The 24th Bewag BERLIN HALF MARATHON will take place on a new course on April
4th. The new attraction will be the start and finish area that will now be on
the Schloßplatz, the old palace grounds, on Karl-Liebknecht-Straße
(start) and the boulevard Unter den Linden (finish). Previously, the start was
on the Karl-Marx-Allee and the finish on Alexanderstraße.
"We are pleased that, together with the authorities, we have been
successful in relocating the start and finish to the Schloßplatz. That is
an appropriate location for this high-class international race. The Bewag
BERLIN HALF MARATHON will thus continue to gain in appeal,“ explained
Race Director Milde. The pictures of the finish line, which lies directly in
front of the Schloßbrücke “Palace Bridge“, will show the
Berlin Cathedral in the background. Like the real,- BERLIN-MARATHON, where the
finish was moved to the Brandenburg gate in 2003, the Bewag BERLIN HALF
MARATHON will thus also become an even more valuable advertisement for the
city.
In order to not disturb the church service in the cathedral during the
finish, the starting times for the 24th Bewag BERLIN HALF MARATHON have been
moved back slightly. The runners will begin the 21.0975 km course at 10:40 am.
(was 10 am). The starting gun for the inline skaters will be at 10:20 a.m. The
3.5 km Bewag FUN RUN for school kids and beginning runners will begin at 10:55
a.m.
The course had to be altered slightly at various points in order to retain
the correct half marathon distance. At the Charlottenburg Palace, the course
will go down the Spandauer Damm a little bit longer before it turns into
Sophie-Charlotten-Straße. Thus, the cobblestones in the
Schloßstrasse will be avoided, which is especially good for the inline
skaters. The profile of the course will remain very flat, allowing the course
to continue to present the ideal conditions for top international times.
Last year, over 17,500 athletes participated in the Bewag BERLIN HALF
MARATHON. On April 4, a similar number of participants is expected.
Registrations can be made either in the running office of SCC RUNNING (Tel.:
030 - 3012 8810) or online at: www.berlin-marathon.com.