Come meet us up closer

The IMFR – International Marathon Fellowship of Rotarians

is a group of Rotarians dedicated to ıpromoting long distance running and endurance sports as an opportunity to experience fellowship.
The objectives of our Fellowship are:

to develop and promote world-wide friendship through running in competitive events and engaging in touristic activities
to serve the community locally, nationally and internationally through running activities
to promote international understanding and peace through running activities.

The idea of founding this organization originated at Paris Marathon in 2005.

The charter initiation party of our fellowship was celebrated in 2006 during the marathon in Berlin. The main intention of the IMFR is to organize one Rotarian event a year during an international marathon, where you can meet Rotarian friends and run for a beneficial purpose. Members have come together once a year since 2005 to run in a nominated marathon. We have previously participated in the Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, New York, Medoc, Vienna, Townsville / Great Barrier Reef, Graz, London, Rome, Budapest, Ljubljana and Queenstown Marathon New Zealand, steadily raising funds for PolioPlus. The true international spirit of Rotary and the fellowship is always manifested at such gatherings and long lasting friendships have been developed over the years.
www.Rotarianrun.org is the passionate Rotarian marathon fan’s first port of call next to Facebook. Here, all the news about our events is posted and people can share ideas and experiences.
The IMFR is open to all Rotarians, Rotaracts and their families. All you need is enthusiasm for the challenge of running; amateur runners are more than welcome.

The 2020/21 Board

Rachel Cole – President

Martin Geiger – Vice President

Lutz Bachmann – Past President

Uli Menken – Secretary

Joachim Bekedorf – Treasurer

Impressions and Moments

London with PDG Mike

“The 2013 Marathon was a surreal experience for me – as an unexpected celebrity, in my 24th marathon. Meeting up with the IFMR team at the start and posing for many photos, I started with my fellow Governor (District 1130) Eve crossing the start line in joint last place. This was challenging as I have always been striving towards a quick start. During the run my wheel must have been the most photographed standalone Rotary wheel in the world. I was raising money for the Rotary WheelAppeal which was the chairty for many UK Governors during the London 2012 Olympics. It was set up to to help disabled potential athletes with getting their first sporting wheelchair. Several medal winning athletes have been supported by Rotary. As Governor I raised over four thousand Euros from running the marathon. Every year I continue to marshal the London Marathon running a team outside the Houses of Parliament and have been able to cheer on several Rotarians running past. After being Governor (District 1140, south of London) I have continued to undertake Rotary roles in the UK and for Rotary International. “All the bestCheers Mike Thorn2020 Honolulu Convention Promotion Committee
Twitter: @mikerotary Facebook @RotaryMike

Charter Initiation Party Berlin

76 Rotarians from ten countries at the Berlin Marathon
“Rotary moves” – under this motto, Peter Fischer, Paul Groll and Josef Zech from RC Ellwangen have lured an international team of runners to the 33rd Berlin Marathon in the capital devised a colorful program. 76 Rotarians from ten countries trained specifically for this weekend – and a good physical condition was also required, not only for the 42 kilometers, but also for the Rotary celebrations. On Sunday, the Rotary team started tightly packed with 32,000 runners on the road on 17 June. In glorious late summer weather, they were spurred by about one million viewers and musically entertained by 60 live bands. These encouraging conditions were also necessary for all athletes in the struggle with themselves. The final finish by the Brandenburg Gate was then more than compensation for the hardships. A great weekend in Berlin came to an end, where the friendship and the personal sense of achievement were in the foreground. Under the impression of this Berlin marathon, we translated the annual motto of President Boyd in a somewhat modified form: “Lead the Way” – “Running ahead”.

Impressive appearance in the German capital: The Rotary Marathonis ahead the Reichstag dome for the big sporting event warm-up

Passion Anywhere

Any person who trains to complete a distance run must have a passion for running and accomplishment. The wonderful thing about the IFMR is that the passion our runners have gets to be explored all over the world as we travel each year together to complete a run. The IFMR team has completed runs on many continents together and the passion for running has allowed Rotarians to connect and become friends with other Rotarians around the world and even visit with each other outside of the annual gathering.