The Düsseldorf Marathon is an annual

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in early May, first held in 2003. The generally flat course runs through parts of the city and alongside the banks of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. The race day also includes other events, such as a marathon road relay, and over 10,000 people participate annually. The race is a member of the

Association of International Marathons and Distance Races The Association of International Marathons and Distance Races, also known as AIMS, is an association of the organisers of long-distance road running races. It was founded in 1982 at a meeting in London of marathon race directors. Its membership wa ...

(AIMS) and the group. It is sponsored by

Metro Group Metro AG is a German multinational company based in Düsseldorf which operates business membership-only cash and carry stores primarily under the Metro brand. , Metro is operating 626 wholesale stores in 21 countries, including Europe and P ...

, a large international retailer based in the same city.

History

Organised by Jan-Henning Winschermann (via rhein-marathon düsseldorf e.V.), the race was first held in 2003. The men's course record was set at the 2013 race, when Dereje Debele won with a time of 2:07:48 hours, while the women's course record was set by Agnes Jeruto Barsosio in 2012, with a time of 2:25:49. The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, with entries automatically transferred to 2021 and registrants given the option of obtaining a refund. Similarly, the 2021 edition of the race was postponed to 2022 due to the pandemic.

Course

The marathon course lies entirely within the city, and is largely flat except for four bridge crossings. Beginning in

Pempelfort Pempelfort is a city part in the North-east of the central Borough 1 of Düsseldorf. It borders on Stadtmitte, Derendorf, the Cologne–Duisburg railway, connecting Flingern and Düsseltal, Oberbilk, Golzheim and the river Rhine. Pempelfor ...

on the east bank of the

, just north of the , the course runs north through Golzheim,

Stockum Stockum is an urban quarter of Düsseldorf, part of Borough 5. It is located north of Unterrath and Golzheim, east of Kaiserswerth, west of Lohausen and the Düsseldorf Airport, south of Kalkum. Stockum has an area of , and 5,596 inhabitant ...

, and Derendorf before returning to Pempelfort to cross the Rhine via the Oberkassel Bridge after about . Runners then spend about in Oberkassel, Lörick, and

Niederkassel Niederkassel (; Ripuarian: ''Neddekaaßel'') is a town in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of around 37,000 people. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, approx. north-east of Bonn and sou ...

before heading back east across the bridge. The marathon then runs along the border of

Altstadt ''Altstadt'' () is the German language word for "old town", and generally refers to the historical town or city centre within the old town or city wall, in contrast to younger suburbs outside. '' Neustadt'' (new town), the logical opposite of ...

and makes a small loop in Stadtmitte before heading eastward into

Düsseltal Düsseltal is a quarter of Düsseldorf within Borough 2 (Düsseldorf), Borough 2, it is known for its relatively well-off population and developed around an old convent. It is also known as Düsseldorf-Zoo (after Düsseltal's Düsseldorf Zoo stati ...

. The course then runs roughly southwest back through Stadtmitte and then into

Friedrichstadt Friedrichstadt (; ; ; ; ) is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the river Eider approx. 12 km (7 miles) south of Husum. History The town was founded in 1621 by Dutch settlers. Duk ...

and Unterbilk. Runners then head northeast into Carlstadt before finishing on the riverbank about south of the start.

Winners

Kenya has been the most successful nationality in the men's race. The women's race has seen mostly Germans top the podium. Key: Course record (in bold)

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dusseldorf Marathon 2003 establishments in Germany Annual sporting events in Germany Marathons in Germany Recurring sporting events established in 2003

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

Spring (season) in Germany