The marathons at the World Championships in August will start and finish at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said last weekend.

It is the first time in a major event the races will neither start nor end in a stadium.

The course will loop four times in a 10km stretch to allow fans to see the runners more than once. The men's marathon is due to take place on Saturday, August 22 and the women's the next day.

The IAAF are also for the first time considering a carpet for race walkers around the Brandenburg Gate because the cobblestones could prove slippery for athletes.

"Athletics is adapting. If we don't adapt we are going to die," IAAF council member Bill Bailey told reporters on the sidelines of a council meeting.

"The overall impression is one of a spectacular and historic venue," he said of the August 15-23 event at the Berlin Olympic stadium.

Bailey said a 'no false start rule' the IAAF was considering would not be in place for Berlin as it needed to be passed by congress, which meets at the time of the World Championships.

If approved in August, the rule would mean any athlete making a false start would be immediately disqualified. The rule would come into force in 2010. At present, an athlete making a false start is given a warning and then anyone committing further false starts is disqualified.

"We are supporting the proposal made for the zero false start rule," IAAF general secretary Pierre Weiss said.

"The council supports it unanimously."