How the Berlin Marathon Works

The Berlin Marathon is definitely a big-name event, but you don't have to qualify to run it. It's a first-come, first-served process, and online and mail registration starts about nine months ahead of time, in December of the previous year. Registration lasts until about mid-July -- or until 40,000 runners have signed up. (The 2010 marathon filled up in April, the earliest date ever.) Notification is sent in mid-August, and the race is the last Sunday in September. The registration fee varies depending on when you enter, but here's the basic setup:

And if you'd like to run for a charity, the official Berlin Marathon site makes it easy, featuring a list of almost 50 organizations -- all you have to do is send an e-mail to your selected charity and say you'd like to run for its cause.

The marathon is open to anyone 18 and older (in 2010, anyone born in or after 1992 was eligible). The wheelchair race starts at 8:35 a.m., and hand cyclists take off at 8:45. The main race starts around 9 a.m. (in 2010, it was 9:03), with runners leaving in three "blocks" -- every race number begins with a letter that corresponds to a block (and the first and second blocks are further broken down into groups):

There's a 6:15 time limit, which means that all stragglers have to clear the course at 3:15 p.m.

In 2009, 48,740 people from 121 countries took part in the various Berlin Marathon events (40,923 marathon runners, 7,612 inline skaters, 169 handcyclists and 36 wheelchair athletes). The year before, a record 35,035 runners made it across the finish line [source: Berlin Marathon]. For some reason, the Berlin event skews more male than U.S. marathons -- it's an 80/20 split as compared to 60/40 in the United States [source: Running USA].

History buffs, beware: You might want to wear blinders for this race so you don't get distracted by all the amazing sightseeing along the loop route, which winds through 10 neighborhoods -- it's really an incredible way to see the city. The marathon starts and ends at the magnificent Brandenburg Gate, a former portal between East and West Berlin and the site of famous speeches by John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan ("Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"). The Reichstag (where the Third Reich convened and the modern German parliament meets) is also visible at the start, before the race heads down the Strasse des 17 Juni through the Tiergarten, a huge city park. Here are some of the other sites along the way:

There's definitely a party atmosphere around the Berlin Marathon. The festivities start on Thursday and Friday with the Berlin Vital Fair, where runners can pick up their race numbers and shirts, hang out in the Pasta Lounge or Massage Island, and check out the wares from almost 200 exhibitors. On Saturday morning, marathon participants have the option of taking part in the "Breakfast Run," a low-key 6-kilometer jog into the Olympic Stadium, where breakfast is served. Also on Saturday morning, there are 500- and 1,000-meter (.3 and .6-mile) "Bambini Runs" for kids 10 and under. Later in the afternoon, there's the inline skating marathon and the Mini-Marathon for older kids. The Mini-Marathon course comprises the last 4.2195 km (2.62 miles) of the marathon route -- in 2009, there were about 9,000 participants, many of whom ran with 10-member school teams in a hotly contested race in which the runners' times are totaled into a full marathon time (the 2009 winning team "finished" in 2:29:49).

For the main event on Sunday morning, about 60 to 70 bands -- along with more than a million spectators -- line the route. Runners can bring their own drinks and snacks and leave them to be distributed at the refreshment points, but the race organizers stress that actually finding your goodies can be nearly impossible. Refreshment points are located at the 5-, 9- and 12 km marks and then every 2.5 km (1.5 miles) thereafter. Starting at 25 km (15 miles), you can also get a massage every 5 km (3.6 miles) if you so desire (although that probably wouldn't do wonders for your finish time).

So, how much prize money are you in for if you win the race? Sure, it's a long shot, but we'll tell you on the next page, just in case.

Six world records have been set at the Berlin Marathon since 1998 -- more than any other marathon. In 2001, Naoko Takahashi of Japan became the first woman to break the 2:20 barrier when she finished in 2:19:46. In 2008, Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia set the world mark that's still standing as of this writing (2:03:59), breaking his own record from the 2007 event. There was much anticipation for Gebrselassie's performance in the 2009 Berlin Marathon, but he fell off pace late in the race and finished in 2:06:08. But don't be too disappointed for him: He still won the marathon for the fourth year in a row (making him the race's first four-peater) -- and broke the 30-kilometer world record along the way.

Three other runners -- Germany's Ingo Sensburg and Uta Pippig and Poland's Renata Kokowska -- have won the Berlin Marathon three times. Gunter Hallas, who won the inaugural marathon in 1974, still runs it every year.

The men's and women's winners each get $64,000 for their efforts, and the remainder of the $340,000 pot is divvied up among other top finishers [source: World Marathon Majors]. There are separate awards for the inline skating, wheelchair and handcycle events. The rest of the pack receives medals -- and the knowledge that they just ran 26.2 miles without collapsing, which is no small feat.

Think you have what it takes to run the Berlin Marathon? We have more information about the race -- and marathons in general -- on the next page.