Ruling the marathon
Sonja Oberem is a three-time junior world champion in the short distance triathlon and a two-time Olympian in the women’s marathon. At the Uniper Düsseldorf Marathon 2025, she is the race director for running. She spoke to VIVID editor Rainer Kunst about her athletic and professional career, what makes Düsseldorf so special as a marathon venue, and her experiences as a top athlete that help her in her job.
You started triathlon in the 1980s. How did you get involved in what was then a relatively exotic sport?
Like most triathletes at the time, I originally came from swimming. My then boyfriend, now husband, had started doing triathlons and I wanted to try it too. I had my first competition in 1989. I obviously made a positive impression and was invited to train with the German squad. A year later, in September 1990, I became Junior World Champion for the first time in Florida. I was 17 years old and didn't even have a national team kit. But I found it all very exciting and fun.
And you went on to win the world junior title again the following two years. Did you have any role models? What motivated you?
No, to be honest, I never had any role models. I just had talent and I really enjoyed combining three different sports. Considering my height - I am 'only' 5'7" - I am not ideally built for swimming. Running suited me better. And thanks to running, I was also relatively good at cycling. That was great for triathlons: even if I wasn’t the first one out of the water, I could make up a lot of ground cycling and especially running.
Four years later, in Sydney, you were back at the Olympics, but with less success. You won a bronze medal at the 2002 European Athletics Championships and also won several other city marathons. What is your personal favourite sporting achievement?
There are several. The Olympics - whether you win a medal or not - is always a very special experience. Other highlights for me were winning the Hamburg Marathon in a personal best time and, of course, winning the bronze medal at the European Athletics Championships in Munich. Winning a city marathon is great, but winning an individual medal at a championship is something special, I think.
„My sporting experience helps me to stay focused on a goal.“
How often do you run these days?
On average I run between 60 and 80 kilometres a week. But for me it's not training anymore, it's just for fun. And it's nowhere near as much as it used to be, when at my peak I was running up to 240 kilometres a week. Compared to that, I would describe running now more as a kind of "healthy exercise" (laughs).
Let's talk about your career. You have a degree in business administration and career as an athlete, you went into the running business. Did you plan this for a long time?
No. I come from a family of merchants; we had a hardware and timber wholesale business - it could hardly be more traditional. The plan was for me to go into business. But it quickly became clear that it wasn't really for me. The company no longer exists. And because I settled in Düsseldorf very quickly after my active career as a marathon runner, I ended up with the triathlon organisation via the sports agency after a few other stops.
And then you received an offer from D.LIVE to co-organise the Invictus Games, which took place in Düsseldorf in September 2023.
Exactly. I could see myself doing that very well, especially as I already knew a lot of people in the D.LIVE team. I started there in August 2021 - the first time in my life as an employee. It was a very interesting and challenging project and I've really enjoyed it.
You are now the race director for the Uniper Düsseldorf Marathon on 27 April 2025. As an athlete, you have run this marathon before. What makes the race in this city so special for you?
I am from Mönchengladbach, so it is like a home-run for me, if only because of the proximity. I have a close relationship with the organisers and also with the city itself because I have always enjoyed spending a lot of time here, both professionally and privately. And Düsseldorf is simply a very beautiful setting for such an event.
At the Uniper Düsseldorf Marathon you are following the new concept 'Run to the beat'. What do you hope to achieve?
On the one hand, we want to make the race more attractive for younger participants and, of course, for spectators, with electronic music and DJs. There's no question that it's a complex organisation. But in the end, it will be worth it: the more entertainment we have along the route, the more attractive the event will be. On the other hand, this approach emphasises that the idea of performance is still important, but not as important as it was 20 years ago. You can see this, for example, in the finish times. Twenty years ago, half of all marathon runners finished in under three hours; today, perhaps only 15 percent of runners manage that. It's more about finishing the course and having fun. I think that's good, because it doesn't always have to be a top performance. It's more important to get people moving. And that appeals to more people.
SONJA'S TOP 10 MARATHON TIMES
Hamburg Marathon 2001: 02:26:12 (1st place)
Hamburg Marathon 2002: 02:26:21 (1st place)
Berlin Marathon 2004: 02:26:53 (3rd place)
Vienna City Marathon 2000: 02:27:25 (3rd place)
London Marathon 1997: 02:28:02 (4th place)
World Athletics Championships 2001: 02:28:17 (5th place)
European Athletics Championships 2002: 02:28:45 (3rd place)
Osaka Women's Marathon 2001: 02:28:50 (4th place)
World Athletics Championships 1999: 02:28:55 (6th place)
Amsterdam Marathon 1998: 02:28:02 (4th place)
For comparison, the current women's marathon world record was set by Tigist Assefa of Ethiopia in 02:11:53 at the 2023 Berlin Marathon.
How does your experience in top-level sport help you in your job today?
It certainly helps me to be persistent. Just like in sport, the job does not only consist of highlights. For example, it's no fun running for hours in the rain, but in the end you're glad you did it. My sporting experience helps me to focus on a goal. If we want to organise the Düsseldorf Marathon, there is a fixed date by which everything has to be ready. You can't train for that in advance. •
ABOUT Sonja Oberem
• August 2021 to present: D.LIVE GmbH & Co. KG, Senior Manager Sports Competition
• July 2018 to July 2021: rhein-marathon Düsseldorf GmbH, Managing Director
• January 2016 to June 2018: Dammann Absperrung GmbH, Managing Director
• 2012 to present: Oberem Event Service GmbH, Managing Partner
• 1999 to 2021: Authorised Signatory Carl Ridder KG
• 1993 to 1999: Degree in Business Administration (UAS)
Interview: Rainer Kunst, Words: Tom Corrinth
Pictures: Celine Al-Mosawi