34-year-old Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie set a new world record for the marathon with his 2:04:26 win at the 2007 Berlin Marathon this weekend. This took nearly 30 seconds off the previous WR set by Paul Tergat at the 2003 Berlin Marathon. It works out to be a 4:45/min mile - yowza!
"Geb" is considered one of the nicest guys on the marathon tour, and has broken many records in the 5k, 10k, and marathon distance on his way to four world championships, two Olympic gold medals, and numerous wins. Those that say he is the best endurance runner to ever have lived now have one more piece of evidence. RunnersWeb has a bit about Geb's upbringing on their site.
Gete Wami of Ethiopia won the women's race in a time of 2:23.17, successfully defending her title. A great race day for Ethiopia!
SD
What is it about the Berlin Marathon that produces so many world records?
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ReplyDeleteLike I tell my son when he eats his broccoli (increase pitch with each "whoa,") "WhoaWhoaWhoa!" Fast, but I still think I could keep up with the new record pace for 200 yards. (Maybe I should hit the track and see.) The official press release has a nice interchange between Geb and the former record holder, Paul Tergat.:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.marathonguide.com/pressreleases/index.cfm?file=BerlinMarathon_070930a
From what I understand it's three things that make Berlin so fast:
ReplyDelete1) flat course
2) incredible crowd support
3) perfect temperatures nearly every year
I hail from that part of the world and can tell you that you never see such vast temperature swings from year to year as in, say, New York or Boston. The question is rather whether it will rain or not.
I'm not sure that those are all the reasons, but certainly some of them.
I'd love to include your picture and marathon (or Ultra Marathon) stats on my blog--“This Is What A Marathoner Looks Like”, along with a link to your blog, if you're willing. You can take a look and see if you'd like to be included in the Marathoner's pics--the info I’d need is in the header.
ReplyDeletehttp://thisiswhatamarathonrunnerlookslike.blogspot.com/
Katie from Seattle
Scott,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your note on my blog-I'm glad you'd like to be included in the roll at "This Is What A Marthoner Looks Like" at: http://thisiswhatamarathonrunnerlookslike.blogspot.com/
Sorry...I don't know how to hyperlink unless I'm within my own blogger page. Could you email me a pic of you in regular everyday clothing and one in running gear, plus a list of Marathons--or at least the ones you'd like listed? To: wildmindgirl@yahoo.com