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Back to the Brandenburg Gate in the Anniversary Year

30th real,- BERLIN MARATHON - a two-day event

2002-12-30

Berlin is changing - and its marathon is developing further, as well. Since 1981, the final stretch for the marathon runners has been the avenue Kürfürstendamm - from 2003 on, the Brandenburg Gate will adorn the finish for the last 300 metres.

For the 30th real,- BERLIN MARATHON, the organisers from SCC-RUNNING have decided to make room for some political changes and to accommodate the wishes of the participants from around the world, and have made some alterations. The start and finish of the race have been moved to the avenue Straße des 17. Juni, and the Brandenburg Gate will not be passed early on at kilometre 3.2, but rather will mark the climax - shortly before the finish - at kilometre 41.9!

The course will thus experience a few corrections, but it will not preclude any of the enthusiastic centres or ambience on the streets between the many spectators and the runners. Several tourism and political highlights of Berlin will be added:

The Bundeskanzleramt (Federal Chancellery), the Reichstag, Friedrichstraße, Checkpoint Charlie, the Gendarmenmarkt, the Auswärtiges Amt (Foreign Ministry). And the following highlights will remain: Hermannplatz, the Schöneberg City Hall, Schloßstraße, Wilder Eber, Kurfürstendamm.

"The course remains flat and fast and shows even more of new and old Berlin", stated John Kunkeler, who has been secretly planning the new course for several years.

The inline skaters now have their own MARATHON on Saturday afternoon

In 1997, the BERLIN-MARATHON demonstrated pioneering work when it, for the first time in the world, integrated inline skaters in a city marathon. 474 inline skaters participated in the event, and a year later there were 1,945. In 2002, it grew to 8,369 skaters, making it by far the largest inline skater marathon in the world.

In 2003, the inline skaters will be able to roll through Berlin on their own marathon on Saturday, September 27. The developing and constantly growing sport of inline skating will thus have the opportunity to face an even larger audience and gain media coverage as a serious and prospering sport. "We want the inline skaters to now step out of the shadows of the runners and ?do their own thing", says Mark Milde, the initiator and supporter of the skater marathon.

The start will be between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. (Subject to change according to the final official and police allowances.)

Since 1974, there have been a total of 416,444 runners from 112 countries participating in the BERLIN-MARATHON, and since 1989, there have been a total of 54,689 youth participating in the MINI-MARATHON of the schools. So far there have been a total of 6 world records broken at the BERLIN-MARATHON (3 x women, 1 x men, 1 x juniors, 1 x team).

In 2002, 41,376 runners participated in the 29th real.- BERLIN-MARATHON (of whom 8,369 were inline skaters) from 90 nations, and 7,223 youth participated in the MINI-MARATHON. The real,- BERLIN-MARATHON is thus by far Berlins largest and most international sporting event. The athletes and the tourists accompanying them (a total of over 100,000 guests from outside) bring an additional buying power of over 65 million Euros to the city. In the anniversary year 2003, the limit to the number of runners will be raised to 35,000, and the skaters to 12,000. 10,000 young runners will be able to join in the MINI-MARATHON. "With this anniversary race, the 30th real,- BERLIN-MARATHON on September 27 and 28, 2003, will set new world standards both athletically and in numbers of participants, and for Berlin will present a very important factor for the areas of sport, tourism, and economics, not to mention the positive gain in image that cannot be put into numbers," summed up Horst Milde, the Race Director, about the future of the race.

The new course map 2003:

Start: Straße des 17. Juni (zwischen Entlastungsstraße und Siegessäule) - (Technische Universität - Ernst-Reuter-Platz) - Marchstraße - Franklinstraße - Gotzkowskystraße - Alt-Moabit - (JVA Moabit) - Willy-Brandt-Straße - (Bundeskanzleramt und Reichstag) - Otto v. Bismarck-Allee - Konrad-Adenauer-Straße - Reinhardtstraße - Friedrichstraße (Friedrichstadt-Palast - Checkpoint Charlie) - Kochstraße - Lindenstraße - (Berlin-Museum - Jüdisches Museum) - Waterlooufer - Gitschiner Straße - Skalitzer Straße - Kottbusser Tor - Kottbusser Straße - Kottbusser Damm - Hermannplatz - Hasenheide - Südstern - Gneisenaustraße - Yorckstraße - Goebenstraße - Potsdamer Straße - Grunewaldstraße - Martin-Luther-Straße - (Rathaus Schöneberg) - Innsbrucker Platz - Hauptstraße - Rheinstraße - Schloßstraße - Schildhornstraße - Breitenbachplatz - Lentzeallee - Wilder Eber - Rheinbabenallee - Roseneck - Hohenzollerndamm - Konstanzer Straße - Olivaer Platz- Kurfürstendamm - Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche - Tauentzienstraße - Wittenbergplatz - Kleiststraße Nollendorfplatz - Bülowstraße - Potsdamer Straße (Neue Nationalgalerie - Staatsbibliothek - Philharmonie) - Potsdamer Platz - Leipziger Straße - Leipziger Platz (Bundesrat) - Markgrafenstraße - Gendarmenmarkt (Deutscher Dom - Französischer Dom) - Französische Straße - Werderscher Markt (Außenministerium) - Rathausstraße - (Berliner Rathaus) - Spandauer Straße - Karl-Liebknecht-Straße - (Berliner Dom - Lustgarten) - Unter den Linden (Neue Wache - Staatsoper - Staatsbibliothek) - Pariser Platz - Brandenburger Tor - Platz des 18. März - Straße des 17. Juni - Finish: (Sowjetisches Ehrenmal).