Emmanuel Mutai hopes he will return to running fast again when he competes in the Haspa Marathon Hamburg on Sunday. The Kenyan is the fourth fastest marathon runner ever with a personal best of 2:03:13. In what is probably the strongest men\u2019s elite field ever assembled in the history of Germany\u2019s biggest spring marathon five men feature personal bests of sub 2:06. The field includes the Olympic Champion from London 2012, Stephen Kiprotich. However there are half a dozen runners in the race with faster personal bests than the Ugandan. <\/p>\n
The strong line-up increases hopes that the five year-old course record may be broken. Kenya\u2019s superstar Eliud Kipchoge established this mark in 2013, when he won his debut marathon in 2:05:30. Current weather forecasts seem to be suitable for fast times, however conditions can change quickly near Germany\u2019s North Sea coast. <\/p>\n
Sweden\u2019s Isabellah Andersson heads the women\u2019s field with a personal best of 2:23:41. Organisers of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg registered a total of 33,183 entries including events at shorter distances. 14,250 runners will compete in the marathon.<\/p>\n
Emmanuel Mutai won the London Marathon back in 2011 and then improved to 2:03:13 when he was second in Berlin in 2014 behind fellow-Kenyan Dennis Kimetto, who broke the world record with a time of 2:02:57. However the last time Mutai ran a sub 2:10 time was in 2015 when he was fourth in Berlin with 2:07:46. \u201eIn recent years my performance was not so good. I had some problems with my stomach, but it is okay now,\u201c said 33 year-old Mutai, who finished under 2:07 nine times. \u201eI want to improve on Sunday. All of us want to win, me too. But if I can\u2019t do it then the goal is to finish in the top three. If weather conditions are good the course record is possible for one of us.\u201c<\/p>\n
The pace is planned accordingly. The first group is scheduled to run split times leading to a 2:05 finish. There will be a second group targeting a 2:08 time. It will be interesting to see who will join which group. Asked which one he will go with Stephen Kiprotich answered: \u201eIf the weather conditions are fine I will go with the 2:05 pace. Then it will be my goal to improve my personal best.\u201c The Olympic Champion from 2012 and World Champion from 2013 so far has a PB of 2:06:33.<\/p>\n
After a couple of DNFs Sammy Kitwara came back with a big win last November: The Kenyan took the Valencia Marathon with 2:05:15. This performance makes Kitwara, who features a personal best of 2:04:28 from Chicago in 2014, a likely favourite in Hamburg. \u201eI am the third fastest runner in the field – so I am not the favourite,\u201c joked Kitwara and added: \u201eOf course I want to win, but I know that the others are strong and I will not underrate them. If the weather conditions are good then there is a chance to break the course record.\u201c<\/p>\n
\u201eIf all of us work together from the first kilometre up to may be 38 or even 40 k then it is possible to break the record,\u201c said Stephen Chebogut, who has already run 2:05:52 in 2015. Earlier in that year he was third in Hamburg with 2:08:01 although he was entered as a pacemaker and then decided to carry on. \u201eMay be I am able to deliver another surprise on Sunday,\u201c said Chebogut.<\/p>\n
While former Kenyan Isabellah Andersson is the fastest woman on the start list the Swede has no intention to attack her personal best of 2:23:41. \u201eIt will be my first marathon after giving birth to my second child. My aim is to achieve the qualifying mark of 2:38:00 for the European Championships\u201c, said Andersson, who trained in Eldoret in Kenya during the past four months. <\/p>\n
It is highly unlikely that the course record of 2:21:54 established by Ethiopia\u2019s Meselech Melkamu two years ago will be under threat on Sunday. Organisers plan for a conservative 2:27 or 2:28 pace and expect a close contest. There may well be half a dozen runners in contention for victory with such a pace. Among them should be Sylvia Kibet of Kenya and Bahrain\u2019s Mimi Belete, the former 1,500 m runner. Kibet was second in Hamburg in 2015 with 2:26:16 while Belete will run her debut on the fast course. She ran a 69:26 half marathon earlier this year in Barcelona.<\/p>\n
Text: race-news-service.com
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