This world-class marathon has grown from a small event attracting just 286 runners in 1974. Until 1980, the course ran along West Berlin’s Grunewald forest. Starting in 1981,
it moved into the city streets of West Berlin; but its most historic year came in 1990 when, three days before the reunification of the country, 25,000 runners ran through Brandenburg Gate, many with tears in their eyes.
The race runs through modern German history, with views of both drab and classic buildings of the East and high-tech shops and modern properties of the West.
What makes this marathon unique is that runners share the course with in-line skaters.