The BMW Berlin Marathon is one of the six Abbotts World Marathon Majors and is one of the flattest and fastest where world records have been secured. It's also an amazing city that hosts a great event. Getting place follows the usual route of all the big city marathons with an open ballot, charity places,and international sports tour companies. It's a big event with c42,000 runners taking place this year.

To get yourself sorted out for your run I'd recommend arriving Friday, there are two airports serving Berlin, I used Tegel and getting into the city is either a bus it taxi. I opted for the latter which cost €20. Getting to the Expo Berlin Vital (to give its full name) is very easy. Just hope on the U1 or U2 (that's the underground name not the Irish rock band) to Gleisdreiek and as you come out of the station you turn right and it a couple of hundred yards on your right.

Registration is pretty straightforward and you'll be tagged with a wrist band you'll need to keep on you until after the marathon as it's required for you to access the runners area on the day. You can then go and collect you t-shirt(s) in the main hall. One negative is that you pay a separate fee for both a finishers t-shirt and an event t-shirt. I'd always expect to pay for the event t-shirt but would have expected not to pay for the finishers t-shirt. For reference, there were plenty of event t-shirts for sale in the adidas stores around the city.

A big highlight for Berlin has to be the Breakfast Run on Saturday morning, it's starts at 9:30 (quite late compared to some) and it starts at the beautiful Charlottenburg Castle. There is no registration required, but turn up (fancy dress and national costumes were in abundance) and for everyone else we made do with tying BMW balloons to our belts - sadly this didn't help running performance.

The course is not that interested covering 6km along some wide boulevards and a few side streets but the you eventually get site of the stunning Olympic stadium, home of the 1936 Olympic Games and scene of Jessie Owens four gold medals. The route takes you around and then into the bowels of the building at the rear and suddenly you come out into this amazing stadium, with the finishing line three quarters of the way around the track. A truly memorable experiment and one well worth doing if you're a sports history buff. After the run a decent breakfast was served up outside the stadium with enough supplies to feed a very large number of runners.

Race day starts early and the recommended transport is the U-bahn to Potsdamer Platz followed by a 10-15 walk. A top tip for traveling around the city is to buy a Welcomecard from any bus or railway station. You can buy a 48 hour card for €19 or 72 hours for €27 which you can use the buses, trams, U-bahn and the S-bahn (overground trains). If you've opted to check you bag then you head toward Brandenburg Gate, for those without head through Tiergarten (a big park).

The race starts at 8:45 with wheelchair and handbiker competitors going off before the elites at 9:00 followed by 3 waves starting at 9:15. The start is fantastic as you look ahead and see the Siegessäule (Victory Column), one of many of the amazing historical buildings you'll go past as you make your way around the 42.195km of Berlin. I must confess that the distance markers in KM rather than miles to a bit of getting used to, but if you put an alert on your watch you'll know where you are. Another minor gripe is that the fact that the drinks stations weren't that well marked, you seem to suddenly hit them without seeing the signs ahead of you - of course this may well have just been my poor eyesight.

The course is pretty much flat, although looking again at my Garmin the elevation was minimum 30m up to a maximum of 58m. If you're looking for a PB then this is the place to come. The crowds and atmosphere was very good (in spite of the rain) with plenty of live music to keep you moving. The final highlight must be the free beer at the end, which was very welcome. Although I did find getting out of the race village and remembering to take off my timing chip was a bit of a faff, but minor in the grand scheme of things.

Overall, the BMW Berlin Marathon is a must-do for anyone who wants an international marathon experience, the organisation was excellent and the city was extremely welcoming. If you have time, then do go and explore as there's lots to see and do. I'd certainly like to come back and run this event again in the future.