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Confidence, a lot of confidence, currently reigns in Berlin after the hybrid press conference that just took place there called “The long-awaited restart of running together. Of course, safely!" Restart Running is the name of an announced pilot project that is intended to guarantee the return of major running events.

By staging the adidas Runners City Night, the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON and the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, the aim is to gain know-how and create perspectives in the period from the end of July until autumn of 2021. The knowledge gained will then be incorporated into decision-making processes for the gradual reopening of public life including major sporting events.

The lynchpin of the pilot project is the health and hygiene concept developed by the organizer SCC EVENTS, which is almost 150 pages. Jürgen Lock, managing director of SCC EVENTS, presented the main features of the impressive concept. For more than nine months Jürgen Lock has been working on the draft with a highly competent committee of experts and summed it up: “Since the beginning of April, based on our concept and implementation analysis we are confident that the path we have chosen for our Restart Running is the right one. The concept is based on three elements — recovered, vaccinated, tested. The participants will have constant support through all the phases of the event so it will be easy and almost like a normal event. “The pneumologist and Medical Director of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, Dr. med. Matthias Krüll, who was also present, confirmed the high scientific standards of the hygiene concept and emphasized its enormous practicality.

The fact that viable hygiene concepts and clear framework conditions are a key to how large sporting events can be held safely and responsibly in times of a pandemic was also mentioned by the Senator for the Interior and Sport of Berlin, Andreas Geisel. For the senator, participation for runners on the basis of “tested, vaccinated or recovered” seems quite possible. Sports Senator Andreas Geisel: “The traditional running events bring together top-level and amateur athletes in our sports metropolis. With pilot projects, we gain know-how and create perspectives on how to conduct major sporting events safely and responsibly in times of a pandemic. We are taking the first steps back to normality. Things are looking good at the moment, but we see look into the future. Everything depends on the development of the infection statistics, including the question of whether spectators can be admitted.”

Furthermore, specialists like Dr. Florian Kainzinger (expert for hygiene concepts and test scenarios), Dr. Gerhard Scheuch (Physicist and aerosol researcher) and Marcel Altenburg (crowd management expert at Manchester Metropolitan University) support the pilot project. In such an optimistic mood, we look forward to our events in the coming months. 

Here you can find your starting spots:

These are still available for the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON through the official tour operators of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2021 and through our charity partners. Registration for the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON Inline Skating is also open.

At the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON / inline skating and the adidas Runners City Night / inline skating there is still a chance for a place at the start line.

Stay healthy and trained for the new common goal: #restartrunning and #restartskating