50th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON: Ethiopians Mengesha and Ketema score double Triumph

The BMW Berlin Marathon, a September tradition, is a testament to the growing community of runners. Each year, the race attracts a larger crowd, with more and more runners eager to experience the thrill of the fast and furious marathon course through the vibrant streets of Berlin. 

This writer was lucky enough to attend several Berlin Marathons. I was impressed with the organization of the race, the enthusiasm of the citizen runners, the amazing pacemaking, ahe incredible elite races that followed and the amazing and exciting city of Berlin!

Berlin is San Francisco, with the addition of most people speaking German. 

Berlin is a classic marathon and should be on the list of running  

50th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON:

Ethiopians Mengesha and Ketema score double Triumph

The Ethiopians Milkesa Mengesha and Tigist Ketema claimed the top honours in the 50th anniversary race of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. In excellent weather conditions, cool and sunny, Mengesha triumphed in 2:03:17, the third fastest time in the world this year. Second to the 24-year-old was Cyprian Kotut of Kenya in 2:03:22, while the Ethiopian Haymanot Alew finished third in 2:03:31. The top times didn’t end there since Stephen Kiprop of Kenya ran 2:03:37 for fourth. The best German finisher was Sebastian Hendel who sprang a surprise for a highly creditable improvement of his best to 2:07:33. This performance made him the fifth fastest German marathoner of all time.

Tigist Ketema dominated the women’s race for victory in 2:16:42, the third fastest women’s time in the 50-year history of the race. She led her Ethiopian compatriots Mestawot Fikir and Bosena Mulatie home, the second and third placers finishing in 2:18:48 and 2:19:00, respectively. The leading German finisher was Melat Kejeta, with 2:23:40 for eleventh place. 

Overall, the race still produced outstanding performances, although significant records still needed to be fixed. Taking both winning times into account, their aggregate of 4:19:59 made the 50th edition the twelfth fastest marathon in history and the fourth fastest ever in Berlin. For the first time in Berlin, four men went under 2:04. The anniversary edition attracted 58,212 starters from 161 countries.

Men’s Race

The pace was very fast from the start of the men’s race. Led by three pacemakers, 12 runners went through 10km in 28:42, on course for a finishing time in the region of Eliud Kipchoge’s course record of 2:01:09. The tempo proved to be too ambitious, and after…