41ST EDITION IN REVIEW

41ST EDITION IN REVIEW More than 22,000 run through the Brandenburg Gate This time, more than 22,000 runners reached the finish line at the Brandenburg Gate. Altthe GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON,“ said Jürgen Lock, who is pleased that the proportion of women participating in Berlin is growing steadily and now lies at 40 per cent. „This is also in line with the development in the USA, where many half marathons already are seeing more women than men,“ said Jürgen Lock, who was also happy to announce that title sponsor Generali has extended its commitment until at least 2024. With most COVID measures in Germany ending the first week- end in April, the hygiene and safety concept was limited to an obligation to wear FFP2 masks in all areas of the event except during the race. „Even though this was no longer a legal requirement, we wanted to continue to play it safe,“ says Jürgen Lock. - 50 -

Masks were compulsory before the start. Even though this was no longer required by law, the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON played it safe. hough the weather conditions were not ideal due to the low temperatures, there were also several strong times in the extended top group. A total of 91 runners, including seven women, finished under 1:10 hours. This is a record for the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MA- RATHON. The previous best in this respect was 65 in 2019. If you include the competitive amateur athletes, another record was set: 538 runners finished under 1:20:00 hours. Among them were 45 women. Here, too, the previous record of 317 athletes was set in 2019. Faster and faster thanks to new shoe technology However, two factors also play a role in these records. The running shoe revolution, which has been causing a flood of best times for a few years now, is certainly also having an effect on ambitious amateur athletes. In addition, compared to previous years, the sheer number of starters at the GENERALI BER- LIN HALF MARATHON has sky- - 51 -