Germany is popular for the magnificent natural and architectural heritage. It is also famous for various interesting festivals and events. The capital city, Berlin is the home many amazing festivals and events. Some of the popular events in Berlin are Internationale Filmfestspiele, Christopher Street Day, Karneval der Kulturen, Berlin Love Parade and the Berlin Marathon.
Berlin Marathon, Germany is held every year in Berlin. It generally takes place at the end of September. The Berlin Marathon started in the year 1974. The very first person who won the Marathon was Gunter Hallas. The Berlin Marathon is one of the marathon series. Other major large and tradition bound races are Chicago, New York, Boston and London marathons. Every year, a large number of runners from Germany and other countries take part in the marathon. They are cheered by the millions of spectators. The roads in Berlin are over-crowded.
In the early years, the Berlin Marathon was conducted in Grunewald. It is a huge forest in West Germany. After seven years, the race was shifted to the city center of West Berlin. Finally in 1990, the race was organized in the both parts of Berlin. It is a great experience for the runners to run through the Brandenburg Gate, the popular Berlin icon. The Berlin Marathon is popular for its flatness. It makes the race great for the beginners and for the experienced runners eager to display their best performance. The course offers the views of numerous historical landmarks such as Berliner Dom, Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate and Potsdamer Platz to the runners. Running in the Berlin Marathon gives the feel just like to take part in the modern history lesson. Many world records are set on the flat, low-altitude course of the Berlin Marathon. The latest version of Berlin Marathon held in 2007 witnessed a new world record. Ethiopian runner, Haile Gebrselassie broke the former world record of Kenyan Paul Tergat. Gebrselassie finished the race in 2:04:26 and broke the record by 29 seconds.
Both men's and women's race are organized during the Berlin Marathon. The 33rd marathon was conducted on 24th September, 2006 for the runners. On 23rd September, it was arranged for the power walkers, for children, for the wheelchair riders and inline skaters. The five biggest marathons such as Flora London Marathon, ING New York City Marathon, Boston Marathon, Berlin Marathon and LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon collectively started a new series of marathon called as the World Marathon Majors on 23rd January, 2006. Ronaldo da Costa, Paul Tergat and Haile Gebrselassie are the record holders in Men's race in the Berlin Marathon. They took part in 1998, 2003 and 2007 marathons respectively. Tegla Loroupe and Naoko Takahashi are the record holders in Women's race. They participated in 1999 and 2001 marathons respectively.
Watching or taking part in the Berlin Marathon, Germany is an unforgettable experience.
| 
