That was the 2023 Berlin Wall Race!

As in the previous year, high temperatures were forecast for the weekend of the race. The morning was mostly cloudy, but as the day progressed the sun came out and the heat became increasingly oppressive. Even the runners who had struggled with the race organizers’ decision that a drinking bottle had to be carried, were probably happy to have enough liquid with them by this point in the event. There were brief showers and thunderstorms on some parts of the route in the afternoon and evening, but these only partially cooled the day.  The sun already shone brightly early on Sunday morning for those who were still underway, and for their fans who were waiting in the stadium.

High-ranking visitors were also expected at the Teltow refreshment point. The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, took the opportunity to talk to runners, organizers and volunteers at the start of his summer journeys. The Race Director led the Chancellor around the location and explained the history and the route of the Mauerlauf. Overall, the Chancellor was very impressed. During his conversation in the sports hall he was happy to sign a membership application from a race participant, who is certainly one of the few party members whose application has been personally signed by the German Chancellor. At the end of his visit the Chancellor was presented with a volunteer T-shirt, and the book ‘The Invisible Wall’, by Marcus Pinsker. In addition, the multifunctional scarf that he received will certainly serve him well on his own runs on cooler days.

The sensation of the weekend was caused by the Norwegian woman,  Line Caliskaner, who crossed the finish line in 13:53:57 hours. She was a good 42 minutes faster than the first man and improved the previous women’s course record by almost 1:23 hours!! Many volunteers enthusiastically reported that she still had time for a few nice words at the refreshment points and seemed relaxed throughout the race. Her male “competitors” also expressed admiration and respect for her great achievement at the award ceremony.

The first man was Marc Schneider, who comes from Berlin and lives in Bern, with a time of 14:36:07, ahead of Michael Ohler (TSV Kandel, 14:54:57) and Domen Kojzek from Slovenia (14:56:51). The second woman was Christine Fischer- Bedtke (Lg eXA e.V. Leipzig, 17:02:36) and the third was Andrea Mehner (Santiago, 17:12:27).

The winning 2-person relay team was “Two steps beyond” from Berlin (16:10:06) in front of the “Running Twins” (16:33:59 ) and the “Kunzis” (16:42:51). The fastest 4-person relay team was “Die Laufpartnerinnen” (12:53:38) ahead of the ASV Zeuthen team (13:43:24) and the “4 ex Blonds ” (15:23:35). The fastest 10+ person relay team was the ” PotsRun-Staffel” (11:48:04) followed by “Team Charite und Friends” (13:35:18) and “Dank 1989 ein Team” (14:28: 58).

Without training and proper preparation few people would dare to run 161 km – and of course a lot can always happen in such an event. Some participants surpassed themselves, exceeded personal limits and experienced their deserved rewards. Others, despite their best made plans, were not able to achieve their goals this weekend, maybe achieving a much slower time than expected, or even having to quit. About a third of the men and a quarter of the women who started this year did not reach the finish line – often experiencing great pain, both literally and figuratively – so this was certainly the most sensible decision, when taking health considerations into account. We wish everyone who experienced health issues a speedy recovery and hope to see you all again next year!

In the background, but absolutely essential for such an event, are the volunteers. Again this year, 450 volunteers were involved in the preparation, execution and follow-up of the event. This included handing out start numbers, helping at the refreshment points, helping in the stadium and in the warehouse, organizing the logistics… and in many other things. Our thanks go out to each and every volunteer! At this point we would also like to point out that we are always happy to receive feedback and suggestions for improvement for our event, but ask that these be addressed to the organization team in a constructive manner.

In Sacrow, the participants commemorated Erna Kelm, who drowned here in 1962 while attempting to escape. We should never take for granted the fact that we can live and walk in freedom today, and should fight for human rights and democracy wherever we can.

We meet again on August 17/18, 2024.

All results 2023 

For the statistics: