Biggest GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON ever

“We are setting a record by getting more than 42,000 athletes moving at the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON and making a strong statement for international unity and peaceful coexistence,” explains Jürgen Lock, Managing Director of event organizer SCC EVENTS. A record-breaking 135 nations will be represented at the starting line. “We are also excited to see more and more young participants joining. We expect approximately 5,000 first-time runners in the 18-27 age group, with women making up 50 percent of that number,” says Lock.

 “Running is a statement – a clear statement for movement.”The organizers anticipate even greater demand next year, as the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON celebrates its 45th anniversary on March 29, 2026. “To ensure a fair opportunity for all interested participants, race entry will be allocated through a lottery for the first time,” says Lock. Registration will be open from April 10 to May 22, 2025.“

For us, the partnership with SCC EVENTS has been a perfect match since 2019. We share the same values and aspire to be lifetime partners to our customers and society alike,” explains Tina Mirzai-Spitzer, Head of Corporate Communications at title sponsor Generali. Through the initiative The Human Safety Net, Generali is also committed to promoting social inclusion and equal opportunities during the event.

Shoe Collection at the HALF MARATHON EXPO

The Berliner Stadtmission has been a long-standing partner of the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON and is once again collecting well-preserved, clean running shoes at the HALF MARATHON EXPO to donate to those in need. “This is a blessing for us. The guests at our clothing chamber walk 15 to 20 km through the city every day. We distribute around 500 pairs of shoes each week,” says Barbara Breuer, spokesperson for the Berliner Stadtmission. In addition to collecting shoes, the Berliner Stadtmission will also gather well-preserved clothing that runners wear to keep warm before the start of the race.

Long-standing Partnerships with Berlin Police, Fire Department, and Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe

Oliver Hartwich, Chief Police Director responsible for all police matters related to the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON, emphasizes the excellent collaboration with SCC EVENTS: “Networking ensures that we can stage the event peacefully and safely. Our measures complement SCC EVENTS’ sophisticated security concept, and we will be deploying 700 officers.”Preparations are also running smoothly for the Berlin Fire Department. Vinzenz Kasch, spokesperson for the department, explains: “Traffic restrictions are part of our daily routine. For this event, we have the advantage of being able to plan well in advance and coordinate closely with the organizers.”Dirk Dommisch, Head of Medical Services at Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe, has been involved in SCC EVENTS races since 2008: “Besides our main focus in the finish area, we will be stationed at 1-km intervals along the course. We handle immediate medical care and work closely with the fire department, which provides additional support.”

Ethiopian favourites and strong Germans promise a hot race in very cold conditions 

A group of very strong elite athletes and a record breaking field of fun runners: The 44th edition of the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON looks to turn on the heat on Sunday despite the very cold temperatures forecasted. It may well be the women who produce the headlines since Fotyen Tesfay has entered the race as the third fastest half marathoner of all times. The fastest man on the start list is from Ethiopia as well: Gemechu Dida. Two German marathon specialists who have both created national road running history will face each other on Sunday: Amanal Petros and Richard Ringer. Organisers from SCC EVENTS registered a record total of 40,721 runners for the biggest and most spectacular German half marathon. With this figure the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON moves up into the group of the biggest half marathons in the world.

_{The top national and international starters of the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON 2025 (from left to right): Johannes Motschmann, Amanal Petros, Richard Ringer, Gemechu Dida, FotyenTesfay, Gesa-Felicitas Krause, Kristina Hendel, Rabea Schöneborn, Michelle Uhrig. @ SCC EVENTS / Petko Beier}

The women’s race 

Fotyen Tesfay is the fastest half marathon runner who has ever entered any road race on German speaking territory. With her personal best of 63:21 which she ran in Valencia last October she is only 29 seconds away from the world record of fellow-Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey (62:52). “I came to Berlin to improve my personal best. I know that the course is good, because a number of Ethiopian women have run very well here. My expectations are high,“ said Fotyen Tesfay. If she should attack her PB this would most probably also become an attempt to break the world record. However the very cold temperatures forecasted could well have a negative affect on performances. The Berlin course record of 65:02 and the current world leading time of 64:13 could become targets for Tesfay. The only athlete who looks capable of may be challenging Fotyen Tesfay is fellow-Ethiopian Ftaw Zeray. She was runner-up at the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON last year and has a personal best of 66:04. “I like running in Berlin and my goal will be to break my personal best,“ said Ftaw Zeray.  Jessica Warner-Judd and Samantha Harrison are two strong British runners who hope to bounce back in Berlin. Warner-Judd suffered of an illness while Harrison was injured last year. Both have very similar personal bests with which they are among the wider European elite. Warner-Judd ran 67:07 and Harrison achieved 67:10 so far. Gesa Krause is the most prominent and the fastest German athlete on the women’s start list. The two time 3,000 m steeplechase World bronze medallist (2015 and 2019) concentrates on the road this spring. It was back in 2018 when she ran her first two half marathons and clocked 72:16 at the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON for fifth place. A month ago she improved significantly to 69:46 when she was runner-up at The Hague Half Marathon. “I have great memories from running here in 2018. So I am really looking forward to racing on Sunday,“ said Gesa Krause, who aims at a personal best in Berlin and will then return to the steeplechase in the summer. A German athlete who may well challenge Gesa Krause is Esther Pfeiffer. Last year the wife of German 2:07 marathon runner Hendrik Pfeiffer already improved to 69:49.

_{The top national and international starters (women) of the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON 2025 (from left to right): Gesa Felicitas Krause, FotyenTesfay, Gemechu Dida, Kristina Hendel, Rabea Schöneborn, Michelle Uhrig. @ SCC EVENTS/Petko Beier}

The men’s race 

The men’s race could develop into a thrilling duel between Ethiopia’s Gemechu Dida and Gideon Kiprotich of Kenya. Both have shown very good form recently. Dida’s personal bests stands at 58:39 and actually is three seconds faster than the current Berlin course record (58:42). He was second at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in the United Arab Emirates in February with 59:25. “I have trained well and my goal is to win on Sunday,“ said Dida. Kiprotich took the Rome Ostia Half Marathon a month ago and improved significantly to 58:49. The Kenyans will be eager to continue their impressive win streak in Berlin. Since 2017 they have taken at least the top three places in the men’s race of every edition of the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON. Amanal Petros was a late entry for Sunday’s race that could now produce a duel with fellow-German Richard Ringer. Petros, who will run the London Marathon later this month, is the national record holder in the half marathon with 60:09 and is the only runner in German athletics history to have broken the national 10k and the marathon records as well. “My training in Kenya was perfect. I would like to go for the German record, because that mark is already four years old,“ said Petros. If he should attack a time of sub one hour Richard Ringer will most likely not follow that pace. “Going for the German record would be a bit overambitious. But I want to achieve a sub 61 time,“ said Ringer, who made German athletics history, when he became the first male runner to take the marathon title at a European Championships in Munich in 2022. His half marathon PB currently stands at 61:09. Berlin’s Johannes Motschmann is another German who could do very well on Sunday. He improved his PB to 61:03 in Houston this January, where the temperatures were freezing as well. “I hope to run sub 61 in Berlin. The cold temperatures do not bother me.“

_{National and international men's elite of the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON 2025 (from left to right): Johannes Motschmann, Amanal Petros, Gemechu Dida, Richard Ringer. @ SCC EVENTS/Petko Beier}

The Inline Skating Race

An exceptionally strong men's field has been announced for the inline skating race. Four-time winner Felix Rijhnen (Darmstadt) will compete alongside Jason Suttels (BEL) and last year’s champion Nolan Beddiaf (FRA). If conditions are ideal, a new record time could be set, especially as the new course offers even better conditions for skaters. The current best time stands at 29:39 minutes (Bart Swings, 2021).The women's field is also highly competitive: Noraly Berber Vonk (NED), winner of the 2024 BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, is expected to compete. She will face strong contenders such as Josie Hofmann (Gera), Leni Sommer, and Michelle Uhrig. For speed skater Uhrig, competing in her hometown is a matter close to her heart. “The mass start is my favorite discipline on the ice. Inline races are the perfect way to train for it. For me, this marks the beginning of preparation for the upcoming winter, when I aim to qualify for my third Olympic Games,” says Uhrig, who achieved a major success in February with a third-place finish in the World Cup (mass start) on ice.

Numbers (registered participants)

Runners: 40.721

Skaters: 1.042

Handbikers: 14

Wheelchair athletes: 16

Total (incl. Bambini): more than 42.000

Participants from 135 nations