Among the thousands of Berlin Marathon participants were familiar names from television, sport and public life. TV presenter and recreational runner Kai Pflaume entered the capital race spontaneously and finished in 3 hours, 32 minutes and 33 seconds. He had run 14 minutes faster in London five months earlier. Before the Berlin race, Pflaume wrote on Instagram that this time he was coming from his regular training and carrying some accumulated fatigue.
Climate activist Luisa Neubauer completed the 42.195-kilometre distance for the first time. Before the start, she joked that whatever happened, it would not hurt as much as current climate policy. She finished in 4:03:18, ahead of former professional cyclist Rick Zabel, who recorded 4:05:38. Rick is the son of former world-class cyclist Erik Zabel.
Olympic triathlon champion Jan Frodeno showed he remains a strong runner three years after ending his professional career. The 45-year-old completed the marathon in 2:23:33 and finished third in his age category.
The previous year, British pop star Harry Styles had drawn particular attention to the Berlin race, finishing in 2:59:13.