Die Generalprobe — Berliner Straßenlauf

Four weeks before the marathon

Die Generalprobe is exactly what its name promises: a final intensive test under race conditions over the half marathon distance, about four weeks before the BMW Berlin Marathon. Those who have the big event at the end of September in their sights will run along Schloßstraße in August – or opt for the shorter quarter marathon format, which is also attractive for beginners.

Three distances, one course

The Bambini run kicks off the day at 8:15 AM. At 9 AM, the quarter marathon (10.5 km) and the half marathon (21.0975 km) start simultaneously. The course is a DLV-measured 10.5 km loop through Steglitz, Wilmersdorf, and Zehlendorf – half marathon runners complete two laps. With the in-house start block logic based on pace, over 5,000 runners are sent onto the course in an organized manner.

Steglitz, Schloßstraße, and Berlin's Southwest

The start and finish are on Schloßstraße in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf district – Berlin's second-longest shopping street and the axis of the capital's bourgeois southwest. The course leads through green residential areas with Wilhelminian-era villa architecture, past the Botanical Garden and the Rathaus Steglitz subway station. Die Generalprobe has been a fixed date in the Berlin running calendar for years and is part of the DLV scoring for road races.