November 19, 2025, 12:09 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
Last year, André Schürrle told us how he prepared for his first half marathon. Since then, the former soccer player seems to be doing one thing above all: running, running, running. What the “Last Soul Ultra” was all about, how far his longest run has been, and whether he wants to push further boundaries—André Schürrle discussed all this in a new interview with FITBOOK editor-in-chief Melanie Hoffmann.
For the first “European Fitness Award”, the RSG Group invited numerous sports stars to the Soho House. Among those who attended were Katarina Witt, Franziska van Almsick, and Ralf Moeller. The 2014 World Cup soccer champion, André Schürrle, also appeared to celebrate the winners of the award ceremony. On the sidelines of the event, FITBOOK got an update on his extreme sports career and learned about the importance of strength training in his life.
80 Kilometers at the “Last Soul Ultra”
In 2024, André Schürrle ran the Berlin Half Marathon and in 2025 the Berlin Marathon—running has definitely become a new passion after his soccer career. Or is it more about the extreme experiences that come with it? That’s the impression one gets from his latest extreme running challenge, where he achieved a personal best in early October.
At the “Last Soul Ultra” in Bornheim near Bonn, the roughly 100 participants had to complete a 6.7-kilometer lap every hour—until they gave up. Schürrle did so after twelve laps. “I ran 80 kilometers. That was the longest I’ve ever managed. So it was a complete success for me,” he said in the FITBOOK interview.
How Far Can You Push Boundaries?
What motivates the 34-year-old to repeatedly engage in such extreme experiences, pushing his body to exhaustion?
“It’s about constantly seeing where your limits are and how far you can go beyond them to improve,” Schürrle explained. “I don’t think anyone goes to the ‘Last Soul Ultra’ to win, but to improve, to set a new personal best. For example, if you’ve run 100 kilometers before, now you run 110. It’s about seeing where you stand and how far you can go. How far can you push yourself: your mind and your body?” Instead of comparing with others, the focus is on oneself and one’s own abilities and limits. And that seems to be what keeps enticing the former soccer player.
Former soccer player André Schürrle’s time in the half marathon
Former Bundesliga pro Diego Ribas ran the Berlin Marathon in this time.
From 100 to 0?
After complete exhaustion, one thing is especially important: recovery. A sports professional like Schürrle knows this, of course: “You’re completely done because you ran until your body and mind said, ‘Not another step!’ Then it’s about not doing too much afterward. You don’t want to injure yourself. So, for the first one or two weeks, you take it easy, but you still move because that’s when you recover best.”
“New Challenge Coming Very Soon”
Anyone who has followed Schürrle’s actions in recent years might get the impression: After one extreme challenge comes the next. We wanted to know if that’s really the case and got a laugh from him: “No concrete plans yet. But I’m sure the next challenge is coming very soon, whatever that may be.” His answer remained vague, but we definitely got the feeling that something new is already in the works, perhaps for early 2026?
André Schürrle is definitely not idle, as he has discovered another sports passion besides running—strength training. Strength training plays a significant role in his life, he revealed at the end of the interview: “Especially now after soccer, I’ve discovered it as my time to try to get better. That’s why I go to the gym once a day. It plays a big role for me.”