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Berlin Marathon Live
Men’s Race: 30K to Finish

Posted September 30th, 2007 at 5:05 AM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Special Features, Live Race Coverage

Berlin Marathon
Gebrselassie, running alone now, passed 33Km in 1:37:35. He was back on pace for a world record. He led by about a minute.

At 34Km, he was on pace for a 2:04:53, tantalizingly close to, but still ahead of, the world record.

Coming up on 35Km, Gebreselassie was looking like he was starting to pick up the pace. His stride was bouncier and he made it through the marker in 1:43:38, a 2:04:56 pace. The gap was now 1:14 between him and the trail pack.

With about 18 minutes to run in the race, he drank some water, making sure to stay hydrated even at this late stage in the race.

Abel Kirui of Kenya, the least heralded runner in the trail pack, began to break away. He was running like a track runner with his heels kicking his backside.

Philip Manyim, an early favorite, was still in contention for one of the top three places.

Up front, Gebreselassie passed 38Km in 1:52:29, a 2:04:54 pace. This was just 1 second ahead of the world record pace.

He passed 39Km in 1:55:13, a 2:04:39 pace. He had quickened the pace and was now looking good to set the world record.

Kirui, with a PB of 2:10:41, was looking focused and now was in full control of 2nd place. He was on track to take 4 minutes off his PB, a remarkable improvement.

At 40Km, he was on 2:04:37 pace. He was now running 4:40 miles. The Berlin crowd was witnessing marathon history, as he was about to destroy the world record by almost 20 seconds. The Brandenburg Gate, which he would pass under right before the finish line, was now in his view.

Just meters before the finish line, he broke into a huge grin. He crossed the line, arms upraised, in 2:04:26, a new world record.

Kirui finished second in 2:06:51, a huge PB.

Here are the final results:

1 Gebrselassie, Haile (ETH) 2:04:26
2 Kirui, Abel (KEN) 2:06:51
3 Kipsang, Salim (KEN) 2:07:29
4 Manyim, Philip (KEN) 2:08:01
5 Adimasu, Mesfin (ETH) 2:09:49
6 Troop, Lee (AUS) 2:10:31
7 Sowa, Arkadiusz (POL) 2:12:00
8 Kahugu, Joseph (KEN) 2:12:08
9 Seto, Tomohiro (JPN) 2:12:21
10 Caceres, Ignacio (ESP) 2:12:46

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