These words were never spoken by Walter Ulbricht who once famously said "No one intends to build a wall!" but they might as well have been spoken by him.

On the 15^th of June 1961, the then East German State President, declared that no one had the intention to build a wall between East and West Germany. Reality, however, was very different and on the 13^th of August 1961, East German construction workers began to build a seemingly insurmountable border between East and West composed of barbed wire and concrete.

The Berlin Wall, which enclosed West Berlin, separated the city into two parts for decades with lasting effects still felt today.

A well-known section of the Wall Trail – along the East Side Gallery – the route of 100 Meilen Berlin. (Photo: LG Wall Trail)

To commemorate the 50^th anniversary of building this once insurmountable wall, LG Wall Trail Club created the first ever Berlin 100 mile race – 100 Meilen Berlin. The route has been therefore chosen with care: namely the race will be run along the former border, designated as the Berlin Wall Trail by MP Michael Cramer in 2001. That same border, once used by the border troops as a patrol path also has several former fortifications to explore along the way.

The start of the 100 Meilen Berlin race takes place on Saturday, August 20^th, 2011, at 6:00 am at the Sports Center on Lobeckstraße in Berlin-Kreuzberg (near central Berlin).

Athletes will then have 30 hours to complete a total of 160.9 kilometers along the Berlin Wall Trail, a race course rich with history.

Race supplies will be very important to all participants so there will be an aid station approximately every 10kms along the entire course. The race will officially conclude Sunday, August 21^st, at 12:00 noon.

Rainer Eppelmann – Patron of the 100 Miles Berlin

Rainer Eppelmann decisively shaped the peaceful Revolution of 1989 and Reunification. He is a priest, a former civil- rights activist in the GDR, and was the Minister for Disarmament and Defense in the last East German government.

In early times, the Berlin-native was involved in the opposition and among other things Eppelmann actively took part in the central Round Table that accompanied changes in the GDR. After the unification of the two German states Eppelmann was a member of the CDU parliament for several years. To date, he is also Chairman of the National Foundation for the Study of the SED dictatorship.

On 8 November 2009 Rainer Eppelmann was awarded the prize: Against Forgetting – For Democracy. The same association paid tribute to Eppelmann for merits of freedom and democracy in times of dictatorship and for the peaceful revolution of 1989 and his commitment to the working out of SED injustice.

More informations about Rainer Eppelmann:

Wikipedia

Pictures

Announcement – 100milesBerlin

Announcement – 100 Meilen Berlin (en) as PDF

Race Start: 08/20/2011, 6 A.M.
Race End: 08/21/2011, 12 P.M.

Special Guest:

Rainer Eppelmann, former East German civil rights activist and
Chairman of the Federal Foundation for the Study of
SED dictatorship

IAU label:

Bronze

Organizer:

LG Mauerlauf e.V. (Long-distance running community Wall Trail Association)
c/o Alexander von Uleniecki (Race Coordinator)
Lohengrinstr. 12a
D-14109 Berlin
Phone +49 30 44651960
info@100meilen.de

Distance: 100 miles (160.9 kilometers) – measured by race organizer using GPS

Start / Finish:

Sports facilities on Lobeckstraße, Berlin-Kreuzberg

Route:

Berliner Mauerweg (along the former Berlin Wall) which is mostly paved and flat. Trail markings and instructions will be posted by organizers along the entire route.

Organizer. Each participant (TN) will be supplied with a road book including the exact
itinerary , instructions and route as part of each participants Race Kit. The route is partly on public roads with localtraffic. Therefore the TN must obey the local German traffic laws as stated in the Strassenverkehrsordnung (Local Traffic Act). Violation of traffic laws results in immediate disqualification.

Race Organizers will be available at each support station (SP).

Supplies:

Runner-friendly food and beverages will be supplied at support stations (SP) approximately every 10 kilometers (6,2 Miles). There will also be additional water available by Race Organizers during the day (weather permitting).

Mandatory equipment:

Each participant has to carry a fully functioning mobile phone during the entire race, at least 0.5 liters of liquid (water or similar) at each supply station, and during the night (approx 9 P.M. to 5 A.M.) a flashlight or torch as well as a reflective jacket (yellow or orange) must be worn.

On the 13th of August 1961, East German construction workers began to build a seemingly insurmountable border between East and West Berlin. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of building this once insurmountable wall the first ever Berlin 100 mile race will on Saturday, August 20th.