The 41st running of the BMW Berlin Marathon is Sunday, and the exceptionally popular event has sold out its field of 40,000 runners for the 11th consecutive year.
The course, which is considered one of the fastest marathon tracks in the world, takes runners through the streets of Berlin, with start and finish points near the world-famous Brandenburg Gate. The 26.2-mile track starts at Tiergarten, loops around the city and finishes back at the gate.
The course has produced some of the fastest times ever, especially in recent history. Last year, the world record was set by Kenya's Wilson Kipsang, who crossed the finish line in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 23 seconds, and won the men's race. Kipsang's victorious run shaved 15 seconds off the previous course record in Berlin, which had been set just two years before by fellow Kenyan Patrick Makau.
Berlin's course is known for its relatively flat nature, combined with the mild fall temperatures, making the competition environment very runner- friendly.
The Berlin Marathon is one of the six World Marathon Majors courses. The World Marathon Majors is a competition for marathon runners that spans a two-year period, and takes four of a runner's highest finishes into account when determining which runner receives the prize jackpot. The runner who has the best four finishes gets the jackpot.
The six race courses are in Tokyo, Boston, Berlin, London, Chicago and New York. To be eligible for the jackpot, each athlete must compete in at least one of these qualifying courses in each of the two calendar years.
Berlin is the third-to-last course for the World Marathon Majors in 2014. The Chicago Marathon will be run on Oct. 12 and the series will conclude with the New York Marathon on Nov. 2.
Kipsang, from Ethiopia, will not be in the field in Berlin for the 41st running to defend his title. But several participants in the event are very familiar with the event and the course, having finished the race in the past few years.
There are three men and three women still in contention for the WMM jackpot, and several will be in the field at Berlin this weekend. Kipsang, who is in second place in the WMM standings, is planning to run the New York Marathon and not in Berlin.
Although Kipsang won't be running this weekend, the men's field is still loaded with talent. Two of the top three in the WMM standings will look to cross the finish line first. Dennis Kimetto of Kenya and Tsegaye Kebede of Ethiopia are the favorites in the race, with each runner looking to secure a win.
Kimetto, 30, placed second in the 2012 BMW Berlin Marathon, which was his first full marathon. Kimetto clocked the fastest time ever for a first-time marathoner (2:04:16), which was one second behind fellow Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai, who won the 2012 Berlin race.
Kimetto started his marathon career late after competing in half marathons prior to 2012's Berlin race. He won his first major race at the age of 27 - a half-marathon in Nairobi. Kimetto has taken two titles in Berlin since his first half-marathon win: the Vattenfall Berlin Half Marathon (2012) and a 25k in Berlin (also in 2012), when he set the world record for that distance (1:11:18), bettering the mark established by Sammy Kosgei of Kenya by 32 seconds.
In 2013, Kimetto won the Tokyo Marathon (2:06:50) and the Bank of America Chicago Marathon (2:03:45), which were both course records.
Kebede, 27, is one of the most successful marathon runners ever. He's finished 17 marathons, of which he has won six, placed second three times and finished third five times, which include bronze medals in the 2008 Olympic Marathon and the World Championship Marathon in 2009.
Last year, Kebede won the 2012-13 World Marathon Majors series, cashing in on the $500,000 prize money. He currently leads the 2013-14 WMM series, but Kimetto can take the advantage with a win in Berlin.
Kimetto and Kebede are the two favorites to win the race, but that doesn't mean they won't get a serious push from other contenders. In fact, two other male runners will be trying to steal away the title and complicate things for Kimetto and Kebede in the WMM standings, which would help last year's Berlin champion Kipsang out in his pursuit for the crown.
Emmanuel Mutai, 31, of Kenya, will be looking to cross the finish line first. He is one of the most successful marathoners of the last decade, notching a first-place finish at the Virgin London Marathon in 2011.
Mutai took second places in New York City in 2010 and 2011, London in 2010 and 2013, Chicago in 2013, and in the marathon at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin in 2009. His best finish is 2:03:52, which placed him second to Kimetto in 2013's Chicago race.
Geoffrey Kamworor, 21, also of Kenya, may be young, but he is a strong competitor. Kamworor won the World Half Marathon Championships last March, and has competed in several half marathons in Berlin prior to this year's Berlin Marathon entry.
In 2011, Kamworor won the Vattenfall Berlin Half Marathon. In 2012, he ran his first marathon on the very course on which he will be competing this weekend, where he placed third. He competed in the BMW Berlin Marathon last year as well and finished third yet again.
The women's side will once again be contentious, although last year's winner, Florence Kiplagat of Kenya, will not be participating. Kiplagat has won two of the past three Berlin Marathons, and has alternated wins with Aberu Kebede of Ethiopia the last four years.
The best chance for the United States lies with Shalane Flanagan. The 33-year- old marathoner from Marblehead, Massachusetts, was one of the favorites to win the Boston Marathon back in April. Flanagan ended up finishing in seventh place on the women's side, and will compete in Berlin to try to set a new American record on the course.
"Either you're trying to win the marathon or you're trying to run the record," Flanagan told Runnersworld.com. "If a byproduct of the record is a win, that would be fabulous. But I'm going to do everything I can to get the record. This is purely about seeing how fast I can run over that distance. I think if I start to try and win, that could compromise the running."
Although Flanagan finished in seventh in Boston last April, she still achieved a new personal record of 2:22:02. She also holds the American record in the 10,000-meter run at 30:22.22.
Perhaps the top female contender this year at Berlin is Tirfi Tsegaye, 29, of Ethiopia. Tsegaye ran a personal record of 2:21:19 when she finished second at the 2012 BMW Berlin Marathon. She did not compete in the Berlin event last year.
Kayoko Fukushi (32) of Japan could push for the title as well. She won the bronze medal at the World Championships last year in Moscow, and her personal best of 2:24:21 was set last year in Osaka.
The last Japanese winner in Berlin was Mizuki Noguchi, who captured the title in 2005 with a course-best 2:19:12. That record still stands in Berlin for female competitors.
World Half Marathon champion Gladys Cherono, 31, of Kenya, is running her marathon debut at the Berlin Marathon, but she will be a strong challenger. Cherono has personal bests in the half-marathon at 1:06:48 and in the 10,000 meters at 30:29.23.
Rita Jeptoo of Kenya leads the WMM standings on the women's side and she could clinch the title with a win when she competes in Chicago next month. If she does come in first at Chicago, she will be the first athlete in history to score a perfect 100 points in the World Marathon Majors competition. She has won the last two Boston Marathons, and is the defending champion at Chicago.
Kiplagat and Priscah Jeptoo, of Kenya, are both still in contention for the 2013-14 WMM title on the women's side.
This Berlin course is known for producing world records. In fact, the last five world marathon records have come on this course, including Kipsang's current world record from 2013's race. Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie won four consecutive Berlin Marathons from 2006 to 2009, and set two world records in the process.
That being the case, the Berlin Marathon on Sunday will give one male runner a huge advantage in the overall WMM standings, and will give the one million- plus spectators who annually show up to watch a great show.
[SportsNetwork.com]
