Held on the weekend of September 20-21, 2025, the BMW Berlin Marathon is set to attract almost 80,000 participants from 160 nations across two days, including runners, wheelchair athletes, handcyclists, and skaters.
The event organiser, SCC Events, announced at a recent round table that 55,146 people will take part in the marathon alone. The average age of participants is also getting younger, now ranging from 28 to 38 years old for the largest age group of runners.
The gender split for runners is approximately 64% male, 35% female, and 0.1% non-binary.
Jürgen Lock, Managing Director of SCC Events, said that while the international scope of the event is important, inspiring the local community is equally so, with over 10,000 Berliners running the full marathon distance.
Sustainability is a key focus for the event, which has achieved ISO 20121 certification for sustainable event management. As part of this, the organisers have partnered with Berliner Stadtmission (Berlin City Mission) to collect well-preserved running shoes for homeless people and clothing discarded by runners before the start of the race.
The event also includes the GENERALI 5K, a sold-out run over the final 5km of the marathon course, which has 10,500 participants, including around 2,000 Berliners.
On Saturday, the mini-MARATHON, presented by GENERALI, will host 10,000 schoolchildren. The Bambini-Run for children will take place at a new location at Mommsenstadion, with about 1,500 children expected to participate.
In the inline skating event, 2,190 participants are set to compete, with some professionals reaching speeds of up to 50km/h.
The marathon expo at Messe Berlin will open on Thursday, September 18, and is a central meeting point for participants and enthusiasts. With 162 exhibitors, the organisers add that the expo is expected to draw around 120,000 visitors.
The BMW Berlin Marathon is known for its fast course, where 13 world records have been set. This year’s elite field includes Sebastian Sawe, who is currently considered one of the world’s fastest marathon runners.
