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Lead Stories: Monday, December 1, 2008

2008 Previews & Predictions: Men’s Marathon

Posted January 24th, 2008 at 1:38 PM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

Haile Gebrselassie The marathon promises to be one of the most exciting events in the track and field world this coming year. From marquee matchups to record attempts, the Olympic Games to another Marathon Major Contest, 2008 should be another fantastic year for this historic distance. In the following paragraphs I will outline the cast of characters who will seek to etch their names in the history books in 2008. I will also offer one journalist’s thoughts on what could happen in the big races. It has been said that marathons are tremendously difficult to forecast, but rest assured that this former mediocre DIII runner has all the answers.

The first major (at least in the financial sense) marathon of 2008 was the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, held this past Sunday. The big news from this race was the world record attempt by Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie. Fresh off his 2:04:26 world record in Berlin this past fall, “The Emperor” struck back with a 2:04:52, the second fastest time ever. Gebrselassie’s only fault was a blistering first half that left him a bit overextended and unable to hang on for the record. His time did serve notice, in case anyone wasn’t already convinced, that Geb will be a force to be reckoned with in this Olympic year as long as he can overcome the interaction of Beijing pollution and his severe allergies.
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World Marathon Majors Set For 2008

Posted December 12th, 2007 at 3:50 PM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons

The events comprising the World Marathon Majors (WMM) confirmed their 2008 schedule today, which includes next August’s Olympic Games.

The first WMM event for 2008 will be the Flora London Marathon, slated for Sunday, April 13. The Boston Marathon follows eight days later on Monday, April 21, then the series goes dark until the women’s and men’s Olympic Marathons in Beijing on consecutive Sundays, August 17 and 24, respectively. The final three events in 2008 will be the real,- Berlin Marathon on Sunday, September 28, followed by the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 12, and the ING New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 2.
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