Culture

The Berlin Wall Run 2019

Running towards the Freedom

August 19th, 2019
Sabrina Crosta, News from Berlin
20190819_The Berlin Wall Run 2019.jpg

On Saturday 17th august, hundreds of runners from several countries set off for a poignant ultra-marathon, a 160-kilometre route around where the Berlin Wall stood. For commemorating fall of Berlin wall, runners challenged among themselves by passing through the Brandenburg Gate up to Checkpoint Charlie, as well as passing monuments to the wall’s victims.

If for someone the race has been about the physical challenge, for someone else it has been about remembering the 138 people that were killed trying to get to the west in one hand; in the other hand it has been about remembering one of the most important symbols of the division between communist and capitalist Europe was the Berlin Wall.

For its 8th edition, around 500 participants — comprising 32 different nationalities — started running at 6 am CEST. However, in an interview the race organiser Nina Blisse has tell to be impressed not by the number of participants but by the wall's history. In fact, she noted that many runners decide to run slowly in order to read every memorial along the way. Furthermore, each year, one Wall victim receives a special tribute with their face featuring on medals. A ceremony is held at the spot where they died.

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News from Berlin