News08 Oct 2007


New look to ‘25km von Berlin’ in 2008

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Paul Kosgei sets 25km World record in Berlin (© Live-Sportphotos.com)

Berlin’s traditional ‘25 km von Berlin’ whose course is a fast one - Kenyan Paul Kosgei ran the current world record of 1:12:45 in Berlin in 2004 - will be under new leadership for its next edition on 4 May 2008.

The new organisation ‘Berlin Runs’ is guided by two well-known figures in international athletics: Gerhard Janetzky, the meeting Director of Berlin’s IAAF Golden League Meeting ISTAF, and Christoph Kopp. Kopp is the former Elite Race Director of the Berlin Marathon. He works for a number of international road races like the Frankfurt- and Düsseldorf-Marathon. And he has already been in charge of the 25 k race in recent years.

Berlin’s 25 k race has a unique background. It had been founded by the French forces in West-Berlin back in 1981. At that time it was Germany’s first major city race. And it used to be the biggest German road race again and again until 1990. The 25k race had well over 10,000 runners at that time.

“In a city like Berlin such a race has to have more than 10,000 runners – also because the course is such an attractive one”, said Gerhard Janetzky. The start of the race is in front of the Olympic Stadium. The route then leads runners past a number of Berlin’s most famous landmarks like the Brandenburg Gate, Unter den Linden, Friedrichstraße, Potsdamer Square and Kurfürstendamm. The finish will remain on the famous blue track of Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.

Besides the 25km race organisers plan to include a 5km walking and Nordic-Walking event on 4 May. Additionally a race for children and juniors will be included – all finishing inside Olympic Stadium.

Jörg Wenig for the IAAF

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