#1 Berlin Marathon
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The Berlin Marathon in Germany is the largest marathon conducted in the world. Held in the final week of September, the city-wide road race was first initiated in 1974. In 2016, the race recorded 46,950 entrants from 122 countries and more than a million spectators. The marathon weekend which takes place over 2 days, is currently sponsored by BMW.
The course starts and finishes near the Brandenburg Gate. Due to the presence of Berlin Wall, the marathon events before 1990 were restricted to West Berlin. Only after 30 September 1990, the athletes were able to run through the Brandenburg Gate, as the unified city witnessed its first consolidated race.
The race starts and finishes at the iconic Brandenburg Gate. The course passes through Charlottenburg, and then south to Friedrichshain. Looping above Schoenberg the course completes a full circle as it finishes through the Gate.
Dennis Kipruto Kimetto from Kenya holds the current world record for clocking the fastest time at Berlin at 2:02:57 in 2014. In women’s category, the record is held by 38-year-old Japanese runner Mizuki Noguchi. Noguchi clocked a time of 2:19:12 in 2005.
