Inclusion

Contents

Foreword

Dear visitors of the MOVE as part of the 50th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, half a century ago, when the starting gun for the 1st Berlin People’s Marathon was fired in front of the Mommsen Stadium in Berlin’s Charlottenburg district, none of the 286 participants could have imagined that the BERLIN-MARATHON would develop into what it is today.

Over the past five decades, the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON has grown into a traditional event that has become an integral part of today’s sports calendar. This year, we are expecting over 50,000 runners to adorn themselves with their well-earned medals as finishers shortly after the Brandenburg Gate — along with skaters, handbikers and wheelchair athletes.

What is currently considered innovative at many major sporting events like the Olympic Games or World Championships — integrating mass sports and inclusion to create further acceptance — has been a fundamental part of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON since its inception. Top-level sports on a global scale, mass participation, and inclusion have always been the pillars of our successful implementations.

Even in the early years of the BERLIN-MARATHON, a holistic approach was taken, so the integration of handbikers and wheelchair athletes into the event was an early focus that continues to evolve. Core values such as cosmopolitanism, tolerance and acceptance are a matter of course for SCC EVENTS, the organisers of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON.

The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is an open and inclusive event, completely free from discrimination and homophobia, where all people are warmly welcome to celebrate a peaceful sporting festival together.

With the MOVE at the Brandenburg Gate, a meeting place has been created, a space to linger and enjoy. The exhibitions at MOVE bring the history and flair of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON to life. We are very pleased that the Unseen project has enriched the MOVE in such a masterful way.

Jürgen Lock und Christian Jost

Management Board SCC EVENTS

Step by Step Towards Inclusion

I am honored to write this foreword and extend my heartfelt congratulations to SC Charlottenburg on its 50th anniversary. Together, we have made Berlin Marathon history.

Since the marathon’s debut in 1974, much has evolved. The course was moved into the city, wheelchair users joined in 1981, and in 1994, the wheelchair marathon became part of the World Para Athletics Championships. Since 2004, handcyclists have competed, and in 2005, I ran alongside blind and visually impaired athletes.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which came into effect in Germany in 2009, marked a shift towards embracing human diversity. Since 2017, the International German Championships in Para Athletics have been held, and in 2022, athletes from the Special Olympics participated.

Athletes with disabilities are now an integral part of the Berlin Marathon. The event has implemented what I have always said about my career: “Most of my races are run alongside sighted people, inclusively.”

For years, athletes with impairments have been able to participate equally, and their visibility has had a positive impact on other areas of life. Whether we have disabilities or not, we all want to experience the most vibrant atmosphere on the fastest course in the world.

Regina Vollbrecht

Commissioner for people with disabilities, Berlin Reinickendorf district office

The BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is open to all

At SCC EVENTS, two women are dedicated to supporting individuals with physical or intellectual disabilities. Since 2017, Nadine Mietke has overseen the organization and management of the elite wheelchair and handbike competitions. The first wheelchair athletes participated in the BERLIN-MARATHON as early as 1981, and handbikers joined in the early 2000s.

Georgia Andrews, who joined SCC EVENTS in 2023, is responsible for all matters concerning amateur athletes with disabilities, from registration through to the event day. People with disabilities have been a familiar presence in the starting fields in Berlin for many years. For example, in 1984, the first visually impaired athlete ran the marathon accompanied by a bicycle guide.

Nadine and Georgia also coordinate the Inclusion Run, which is held as part of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON in collaboration with Special Olympics Germany and the Fürst Donnersmarck Foundation. Furthermore, the German Disabled Sports Association and the National Paralympic Committee regularly organize their German Championships in the marathon in conjunction with the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON.

Nadine Mietke

Pro Athletes and Para Sport (SCC EVENTS)
nadine.mietke@scc-events.com

Georgia Andrews

Participant Management (SCC EVENTS)
georgia.andrews@scc-events.com

Panel Inclusion

As part of the exhibition to mark the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON’s 50th anniversary exhibition at MOVE, the panel discussion “Breaking Ground - Grenzen überwinden”, on the subject of inclusion, will take place at MOVE on September 28th at 3 pm.

Go to program

Speakers

Regina Vollbrecht
Thomas Eller
Richard Whitehead
Uwe Wegener

Moderation

Dr. Martin Theben

Awareness team

BDB e.V.

Not at first sight

Many disabilities, such as chronic pain, ME/CFS, depression, psychosis, or learning disabilities, aren’t immediately obvious. Often, they are overlooked when considering participation in sports.

Sports come with rules and expectations that can create significant barriers. People with intermittent health issues, like depression or MS flare-ups, may struggle to participate consistently at the same level. Additionally, social norms within sports groups can be challenging for individuals with social anxiety or those who don’t fit conventional expectations. There is often a lack of understanding about the different impairments and their effects.

To support people with less visible disabilities, several approaches can be beneficial. These include providing quiet spaces and offering customised training plans with plenty of breaks and rest periods. Even with similar diagnoses, individual needs and challenges can vary widely, requiring flexible and personalised strategies.

It is essential to foster an open and non-stigmatising environment where barriers are identified and solutions are developed in collaboration with those affected. This helps create a more inclusive and supportive sports environment for everyone.

Sports Opportunities for People with Mental or Intellectual Disabilities in Berlin:

In Berlin, sports options for people with mental or intellectual disabilities are mainly available through medically prescribed rehab sports or integration assistance provided by psychosocial organisations. Inclusive or low-threshold offerings are quite limited.

The Health and Movement Network for Berlin’s psychosocial organisations provides various sports groups, some of which are open to non-clients:

  • Albatros GGmbH Sports Groups

A new running group for people with depression is launching soon. This initiative is a joint project by the Berlin Disabled and Rehabilitation Sports Association and the self-help organisation bipolaris.

  • Berlin Disabled and Rehabilitation Sports Association e.V.
  • Bipolaris – Self-Help Association Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.

The SCL Sportclub Lebenshilfe Berlin offers swimming, gymnastics, and ball sports. It caters to people with intellectual disabilities, multiple disabilities, and those without disabilities:

  • SCL Sportclub Lebenshilfe Berlin e.V.
Uwe Wegener

Founder of “bipolaris – Manie & Depression Selbsthilfevereinigung Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.” and of “DER LAUF & DER MARKT für seelische Gesundheit”
uwe.wegener@bipolaris-mail.de

Thomas Eller

“Most people are amazed that I managed to run a marathon as a deaf person.”

During his teaching studies in Cologne, Thomas started running 5-10 kilometers a day to clear his mind and relieve the strain on his eyes. He describes himself as a visual person, compensating for his hearing loss through visual cues. Running helps him cope with the challenges of daily life, especially exhaustion from lip-reading.

In 2018, he ran his first marathon in the desert sands of Petra, Jordan, finishing fourth. This experience helped dispel prejudices about deaf people and allowed him to advocate for greater inclusion. By participating in the six Abbott World Marathon Majors (Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York City), he has made a significant statement for the deaf community and became the world’s first deaf Six Star Finisher. In 2024, he will complete his “Big 7” by running in Sydney.

The BMW BERLIN-Marathon is particularly special for Thomas. In 2019, he ran a personal best of 2:47:11, which qualified him for the 2022 Deaflympics. This year, his deaf students will join him in Berlin to cheer him on, helping them embrace their identities, accept their disabilities, and promote a strong message of inclusion.

As a runner and teacher for deaf children, Thomas demonstrates that deaf people can achieve great things. His goal is to bridge the gap between the deaf and hearing communities and create a more inclusive world.

Richard Whitehead

I’m Richard Whitehead. I’m 48 years old and I started running 20 years ago. Before I turned 28, there were no running prosthetics available to me, so I couldn’t run. But as soon as I got my running legs, I knew the sky was the limit.

My first marathon was the 2004 New York Marathon. I was an inexperienced runner and finished in 5 hours and 19 minutes. Fast forward to 2024, at the London Marathon, where I became the fastest double-leg amputee in the world with a time of 2 hours and 42 minutes. Later this year, I’ll be competing in my 80th marathon, aiming to set another world record as the fastest double amputee. My goal is 2 hours and 35 minutes—to prove once again that anything is possible.

Through running, I strive to show that it’s an inclusive sport. When you see me run, you’ll realize I don’t just connect with people with disabilities but with everyone who loves running. I understand the challenges runners face, but I also know that everyone crosses that finish line.

Winning gold at the Paralympics at London 2012 and Rio 2016 gave me the same sense of euphoria and pride as crossing the finish line of my first marathon. I want everyone to experience that feeling.

My advice: start your marathon journey slow and steady, putting one foot in front of the other. Don’t compare your success to others. Focus on your own achievements, because crossing your finish line is the beginning of a happier, healthier life.

Insivible Journeys

Photographer and artist Sebastian Wells, who has covered 11 of the 49 BMW BERLIN-MARATHONs, met seven remarkable runners who refuse to let anything stand in their way.

September 1984. On a rainy morning at the BERLIN-MARATHON, a runner suddenly appeared far ahead, tethered by a string to a cyclist: Werner Rathert, born in 1936, bib number 100. Rathert was blind — yet he crossed the finish line in just 2 hours, 35 minutes, and 12 seconds.

Today, more and more blind and visually impaired runners are finding their way into running, including many who are taking on the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. But their journey isn’t easy. Beyond training for speed, they must get familiar with the terrain and spatial conception of their running route. They also need guides, who are often difficult to find.

Tien-Fung Yap

“Who would choose to be blind?” Tien-Fung Yap muses during a morning 10k run with his guide, Julian Gering. “People often sneak into my Paralympic classification, T12, who actually belong in T13 and could manage without a guide,” criticizes Tien-Fung, Germany’s top visually impaired marathon runner.

Tien-Fung grew up in Gelsenkirchen playing football and table tennis until he suddenly lost vision in his left eye at 17. He now has only about 5% vision due to Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy. “It shook my world,” he recalls. “But it also unlocked many inner strengths. I am a completely different person now.”

Once spending a lot of money on sports betting and struggling with motivation, Tien-Fung now works as a physiotherapist. In 2021, he achieved a career milestone by breaking the German T12 marathon record with a time of 2 hours and 45 minutes.

His location depends on finding enough guides, which led him to move from Mainz to Freiburg last year. In the green valleys of the Breisgau, Tien-Fung chases his Paralympic dream. But the news from Paris in mid-July was disappointing: Tien-Fung was once again not selected. He would have been so happy.

Michaela Kummer

“Running a marathon is like giving birth. At some point, you think, ‘What a nightmare,’ but by the time you reach the finish line, it’s not so bad,” says Michaela Kummer. The masseuse from the Black Forest has two children and has completed a dozen marathons despite cone-rod dystrophy, which nearly blinded her.

She hid her disability for a long time, fearing how others might see her. A turning point came when her husband, Oliver, went to drive her home after a bike race, and Michaela mistakenly climbed into a stranger’s car of the same colour. “That’s when Oli realised I could barely see,” she recalls.

Neither their love nor her passion for sports suffered. Oliver has supported her in training and competitions ever since. In 2010, Michaela set a world record in Frankfurt: 3 hours, 11 minutes. But she never realised her dream of competing in the Paralympics. “There just wasn’t any interest,” Michaela says, frustrated by the lack of support for athletes and the bureaucratic hurdles.

It wasn’t until 2017, before the Tokyo Paralympics, that national coach Marion Peters reached out. “Is your mother still running?” she asked Michaela’s son. “Do you even know how old my mother is?,” he quipped, fully aware that his mother was capable of anything. Michaela says she’s always aimed to be a role model: “To show that even with limited vision, I can still achieve something.”

Ulrike Wilhelm

For Ulrike Wilhelm, running is both the joy of her life and a constant reminder of two sudden losses.

In 2007, her father, Wilfried, went out for a training run at 69 years old and never returned. A heart attack abruptly ended the dedicated Rennsteiglauf participant’s life.

Ulrike inherited not only her father’s passion for running but also his rare condition, aniridia, where the iris is missing or underdeveloped. This leaves her with just 2% vision in one eye and complete blindness in the other. But she hasn’t let it stop her. Instead, Ulrike has become a passionate advocate for the sport.

When she met her partner Torsten in 1993, it didn’t take long to convert him from football to running. They competed together in countless races, enjoyed training runs in the scenic mountains of their hometown, Harras, and thrived on the energy of the crowds at the Berlin Marathon.

Then came another devastating blow. Five years ago, Torsten lost control of his motorcycle during a license test and died in the accident. Ulrike lost not just her husband, but also her running guide. Since then, she has trained alone and must find a new guide for every race.

Melina Gerber

Physical education classes were often a nightmare for Melina Gerber, who was born with retinitis pigmentosa. She struggled with ball games, frequently missing the ball, collided with the edge of the table during table tennis, and hid behind a tree before running laps.

As a child, she had about 30% vision, but now she has only 3%. Despite these obstacles, she overcame her sports trauma. “After a breakup, I started jogging with my cousin in 2017,” she says. “I wanted to lose weight needed to clear my head.”

Later that year, Melina started competing in races and loved the thrill of running in front of crowds. However, she soon faced a major challenge. “I had to learn to trust my guide,” she says. “In 2018, I fractured my ankle. My guide was distracted by a cyclist, and I misjudged the curb.” The fear of another accident lingered, but Melina’s passion for running kept her going.

Melina also found support among her colleagues. Many of her guides came from her workplace at the Ministry of Finance. “Health management is a priority there”, she says, and she is equally grateful for her family’s support. When both of her regular guides were unavailable before the GENERALI Berlin Half Marathon in 2022, her mother stepped in. It didn’t matter that she wasn‘t a runner herself: “We made it work.”

Regina Vollbrecht

“I’ve always been in a rush,” Regina Vollbrecht jokes. Born prematurely at seven months, she arrived in the world long before anyone expected her. In the incubator, the oxygen level was set too high, causing her retinas to detach. She has been blind ever since.

Regina’s sports career is impossible to capture in just a few lines. For 15 years, she was a leading figure in blind sports. She competed in the Paralympics in goalball, unofficially broke the world record in the 5000 meters, and set a new marathon record.

But her biggest dream—to compete in the marathon at the Paralympics—never materialised. “I was a few years too early,” Regina says, who had hoped for more support from the German Paralympic Committee. It wasn’t until the 2016 Paralympics in Rio that the marathon was included for women. By then, six years after her impressive 3 hours and 15 minutes at the Frankfurt Marathon, the demands of balancing elite sports with a full-time job had taken a toll on her body.

“Even though I’m no longer a competitive athlete, I still have that fighting spirit,” Regina reflects. She continues to run as a hobby and tirelessly advocates for an inclusive society in her role as the Commissioner for People with Disabilities in Berlin’s Reinickendorf district.

Michael Bentele

Michael Bentele was still in kindergarten when he and his younger sister Verena started pushing the boundaries of what was possible. “Why don’t you just jump out of the window?” Michael suggested to his sister, who was too small to climb down the steps to the balcony on her own. Verena took the leap, got a scare, and landed safely on the floor below. Although the blind siblings later became known for cross-country skiing and biathlon rather than ski jumping, testing limits remained a constant theme in their lives.

Cross-country skiing while blind is one of those limits. “You always have to travel to find snow, and finding guides is tough because there aren’t many skilled skiers willing to do it,” Michael recalls from his competitive days—a time that, unlike his sister’s, wasn’t filled with medals.

Running, on the other hand, is easier. In running, the guide is connected to the blind runner by a tether, not just by voice, making for a smoother process. Still, people seeing this for the first time often make dismissive remarks like, “He’s got him on a leash!”. Michael has learned to respond with patience. “I usually just explain what’s going on,” he says. “The running community is incredibly kind.”

Stefan Orben

Stefan Orben was just three years old when shards of a broken glass bottle struck his eyes. One eye was instantly blinded, and the other suffered severe damage. To protect his remaining vision and prevent further injury, doctors advised against playing sports. “I always tried to make the best of my remaining sight,” Stefan recalls. “It was exhausting, especially outdoors, where I’d sometimes see things that weren’t really there.”

After several surgeries, Stefan lost his remaining vision by the age of 26. For him, though, this loss brought a surprising sense of freedom. “Once the fear of total blindness was gone, I suddenly felt a strong urge to move,” he says. He started running on a treadmill and immediately knew he had found his sport.

Stefan connected with his first guides through notices at the university and later discovered Guidenetzwerk Deutschland, where he now trains guides himself. “It’s great to see how well the training is received and how many people want to get involved,” he says.

Still, recognition doesn’t always come easily. While advocating for increased funding for clubs to better support blind runners, Stefan regrets that “as a para-athlete, you have to take care of almost everything yourself.” However, Stefan can always count on one crucial support. Looking forward to the next BMW Berlin-Marathon, he can’t wait to hear the cheering coming from the side of the street: “You can really let the spectators carry you through the long course.”