Bonn Marathon And the winner is...
Bonn · It was a fantastic day for the Deutsche Post Marathon in Bonn with a record number of participants and many winners!
It was a gorgeous day for the Deutsche Post Bonn Marathon on Sunday, not too hot and not too cold and enough sunshine to make the mood festive. There were a record number of participants with 13,560 athletes. Everyone who ran, walked, handbiked or skated with inliners was a winner for their dedication, effort and hard work. Family, friends and supportive Bonners who cheered on the racers were greatly appreciated.
Kenian Edwin Kosgei won the men’s marathon with a time of 2:16:08 and his fellow Kenian Prosa Kiprono won the women’s marathon with a time of 2:46:26. Total distance travelled by the Kenians and about 1,200 other full marathoners - 42.195 kilometers. The champion from the city of Bonn this year was Joe Körbs with a time of 2:52:34.
They say long distance running is a lonely endeavor and this proved true for Kosgei who ran all on his own after kilometer 15 with no other runners close behind him. Last year’s winner Siyoum Lemma came in second place with a time of 2:27:52. Kosgei said the wind made conditions difficult. Winning the corporate relay team event was Runners Point, followed by Deutsche Post in second place and DHL Paket 1 in third place.
Mayor Ashok Sridharan praised the organizers of the marathon, Anna Malorney-Hey and Michael Mronz for a fantastic job. He also expressed his regrets that 22 cars had to be towed on Saturday night but added that it really wasn’t a surprise that the marathon was coming.
Many enthusiastic school kids participated in the school relays. Elisabeth Langgässer High School from Alzey (near Mannheim) won the school relay with a time of 2:48:47. The fastest Bonn school relay team was from Kardinal Frings High School with a time of 3:03:21. Bonn International School (BIS) came in place 26 with a time of 3:20:10. Altogether 55 school relay teams participated.
More than 8,000 people ran in the half marathon. Yohannes Haiu Atey was the fastet here with a time of 1:09:06. The inline skating half marathon event was won by Christopher Schneider and the fastest handbiker was Andreas Künkler. In the half marathon walking event, Thomas Becker won with a time of 2:38:33. (Orig. text: Thomas Faßbender, Matthias Kirch, Thomas Heinen, Bernd Joisten)
