BMW Berlin-Marathon 2018

3-day expo was held at the former Tempelhof Airport, and was spread out over 4 sections. I would recommend getting to the expo early for less congestion. You pick up your bib, finisher's t-shirt (either pre-purchased or you can purchase in the store), and timing chip (if rented). There were plenty of vendors to purchase shoes, shirts, and/or last minute running items.

Water Station: Every 3km so we were not dehydrated. The stations also had fruit, tea, and energy drinks.

Amenities: After the race, you receive your medal and a bag of fruits and snacks.

Breakfast Run: I would recommend that you do the free Breakfast Run, courtesy of the Berlin Marathon. It was a 6km run that started at the Charlottenburg Castle and ended at the Olympic Stadium. It was a fun run to loosen the muscles. At the end of the run, runners received a breakfast of water, chocolate drink, Berliner, raisin bread, and fruit.

Unfortunately, 2013 was the last year of first come, first served registration. Starting in 2014, the Berlin Marathon went to the route of a lottery due to the high demand of registration.

right when it opened and it was a breeze; although, I heard that things get quite hectic closer to race day. While it was a large venue, everything is organized and easy to find and within 10 minutes, I got my package. What I didn’t like was that once you left package pickup, you can’t go back in. The Expo conveniently located by the Gleisdreieck U-Bahn station. It was large and you can take up a lot of time just walking and seeing everything. The Adidas shop is massive and they had separate lines for people buying official merchandise and those buying regular stuff. I don’t know why but I’m sure there was a reason. We bought official and non-official stuff separately and there wasn’t much of a lineup due to the number of cashiers. There’s food outside if you get hungry as well (bring cash).

Course – The course is fast and flat as advertised. You run through a bunch of neighbourhoods, cross the winding Spree River 6 or 7 times, and see some iconic landmarks. The best part was running through the Brandenburg Gate, a nice welcome to the finish line. Aid stations were plentiful and well-stocked. There was also a Red Bull station at about 6 km to go which was helpful. They did use plastic cups for water but paper cups for energy drink. I think they could’ve used paper for both, I don’t know why. It made a bit of a mess. All the volunteers were friendly and happy to help you out. There were even massage stations in the second half of the course!

Swag – I don’t like that you had to pay for finisher shirts but I like that they gave you a choice to even get a shirt or not. I personally bought the shirts but I know some people would rather not have it. I guess I could count the Breakfast Run as swag… it was a free event with free food. That, I appreciated, as it was a fantastic shakeout run. The medal is beautiful and the post-race snack bag I got had a lot of stuff in it. Again, I wish I bought the shoes.

Would I Do it Again? In a heartbeat. I know I could do better if I wasn’t feeling like crap. Plus, I love Berlin.