REWE Group was once again a supporter of the 25th edition of the cathedral city's running event: around 25,000 runners set off on the 42.2-kilometre course on 1 October. Also there with stamina and power: around 220 REWE runners, who covered a total of 4,324.9 kilometres. We spoke to two of them in advance.
For 22 years, REWE Group has been a permanent partner with REWE catering points on the course and in the REWE Group catering village at the finish line. The 25,000 or so participants on Sunday (1 October) once again included employees from all REWE Group business units across Germany. And they ran great times: Lynn Bornholdt needed just three hours and 29 minutes to complete the 42.195 kilometres. Dennis Urbschat from DER Travel and Tourism finished the marathon distance in three hours and 33 minutes. Johannes Höfener was the best runner in the half marathon. Amelie Horten from Finance was the best female runner. The best relay team was the REWE FÜR SIE relay team with Stefan Goldhagen, Giorgio Mangiarotti, Dirk Houben and Philipp Merten.
In the anniversary year, the participants were once again well supplied for the challenge: 35,000 Rainforest Alliance/PRO PLANET-certified Chiquita bananas, 23,000 Rainforest Alliance-certified muesli bars from PENNY, 5,000 litres of REWE organic apple juice, 5.000 regional PRO PLANET apples and 1,000 PRO PLANET pears from Krings (Rheinbach), as well as 1,000 mini cherry tomatoes from Germany, 300 regional mini cucumbers and 70 kilos of regionally grown carrots from Landgard. As in previous years, the surplus food from the running event was donated to the Cologne food bank.
"The Cologne Marathon is a firm favourite not only in the cathedral city, but far beyond. The running event along the numerous sights and with its exuberant atmosphere has its own, quintessentially Cologne character. We are delighted to have been able to make our contribution to the event for 22 years now," says Ines Schurin, Group Director Corporate Communications. The company also showed its sporting side on the day, as REWE Group was once again the largest group of runners with around 220 participants, said Schurin.
"For 22 years, REWE Group has reliably supplied all participants of the Cologne Marathon with high-quality products on the course and in the catering village, making a very important contribution to the success of the event. The fact that so many of the company's employees are also taking part rounds off the sporting image of this commitment," says Markus Frisch, Managing Director of Kölner AusdauerSport GmbH.
REWE delivery service on board again
After 2019 and 2022, the REWE delivery service also provided logistical support for the 25th Cologne Marathon. REWE delivery service vehicles drove in front of the leading group as the lead pack and transported, among other things, the self-catering.
Motivational boost at the "Hammer Mile"
The last few kilometres are dreaded by many half-marathon and marathon runners and some fall into a motivational hole. That's why REWE and toom Baumarkt DIY store organised a colourful programme with music at the Hansaring / Ritterstraße location (kilometre 17 for half marathon runners; kilometre 29 and kilometre 38 for marathon runners) to get participants back on their feet.
The fastest relay runners, from left: Dirk Houben, Giorgio Mangiarotti, Stefan Goldhagen. Not in the photo: Philipp Merten
REWE Group employees ran for a good cause
For years, REWE Group has been donating one euro to HistiocytoseHilfe e.V. for every kilometre run by its employees: in 2022, 225 finishers covered around 4,000 kilometres. This year, the "kilometre money" of 4,500 euros raised by employees will once again be donated to HistiocytosisHilfe e.V.
REWE Group employees prepare for the Cologne Marathon every year with a company programme, supervised by the CoE Health & Innovation, in order to reach the finish line healthy and safe. The mas institute from Cologne provides support: REWE Group runners receive special performance diagnostics, an individual training plan based on this and train in small guided running groups depending on their performance level.
In addition, every REWE Group runner can receive tips and tricks from professional long-distance runners at various running events and will start the Cologne Marathon with a running shirt including the REWE Group logo.
Sebastian Albrecht 2020 at the Cologne 8-bridge run.
"As a passionate marathon runner, I've run in many events - in Berlin, Hamburg and the Ruhr region. I even took part in the New York Marathon. These are all special races, but the Cologne Marathon was and is simply unrivalled. It is such an incredible reflection of the Cologne mentality. The emotions along the route ... nowhere else do I feel so supported and cheered on by the people at the side of the road. It doesn't matter where you come from, the people of Cologne welcome everyone openly! It's almost like carnival. This city simply loves to celebrate - itself and its people. As a runner on the street, you can feel that first hand."
Rudolfplatz as a fixed point - suddenly nothing hurts anymore.
"Whenever I ran the Cologne Marathon at the limit, Rudolfplatz was my focal point, which I looked forward to every time because I knew: the marathon is so hard, but it's easy there. The Cologne Marathon has changed its course from time to time since its inception. But Rudolfplatz has always been the centrepiece of the entire course. You pass it for the first time at kilometre 14.5, still with a lot of energy, and think: amazing, people are "shouting" at me! The second time, everyone is shouting at you again, and you know: it's not that long, you can do it! And then, the third time, you know it's the last few metres, then you give it your all again and suddenly nothing hurts anymore."
Sebastian Albrecht at the Cologne Marathon 2023.
Coming to the cathedral city through the Cologne Marathon
"It was actually my first full Cologne Marathon in 2008 that triggered my decision to move from my home in the Ruhr region to the cathedral city. Before that, I had virtually no contact with Cologne. I have since found happiness here. My wife is a real Cologne girl, my children are real Cologne kids. And I enjoy walking to the Rhine early in the morning, when everyone is still asleep, and doing my laps there. When I come back an hour later, I make breakfast for the family. When the others slowly wake up, we start the day together. It's become a really nice ritual."
Roland Kugel
"I'm travelling from Frankfurt to the cathedral city to take part in the Cologne Marathon. I've been running regularly since 2017, when I was living abroad and my running route always took me past a beautiful lake. That gave me extra motivation to get outside and running became a routine. I think it's wonderful to be able to exercise in the fresh air and that running is possible anywhere and right from home. It allows me to do my sport and balance out my job at the same time. I also enjoy doing easy long runs (10 to 30 kilometres) with friends and we use the time together to chat. in 2019, I also started to try my hand at trail running. It's great fun and I can experience and enjoy nature even more intensely."
Roland Kugel
Soaking up the great atmosphere
"Kölle is a really cool city where some of my friends live. I already took part in the Cologne Marathon last year and thought the entire race weekend was excellently organised. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the REWE Group once again, also for the after-race support. I'm already looking forward to meeting colleagues and seeing the REWE Group runners in the white shirts! This year I will be running the half distance. My current half marathon best time is 01:30:43, so of course I'm aiming to beat that. However, I'm running with lots of friends and colleagues this year and taking it a little easier. We want to soak up the great atmosphere and simply have fun."
Success with the right attitude and fitness
"I have divided my training into short fast runs and relaxed long runs. From time to time, I also complete my running sessions with my running community in Frankfurt. I also like to do HIIT workouts at my favourite gym. The mental attitude, the will and the belief in myself are super important. Physical fitness comes into play when I want to push myself to the limit to set my best times. In my opinion, it's essential to prepare your body sufficiently. That's why I say that the right mix of factors leads to success."