Over 10,000 participants experience a new course record at adidas Runners City Night

If the afternoon Berlin was still rainy on Saturday, it became more and more friendly towards the evening. The skaters at this year's adidas Runners City Night, however, still had to come to terms with a wet road surface at times. The times of the winners are all the more impressive: Franziska Petry (Team Redvil Racer) 23:00 minutes and serial winner Alexander Bastidas (SRC Berlin-Team Roller A3) in 18:24 minutes. In the 5-kilometer race, the puddles were completely dry. Blanka Dörfel from MARATHON TEAM BERLIN took advantage of this in 16:02 minutes and Jona Bodirsky from the University of Portland in 14:36 minutes. With these times both stood on top of the podium.

Simon Boch runs course record

The 10-kilometer class was highly competitive in both the women's and men's races. A clear indication that the adidas Runners City Night is also a fixed date in the race calendar of the national elite. In the men's race there was an exciting three-way battle, which was finally won by Simon Boch from LG Telis Finanz Regensburg. He won with a new course record of 28:29 minutes on the Kurfürstendamm. This makes Carsten Eich's old best of 28:38 minutes from 1999 obsolete. Last year's winner Miriam Dattke (LG Telis Finanz Regensburg) repeated her success and crossed the finish line first in 31:53.

The linchpin of good cheer

Last year, the course directors of SCC EVENTS decided to make the well-tried 10-kilometer course over the illuminated Ku'damm even more attractive. A course leading in all directions of City West is the successful result, with Adenauerplatz as the cheering zone, acting as the hub of good vibes. The bands and the thousands of spectators added to the atmosphere. In 2023, a detour via Leibnizstraße will be added due to construction measures. As usual, all this came to a grand finale in the shadow of the Gedächtniskirche (Memorial Church) when the race finished through the digital finish gate, which was visible from afar.  

Cosmopolitanism, tolerance and acceptance

The field of the 5-kilometer competition also included Noah Heckhoff from the Alliance Against Homophobia. SCC EVENTS has been a member of the Alliance Against Homophobia for some time. Heckhoff expressed his appreciation in an interview shortly before the start: "The adidas Runners City Night takes place only a few days after the Berlin Christopher Street Day. It is also because of this that it is particularly connected to queer representation. It is important that one week after the biggest Pride event of the year, an open and respectful running culture is celebrated.

Jürgen Lock in his function as managing director added: "All events organized by us stand for cosmopolitanism, tolerance and acceptance, so it is natural that we continue to engage together with the alliance and transport our values into the athlete:inside world.

Positive sign for the entire branch

SCC EVENTS as organizer of the adidas Runners City Night was highly satisfied with a total of 10,417 entries (including 1,300 adidas Runners from all over Europe). The record number of participants of 10,475 athletes from 2014 was only just missed. The high registration numbers should be a positive sign for the entire running event branch. After Corona, not all organizers are back to pre-Covid numbers yet. But with innovative concepts and attractive offers, they seem possible, as the adidas Runners City Night clearly proves.

For the good cause

The course of the adidas Runners City Night runs under the railroad tracks at Stuttgarter Platz. Many people without a permanent residence use this covered section of the course as a living space. The Berlin organizer SCC EVENTS is well aware of this situation. To take some of the heaviness away when calm returned after the runners' hustle and bustle, SCC EVENTS employees handed out lunch packages and vouchers for food markets to the homeless.