A dispute is breaking out over the organization of the Munich Marathon in the coming years. The previous organizer is fighting to maintain the proven concept.
What’s next for the Munich Marathon? Gernot Weigl is not the only one currently concerned with this question. He has been organizing the running event in the Bavarian capital for 24 years with his Munich Marathon GmbH. But whether he will still do it in 2025 is uncertain. After a public tender a few weeks ago, it was not the long-standing organizer Weigl, but Munich Athletics GmbH around Jacob Minah from LG Stadtwerke who was awarded the contract to host the event for the next two years.
Instead of the previous circuit through the entire city, the marathon will then take place on two 21-kilometer laps through the busier parts of the city and the English Garden. This is intended to reduce both traffic disruption and the costs of the event. A decision that Weigl and his Munich Marathon GmbH do not want to accept. They continue to fight for direction and therefore now have a petition called “Save the Munich Marathon! Don’t halve the proven route!” started.
The reasons they give against a concept with two half marathon laps is that with a comparable number of participants as in previous years, there would be a significant increase in the number of runners on the entire route of up to 140 starters per 100 meters. Two reports showed that this would lead to disruptive and dangerous overtaking and lapping throughout almost the entire race. This year over 6,000 starters took part in the marathon, and a total of more than 26,000 runners took part in all disciplines.
And apparently there is actually still hope for Weigl. Because Munich Athletics GmbH has so far only had a verbal and not a written commitment to the event. As stated in a statement from Munich Marathon GmbH, the district administration department (KVR) is currently carrying out a selection process for the two upcoming marathon events. A final decision has not yet been made, so no organizer has been officially decided for 2025 and 2026.
