The BMW Berlin Marathon, a September tradition, is testament to the growing community of runners. Each year the race attracts larger crowds, with more and more runners eager to experience the thrill of a fast and furious marathon course through the bustling streets of Berlin.
This writer has been lucky enough to participate in several Berlin marathons. I was impressed by the organization of the race, the enthusiasm of the runners, the amazing pacing, the incredibly incredible elite races that followed and the amazing and exciting city of Berlin.
Berlin is a San Francisco with an increasing number of German-speaking people.
Berlin is a classic marathon and should be on the bucket list
50th BMW BERLIN MARATHON.
Ethiopians Mengesha and Ketema register a double Triumph
Ethiopians Milkesa Mengesha and Tigist Ketema took top honors at the 50th anniversary race of the BMW BERLIN MARATHON. In perfect weather conditions, cool and sunny, Mengesha won in 2:03:17, the third fastest time in the world this year. Kenyan Kyprian Kotut was second to the 24-year-old in 2:03:22, while Ethiopian Haymanot Alyu took third place in 2:03:31. The best times didn’t end there as Kenya’s Stephen Kiprop finished fourth in 2:03:37. The best German finisher was Sebastian Handel, who surprised by surpassing his best result of 2:07:33. This performance made him the fifth fastest German marathoner of all time.
Tigist Ketema dominated the race for victory with a time of 2:16:42, the third fastest time in women’s 50-year history. He led his Ethiopian compatriots Mestavot Fikir and Bosena Mulatie home, the second and third place finishers in 2:18:48 and 2:19:00 respectively. The German leader is Melat Kejeta with 2:23:40 for eleventh place.
Overall, the race was still a great performance, although significant records were yet to be set. Including both winning times, their mark of 4:19:59 made the 50th edition the twelfth fastest marathon in history and the fourth fastest ever in Berlin. For the first time, four men went under 2:04 in Berlin. The anniversary edition attracted 58,212 starters from 161 countries.
Men’s race
The pace was very fast from the start of the men’s race. Led by three pacers, 12 runners covered 10km in 28:42, beating Eliud Kipchoge’s record of 2:01:09 on the finish line. The pace was extremely ambitious and after reaching the halfway point in 60:57 and the pacers leaving with 25km to go, the pace slowed considerably. Several kilometer splits were timed over three minutes each, which was highly unusual for a Berlin race. The lead group was still large with 30km to go, with eight men going 1:27:21. After five kilometers, the group was reduced to four: Kenyans Stephen Kiprop and Kibrian Kotut, and the Ethiopian pair Milkesa Mengesha and Haymanot Alev. While Alyu and Kiprop dropped the pace, the decisive score came just before the Brandenburg Gate in the final kilometer. Milkesa Mingesha pulled away from Kyprian Cotut for the biggest win of her career. “It was good that I didn’t come here as one of the big favorites so I could run without any real pressure. This personal best also shows how much progress I have made,” said Mengesha, whose previous fastest time was 2:05:29.
There was good reason for the home fans to celebrate as Sebastian Handel showed good judgment with his pace before making big strides in the second half. Hendrik Pfeiffer was the first of his German compatriots to pass around 10km from the finish, followed by Philemon Abraham at 38km. “It was a great race and I was surprised at the end to be the top German finisher,” said a delighted Handel. He had only broken 2:10 in Hamburg this April, running 2:08:51, so improving to 2:07:33 was a significant achievement.
Women’s race
Unlike the men, the women’s race was almost a solo victory from start to finish for Tigist Ketema, whose personal best of 2:16:09 made her fastest on the start list by some distance. For a while he was running on pace up to 2:16:00. Her fellow Ethiopian Azmera Gebru was the only competitor to try to match her pace, but she dropped back with 20km to go, while Ketema cleared the halfway mark in 67:53 on her way to her second major marathon win of the year, won in Dubai. in January. “Actually I wanted to run with a personal best, but I’m so happy with the win and also with the time,” said 26-year-old Tigist Ketema.
Berlin, Germany, September 29, 2024
Photo by Victah Sailer@PhotoRun
Ethiopians took the top three spots, with Mestavot Fikir second in 2:18:48, followed by Bossena Mulatie in 2:19:00. Both beat their personal bests by several minutes, with no one having broken 2:20 before.
Despite stating he was suffering from knee problems before the race, Melat Kejeta attempted to break the German record of 2:19:19 set by Irina Mikitenko 16 years ago at the BMW BERLIN MARATHON. Melat Kejeta reached 69:43 at the halfway point, but could not maintain that pace in the second half. “I tried, but it was too fast. My legs felt heavy and my knee started to hurt,” Kejeta explained after finishing in 2:23:40.
Results, men.
1. Milkesa Mengesha ETH 2:03:17
2. Cyprian Kotut KEN 2:03:22
3. Haymanot Alew ETH 2:03:31
4. Stephen Kiprop KEN 2:03:37
5. Hailemariam Kiros ETH 2:04:35
6. Yohei Ikeda JPN 2:05:12
7. Tades Takel ET 2:05:13
8. Oqbe Kibrom Ruesom ERI 2:05:37
9. Onchari Enock KEN 2:05:53
10. Derseh Kindie ETH 2:05:54
Women.
1. Tigist Ketema ETH 2:16:4
2. Mestawot Fikir ETH 2:18:48
3. Bosena Mulatie ETH 2:19:00
4. Aberu Ayana ETH 2:20:20
5. Ai Hosoda JPN 2:20:31
6. Mizuki Matsuda JPN 2:20:42
7. Calli Hauger-Thackery GBR 2:21:24
8. Ebregal Melese ETH 2:21:39
9. Fikrte Wereta ETH 2:23:23
10. See Gola ETH 2:23:3
More information is available online at: www.berlin-marathon.com
