“The marathon will humble you”
50th BERLIN Marathon 2024
Berlin-Chicago-New York City-Tokyo-Boston-London. The holy grails for runners, and if you’re really serious about running, you want to run them. The Berlin Marathon is part of the world’s 6 most prestigious Abbott World Marathon Majors. I ran the New York City Marathon in 2019, my first marathon in the year after my treatment for breast cancer. It was a cathartic experience, beyond being a bucket list item.
This is my 10th year running, I now have 4 marathons, 7 Ultramarathons as a team and countless half marathons behind me, along with other prestigious Hungarian races. You can enter the Abbott Marathons either by running a qualifying time, which is not an option for me, taking part in a lottery, or by volunteering as a fundraiser, where you make a donation to the charity of your choice.
I entered the 50th anniversary Berlin Marathon as a running ambassador for the Suhanj! foundation, where I pledged to raise at least HUF 500,000 by the time of the race.
I had wanted to go for years, and since the spirit and aims of the Suhanj! foundation are close to my heart – they’ve been helping disabled children get moving for over 15 years – I applied knowing I was unlikely to succeed. At the same time, I knew that if accepted, I could certainly complete the distance and reach the target amount, because I raise funds for all my major races, and I have always asked for support to treat sick or underprivileged children, or to improve their quality of life. So far with success.
That’s why I’ve been helping the RBIF for 8 years now as a volunteer administrator, because giving is the best thing to do.
In the months leading up to the race I was looking for sponsors, so of course I asked the Robert Burns Foundation if they could stand by me to support the Suhanj! Foundation’s sports centre in Budapest to provide professional coaching for disabled children. And the Board placed their faith in me!
From there, it was just a matter of running. I was so grateful, excited and proud to be there in Berlin, where I was one of 55,000 runners starting the 26 miles. I had the Suhanj! Foundation on my running gear, which gave me extra strength, I had a mission. Their slogan is “we give strength”, and this gave me super energy.
The big marathons are running festivals. Almost every nation in the world is represented, and millions of supporters line the route, giving encouragement, refreshments, playing music and cheering. It’s a great celebration for us runners, where, apart from the elite athletes, it doesn’t matter how long it takes you (within the 8-hour time limit), because you gain experiences along the way that set you up for the future. The sporting value is high, the distance is said to be superhuman.
I completed the distance in 4 hours 40 minutes, but what I came away with was the experience of a lifetime.
With the support of my followers and the RBIF’s funding of 1.000.000 Ft, I was able to raise a total of HUF 1,742,000 to secure the services of a professional coach for the Suhanj! children for over 3 months!
I am extremely grateful that the RBIF supported me, believed in what I stand for, trusted in my performance, and so we were able to contribute to the additional conditioning and developmental exercise of many children by qualified coaches!
Thank you RBIF, thank you Berlin, go Suhanj!
Bernadette Kellermayer RBIF Admin, volunteer fundraising running ambassador, breast cancer survivor
