BMW Berlin Marathon 1978 ballot: 5th edition, 197 finishers
On 3 September 1978 West Germany's Michael Spottel won the 5th Berlin Marathon in 2:20:02, leading home a field of just 197 finishers in the years when the race was still a small West Berlin road event.
What made 1978 notable
The 1978 Berlin Marathon shows how small the event still was. Only 197 runners finished, a world away from the tens of thousands who enter today. Michael Spottel of West Germany won in 2:20:02, more than four minutes clear of Michael Weiss. Ursula Blaschke took the women's race in 2:57:09, her second Berlin title after she first won in 1976, racing for the organising club SC Charlottenburg. There was no ballot and no lottery: the inaugural 1974 edition had been a few hundred runners starting near the Grunewald forest, and Berlin stayed a modest West Berlin road race until 1981, when it moved onto the city-centre streets and began its rise to Major status.
Finishers over time
Good-for-age standards
View full age-group standards
| Age group | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 18-34 | 2:45:00 | 3:10:00 |
| 35-39 | 2:45:00 | 3:10:00 |
| 40-44 | 2:45:00 | 3:10:00 |
| 45-49 | 2:55:00 | 3:30:00 |
| 50-54 | 2:55:00 | 3:30:00 |
| 55-59 | 2:55:00 | 3:30:00 |
| 60-64 | 3:25:00 | 4:20:00 |
| 65-69 | 3:25:00 | 4:20:00 |
| 70-74 | 3:25:00 | 4:20:00 |
| 75-79 | 3:25:00 | 4:20:00 |
| 80-84 | 3:25:00 | 4:20:00 |
| 85-89 | 3:25:00 | 4:20:00 |
| 90+ | 3:25:00 | 4:20:00 |
Questions about the 1978 ballot
Who won the 1978 Berlin Marathon?
Michael Spottel of West Germany won the men's race in 2:20:02, more than four minutes ahead of Michael Weiss. Ursula Blaschke of West Germany won the women's race in 2:57:09, her second Berlin title.
When and where was the 1978 Berlin Marathon held?
The 5th edition ran on 3 September 1978 in West Berlin. The marathon was still a modest road event in this era, years before it moved into the city-centre streets in 1981.
How many runners finished the 1978 Berlin Marathon?
A total of 197 runners finished, 187 men and 10 women. The field was tiny compared with the tens of thousands who enter the modern race.
Was there a ballot for the 1978 Berlin Marathon?
No. There was no lottery in this era, and SCC EVENTS does not publish total entries, only finisher figures. There is no acceptance rate to report for 1978.