News Archive

The “record of running participation” in the BERLIN-MARATHON for

Bernd Hübner is unique. The 58-year-old Berliner is the only runner who

has participated in all of the 31 editions of the BERLIN-MARATHON.

Bernd Hübner ran the BERLIN-MARATHON for the first time in 1974 (it

was then called the ‘1st Berlin People’s Marathon’) in the Grunewald

forest, together with 286 other runners. He wore the colours of the

Berlin rowing club Brandenburgia. He can be clearly seen on the

starting photo at Waldschulallee 80, in the second row on the right.

He was also a part of it when the race premiered in the city with

the start at the Reichstag, and again in 1990 when for the first time

the race led through the newly opened Brandenburg Gate.

Special race numbers

The event organisers have honoured him at the anniversary races: at

the 25th BERLIN- MARATHON he received the top elite number 25 and at

the 30th anniversary, the race number 30. Now he wears ‘his’ permanent

green race number ‘201’ from the BERLIN- MARATHON Jubilee Club. Bernd

Hübner was originally a successful rower in the lightweight 4 and 8

boats. In 1970, the 23-year-old Hübner, who trained 6 times a week, was

German runner-up in his eight from the BRC, and twice they came in

fourth. “As a rower, we had to run as well, of course,” he says, and so

his running career began with the 2nd Berlin Cross Country Race on the

Teufelsberg mountain in 1965.

A friend convinced him to try long distance running, so he began

training three times a week. On October 13, 1974 his great marathon

series with the BERLIN-MARATHON began. He ran his personal best in

1984, of all years, in the pouring rain, with a top time of 2:27:04 –

he no longer did much more rowing, but rather ran up to 160 kilometres

a week in training.

His own running group

Bernd Hübner used to work for Telekom—now he is working for his

sport. He not only runs, but for years he has been organising his own

running group, meeting Sunday mornings at the Mommsen Stadium with an

ever growing number of participants. Bernd Hübner, with his diverse

running activities throughout the week, means guaranteed success for

SCC-RUNNING. He brings beginner and expert runners together and runs

with them through the Grunewald forest in preparation for the

Vattenfall BERLIN HALF MARATHON or the real,- BERLIN-MARATHON. He was

involved in the founding of the SFB/RBB Running Movement, which thus

brought new impulses into the running scene.

“Burn off the Christmas Goose” Run

A few of his infamous races are the “Burn off the Christmas Goose”

Run on the day after Christmas and the Easter Bunny Run in the

spring—an ever growing community of runners joins him at Christmas and

Easter to run to the forester’s house in the Saubucht (so-called Bay of

Pigs)!

He has also created his own race, as well. During his training on

the Havel River, he had the idea to design a race along the beautiful

paths through nature. He began in 1990 with 200 participants, and now

the race is always filled ahead of time with 900 runners. The Havel

Race, now a Berlin institution, organised by Hübner and his wife Monika

with members of the sport club Post SV, has become Berlin’s most

beautiful race through countryside.

King of the asphalt

A Berlin newspaper gave him the headline: “The King of the Asphalt.”

Bernd has become a Berlin running legend, similar to Johnny Kelley of

the BAA Boston Marathon, who participated 61 times in the Boston

Marathon, finishing 58 times (something to strive for!).

He does not only run the BERLIN-MARATHON, of course. Running has

brought him around the world, from New York (where decades ago he was

already drumming up interest for the BERLIN-MARATHON) to Honolulu and

from the Sylt Run to the Oldesloe Run – he has been there!

100th marathon and prostate cancer

He hopes to run his 100th marathon in the year 2007 at the 34th

real,- BERLIN- MARATHON. That is as far as his plans go, as long as no

illnesses get in his way.

Even a runner is not safe from illness: this past spring he was

totally unexpectedly diagnosed with prostate cancer. He was operated on

once, and then again. This was not an easy time for him, always with

the thought in the back of his mind that something could go wrong.

Despite the difficulties, he began with light training shortly after

the operations and fought his way through them. Bernd Hübner certainly

can be seen as a role model—prostate cancer is often kept secret by

men, and often discovered to late.

Someone like Bernd Hübner does not only want to participate in a

marathon, he also wants to finish with a good time, especially for the

real,- BERLIN-MARATHON:

He may have overdone it during his training, and now he has meniscus

pain that he had never experienced before. He now has to be operated on

once more—but not before the 32nd real,- BERLIN-MARATHON on September

25, but rather afterwards in early October!

Jubilee Club

As is tradition, Bernd Hübner will be at the BERLIN VITAL fair on

the fairgrounds under the radio tower, giving advice to the

approximately 1,500 members of the real,- BERLIN- MARATHON Jubilee

Club, which he heads, and providing for good spirits. But maybe this

time one should also give him a tender pat on the back and offer words

of encouragement and comfort for his attempt at his 32nd time

participating!

This year the spectators in Berlin will see him running somewhat

slower through the streets of Berlin with his green race number ‘201’.

But Bernd will finish, I am certain—if need be, he can always walk!

Horst Milde

Here is a table of Bernd Hübner’s running success and participation in the BERLIN- MARATHON (notice when the table concludes!)