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21st BERLIN HALFMARATHON on 1st April

The little brother is growing well

2001-02-21

Last years record number of participants - 8,137 runners from 48 countries - seems to have been a breakthrough towards even more success in the future. Up until now 4,286 runners have registered to start this year (last year on the same date: 1,397 registrations had been received) - the magic number of 10,000 participants now seems attainable. The BERLIN HALFMARATHON is by far the largest and fastest half marathon in Germany.

Marathon Fair in the Kongresshalle at Alexanderplatz: From Friday (new), 30th March - Sunday, 1st April 2001.

Medal (new): All participants will receive a medal as well as their T-shirt at the finish. The motif on the medal is the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral).

Massage (new): As in the BERLIN-MARATHON, all runners can now also have a massage at the finish.

Organisation fee DM 40,- until 1st March 2001, after this date DM 50,-- Late registrations possible until 31st March, registration no longer possible on the day of the race, 1st April.

21st BERLIN HALFMARATHON runners are chasing new record

In 1993 Carsten Eich proved that the BERLIN HALFMARATHON track is particularly fast, winning in a European record time of 1:00:34 hours. No-one has been below this 61 minute threshold in Berlin since then. But the record might well fall in 2001, as the field is expected to be high-class. Several excellent runners have already registered this early for Berlin.

Tendai Chimusasa (ZIM), winner of the BERLIN HALFMARATHON in 1994 and 1997, and winner of the Berlin 25km run in 1995 in the world record time of 1:14:25, returned to world class at the Sydney Olympic Games after several uneventful years, achieving 8th place. He dominated the street running scene in Germany over short distances for many years, and has now moved on to marathon. His best time for the halfmarathon is 1:00:26, which he ran in the Route du Vin Halfmarathon in Luxemburg in 1995.

The fastest European last year was the Slovak Robert Stefko. In the Malmö Bridge Halfmarathon he ran a time of 1:00:25. He was also successful in winning last Mays 25km run in Berlin. Stefko is a good track runner who has now turned to marathon. Due to injuries he did not achieve his goals at the Olympic Games.

Fabian Roncero (ESP) was also not able to achieve his high ambitions at last years BERLIN-MARATHON. Although considered one of the favourites and in great form, he was forced to give up at KM 30 due to cramp. His best time at the moment is 1:01:12.

Following a fantastic season in 2000, at the end of which he led the list of best runners in Germany over 3,000 m, 5,000 m and 10,000 m, Jirka Arndt (SCC Berlin) has now taken the step from track to the road. Arndt, who was 8th at the Olympic Games over 5,000 m, is now concentrating on longer distances where he hopes to achieve more success in the long run. The field of early registrations is completed by John Mutai from Kenya whose best time lies at 1:00:52.

The womens field is currently still dominated by German runners. The local matador and winner of the BERLIN HALFMARATHON in 1994 Kathrin Weßel (SCC Berlin) has registered for a long distance race for the first time again since she had her baby. The German record holder over 10,000 m is in excellent form and hopes to better her time of 1:10:47. Her strongest competitor at the moment is Iris Biba who holds a marathon best time of 2:29:08 and hopes to regain her former good performance.