Eliud Kipchoge Goes Back To His Routine

Eliud Kipchoge heads to Berlin for the sixth time in his career and is looking to break his tie with Haile Gebrselassie to become the first man to win the race five times. Last year at this race, Kipchoge lowered his own world record from 2:01:39 to 2:01:09. But now, at 38 years old, he is coming off a disappointing sixth place finish at the Boston Marathon, which may have derailed his plans to potentially become the first person to win all six World Marathon Majors.

Instead of trying his luck in New York this fall, he has opted to return to Berlin – a race he’s clearly confident in his ability to run well. If he can lower his personal best even more, it would obviously make it tougher for fellow Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum to challenge the world record. Before you scoff at the thought of anyone other than Kipchoge laying claim to the marathon WR, remember that Kiptum won the London Marathon in 2:01:25 and will be running the Chicago Marathon, a notoriously fast course if the weather cooperates.

Until proven otherwise, Kipchoge is not just the greatest marathoner alive right now – he’s the greatest marathoner in history. The question at times the last few years has been: how long can he sustain this greatness? When he lost the 2020 London Marathon (which snapped a 10-marathon winning streak), he bounced back with a confidence-boosting 2:04:30 the following April and then an Olympic gold medal. Last year, he won Tokyo in a course record and then broke his own world record. He has not yet had two stinkers back-to-back, so until he does, we’ll hold off on thinking that Father Time is finally getting fit enough to catch him.

Tigist Assefa Back After Huge Breakout Last Year

If not for Kipchoge’s world record, the most memorable part of last year’s Berlin Marathon would have been Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa (the former 1:59.24 800m runner) dropping 18 minutes off her personal best to win the women’s elite race in 2:15:37 (No. 5 on the all-time list). It’s hard to know what shape she’ll be in this time because she has not raced at all this year after withdrawing from April’s London Marathon due to tendonitis.

Assuming she’s fit and healthy, she’ll likely be challenged by Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui, who has run 2:17:29 and earned a bronze medal in the marathon at last year’s Commonwealth Games. She was fourth at the London Marathon in 2:18:51 but hasn’t had the sharpest summer of racing with a pair of 10Ks on the road (3rd at the BAA 10K in 31:27 and 10th at the Peachtree 10K in 31:58).

There will be other strong Ethiopians in the field including Tigist Abayechew (2:18:03 PB); Worknesh Edesa (2:18:51 PB); Hiwot Gebrekidan (2:19:10 PB) and Zeineba Yimer (2:19:28 PB). Abayechew and Edesa are last year’s top returners behind Assefa, finishing 3rd and 4th in 2022. The sleeper pick would be Senbere Teferi, whose 2:24:11 PB puts her down on the entry list but has proven to be a tough racer the past few years in New York City. And Teferi’s 14:15.24 5000m speed should make some of her competitors nervous if she’s in contention over the final miles.

Amos Kipruto Gets Another Shot

Amos Kipruto has not been able to beat Kipchoge in their three previous showdowns. In 2018, he finished 2nd behind Kipchoge in Berlin, so he knows how to run well on this course. Last year, he finished 33 seconds back of Kipchoge for second place in a 2:03:13 PB at the Tokyo Marathon and then went on to win the London Marathon in October. He chose to run London this spring but did not finish after falling in the middle of the race.

“I have had a fantastic training,” he told The Standard. I know it will be a tough battle. I have done all I could. It’s always exciting for me to compete against Kipchoge. It motivates me a lot. I want to run my personal best in Berlin.”

Americans Head To Europe Ahead Of Trials

It’s not that often that the top American marathoners elect to run the Berlin Marathon. Despite the race being contested on a record-setting course, Chicago and New York tend to have attracted more U.S. talent with bigger appearance fees to represent on home soil. But because the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials will be held on Feb. 3, some athletes have chosen to run their final marathon earlier in the fall to have enough time to recover and then go into another full proper build this winter. Berlin is 19 weeks ahead of Trials, compared with 17 weeks for Chicago and only 13 for New York.

– Scott Fauble, who has been the top American at the last two editions of the Boston Marathon and last fall’s New York City Marathon, will have a good opportunity to lower his PB of 2:08:52.

– Jared Ward, who has been dealing with Hashimoto’s disease (which causes hypothyroidism) in the last few years, is looking for a good performance after only running a season’s best of 2:15:24 last year.

– Jacob Riley, who surprised many with his runner-up finish at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials, is back to competing after a long recovery from RED-S and double Achilles surgery following the Tokyo Olympics.

– Earlier this year, there were big hopes for Teshome Mekonen’s marathon potential with a half marathon PB of 1:00:02. In January, Mekonen ran his first marathon since switching allegiances from Ethiopia to America, running 2:11:05 for a PB and third place at the Houston Marathon.

– Annie Frisbie, who boasts a 2:26:18 personal best from the 2021 New York City Marathon, heads overseas after finishing fifth at the U.S. 20K Championships earlier this month. She’s the only American woman entered with a PB under 2:30.

One of the key things to watch on the men’s side will be if Fauble can run under the Olympic qualifying standard of 2:08:10 or place within the top five to unlock a qualifying position for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. (James McKirdy explained the qualifying conundrum in a guest blog post earlier this summer) At the moment, there are no guaranteed spots for American men at the upcoming Summer Games in Paris.