by Larry Eder
The battle for Berlin, photo by PhotoRun.net
The picture above shows Eliud Kipchoge, Emmanuel Mutai and Fiyesa Lelisa dueling in Berlin. Running 26.2 miles at 4:40-4:45 pace is a rareified talent. Many can run a marathon, few can race one. Red lining it, or running at near one’s max for 24 miles and then, racing to the finish is something that few can do and for a short time.
Cathal Dennehy provided five deep thoughts on the race as he was leaving Berlin on Tuesday.
Five final thoughts on the Berlin Marathon
Once again, the fastest marathon in the world lived up to its renown, producing the 11th quickest performances of all time in both men’s and women’s races, courtesy of a pair of champions worthy of topping any marathon rostrum. Yet again, the morning of the race dawned cool, calm and sunny, and though we may not have got the world record attempt many hoped for – blame a dodgy pair of shoes for that – we were still presented with a race to remember. Before departing the German capital, here are five random reflections on this year’s event.
Eliud Kipchoge is unbeatable right now
Eliud Kipchoge, the best for 2015! photo by PhotoRun.net
It wasn’t just that he defeated the field on Sunday; he destroyed them. The fact Kipchoge’s insoles were flapping around for most of the race, more out of his shoes than in, made his achievement all the more impressive. Afterwards, many wondered just how he was able to keep his concentration in such circumstances – particularly when his feet began to blister and bleed during the second half – but as he said himself, he was “mentally very strong”.
Kipchoge, though, was also physically strong. When he dropped the hammer after 32km, his rivals became bankrupt in an instant, able to offer nothing in the way of a challenge. By the time Kipchoge hit the finish in 2:04:00, second placer Eliud Kiptanui had yet to run through the Brandenburg Gate some 400 metres from the finish.
Kipchoge has now won his last three marathon majors – Chicago, London and Berlin – and in the form he’s in, it’s hard to see him being beaten at the distance any time soon. Though the 30-year-old has been at the top of the sport for 12 years now, he has many miles left to run. Dennis Kimetto and Wilson Kipsang may have faster times to their names, but if Kipchoge gets the right race – and the right shoes – then there’s every chance he’ll soon better their super-fast times and etch his name into immortality.
Gladys Cherono: the star you’ve never heard of
Gladys Cherono, Berlin 2015 victor, photo by PhotoRun.net
The television coverage – at least on the German TV feed in the Berlin Marathon media center – showed so little of the elite women’s race that you could be forgiven for not knowing it was happening. The exception, of course, was for German athlete Anna Hahner, who ran 2:30:19 and had many times the amount of air time as Kenya’s Gladys Cherono, who actually won the race in 2:19:25.
Cherono eased away from second-placed Aberu Kebede after the 35km mark and never looked troubled from there on out. In what was just her second marathon, the current IAAF World Half Marathon champion proved she is a natural at the distance, and though at 32 she’s no spring chicken, Cherono is still very much a novice over 26.2 miles. She trains with multiple marathon champion Mary Keitany, but the way Cherono is going, it may be well Keitany who is looking up to her accomplishments in the years to come. A marathon star was born in Berlin, and we should all remember the name.
Athletes really, really enjoy running Berlin
Anna Hahner, Berlin 2015, photo by PhotoRun.net
Talking to runners, both elite and recreational, after the race on Sunday, there was a recurring theme. Specifically, there was universal praise for just about everything to do with the marathon experience in Berlin. “As always, the crowds, the course, everything in the background, was great,” said women’s runner-up Aberu Kebede, and she wasn’t alone.
A sub-three hour marathoner I spoke with – a man who’s run so many marathons he’s lost count – said it was by far the most fun he’s had running 26.2 miles, adding that the Berlin Marathon was the choice for those in the know about the sport. Athlete after athlete recounted tales of how much they were boosted by the incredible wall of sound from supporters out on course, the perfect conditions and flat, smooth roads which allowed them the optimum chance to record a fast time. Middle-of-the-pack runners noted how Berlin wasn’t as congested as other marathon majors such as London, or as windy as Chicago, or as hilly as Boston, and so on.
It will take some time before Berlin can truly call itself the world’s best marathon, but with each word of glowing praise spreading through the running community, the race will continue its steep ascent towards the summit.
Geoffrey Mutai is on the decline
Geoffrey Mutai, photo by PhotoRun.net
It’s hard to see a way back for Geoffrey Mutai, at least to the towering heights of 2011, when the Kenyan was an unstoppable force in the marathon world and ran his personal best of 2:03:02 in Boston.
After coming down with a calf injury in the wake of his victory in New York in 2013, Mutai has been a shadow of his former self ever since. Last year he could only manage sixth in both the London and New York Marathons, but having spoken confidently about how he’s finally got a grip on his injury problems, hopes were high that he could return to his former glory in Berlin.
On Sunday, though, he could only manage fifth place in a disappointing 2:09:29, which means he was over a mile behind when race winner Eliud Kipchoge crossed the finish line. At 30, Kipchoge shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. Mutai, meanwhile, will turn 34 next week and unfortunately, it seems his best days are now behind him.
Want to be the best? Train with the best
Abel Kirui Training Group, photo by PhotoRun.net
One of the common threads between race winners Eliud Kipchoge and Gladys Cherono is that they train with other marathon super-freaks, the select few runners in the world capable of beating them on any given day. It’s nothing new in elite distance running, particularly when it comes to Kenyans, but both race winners happen to train with athletes faster than them over 26.2 miles.
Kipchoge explained on Friday how much of a privilege it is to train under Patrick Sang – who he calls “one of the best coaches in the world” – with several of the best marathoners in the world, among them Emmanuel Mutai, who has run 2:03:13. Cherono, meanwhile, trains with 2:18 woman Mary Keitany under the guidance of Italian coach Gabriele Nicola, logging upwards of 180km a week. “She is a big help to me, a big inspiration,” said Cherono about her training partner.
If there’s a simple way runners of all abilities can mimic the champions, then it’s by training with athletes just as good – if not better – than themselves.
