It’s just before seven. The teams of four form in the stadium on the Sommerdamm, sunscreen is distributed, anticipation and tension are spreading. 750 Opel employees are available in the evening sun. In gray-yellow jerseys. On the back: “Omg! GSE”. In addition to the starting line of the rectors: the prototype of the Mokka GSE. Still disguised, still in testing, but already in focus. Motorsport performance that flows into the series.
5,4,3,2,1 – starting shot!
The 12th Opel company run does not count who the first is at the finish. But who is at the start: three trainees at the side of their training manager. The daughter, pushed in the trailer. Four “Women of Stellantis” from Rüsselsheim, Eisenach and Paris. The colleague in the PandaBar costume of the sister brand Fiat. Former in functional shirts, ambitious colleagues with pulse clocks. And in the middle of it: Opel CEO Florian Huettl with the start number 1, together with other representatives of the Opel leadership team. Some sprint, others walk. The mission: together with team spirit.
“We start together – and we get to the finish.”
-Opel CEO Florian Huettl-
Strong performance: the team of the “Women of Stellantis” with Marjorie Lhuilleur-Guinot, Ramona Syska, Melanie Jopp and Nina Thiele.
It’s starting! 1,200 participants are at the start in the Rüsselsheim stadium on the Sommerdamm.
Florian Huettl is back at the start: “The team spirit on the run is incomparable.”
Please quite friendly! The running Eagles posing for a souvenir photo.
This mixed team goes with a smile on the six-kilometer route.
OMG! GSE-What a picture: The Opel employees come together for a group photo with the prototype Mokka GSE and the Opel and Stellis leadership (from left): Sascha Wolfinger (Communications), Florian Huettl (CEO), Ralph Wangemann (Personnel), Tobias Gubitz (Global Sales), Rebecca Reinermann (marketing), Stefan Hospital) (General Counsel) and Patrick Dinger (Managing Director).
As soon as the starting shot has been given, another team starts – inconspicuous, efficient, hungry: with a run to the sausage stand. Years ago secretly founded on the edge of the running event, has been training for weeks. Your goal is not on the tartan track – but on the grill. “I only run for the sausage,” says one of the co -founders and enjoys it with relish, and Euphorically fires the last runners who go on the six -kilometer route. This year leads for the first time from the stadium directly to the Mainwiesen, along a circular route along the Main via Tor 20 to the Opel Alterwerk before finally going back to the stadium.
Some fight, others run loosely, almost dancing. For example, Carlo Nenast, the fastest runner. The Opelaner needs 22 minutes and 45 seconds. He is well trained, he says. His goal: Berlin marathon, under 2:30 hours. The battery development man has pace. A total of around 1,200 runners go on the track. The Opel company run has long since established itself as a traditional running event beyond the region.
Before the run, it is not just a team to form and train legs: each team creates a team name. 404 PACE not Found – a name like an error message, but the four colleagues from the General Assembly area show that they not only have production under control, but also the running pace. Jakob in particular impresses his teammates: “You started the cruise control and were gone”, they am amazed at the finish line.
From high performance to idle
The Women of Stellantis start again. A strong quartet that shows not only on the route, but also in everyday work: Melanie Jopp from Eisenach, Ramona Syska and Nina Thiele from Rüsselsheim and Marjorie Lhuilleur-Guinot from Paris. For the team, the company run is more than sport: “It is about cohesion – across locations,” says Nina Thiele, President of the Women’s Network.
“It’s about cohesion – across locations.”
-Nina Thiele, Women of Stellantis President-
Top performance: Carlo Nenast, the fastest runner, ends after 22 minutes and 45 seconds.
Done! The colleagues from the Exterior Express have reached the finish line – and relax.
Respect! Melanie Jopp, the fastest Opelanian, came from Eisenach.
Diversity runs with: The Opel company run stands for inclusion.
Florian Huettl welcomes Stellantis colleagues who are at the start at the traditional event.
Maik Giess spent the motto “Run with the Boss”. With success: Together with three trainees, the training manager and personnel manager runs through the evening. The “Ralenti” team – derived from the French “Au Ralenti”, ie “in idle”, also proves creativity. And the participants of this team also take it: relaxed, relaxed, with a smile on the face. The group, consisting of employees of product marketing and former colleagues, sees the evening as a reunion and statement: the main thing is that together.
Families, diversity, cohesion
Christoph Wilfer is on the track with the whole family. Woman, children, girlfriend of the daughter, the youngest daughter in the trailer. Opel not only runs – Opel lives. Saskia Harms starts for diversity & inclusion. Because the run also sets a sign. For openness, diversity and cooperation. And then there are the annual heroes in sneakers: “The old welding feet”. The oldest running group – with a proud 284 years of life. What drives her? Everything. Just not retirement.
The team “404 Pace Noth Found” celebrates.
Runtastic! The name is the program.
Such a run makes you hungry.
Marketing boss Rebecca Reinermann takes a souvenir photo.
At the after-run party, the evening ends relaxed.
After a good 41 minutes, Florian Huettl is back in the stadium. “We start together-and we get together at the finish line,” the Opel CEO and Managing Director Stellantis Germany issued the goal. Together with Ralph Wangemann, Tobias Gubitz and Stefan Zimmermann, he crosses the finish line in step – a strong signal for cohesion. The after-run party with refreshing drinks is all deserved. The Opel company run is more than a race. It’s a feast. A statement. A run for the team spirit. And the sausages? Also deserves.
July 2025
Text: Tina Henze, Katrin Bartmann; Photos: Opel/Rudolf Mehlhaff, Matthias Heibel