The TUI Marathon Palma de Mallorca with 9,494 participants and a growth rate of 4 percent over last year is continuing its tradition of breaking its own annual attendance records.
Dr Michael Frenzel, CEO of TUI AG, fired the starter’s pistol for the 9th TUI Marathon against the backdrop of La Seu Cathedral in Palma. “The continuous growth in the number of participants shows we are on the right track. After almost ten years we have succeeded in establishing a major sporting event, an event that also caters to the whole family.” And: “The number of participants and the positive reactions of athletes, holidaymakers and the inhabitants of Mallorca alike are a marvellous confirmation.”
Marathon winner from Spain
The fastest marathon runner with a time of 02:32:56 Miguel Capo Soler left the competition behind. He won the marathon for the fourth time at the TUI Marathon Palma de Mallorca. Karsten Kruck from Germany followed him in second place in a time of 02:40:18. The third place on the 42.195-km run went to Bartolome Fiol Soler from Spain in a time of 02:41:23. In the women’s race of races Maria Ramis Esteva (02:59:16) from Spain picked up the crown. Birgit Schönherr-Hölscher from Germany (03:11:20) and Rebecca Crisp from England (03:20:20) came in second and third.
The half marathon winner comes from Spain
Antoni Roldan Mercadal ran a time of 01:10:52 and finished first in the 2012 half marathon. Second place over this distance went to Keith Hood from England in a time of 01:13:17. Ben Beattie from England (01:14:52) qualified for third place over the distance of 21.0975 km. In the women’s Christine Ramsauer from Germany won the race with a time 01:26:29. Lucía Pasamer Márquez (01:29:24) from Spain came second, and third place went to Isabel Ramis Esteva from Spain (01:30:17).
Innovations at the 9th TUI Marathon Palma de Mallorca
2012 saw the 10K race re-routed to Palma’s historic quarter, taking in tourist attractions such as Plaza Major and the famous La Seu Cathedral. The improvements proved of value. For the first time walkers and Nordic walkers were given their own fixture, the Walking Day, on Friday 19 October 2012, in which 268 athletes set off. Apart from having their own day, walkers were also able to enjoy a new route along Palma’s beach promenade.
TUI donates a total of €25,000 to Unicef and the RTL fundraising campaign
With a donation of €10,000 to UNICEF and €15,000 to the RTL “We help children” fundraising campaign, TUI is supporting two children’s charities. In line with the motto “Kids run for kids” 2,000 children between the ages of two and twelve took part at the Unicef Kids Run the day before the marathon. Their sporting prowess has been converted into a donation: For each participating child TUI donates five euros for the drinking water project “Water for Niger – every drop counts”. The education campaign raises awareness about the importance of water for the survival of children. For the first time the children’s race was accompanied by a photo exhibition and was opened with a specially composed song.
Four stars from RTL were also at the event to raise money for a good cause: In the framework of the RTL fundraising campaign Rebecca Mir, a finalist in this year’s “Germany’s Next Top Model” TV show and “Bachelor” Paul Janke as well as RTL anchors Katja Burkard and Wolfram Kons, one of the initiators of the RTL fundraiser, set off at the starter’s orders. Thanks to the campaign entitled “Run with your star”, runners ran cheek to cheek with these showbiz celebrities: a raffle was held to draw the winners from the numerous applicants to run alongside one of the celebrities.
Event to celebrate the tenth TUI Marathon in 2013
Michael Lambertz, director of Group Marketing at TUI and head of the TUI Marathon Palma de Mallorca, announced the coming ten-year anniversary of the TUI Marathon: “We are already looking forward today to the tenth anniversary celebration next year. When we launched the TUI Marathon nine years ago we were hoping to establish an international sporting event for the whole family. We were successful and we want to celebrate that next year.” The 10th international TUI Marathon Palma de Mallorca will be held on 20 October 2013.
Gratitude to the residents of the citiy of Palma
TUI thanks the residents of the city of Palma for their patience and understanding in connection with the restrictions caused by the Marathon for traffic as well as pedestrians and cyclists in the area around the coastal road between Portixol and Can Pastilla. Moreover the organisers thank everyone for the interest shown and the high turnout of spectators along the route.
