Press Release - Dresdner Kleinwort Frankfurt Marathon - 9/17/08

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                 Defending Champion Melanie Kraus and 
                 Sabrina Mockenhaupt In German Battle

Defending champion Melanie Kraus will return to the Dresdner Kleinwort 
Frankfurt Marathon on 26th October. The 33 year-old German had caused a 
major upset in last year's race, when she beat Russia's favourite Svetlana 
Zakharova into second place, winning with 2:28:56. The Dresdner Kleinwort 
Frankfurt Marathon could see a thrilling German duel, because Sabrina 
Mockenhaupt has also entered the event. Additionally last year's third 
place finisher Kirsten Melkevik Otterbu (Norway), who had run 2:29:12, will 
come back to Germany's oldest city marathon. Making it almost a German 
Championship race Claudia Dreher will as well compete in Germany's 
financial capital. The Dresdner Kleinwort Frankfurt Marathon is an IAAF 
Silver Label Road Race.

Melanie Kraus had recently placed 38th in the Olympic Marathon in Beijing. 
But running on the track inside the stadium at the end of the race her 
speed suggested that she had some reserves left. Kraus then recovered well 
from the race and decided to go for the tough task of a title defence in 
Frankfurt. Last year though was even harder for her. Because just two 
months after placing 20th in the Osaka World Championships' Marathon, which 
took place in much warmer and more humid conditions than the one in 
Beijing, she came to Frankfurt and clocked 2:28:56. This time she has two 
more weeks to prepare for the Dresdner Kleinwort Frankfurt Marathon. 

It is the goal of Melanie Kraus to again run well under 2:30 on 26th 
October, with which she would break the national qualifying time for the 
World Championships in Berlin next summer. Her personal best stands at 
2:27:58, which might be in reach. Especially if the expected duel with 
Sabrina Mockenhaupt materializes. The 27 year-old, who had run her best 
major championship race at the Olympics where she placed 13th with a 
personal best of 31:14.21 minutes in the 10,000 m final, had run her 
marathon debut in Cologne a year ago, when she won with 2:29:33. It is her 
aim to improve this mark on the fast Frankfurt course. Last Saturday 
Sabrina Mockenhaupt clocked a very promising time at the German 10 k 
championships. Finishing second behind Irina Mikitenko she ran 31:50 
minutes in cool and wet conditions in Karlsruhe. "I expect Sabrina to do 
much better in Frankfurt than a year ago in Cologne," said Christoph Kopp, 
who is the elite athletes' coordinator of the Dresdner Kleinwort Frankfurt 
Marathon.

Entry figures for the Dresdner Kleinwort Frankfurt Marathon are still up by 
around 10 percent compared to a year ago. In 2007 a record number of 11,507 
marathon runners had entered the race. Adding all other running events the 
total field had 18,302 athletes. So the Dresdner Kleinwort Frankfurt 
Marathon could well reach the 20,000 barrier for the first time in its 
history. Entries for the race are still possible.

For more information and online registration visit: 
www.frankfurt-marathon.com


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