APRIL 7, 2019 IMPRESSIONS ALL OF THE STORIES THE BEST PHOTOS ADIDAS.COM / RUNNING © 2019 adidas AG +160805_SP_FA_SCC_Programmheft_ULTRABOOST_SS19_H21568_210x297.indd 1 17.01.19 14:25 Anna Hahner runs for the SCC EVENTS PRO TEAM. At the 39th GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON, she finished eleventh in 1:15:42 hours after a long injury break. This left her more than two minutes off her best time (1:13:12 h), but it marked a successful and ab- Editorial by Anna Hahner ove all healthy return to the marathon scene. With gratitude through the Gate Maybe you feel like I do: Berlin long injury break with a smaller is just the right running city for race and less attention. But then, me. There is no greater moment it was incredible to see how many than finishing at the Brandenburg runners have so much respect Gate. It‘s fabulous to now be able for top athletes making their way to enjoy this experience not only back even if they are not yet in top at the BMW BERLIN MARATHON form. I certainly feel a great sen- but also at the GENERALI BERLIN se of gratitude to be back on the HALF MARATHON. marathon scene, and I hope you Personally, I‘m super happy that I really enjoy this digital magazine, was able to run my first race after which will surely remind you for a half a year without a half or mara- long time of your own great per- thon in Berlin, together with over sonal moments at the GENERALI 35,000 other runners and hun- BERLIN HALF MARATHON. Have dreds of thousands of spectators. fun checking out the many great Before the race, I felt like I might pictures and reading the stories! have preferred to return after the Yours, Anna 3 EVEN HE T V T ID E O Contents 6 The best photos Running, having fun, partying. That sums up the 39th GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON 18 The new course The new course of the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON offered even more highlights. Read the report about the new course here 30 Numbers, numbers, numbers You want to know how many bands performed along the course? How many people over 80 reached the finish? Or how fast the victors were kilometre for kilometre? Then you are at the right place! 36 Fabulous record, great final sprint Sifan Hassan crowned the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON with a course record of 1:05:45 hours. For the men there was an exciting final sprint at the Brandenburg Gate 4 EVEN HE T V T ID E O 46 Sifan Hassan in an interview After her victory in Berlin, the Dutch woman is seriously considering with the idea of the marathon 56 The world at the Brandenburg Gate The GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON is popular with runners from all over the world. We asked a few people at the finish what makes the run so special 70 The French in front on wheels No one was faster than they were at the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON: Nolan Beddiaf and Chloe Geoffroy are the winners of the inline skating event 84 Ironman at half distance Two-time Ironman winner Patrick Lange finished in 1:09:37 hours. Read about how he experienced his first half marathon competition In addition 50 — That‘s how the German top athletes performed 54 — Registration for 2020 is already open 80 — The most important SCC EVENTS 2019 92 — Who’s that running? Portraits of three hobby runners 98 — Thank you, sponsors / Imprint 5 HIGHL IG H T V I D E O Into it wholeheartedly: When you pass the Charlottenburg Palace after four kilometres, the half marathon really starts to get fun. MOR E EX P O P H O T O S At the HALF MARATHON EXPO at the former Tempelhof Airport, the little ones were on the big stage on Saturday afternoon: the under- 10-year-olds had fun warming up with mascot Fridolin Flink before the Bambini races. Wonderful cheering at the Bran- denburg Gate. Even after a half marathon, most still can muster the strength to really celebrate both themselves and others. Foto: camera4 Foto: Wir gratulieren allen Teilnehmern Immer auf dem Laufenden mit der größten Zeitung Berlins. Hier gratis testen. MOR E PA R T Y P H O T O S The parties after the big SCC races are legendary. Even after the marathon or the half marathon, you can’t be too tired to cele- brate with the winners. After the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON, Sifan Hassan, William Wanjiku and Richard Ringer also partied in the Puro Sky Lounge at the top of the European Center. On April 7, Berlin was a pretty hot place. But even when it comes to heat: We runners make the most of every weather. We do not sweat, we glisten. VIELEN DANK FÜR DEINEN LAUF! generalibewegtdeutschland.de Solid as a rock: The finisher medals are just as tough as those who earned them on the 21.0975 kilometres. New Course, Great Fest Start und Ziel zwischen Bran- denburger Tor und Sieges- säule. Der Generali Berliner Halbmarathon versprach im Vorfeld mit einer neuen Stre- cke eine Sightseeing-Tour durch die Stadt zu werden. Das Versprechen wurde ge- halten. Party inklusive. New Course, Great Fest Start and fi nish between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column. Across the beautiful square Gendarmen- markt between kilometre 19 and 20. The new course of the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON off ered even more highlights, and all un- der the blue spring capital sky. It was a celebration. En- joy the beautiful photos and hear some stories from along the course. BEST PHO E TO H S T Boom, boom, boom. I hear of the SCC EVENTS promised a music familiar to me from the 21.0975-kilometre sightseeing BMW BERLIN MARATHON co- tour of the German capital at ming from the loudspeakers. the press conference. I know The top athletes are about to Berlin, have already run the be introduced. Cheers break marathon three times, and yet out, applause for everyone. It is I‘m curious what to expect. about to start. Three. Two. One. New this year: the start and fi- A swarm of bright red balloons nish area has been moved from rises up into the sky directly at Alexanderplatz to the Branden- the starting arc. I‘m standing burg Gate, which is about three about two or three hundred kilometres away. Memories of metres behind in starting block the marathon come up. The C. weather is at its best. A bright My heart is pounding. Always blue sky and over ten degrees stronger. I am off. The journey Celsius indicate that it will be a through Berlin. The organizers beautiful spring day. Reporter Natascha Marakovits has not only conducted interviews – like her interview here with Ironman Patrick Lange – but she also ran the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHONON herself. Here is her report. 20 The Victory Column as a good omen for all runners Kilometre one. Heading as I pass the Victory Column, straight to the Victory Co- the question automatically ari- lumn. Is that an omen? The ses: Will it be a victory over me? 35,551 runners should definite- Four kilometres is now more or ly feel like victors today. A record less a straight path to the Char- number of registrations. I am in lottenburg Palace. Tourists are the middle of it, in Block C, and taking pictures. Not of us, of course, but of the Baroque city palace. Continue to the left in the direction of Bismarckstras- se. The organisers promised 40 bands along the 21 kilometres. There‘s the first one: the samba band Alegria do Samba drums its soul out and makes our legs fast. The route continues past the idyllic Lietzensee lake and park. The lake is crossed by a road above it, Neue Kantstrasse. Meanwhile, we have left a third of the distance behind us. After another kilometre, we finally head back to east, getting closer and closer to the huge party in Berlin. There is no stopping now at the Ku‘damm! From the Kurfürstendamm – the popular shopping street – there is no stopping it: bands and spectators create a mood that makes the Berlin Half Marathon what it and his big brother – the BMW BERLIN MARATHON – are known for: party time! Cheer and roars and I keep hearing my name, which is on the start number, being called out. „Super, Natasha, you can do it!“ Even though I do not know anybody and nobody knows me, that pushes more than any energy gel could. I pass the Gedächtniskirche Me- morial Church, head down Tauentzienstrasse to Potsdamer Strasse. Just before kilometre 14 the organisers provide anot- her boost. This time actually in the form of a gel. 24 25 I pass on the energy fix and owed to cross the border. For continue to the next hotspot: Germans, the area on Friedrich- Potsdamer Platz. Another end- strasse was off limits. Today we less party. That comes at just run past it to write our own his- the right time, because it‘s get- tories: a personal best or sim- ting exhausting now. The sun ply an unforgettable sightsee- has been beating down directly ing run through Berlin. in my face since kilometre eight, A new hotspot on the route is the sweat trickles, the lactate Gendarmenmarkt, which, with rises. For the next kilometres, the Schauspielhaus symphony one Berlin highlight follows the hall and the French and the next one.