2013 Berlin Marathon sells out in 3.5 hours
The major marathon had more than 10,000 entries in the first few minutes after opening at noon local time on Thursday.
The 2013 Berlin Marathon is sold out. Organizers opened registration at noon local time, and were immediately inundated with entrants, receiving 10,000 applications in just two-and-a-half minutes.
The race is capped at 40,000, and the number was reached by 3:31 p.m. local time, taking an astonishingly short 3.5 hours to fill up all the available spots to run in the marathon major.
It took more than six weeks for the Berlin Marathon to sell out in 2012.
This year’s race, which was run just three weeks ago, featured a bizarre yet exciting finish between Kenyans Geoffery Mutai and his training partner Dennis Kimetto. Mutai ultimately won the race in a sluggish battle to the finish line, just missing the world record. He did, however, all but lock up the $500,000 marathon major series bonus by winning Berlin.
The 2013 edition will be the 40th anniversary of the race. All of the major marathons have seen an increase in popularity in recent years. In 2011, the Boston Marathon sold out in one day, forcing organizers to alter their entry standards.
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