At the 50th Berlin Marathon on Sunday, more than 54,000 runners crossed the finish line–one of them doing so for the 43rd time. Günter Hallas of Germany was the winner of the inaugural marathon in Berlin in 1974, where he clocked 2:44:53, and has only missed the event a handful of times since. On Sunday, the 84-year-old crossed the line in 7:02:33, taking 14th place in his over-80 age category. (There were 19 men and five women in the 80-plus categories.)
Another moving performance from Sunday was by Germany’s Peter Bartel, 82, who also competed in the first-ever Berlin Marathon. A heartwarming video of Bartel finishing the race went viral on social media–he crossed the line for the 46th time, and was the race’s final finisher, clocking 8:59:18. Fifty years ago, he took 176th in 4:41:00–only 286 runners participated in the event in that first year.
Although the current course records are more than 43 minutes faster than Hallas’s winning Berlin Marathon time from 50 years ago, both he and Bartel have impressed and inspired the world with their determination to continue their marathon-running careers. The pair will undoubtedly go down as legends and pioneers in race history.
Tigist Ketema and Milkesa Mengesha took home the titles on Sunday. Ketema, 26, claimed her second win of the year, finishing in 2:16:42, while Mengesha, 24, crossed the line in 2:03:17.
