FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Students of the Road Prepare for Frankfurt Test
Kenya's Wilson Kipsang delivered an apt summary of the quality of the men's
field for Sunday's Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon when he likened the last
few days of build-up to awaiting an important academic examination.
"For me, it's a great privilege to run with these kinds of guys. When I
look at the times they've run, I think with my performances for the half
marathon and shorter road races, they could spur me on to another level."
Kipsang admits he learned much from what was nevertheless a highly
creditable marathon debut in Paris in April, finishing third in 2:07:10.
The most important lesson? "I run best with even pace, too much variation
makes it harder." With an impressive half marathon best of 58:59, the
Iten-based athlete is confident he can take his performance to another
level.
Sharing joint honours as the fastest men in the field with a personal best
of 2:06:41 are the Kenyan Elijah Keitany, who set that time as runner-up in
Amsterdam in 2009 and Ethiopia's Tadese Tola. The latter won the Paris
title in a lifetime best in April and has plenty of incentive to celebrate
his 23rd birthday on Sunday: the winner will collect 15,000 Euros, while
breaking the course record of 2:06:14, set by Kenya's Gilbert Kirwa last
year, will earn a further 75,000 Euros, making this, the 29th edition of
Germany's oldest marathon, a rich prize indeed.
Tadese Tola makes light of any suggestion that he is a strong favourite,
despite being given the number seven to wear by the elite race co-ordinator
Christoph Kopp, a traditional recognition as being an athlete to watch in
Frankfurt.
"In my country, the number seven doesn't mean anything in particular. But I
think that as Sunday is my birthday, it may turn out lucky for me."
The leading men's group are setting their sights on reaching halfway in
1:02:50 which would be a fine base to attack the men's course record. But
if it comes to a close finish in Frankfurt's glorious Festhalle or Festival
Hall, Sylvester Teimet has shown he can time a late run to perfection.
The Kenyan ran his personal best of 2:06:49 to win the Seoul Marathon in
March, playing cat and mouse – he took the feline role – with last year's
Frankfurt winner Gilbert Kirwa. Teimet waited till 200 metres from the
finish before surging to victory.
"I would do the same thing here on Sunday, wait and then attack. I've heard
the course is fast and if conditions are ideal, I think I could improve my
best by over half a minute, perhaps even break the course record."
The Frankfurt organisers have made a point of boosting the strength in
depth of the women's field this year. Dire Tune of Ethiopia, champion in
Boston in 2008 and deprived by one second of a repeat victory the following
year by Kenya's Selina Kosgei, is the fastest with 2:24:40. Only two weeks
ago she won a silver medal at the World Half Marathon Championships in
Nanning in China but says Frankfurt has held equal importance in her
longterm plans.
"Our training has been balanced between the Half Marathon Championships and
full marathon. Running the half marathon should help me run well in
Frankfurt."
Tune and her fellow Ethiopian Mare Dibaba share the same coach, Hayi
Adillo, who maintains that both have looked equally strong in preparation.
That must be impressive indeed, since Dire Tune has requested a pacemaking
schedule of 70:30 or even 70:00 at halfway, a comment which startled the
assembled press corps but which was confirmed upon second asking.
As with Dire Tune, Mare Dibaba knows that the Ethiopian federation are
considering prospects for their marathon squad at next year's World
Championships in Daegu, South Korea. As coach Adillo bluntly commented:
"They know that if they run under 2:23 here and no-one later runs faster,
they'll have a very good chance of being selected!"
Such a time would smash to smithereens the course record of 2:25:12,
achieved by the Russian Alevtina Biktimirova five years ago. Last year's
winner, Agnes Kiprop of Kenya, sounded cautious in response, rating her own
prospects of retaining the title as "Maybe 50-50."
Kiprop, whose best is 2:26:22 from winning in Turin last year, might well
draw upon a psychological trick or two. Her training group at home in Iten
includes Selina Kosgei, conqueror of Dire Tune by the tightest of margins
in the 2009 Boston Marathon. Another member of that group could well spring
a surprise on Sunday: Hilda Kibet, Kenyan-born but a Dutch citizen for the
past three years, has the endurance pedigree, including a European Cross
Country title in 2008, to improve greatly on her marathon best of 2:30:33
for third place in Amsterdam last year.
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