leadership of the two managing directors, Christian Jost and Jürgen Lock, SCC EVENTS operates with around 90 permanent employees.

The origins of today’s SCC EVENTS GmbH go back to 1964. That year, a group of students from the Free University of Berlin – some of whom were also members of SC Charlottenburg – organized the first Berlin cross-country race, held at Teufelsberg. This marked the beginning of competitions for recreational athletes, called Volksläufe (“popular runs”); until then, only club members were allowed to participate in running competitions. The organizer of the first SCC cross-country race was, at its premiere, the sports department of the Free University of Berlin, since SCC had not been granted permission to host a race in which non-club runners could participate.

In 1965, the FU sports department and SCC organized the cross-country race together, and from 1966 onwards the club did so alone. After the cross-country race, further smaller runs were established, before members of the athletics division of SC Charlottenburg launched the BERLIN MARATHON in 1974, initially held in Grunewald. The development of the BERLIN MARATHON was decisive in the creation of further running events. In 1981, after lengthy negotiations with authorities and with the support of U.S. forces in West Berlin, the first BERLIN MARATHON through the streets of West Berlin took place.

In the 1980s, additional runs followed that have since grown into some of the largest in Germany, from the BERLIN HALF MARATHON to the Berlin Women’s Run and the 5x5 km Team Relay in Tiergarten. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, Berlin’s major running events received another boost.

The BERLIN MARATHON rose into the elite of international road races. Since 1990, the course has passed through the Brandenburg Gate and East Berlin, with the finish line set at the Brandenburg Gate since 2003. Thirteen world records have been set at the BERLIN MARATHON – more than at any other marathon worldwide; the most recent in 2023 by Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa (2:11:53).

The Berlin Waterworks 5 x 5 km Team Relay has also grown dynamically in recent years, from 1,000 participants in 2000 to nearly 30,000 today. Founded in the mid-1980s, SCC EVENTS GmbH has become one of the largest sports event organizers worldwide. Its events include, in addition to the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON and the BMW BERLIN MARATHON, the VITAMIN WELL Women’s Run Berlin, the StWB Team Relay Brandenburg (4 x 5 km) in Brandenburg an der Havel, the SwimRun Rheinsberg, the adidas Runners City Night, and the General Rehearsal (10.5 and 21.1 km).

Participation development:

Marathon Team Berlin with Germany’s fastest marathon couple

Sebastian Hendel was, to everyone’s surprise, the fastest German runner at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON a year ago. The now 29-year-old improved his time to 2:07:33, placing him fifth on the list of fastest German marathon runners of all time. Together with his wife, Kristina Hendel—who was part of the victorious German marathon team at the 2022 European Championships—Sebastian Hendel switched to Marathon Team Berlin at the end of last year. This means Germany’s fastest marathon couple now runs for the team whose parent club, SC Charlottenburg, also organizes the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON and the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON.

At first, Kristina Hendel was a bit more successful than her husband. She also switched to the marathon distance earlier. Originally from Croatia, she obtained German citizenship in time to qualify for the 2022 European Championships in Munich. There, she was part of the German team that won the marathon team title. Her personal best over the classic distance is 2:27:29. However, since the summer of 2022, the 29-year-old has repeatedly struggled with injuries that have set her back. As a result, she will not be able to start at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON as originally planned.

Sebastian Hendel successfully moved up to the marathon distance in autumn 2022. After his debut in Munich that year, where he placed fourth in 2:10:37, he improved to 2:07:33 at last year’s BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. This makes him one of only five German runners to date who have broken the 2:08:00 barrier.

Johannes Motschmann has consistently delivered strong performances. His best marathon race in 2024 came in London, where he improved his time to 2:10:39 and placed ninth in the prestigious classic. Although he has yet to achieve his long-awaited sub-2:10:00 time, it seems only a matter of time and the right race. His year began very well: in January, he set personal bests over 10 km (28:13) and in the half marathon (61:03). While he struggled on the hilly course of the Boston Marathon (60th place in 2:22:36), he bounced back in June with a victory at the Olomouc Half Marathon in the Czech Republic.

Deborah and Rabea Schöneborn have been repeatedly set back by injury problems. In April, Deborah ran 2:29:30 for third place at the Hannover Marathon, but this was still quite far from her personal best (2:24:54). Rabea has not run a marathon in over a year. She competed in the Olomouc Half Marathon in June, but her time of 76:14 was well above her best performances over the 21.075 km distance.

After a very long stretch plagued by illness and injury, Blanka Dörfel returned in the spring with a series of personal bests. She first broke the 70-minute barrier at the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON, improving her time by more than two minutes to 69:46, making her the second-fastest German finisher and placing ninth overall. She even ran faster than multiple European 3,000 m steeplechase champion Gesa Krause. On the track in June, Blanka Dörfel also set new personal bests over 3,000 m (9:16.76) and 5,000 m (15:52.86).

Eberhard P. Heck
Lawyer (Vice President Legal Affairs of SCC e. V.)
Chairman of the Advisory Board

Andreas Statzkowski
President of SCC e. V.

Christian Bärtels
Adidas AG
Senior Director Sports Marketing Central Europe

Kirstin Bauch
District Mayor of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf

Nils Busch-Petersen
Chief Executive Officer
Retail Association Berlin-Brandenburg e. V.

Dr. Rolf Erfurt
Toll Collect
Managing Director Finance and Digital Affairs

Peter Hanisch
Honorary President of the Berlin Sports Federation

Thomas Härtel
Former State Secretary
President of the Berlin Sports Federation

Dr. Klaus Henk
Honorary President of SCC e. V.

Dr. Karsten Homrighausen
Chief Fire Director of the Berlin Fire Department

Burkhard Kieker
Managing Director of visitBerlin

Dr. Ralf G. Kleinhenz
Director of Messe Berlin GmbH

Harald Mika
Managing Partner
mikatiming GmbH

Irene Schucht
Head of Strategy and Products
Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB)

Nicolas Zimmer
Technologiestiftung Berlin
Chairman of the Executive Board

General Organiser

Sport-Club Charlottenburg e.V.

Event Organiser

SCC EVENTS GmbH

Olympic Park Berlin

Hanns-Braun-Straße/Adlerplatz

14053 Berlin

Tel. +49 (0)30 – 301 288 10

Fax +49 (0)30 – 301 288 20

www.scc-events.com

BMW BERLIN MARATHON Organising team

Management

Christian Jost, Jürgen Lock

Director Event Management

Mark Milde

Director Operations

Carsten Humrich

Director Participant Management,

Marketing|Digital, Process Management

Antje Jüntgen

Director Sponsorship

Jennifer Barthel

Team Leader Media Relations & Editorial

Robert Fekl, Jochen Schmitz

Team Leader Operations

Michael Gerlach

Team Leader, Participant Management
Judy Kumutat

Team Leader, Marketing|Digital

Nadia Dagher

Team Leader, Finance

Aike Fokkena

Team Leader Event Management 

Achim Rau

Team Leader Sponsorship

Timo Göhler

Public Affairs

Yvonne Meißner

Medical Board/Medical Directors

PD Dr Matthias Krüll,

Dr Margrit Lock, Sandra Paffenbach

Human Resources

Philip Lehmann

Race Director

Mark Milde

Participant Management

Sylvia Ackermann, Georgia Andrews, Lara Bär, Anika Gerlach, Marc Goldmann, Fynn Hänsel, Monique Hoppe, Sybille Hoppe, Antje Jüntgen, Philipp Kadow, Niklas Kleinert, Judy Kumutat, Anja Lüthke, Anja Reisner, Laura Tapia, Stella Strohbach, Britt Munzlinger

Process Management

Linda Baumgart, Stephanie Kamen, Markus März

Elite Athlete Support 

Philipp Kadow, Nadine Mietke, Carsten Helterhof

EXPO
Katharina Holle, Dominik Scholten

Pick-up wagon

Christian Löw

Results service

mika:timing

Event Management

Sarah Hecker, Katharina Holle, Nadine Mietke, Mark Milde, Ingo Monse, Robert Müller, Achim Rau, Maren Riedel, Dominik Scholten

Meeting point

Bastian Klemke

Transport

Gabi Mahn, Mario Mahn

Blue line

Gunnar Hamel, Gregor Pfennig

Handbike and wheelchair competitions

Georgia Andrews

Volunteer Management

Ralf Burzlaff, Noah Löffler, Vivian Schneider

Jubilee Club

Anja Reisner

Sustainability

Michael Fuchs

Inline skating

Gerte Buchheit, Ingo Monse

Apparel storage

Peter Fielhauer, Yves Imbert, Alexander Schröter, Christina Imbert, Joachim Zschaler

Poncho distribution

Alexander Horn

Marketing|Digital

Nadia Dagher, Janis vom Hoff, Celia Jentzsch, Antje Jüntgen, Pauline Lischke, Kirsti Maiwald, Jonas Martin, Sabrina Krause, Vincent Schröder

International Groups Partner

Mareike Dehmel, Melanie Moll, Sarah Panski

Medal Presentation

Dirk Richter, Sven Uterhardt

Media Relations & Editorial/Media Centre

Max Bodenstab, Gerte Buchheit, Frauke Constantin, Vincent Dornbusch,

Robert Fekl, Elisabeth Hanke, Tom Kettelhut, Jochen Schmitz, Thomas Steffens,

Jakob Wartchow, Jörg Wenig

Sponsorship

Nicole Altenhof, Philipp Altmeppen, Jennifer Barthel, Timo Göhler,

Linda Kollmann, Max Lichtenberg, Ines Rentsch, Dominik Rosenau,

Marit van Eijk, Lara Vogel

Massage

Matthias Vogel

Finance

Aike Fokkena, Antonella Giglio, Heike Krone,

Marcel Reppien, Simone Schmidt

Sports medicine team

Angela Hänsel, Emilia Tommasino,

Medical Team SCC Events

Music along the course

Björn Kasan

Private drinks

Dominic Beblie

Police commander of the operation
LtdPD Hartwich

VIP management

Marion Strolz

Announcers

Jonas Frank, Dr Karsten Holland, Sven Stöcklein

Starting line

Janine Hess, Marcel Hess, Sonja Glauert,

Steffen Kirner, Andreas Pohlmann

Race course management

Gunnar Hamel, Gregor Pfennig

Course measurement

John Kunkeler, Gregor Pfennig

Aid station support

Jette Kasper, Max Roy

Technical Operations

Oliver Bach, Paul Bär, Ümit Cakmak, Christian Fahr, Michael Gerlach, Daniel Hoppe, Carsten Humrich, Stefanie Münzberg, Lars Nitz, Janin Reinhardt

Pacing teams

Martin Schöll, Sascha Ratzinger (pacerteam.de)

Mascot 

Fridolin Flink

Award ceremonies

Yvonne Meißner

Party

Eliane Mietke

Medical service

Johanniter Unfallhilfe e.V.

Catering along the route

Start area

SCC Berlin e.V.

5 km refreshment point

"Zur Ruderer-Schänke" | Tegel Rowing Club

Markus Hardt, Tobias Lohr

9 km refreshment point

FV Freizeitsport e.V.

Lutz Berthold, Birgit Berthold

12 km refreshment point

THW Youth | Sascha Barnewske

15 km aid station

Berlin Swimming Association (Youth)

Manuela Krause, Sascha Weiß

17.5 km refreshment point

IBM Club Berlin e.V.

Holmer Jankowski, Christian Bartsch

20 km aid station

Barbara Noack, Karin Lorenz

22.5 km refreshment point

Berlin Youth Fire Brigade

Dennis Langrock

25 km aid station

Nippon Gym

Carla Sparmann, Esther Buchwald

27.5 km refreshment point

LG South Berlin

Maximilian Totel, Sarah Wagner

30 km aid station 

Anne Meyer, Andreas Knoll

32.5 km refreshment point

TÜV Rheinland Academy Berlin

Melanie Balzer

34.5 km refreshment point

"Knackpunkt" | North Berlin La

Jörg Busche, Christian Meier

36 km aid station 

LAC Berlin

Stefan Bauer

38 km refreshment point

LC Cottbus

Kerstin Füßler, Roland Füßler

40 km refreshment point

"Zur letzten Tränke" | SCC long-distance runners

Karsten Kupsch

Finish line

ABC Centre Berlin

Kai-Thomas Arndt, Denise Thunich

Refreshment points Inline skating

6/13/20/27/34 km:

Motor Eberswalde | Detlef Mieri