Kenya looks forward to leading Fast Men’s Marathon at Berlin
The marathon athletes no longer consider the Berlin field as best in the world, rather most of them regard it boring owing to its flat surface. An athlete who had been there on the ground for practice lamented the fact that the field had no capacity to challenge
the potential of the runners. The athlete further said that even if one aimed at preparing for the upcoming Berling Marathon – IAAF Gold Label Race, the track might not be of any real help for long distance training.
At Berlin, Marathon era could only start its history in 1998 when Ronaldo da Costa, the Brazilian athlete broke the decade old record of famous Ethiopian player Belayneh Dinsamo by making to the finishing line in just 2 hours, 6 minutes and 5 seconds. Just
about 12 years later during which 5 world records have been established upon the field and players around the world have regarded it as among the top best racing tracks, the recent comments from some of the seasoned players may put the morale of the administration
at Berlin marathon down.
The Berlin field which had always proved to be lucky for the players like Ethiopian hailing Gebre who ended up winning four straight victories and succeeded in making two world records, is now facing a sort of post Gebre phase. The field has lost charm for
the players as well as for the spectators who prefer indulging into more competitive and challenging assaults.
As commented by a spectator, the authorities at Berlin Marathon know about how to keep the interest of the players and spectators alive. Assuring the participation of world’s top pacemakers and gathering the talents like Patrick Makau, Eliud Kiptanui and
Geoffrey Mutai on the field, Berlin Marathon organizers are pretty much right in expecting a great contest. Despite of the well-probable prediction that some player from the above mentioned trio would name the event, it is anxiously being awaited for by the
spectators.
Patrick Makau, the 25-year-old Kenyan runner who had the privilege of winning Berlin half twice has made a place for himself among the seasoned and well experienced African players. Grabbing fourth position for him at Rotteram marathon held last year, the
athlete is being taken seriously by his rivals. Makau has not only maintained a superb track record so far; he has also grabbed the position of fourth fastest ever in the history with giving his best in just two hours, four minutes and forty eight seconds.
While analyzing the potential and performance of Patrick Makau, one must not forget his close rival Mutai. Mutai, the 28-year-old runner sharing same nationality with Makau have posed serious challenges to him throughout his career. Even during the race
where Makau made it fourth fastest in the history, Mutai was only seven seconds behind him. In the Berlin Marathon Mutai is being considered a serious challenge for Makau as during past few months when Makau didn’t take part in any of the race event, Mutai
has been constantly into several races which also include two rapid ten miles tracks.
On the basis of such performances and that is too with sheer consistency, one can easily figure out the reasons about why the marathons around the world are being dominated by the men with African origin, particularly Ethiopians and Kenyans.
While discussing the marathon, a senior runner shared that athletes as well spectators need to understand that marathon is totally different from that of conventional short races. It requires totally different kind of practice, persistence and a lot of patience.
When after preparing well an athlete starts feeling that he can break the world record, he should realize that others too are participating in the game with the same enthusiasm. Since the African players dwell upon the trainings while keeping all such factors
in mind, they are bound to outperform in all long track race events.
Tags: