Seven interesting race facts to get you excited for the Berlin Marathon
Just five days remain until the 2016 Berlin Marathon, one of the world's largest road races, and here are some interesting facts about the race.
The biggest marathon since the Olympics is coming up in less than one week. Soon, runners from around the world will gather in Berlin. The first of the three major marathons this fall is one of the world’s fastest and is well-known for runners setting PBs and world records.
RELATED: Berlin Marathon announces elite field for first major race since the Olympics.
The Sept. 25 race begins at 9:15 a.m. local time, which is relatively late compared to most road races in Canada. The race features a stacked field at the front as well as thousands of others looking to run fast times and others looking to complete their first marathon.
Berlin begins at 3:15 a.m. EDT (12:15 a.m. PDT) for those wanting to follow along in Canada. Want to study up on the event ahead of time? Here are some facts you may not have known about the event:Â
The marathon course is measured by the blue stripes on the road
The Berlin Marathon organizing committee was working late into the night to mark the 42.2K course. The set of triple blue lines that follow the course indicate the tangents on the course and mark the shortest possible route.
Hot and cold tea offered at on-course aid stations
The on-course aid stations offer tea, both warm and hot options, as well as bananas, apples and a Gatorade-equivalent. There is also Red Bull mixed with water available between 36 and 37K.
The men’s marathon world record was set in Berlin in 2014
The fastest-ever time for the men’s marathon was set at the 2014 Berlin Marathon. Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto ran an incredible 2:02:57. Impressively, the previous six world records in the men’s marathon have been set in Berlin, dating back to 2003 when Paul Tergat ran 2:04:55. Two women’s marathon world records have been set in Berlin, first in 1999 and again in 2001.
As many as one million spectators line the streets of Berlin
A photo posted by Zapatillas Cámara y Acción (@zapatillascamarayaccion) on
As one of the World Marathon Majors, spectators line the streets for one of the world’s largest races. The course is one large loop of Berlin and takes runners past many notable landmarks before finishing near the Brandenburg Gate.
A relatively new course
The Berlin Marathon was only held on the west side of the city up until 1990.
Ethiopians and Kenyans have dominated in recent years
The East Africa countries of Ethiopia and Kenya have dominated the Berlin Marathon as each of the men’s and women’s winners since 2010 have hailed from one of those two countries. A Kenyan runner has won the men’s marathon for each of the past six years. Ethiopians and Kenyans have swapped women’s Berlin Marathon wins every year since 2010.
No Canadian has ever won the Berlin Marathon.
More than 40,000 participants raced in 2015
The 2015 Berlin Marathon featured 41,224 runners and walkers. An additional 5,585 people took part in the inline skating marathon, held the day before the open race. The mini-marathon featured 10,031 participants. Across all events, there were 58,776 participants from 127 nations. Ten thousand people took part in the pre-race breakfast run, which will be held on Saturday, Sept. 24 this year.
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