FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Arne Gabius faces strong African opposition
in pursuit of German Record in Frankfurt
Arne Gabius has decided that the second marathon of his career will mark a
return to Frankfurt, the city where the 34-year-old made such a
scintillating debut at the distance a year ago. He will return to the
distance classic beside the River Main for this year's race on October 25.
His debut the previous year was impressive indeed with 2:09:32 and now he
has set his sights even higher, taking aim at the German marathon record of
2:08:47, set in 1988. He can expect a tough challenge from his African
rivals in Frankfurt, including Alfers Lagat of Kenya, who has a best of
2:07:11 and Ethiopia's Getachew Terfa (2:07:32). The Frankfurt Marathon and
its Berlin counterpart are the only German events with the accolade of the
IAAF Gold Label, the highest category of road racing awarded by the world
governing body. The Frankfurt organisers expect around 15,000 participants
for the race which finishes with the spectacular run into the Festhalle and
entries are still open at www.frankfurt-marathon.com
Last year Arne Gabius thrilled fans along the course and the worldwide
television audience with the quality of his debut marathon. His time of
2:09:32 was the fastest by a German for 24 years and placed him fourth
among the national all-time list. In a world-class field he finished in a
highly creditable ninth place.
"I've great memories of the Frankfurt Marathon, I can still picture the
scenes in my mind. Frankfurt has a fast course and the timing of the race
in the season suits me perfectly, everything came together last year in
Frankfurt," explained Gabius, who lives in Stuttgart, about his decision to
return to the Frankfurt Marathon.
The race director Jo Schindler was delighted that they had succeeded in
bringing the current number one German marathon runner back to the city:
"We'll do all we can to provide him with the best conditions in support of
his ambitions."
An additional incentive for the leading German runners is that Frankfurt
includes the National Marathon Championships this year. "It's great that
the German Championships are finally being given the kind of high profile
in Germany which only marathons in Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg can offer
at present. I'm delighted that this means I'll also have the chance to
become German champion," said Arne Gabius, who will be attacking the German
record of Jörg Peter when the runner from Dresden achieved 2:08:47 in Tokyo
in 1988. "My aim in Frankfurt is to run 46 seconds faster than my debut.
I've spoken with many top runners and they say the second marathon should
be a considerable improvement on the first," explained Gabius.
Jo Schindler regards the decision of Arne Gabius to return to Frankfurt as
"Confirmation of our work and that Arne really wants to repeat what he
experienced with us in 2014." Gabius was in demand with other autumn
marathons both in Germany and abroad. "But it's only on Frankfurt's fast
course that he has the chance to become German champion and achieve a
strong finishing position in an IAAF Gold Label Race," said Schindler.
Arne Gabius has no doubt he's made the right choice: "I'll be going to
Frankfurt with a good feeling because everything went well last year. I was
very impressed by the smooth operation of the organising team and
everything about the race." In the immediate future the track is his
priority, since he will be competing in the 10,000m in the World
Championships in Beijing this Saturday.
Additions to the already strong elite field are expected. At present the
leading African contenders are Alfers Lagat of Kenya, whose personal best
of 2:07:11 was set when finishing third in Eindhoven last year. Another sub
2:08 performer is Getachew Terfa (2:07:32). The Ethiopian set his personal
best in winning the Xiamen title in China in 2013, won the Rome Marathon in
2:07:56 the same year and finished third in Berlin with 2:07:41 in 2009.
Active in 2015 have been the Kenyan Anthony Maritim who ran his fastest
time of 2:09:39 to win the Linz Marathon while Ethiopia's Kaleb Keshebo
finished second in 2:09:44 in Enschede.
More Information and online entry is available at: www.frankfurt-marathon.com
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