SC became independent of the parent club on 26 May 1896, being spurred on by a loss to Leipzig BC and the demanding training schedule being enforced by the athletics association.

A complex series of successor sides emerged within East German competition after end of the war in 1945 with more than one team laying claim to the traditions of the club.

At 6 am the race began at Neuen Gasthof in Paunsdorf with Theodor Schöffler, a referee for VfB Sportbrüder 1893 Leipzig and future founder of the German Football Association, being the first out of thirteen participants to cross the finish line at a time of 3:35:51.

Another race took place the following year, but this time organised by the newly founded Deutschen Sportbehörde für Athletik (German Sports Authority for Athletics).

The first national marathon championship in Germany was held in 1925 with the course beginning in Halle and ending in Leipzig to commemorate the Sportbrüder athletics department's contribution to, and establishment of, the sport.