HAVE GERMAN WILL TRAVEL This week in Histor

FAMOUS EVENTS: What happened on ... ?

Was ist am 13. August 1961 geschehen? Building of the Wall

Runners brave 160km marathon to mark fall of "You have to accept that you will be moving for 24 hours," says runner Nina Blisse, who finished both the 2014 and 2015 editions in under 26 hours and is race treasurer.

The Wall's history is entwined in the race's DNA.

Registration for the following year's race always opens at 18:57 (1657 GMT) on November 9 - marking the exact moment in 1989 when East lifted its travel ban, triggering the Wall's demise.

Each year, one Wall victim is chosen for a special tribute, their face featuring on start numbers and finisher medals, while a ceremony is held at the spot where they died.

For the first race in 2011, Chris Gueffroy, the last person shot dead on the Berlin Wall, was honoured.

He was killed in February 1989, eight months before the Wall fell, and on Sunday, Gueffroy's mother Karin will present medals at the finishers' ceremony.

Political prisoners

Last year, the Wall's youngest victim, Joerg Hartmann, a 10-year-old boy shot dead by East German border guards in 1966 while trying to visit his father in the west, was honoured.

Having each been asked to carry a gift for him, last year's runners piled cuddly toys at the spot he was killed.

"I still get goosebumps thinking about it," admits Ilk.

For the organisers and 400 helpers, all volunteers, a sleepless night is par for the course. Logistics co-ordinator Andreas Pfeiffer must ensure half a tonne of provisions reach each of the 26 stations along the route.