They all ran together for a good cause: our strong running colleagues as well as Lionel Souque and Jan Kunath, who took to the starting line with the Vice President of FC Köln 1, Dr Carsten Wettich, and the Managing Director of FC Köln 1, Markus Rejek. For every kilometre run in the race, we donated one euro to HistiocytosisHilfe e.V..

In total, we covered an impressive 6,657 kilometres. This distance roughly corresponds to the radius of the earth - a great achievement and a strong sign of our team spirit!

"The Cologne Marathon is a fixed date in the calendar for many runners due to its appeal. The route leads past many stations that make Cologne so special. And it is constantly lined with people who provide that extra dose of motivation and stamina with their exuberant atmosphere. As an original Cologne company, we are proud to have been contributing to this traditional event for 23 years now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for all participants that they achieve their personal goals and enjoy the run through our city despite the effort," says Sven Spork, Divisional Director of REWE Group.

The REWE Group employees who took on the city centre course this year prepared for the Cologne Marathon in a company-run preparation programme in order to reach the finish line healthy and safe. The mas institute from Cologne provided support. Runners received personal performance diagnostics in advance and, based on this, an individual training plan and trained in guided running groups depending on their performance level. In August, interested REWE Group employees were also able to receive tips and tricks from Olympic runner Samuel Fitwi.

We were also on hand to provide the runners with plenty of refreshments and motivation
In the REWE Group catering village and at our REWE catering points along the route, a wide range of food was available to keep the more than 30,000 runners energised. Together with sports-enthusiastic partners, we provided a variety of products such as fruit, vegetables, muesli bars and sandwiches. Our REWE delivery service supported the event with seven vehicles on and along the route and transported the marathon runners' own food. On the course itself, our "Hammer Mile" with REWE and Toom provided motivation on the last dreaded kilometres.