Berlin Marathon 2007:
Men’s Preview
Posted September 29th, 2007 at 9:30 PM by Jared Markowitz
Section: News & Results, Marathons
The 2007 Berlin Marathon will feature several of the world’s finest distance runners racing on a historic downtown route through the German capital. The lightning fast course has produced two men’s world records in the last 9 years, Brazilian Ronaldo da Costa’s 2:06:05 in 1998 and Kenyan Paul Tergat’s still standing 2:04:55 in 2003. The race also represents the first contest of the final season of the Inaugural World Marathon Majors, a conglomeration of five of the world’s top marathons aimed at generating unparalleled competition.
Headlining the men’s field this year will be Haile Gebrselassie, the Ethiopian legend who cruised to victory in a national record 2:05:56 here last fall. “Geb” has an impressive track and marathon resume, including two Olympic and four World Championship 10,000 m gold medals and 23 world records or world bests. He is undefeated at the half marathon distance since 2001, including a blistering 59:24 effort on a hilly New York course earlier this fall. However, Gebrselassie has not been without adversity this year as he was forced to drop out of the 2007 Flora London Marathon due to shortness of breath.
This was later attributed to a pollen allergy, and Gebrselassie laid to rest any doubts about his fitness in the ensuing months. In Hengelo he ran 26:52.81 over 10,000m, becoming the oldest person to break 27 minutes. A few weeks later he broke the world records for both the 20K and the one-hour run, adding to his lengthy list of records. Both the Hengelo 10K and the record effort were done without spikes, making these achievements even more remarkable. Gebrselassie has recently upped his training to 156 miles a week in an attempt to improve an already formidable aerobic base and position himself for a world record run in Berlin. While he may not achieve his 2:03 “dream goal”, he has a great chance of eclipsing the mark of his longtime rival, Paul Tergat.
While Gebrselassie is the clear favorite, there are many other men who should be in the mix and could pull off the upset. Kenya boasts three potential contenders: Philip Manyim, Bernard Barmasai, and James Kwambai. Manyim became the seventh consecutive Kenyan to win the men’s race in Berlin with his 2:07:41 performance in 2005. Barmasai is best known as a steeplechaser, where his 7:55.72 clocking was the world record from August 1997 until 2001. Barmasai has since turned his efforts to the marathon and has a respectable PB of 2:08:50. James Kwambai won the Brescia and Beijing marathons in 2006 and was the runner-up in the 2007 Boston Marathon. Any of these men could challenge Gebrselassie over the fast Berlin course.
One notable absence from the race is Kenyan Sammy Korir, who recently withdrew due to shin splints. Korir holds the second fastest marathon time ever, thanks to his 2:04:56 effort here in 2003. Some may remember that Korir served as Tergat’s pacemaker in his historic world-record ffort, nearly taking the title and record in a dramatic sprint finish.
With Gebrselassie’s assault on the world record and the efforts of these other elite marathoners on a fast course, Berlin 2007 should be a thrilling event.
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Tags: berlin marathon, berlin2007, bernard barmasai, ethiopian runner, haile gebrselassie, James Kwambai, kenya, kenyan, kenyans, paul tergat, philip manyim, real berlin marathon, sammy korir, World Marathon Majors, world record, world record in the marathon
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The Final Sprint
Nice job, Jared!!!!
September 30th, 2007 at 6:42 pm