HASPA MARATHON HAMBURG ON SUNDAY
Brigid Kosgei and Amos Kipruto head Hamburg’s strongest ever field, Karoline Grovdal chases famous national record
The strongest field in the history of the event will be at the start line for the 39th Haspa Marathon Hamburg on Sunday. Kenyans Amos Kipruto and Kinde Atanaw feature personal bests of sub 2:04:00 while Brigid Kosgei is the fastest woman ever on a Hamburg start list. The Kenyan is the former world record holder with 2:14:04. Ethiopia’s Workenesh Edesa is another athlete who has run well under 2:20:00. Such a line-up of star runners is a novelty for the Haspa Marathon Hamburg. Germany’s Richard Ringer and Karoline Grovdal of Norway are the leading European runners.
15,000 runners have entered Germany’s biggest spring marathon. Including events staged parallel to the marathon organisers registered a record total of 38,000 entries. “We are experiencing another running boom and our event has developed strongly. This is also the case with regard to our elite races and it makes me very happy,“ said Chief Organiser Frank Thaleiser.
If the predicted very good weather conditions materialize, very fast races are possible on Sunday. The men might even attack the course record and chase a first sub 2:04:00 time in Hamburg. Kenya’s Bernard Koech established the current course record with 2:04:09 in 2023.
“I am well prepared and ready for a good, fast race. If I would have the choice, a personal best would be more important for me than a victory,” said Amos Kipruto during a press conference. The 32-year-old achieved his personal record of 2:03:13 in Tokyo 2022, finishing second behind Eliud Kipchoge. Together with fellow-Kenyan Emmanuel Mutai, who ran here in 2018 and also has a PB of 2:03:13, he is the fastest runner ever on a Hamburg start list.
“I know that the course is fast and that very good times have been run here time and again. The race is a great opportunity for me to achieve a top performance. If we work well together, it is possible to break the course record,” said Amos Kipruto, who is one of four runners who have run sub 2:05:00. While the Ethiopians Kinde Atanaw and Tsegaye Getachew are number two and three on the start list with best times of 2:03:51 and 2:04:49 respectively, Philemon Kiplimo also belongs to this top group. The Kenyan has a PB of 2:04:56. “I assume that we will run the first half…
CLICK HERE to Read the Full Original Article at runblogrun…