When the first Berlin Marathon took place in 1974, Wilfried Köhnke stayed away.
It was not because he disliked running. Quite the opposite. Köhnke had already been running for years by then.
The problem was that everything he had heard about the marathon made the distance sound like something reserved for a different breed of athlete.
Television commentators had spoken about marathon runners as specialists. Then there was the famous story of Pheidippides, who supposedly collapsed and died after running from Marathon to Athens.
Köhnke decided the shorter races he was already doing would do him nicely.
More than half a century later, that decision looks almost comical.
On Sunday, September 27th, the 78 year old Berliner is due to line up for the Berlin Marathon for the 50th time, extending a participation record that already belongs to him.
And it all started because another runner effectively told him to stop being afraid of the distance.
One Conversation Changed Everything
A few weeks after the inaugural Berlin Marathon, Köhnke met someone who had taken part.
The other runner pointed out that Köhnke was already competing regularly and was actually faster than him. If he could complete a marathon, why could Köhnke not do the same?
That was enough.
Köhnke entered the second edition in 1975 and finished in 3:57:05.
He can still remember the start at the Mommsenstadion. The runners had around 300 metres to cover inside the stadium before passing through a narrow exit.
Instead of conserving energy for the 42.195 kilometres ahead, Köhnke remembers everyone tearing towards the exit.
He would need walking breaks during that first Berlin Marathon and during several of the editions that followed. It hardly mattered.
He was hooked.
49 Berlin Marathons Later
Köhnke has now completed 49 Berlin Marathons.
Since first entering in 1975, he has missed only one edition, sitting out the 1982 race because of injury.
His 50th appearance comes in the 52nd edition of the event.
It is a remarkable record in its own right, but even more so when you consider what has happened to the Berlin Marathon during that period.
The event Köhnke first knew was a relatively small race through West Berlin. The early editions along the Avus featured no more than around 600 runners.
The course moved into the city in 1981.
Köhnke was then there in 1990 when runners passed through the Brandenburg Gate for the first time, just days before German reunification.
Now Berlin is one of the biggest marathons on the planet, attracting runners from across the world and forming part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors.
More than 84,000 participants from 162 nations are expected across the various events taking place in Berlin this weekend.
Köhnke has effectively watched one race transform alongside the city around it.
He Was Pretty Quick Too
It would be easy to look at Köhnke's story simply as one of longevity.
That would miss another fairly important point.
He could run.
Köhnke recorded his marathon personal best of 2:44:48 in 1985 and broke three hours on 11 occasions.
At his peak, his marathon training involved around 68 kilometres per week.
Even now, at 78, he still averages roughly 43 kilometres per week. In the final weeks before this year's Berlin Marathon, he told German broadcaster rbb that he was aiming for weeks of 50 to 60 kilometres and wanted to fit in one more long run of around 27 or 28 kilometres.
This is not somebody turning up for a ceremonial lap of Berlin either.
Köhnke still considers himself a racer.
He has even admitted that some parts of the modern marathon experience are not really his cup of tea.
The huge fields, runners stopping for photographs and people treating the marathon as sightseeing are all a long way from the club racing culture he grew up with.
For Köhnke, if you have trained for a marathon, you might as well race it.
More Than 100 Marathons Around the World
Berlin may be the constant, but it is far from Köhnke's entire marathon story.
He has completed more than 100 marathons, with races taking him around the world, including New York and Melbourne.
One of the most meaningful came in Australia.
His sister moved there in 1973 and Köhnke has made numerous visits since. In 2022, he completed the Shellharbour Marathon south of Sydney.
It was his 100th marathon.
There was another personal connection too. The race took place on May 1st, the birthday of an uncle who was killed during the war.
Asked by Berlin Marathon organisers which marathon he would most like to experience again, Shellharbour was his answer.
Number 50, But Maybe Not the End
Köhnke does at least have a target for Sunday.
He has never taken longer than five hours to finish a Berlin Marathon and has no intention of starting now.
He believes something between 4:30:00 and 4:45:00 is realistic for his 50th appearance.
Crossing the finish line would bring up a number he admits he never seriously imagined when all of this began.
In fact, back in 1974 he did not even think the marathon was for him.
Now the question is how much longer he can keep going.
Boston Marathon legend Johnny Kelley completed that race 58 times, a number that has caught Köhnke's attention.
Asked by rbb if he would like to reach 58 Berlin Marathons himself, Köhnke admitted that he would, although at 78 he is taking things one year at a time.
Getting there would mean continuing into his 80s.
That can wait.
For now there is Berlin number 50.
Fifty one years after finally convincing himself to give the marathon a go, Wilfried Köhnke is still turning up.
Image: SCC EVENTS / Sportografen
