Press Release - Dresdner Kleinwort Frankfurt Marathon - 10/26/07

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                 Dresdner Kleinwort Frankfurt Marathon
                     Press Conference Highlights

Wilfried Kigen (KEN) – course record holder in 2:08:29 and two-time winner 
at the Dresdner Kleinwort Frankfurt Marathon

"I have prepared very well for Frankfurt. I have had some knee problems, 
but it was already back in June. Now everything is fine. My eight year-old 
daughter Patience came with me to Frankfurt – she is my lucky charm. If the 
field is strong, I can run a fast time. I try to pass the half marathon 
mark in 64:20 minutes. I want to run the second half faster than the first 
one." 

Svetlana Zakharova (RUS) – PB 2:21:31 (2002)

"I trained very well for Frankfurt. My training was very specific and I am 
happy to run here. I chose this race since I wanted to avoid a long flight 
to the Chicago Marathon. Furthermore I don’t want to be too long away from 
my daughter. At the beginning of the race I plan to wait and see and from 
10 k on I might increase the pace together with my pacemaker. I think that 
I will try to run the first half in about 1:12 minutes. My goal is a time 
of about 2:25 hours – I am looking at the course record of 2:25:12."

Luminita Zaituc (GER) – Two-time winner at the Dresdner Kleinwort Frankfurt 
Marathon (2001 and 2003)

"I am feeling good and my preparations were good, too. In terms of 
Frankfurt my test at the half marathon in Cologne was good. The marathon is 
a long race, a lot can happen. Of course it is not nice to have to stop due 
to leg cramps [in her last two races Zaituc had this problem, the editor]. 
I definitely want to run the Olympic qualifying time of 2:31:00 here. The 
faster the better, but I have to see how I am going to divide my strength." 

Ulrike Maisch (GER) – European Champion – PB 2:30:01 (2006)

"After my 10 k race in Düsseldorf in the summer in 35 minutes, I was 
disappointed, because I had trained well. Then I went for training to St. 
Moritz three times – always between two and three weeks and I was able to 
train very well. I hope that the foot is okay now after the injury – but 
the marathon is a strong impact. I was a week in Oberhof last week, it was 
freezing cold there. I think that I just have to go out and run on Sunday 
and listen to my gut feeling. I hope that I am able to accelerate in the 
end." 

Jo Schindler – Race Director of the Dresdner Kleinwort Frankfurt Marathon

"We are hoping to finally reach 18,000 registrations for all competitions 
on Sunday. We changed a couple of things within the organisation this year. 
We changed the finish area and made it more attractive and bigger. The 
emotions should be shown in a more impressive way. But also for the mass 
sport we did change something. We keep the finish open longer – 6:15 hours 
this year. We want to improve the race step by step – the race itself, the 
organisation as well as the surroundings of it. We already improved a lot. 
We clearly increased the budget this year. If we can achieve a time of sub 
2:08 hours that would be great and I think well deserved. One can prepare a 
lot but you can’t buy a record. We are relaxed – we can also shine without 
having a record." 

Katalin Wimhoff – Head of Corporate & Sponsoring of Dresdner Kleinwort: 

"We are proud and are happy to give our name to the event. We are 
enthusiastic that the number of registrations increased and that we are 
partner of a race which will also hit the headlines concerning the elite 
sport. Here in Frankfurt the interest in the marathon is great. Fun runners 
and elite athletes come together in this marathon." 

Further information is available online at: www.frankfurt-marathon.com

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