Salina Kosgei and Gete Wami (right) at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. © Victah Sailer
The 33rd real,- Berlin Marathon marks the beginning of a promising new era for the largest German marathon. With its 39,636 participants from 105 nations and a series of world-class performances, the Berlin Marathon has already been one of the world’s most spectacular races for the past few years. The founding of the World Marathon Majors (WMM), which the Berlin Marathon is part of with the Flora London Marathon, the BAA Boston Marathon, the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and the ING New York City Marathon, has only strengthened this position. These five events basically represent the sport’s Formula 1.
Accordingly, the participants in this year’s Berlin Marathon are high-ranking runners from all over the world, especially Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia), who will be cheered on by about a million spectators along the course. The enthusiastic spectators in Berlin will not only cheer on the stars, but also the fun runners, walkers, wheelchair athletes and handbikers, as well as the pupils participating in the Mini-Marathon.
Five records have been run at the Berlin Marathon so far—more than in any other marathon race still held. The most recent world records have been Naoko Takahashi’s (Japan) barrier-breaking 2:19:46 hours from 2001, and Paul Tergat’s (Kenya) 2:04:55 from 2003, which still stands.
This year’s top star, Gebrselassie, is one of the greatest long-distance runners of all time. In Berlin, the 33-year-old Ethiopian will take on the last remaining challenge of his career: major success over the classic 26.2-mile distance. Speculation has centered on whether Sunday might finally be the time that he will give Tergat’s world record a scare. The man who, as pacemaker, significantly contributed to Tergat’s record, and who almost beat Tergat in the final sprint, will also be running on Sunday—this time, however, not as pacemaker. Kenyan Sammy Korir is still the second fastest marathoner in history, with his best of 2:04:56. He is also the fastest in the world this year, thanks to the 2:06:38 he ran to win Rotterdam in the spring. “This will be a great competition, and that is great for the spectators,” Gebrselassie predicts. “It will be less good for me, but I hope that he is well prepared, as I will be, too.”
There will be two more runners with a personal best under 2:07 in Berlin: Frenchman Driss El Himer (2:06:48) and Raymond Kipkoech, who won Berlin in 2002 in 2:06:47. Also running Sunday is Joseph Ngolepus (Kenya), who won Berlin in 2001 and was fourth last year. His best is 2:07:57.
Because of an injury, Olympic marathon champion Mizuki Noguchi (Japan) had to withdraw from this year’s race. The 28-year-old won Berlin last year with a course and Asian record time of 2:19:12, making her the third-fastest female marathoner ever. In August, Noguchi slipped in the bathroom and injured her hip. After a few days of rest, she was able to continue training in St. Moritz, Switzerland, but then she started having problems with her foot. Noguchi was forced to abandon training for Berlin, and will not run another marathon this year. Noguchi’s withdrawal is the first time in ten years that such a strong favorite had to drop out of Berlin on short notice. “Over the past years, we have always been lucky with our starts,” said race director Mark Milde. “Unfortunately, not this time. Nonetheless, I still believe that we will have a very good women’s race.” The new favorites are Ethiopian Gete Wami (personal best: 2:22:19) and Kenyan Salina Kosgei (2:24:32). In all, five women at Berlin have a personal best under 2:27.
