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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
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.
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Berlin Marathon Live
Men’s Race: 20K to 30K
Posted September 30th, 2007 at 4:35 AM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Special Features, Live Race Coverage
The 25Km mark was passed in 1:14:05. Gebrselassie was headed for a 2:05:02 pace. They had slipped just a bit off the pace over the past 5Km.
The trail pack passed 25Km in 1:15:23, 1:17 back. They were still on track for a 2:07:14 marathon.
By 26.5 Km, the pacemakers were down to two. By now the weather was as follows:
55°F
Clear
Wind: S at 10 mph
Humidity: 82%
At 1:21:00, the lead pack ran through a huge crowd of noisy spectators. Drum corps were keeping a samba beat for the runners’ pleasure while cheerleaders shook pom-pons. It was a party atmosphere in Berlin. Gebrselassie was wearing his “dry” racing shoes, with a rubber composite similar to Formula 1 racing tires. He had brought two pair of shoes and had been hoping he wouldn’t have to wear the “wet” pair. He got his wish today.
Gebrselassie and his two pacemakers went through 30Km in 1:28:58. He was on pace for a 2:05:08 marathon. He had some work to do over the last 12Km if he was going to break the world record.
The trail pack passed 30Km in 1:30:00. They had closed slightly on Gebrselassie and were on track for a 2:06:35.
Berlin Marathon Live
Men’s Race: 10K to 20K
Posted September 30th, 2007 at 4:05 AM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: News & Results, Marathons, Special Features, Live Race Coverage
At 13K, the trail pack of about 15 men was on pace for a 2:06:30. That time would be a huge PB for most, if not all, of them. They were certain to have to back off from it further in the race. The weather conditions were ideal, however, so they were going for it.
Up front, Haile Gebrselassie and his circle of pacemakers were still running like clockwork. The 15Km mark was passed in 44:14, on track for a 2:04:29. They had slowed down, but not by much. He was ahead of the trail pack by about one minute.
By 20Km, passed in 59:10, the pace had dropped off to 4:48 per mile. Gebrselassie was on pace for a 2:04:50 marathon. The trail pack was 1:05 back.
The halfway mark was 1:02:29, a 2:04:58 marathon pace, just off the world record.
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.
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Challengers added to Berlin Marathon field
Posted August 22nd, 2007 at 6:33 AM by David Monti
Section: News & Results, Marathons
Organizers of the 34th real, - Berlin Marathon announced today that four strong Kenyan athletes will line up for the Sept. 30 race to challenge defending champion Haile Gebrselassie.
The group is led by the veteran Sammy Korir whose 2:04:56 second place finish at Berlin in 2003 is still the second-fastest marathon ever run. Korir, 35, ran last year’s edition of the race, splitting 25 km in 1:15:48, but he dropped out in the 26th kilometer with a hamstring injury. Korir has not recorded a marathon finish in 2007.
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Hey Nick, First of all I want to tell you what an inspiration you are to me. I am an "old timer" (just...