On Sunday 29 September 2024, the 50th BMW Berlin Marathon occurred on a sunny morning in the German capital with 54,280 finishers. The BMW Berlin Marathon began as a small race in the Grunewald Forest and has grown into a global marathon highlight, one of the six Abbott World Marathon Majors alongside Tokyo, Boston, London, Chicago and New York.

More world records have been broken on Berlin's fast course than in any other marathon in the world (13 so far) so it is a slight shock to report there were no world records set this year. Instead, we had a fast start and close finish in the men's race, contrasting with a runaway victory in the women's race. The one constant was dominance by Ethiopian athletes – the African nation providing half the top 10 men and seven of the first 10 women, including the leading four finishers!

Pacemakers took a group of 11 men through halfway in 1:00:57 (sub-2:02 pace) but the second half slowed as the leaders prepared for the finish through the famous Brandenburg Gate. A terrific sprint was won by Milkesa Mengesha (Ethiopia, 2:03:17 PB) by five seconds from Cybrian Kotut (Kenya, 2:03:22) and Haymanot Alew (Ethiopia, 2:03:31).

There were no GB athletes in the men's invited field. The leading GB men's result in the mass race was achieved by Dr Norman Shreeve (2:17:13) with his best marathon run since 2021. Our reporter, Alan Newman, featured this remarkable stroke survivor in runABC South here...

This year's female Berlin champion is Tigst Ketema who front-ran to victory in 2:16:42 after passing halfway 12 seconds clear in 1:07:53. Ketema crossed the finish line more than two minutes clear of fellow Ethiopians Mestawot Fikir (2:18:48) and Bosena Mulatie (2:19:00).

A superb seventh place was taken by Calli Hauger-Thackery (Hallamshire Harriers, 2:21:24) – the second fastest GB athlete ever behind Paula Radcliffe and ninth fastest European athlete of all-time. Also revising their PBs were Philippa Bowden (15th, Aldershot, 2:25:47), Georgia Malir (29th, Leeds City, 2:36:38) and Rachel Hodgkinson (30th, Liverpool Harriers, 2:36:44).

BMW Berlin Marathon is a fantastic race for first-timers, with 80 live bands and more than a million enthusiastic spectators lining the route. Our reporter Alan was keen to track the progress of an inexperienced athlete he had helped to prepare for his marathon debut. Boran Cakir (Tonbridge AC, 2:47:23) averaged a sub-4:00/km pace throughout and sent us his post-race thoughts:

"The Berlin Marathon's 50th anniversary was an unforgettable experience. Running without music for the first time let me fully soak in the atmosphere, giving me an extra boost. With solid training and a clear race strategy, half the battle was already done. From there it’s about sticking to the plan and keeping your headspace positive and clear. I’ve caught the marathon bug and can’t wait to do it again!"

If you are inspired to enter the 51st BMW Berlin Marathon on 21 September 2025 you can pre-register your interest for Marathon Tours & Travel's brilliant escorted tour here... 
 
Previous Berlin Marathon reports and link to results at the runABC race listing here.

Photo courtesy of Boran Cakir (waving)