24th Bocholt City Run on 3 May 2025

The Bocholt City Run will be held for the 24th time and, as every year, the organisers are hoping for the best running weather on 3 May. Runners and spectators are enthusiastic every year and together they create a unique atmosphere. The Citylauf is a very special flagship event for Bocholt.

The Bocholt city centre run will therefore start for the 24th time on 3 May at 5.00 pm in front of the historic town hall. In addition to many spectators, 5,050 runners are expected this year, which is also due to a new record number of participants in the school races with 2,574 pupils. The two 2.5 km school runs for girls are on the programme at 5.00 pm and for boys at 5.30 pm. The 5 km school run will start immediately afterwards at 6.00 pm. At 7.00 p.m., the 5 km race for everyone, while the 10 km fun run and road race at 8.00 p.m. is eagerly awaited.

Route unchanged | Safety is a major issue

Anyone who has taken part in the Bocholt City Run before will be familiar with the course, as it has not changed over the years. The City Sports Association, the City of Bocholt - Department of Youth, Family, School and Sport, the City Marketing Association and Sportfreunde 97/30 Lowick as the organisers of the city run will once again ensure professional conditions.

The circuit will be marked out with the help of the youth fire brigade, THW youth, water sports club, DLRG, SV Biemenhorst, pupils from Berufskolleg West, the police and many helpers from Sportfreunde 97/30 Lowick.

Drinks will be served at the finish line by the St Norbert Scouts, while medical care will be provided by the Malteser-Hilfsdienst.

Safety is an important aspect that is taken particularly seriously. In coordination between the organisers and the Bocholt security authorities, suitable and appropriate measures will be taken for the city centre.

Issue of the starting documents

A team of employees from SF 97/30 Lowick and the Stadt-Sport-Verband and some trainees from the city of Bocholt will be manning the registration office.

Due to the town hall construction site, the starting documents will once again be handed out in the Mariengymnasium, Schleusenwall 1 in the break hall, which has established itself very well as a distribution point.

The starting documents can be collected there on Friday, 2 May from 5.00 to 7.00 pm and on Saturday, 3 May from 3.00 pm. The race number contains the first name of the runner. It also contains the contact loops required for timekeeping. A new special feature of the start numbers is that the Bocholt skyline has been printed on all of them since last year, which will provide a nice souvenir of the Bocholt City Run for some of the participants.

Organisational information

There are some rules that must be adhered to. For example, it is not permitted to run with "music in your ears" - anyone who does not observe this rule will be disqualified. Parents are not allowed to accompany their children, as there will be escorts from the schools who will wear an appropriate race number to ensure visibility. The start area may only be entered from the rear, i.e. from St George's Square (next to the church tower of St George's Church). The actual start/finish area between the former city savings bank building and St George's Church is reserved exclusively for runners. The car parks behind the former Stadtsparkasse building will only be used to serve drinks, so that a good finish can be guaranteed.

Closures / Parking

The first start is at 5.00 pm so that the weekly market can still take place as normal until 1.00 pm. Königstraße in the direction of the market will be closed from midday on Saturday, but the car park "Am Nähkasten" can be used without any problems (last exit at 16.00!). The erection of the barriers in the pedestrian zone (Markt, Osterstraße and Neustraße) will begin at around 4.00 pm - this will cause obstructions in the city centre. Parking is available at Berliner Platz and in the multi-storey car park of the Shopping Arkaden. Parking is possible there until midnight. The car park of the old fire station (An der Bleiche) is also available.

Award ceremonies/presentation | New special classification "fastest female and fastest male Bocholter"

The award ceremonies for the top three finishers will take place after the races on the stage in the start/finish area at the market.

For the first time this year, there will be a special classification for the 5 KM Everyman and 10 KM fun run.

The fastest Bocholter will be honoured here in order to recognise the special significance of the Citylauf for Bocholt residents. The prerequisite for participation in the ranking is a current residence in Bocholt.

Certificates will be available for every participant on the Internet from Sunday 5 May at www.bocholter-citylauf.de. Andi Menz will moderate the city run at the start and finish. He will be supported musically by DJ Sascha Griesenbrock. The new moderation and DJ duo Tim Terhorst and Tobias Heynen will provide the atmosphere on St. Georg-Platz.

In the finishing bend on Neustraße, the father-son duo Roland and Matthias Sprick will get participants and spectators going. On Ravardistraße, presenter Boris Fastring and DJ Klaus Lensing will provide the atmosphere and on Gasthausplatz, where there will be a hands-on programme as well as a drinks and snack stand in the Flender area, presenter Stefan Nissing will be a guest. He will be supported musically by DJ Basti Tenbrock.

Supporting programme / Service

There will be a drinks bar and snack bar in the Liebfrauenviertel. Musical support will be provided by the band "Mama Mucke", organised by Dochdu Kult & Ko e.V. "In addition, there will once again be a colourful programme for children, organised by Funrent. According to Ludger Dieckhues from Bocholt City Marketing, every year such a major sporting event includes the necessary trappings for the participants and spectators ". The samba band "La Banda Furiosa" with its 20 or so drummers will be a real incentive for spectators and runners in the Sonilift curve at Lucy-Vollbrecht-Büschlepp-Platz, where the runners will pass twice per lap. On the Südwall, the "Trashdrum Trupp" will be performing and will really heat up the runners. At the market, Liebfrauenplatz and Gasthausplatz, there will be a drinks trolley and a small snack bar, tables, benches and bar tables with umbrellas and good music. Luggage storage from 15.00 to 21.30 is available at the registration office at the Mariengymnasium.

Supporter 2025

The Citylauf is made possible by the premium partners Bocholter Energie- und Wasserversorgung GmbH and Stadtsparkasse Bocholt. The media partner is the Bocholter Borkener Volksblatt.

Flender GmbH, the private brewery ERDINGER Weißbräu, SPALECK GmbH & Co. KG, Intersport Pieron and Getränke Westhoff as well as Sinnack Backspezialitäten, 1A-Medizintechnik, Sonilift GmbH, Autohaus Becher, Provinzial Versicherungen der Stadtsparkasse Bocholt, the companies Arbeitsbühnen Lift It & Funrent and Hübers Verfahrenstechnik Maschinenbau GmbH.

Other partners include the companies GILDE Handwerk, Trasol, IKK classic, Studio B and, as a new addition, Laufgefühl.

In addition, WattExtra, the brand of Bocholter Energie- und Wasserversorgung, is once again making a strong showing in the area of school runs. As in previous years, every pupil who takes part will receive a Citylauf T-shirt for the run.

All information about the Citylauf 2025 can be found at www.bocholter-citylauf.de