Overview
- Local reporting points to a record 46,000 participants across the marathon, relay, half marathon and youth runs.
- Two-time winner Bernard Koech is billed as a favorite after winning last year and taking the 2023 race despite a wrong turn near the finish.
- Haspa, title sponsor since 2011, underscores its role with a board relay featuring Jürgen Marquardt and three colleagues.
- Longtime crowd figure “Super Michel” — Michel Descombes — returns, having started 33 times and raised money for social projects since 1989.
- The event ranks as Germany’s second-largest marathon after Berlin, reflecting its sustained pull for elite and mass runners.