Organic fruit for Frankfurt runners

Thanks to the reaffirmed partnership with Querbeet Bio Frischvermarktungs GmbH, participants of the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon will receive organic fruit along the course and at the finish line. With its 100% organic catering, Querbeet has been contributing to the Green Marathon commitment of Germany’s oldest city marathon since 2005.

“Marathon and organic,” says Querbeet Managing Director Thomas Wolff, “have a very good connection: Both only work sustainably.” This is also reflected in the “Bio Runner Rhein-Main” running team. In 2024, 68 athletes competed for the team, including 24 who completed the full marathon distance. But they don’t just run for themselves; they also carry an important message: “Healthy nutrition is crucial for sport. Those who eat a balanced, high-quality diet find it easier to overcome a demanding challenge like a marathon,” explains Wolff, a marathon runner himself and a member of the Frankfurt Marathon Club.

Querbeet is a cooperation partner of Bioland, a fruit sponsor of the regional Main-Lauf-Cup, a founding member and board member of the Konstablerwache Producers’ Market, and a member of the BioBoden cooperative. In 2013, the Pappelhof cooperative model received the “Federal Prize for Organic Farming.” Since 2018, Querbeet has also been certified organic by the Hessen Organic Seal of Approval. In addition to a wide selection of fruit and vegetables from its own organic farms, Querbeet offers its customers a full range of over 4,500 organic products in its online shop.

“We are pleased to continue offering runners fruit from certified organic farming. This organic catering is a central element of our Green Marathon initiatives. By using organic fruit, we have been able to reduce our carbon footprint fivefold,” explains Jo Schindler, Race Director of the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon.

Every year, the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon becomes a little greener – with its numerous environmentally and climate-friendly measures, the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon is a pioneer among running events. The marathon’s organic catering has already been recognized as a “Best Practice” in the brochure “Green Champions for Sport and the Environment” published by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and by the German Olympic Sports Confederation. In 2014, the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon was honored with the “Green Award” for the world’s most environmentally friendly marathon by AIMS, the Association of International Road Race Organizers, for its commitment. The organizers’ ultimate goal? The classic race is to become climate-neutral by 2030.