This is an edition of my favourites, the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon.
I visited this wonderful German city and the marathon for almost a decade by the meeting management.
I loved racing. The expo and race gave me an annual update on the health of German road racing. The expo was quite entertaining.
German road running was a throwback to US road running in the 1970s, when runners were a little more brutal and ran anywhere.
Germany and France have a lot of trail racing with lots of elevation changes. I also enjoyed seeing some brands that still need a presence in North America.
The press was always fun. There would be some German athletes and the opportunity to interview Ethiopian and Kenyan athletes through translators.
The run through the old streets of old Frankfurt (dating back to the Middle Ages), takes runners through Europe’s financial capital. I enjoyed watching the race, covering the event and watching the finishers from outside the Movenpick Hotel.
I will miss seeing my old German friends and the many wonderful race volunteers this year. If you want to run a marathon in Germany, please consider the Frankfurt Marathon.
As the race returns to vitality after the pandemic, the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon is building its numbers again and should have a fantastic race. RunBlogRun will provide coverage on Sunday, October 27, 2024.
Mainova Frankfurt Marathon Sunday.
Elisha Rotic and Yeshi Cekole lead Frankfurt’s strong elite fields
Elisha Rotich of Kenya and Yeshi Chekole of Ethiopia head the elite field for next Sunday’s Mainova Frankfurt Marathon. Rotich’s personal best is 2:04:21, while Cekole’s record is 2:21:17. More than 14,000 marathon runners took part in the Frankfurt Marathon in Mainova, the World Athletics Elite Label Road Race.
Recently, a number of athletes have had to cancel their starts due to injury or visa issues. Among them are Ethiopians Herpasa Negasa and Tigist Abayechu and Kenyan Eric Kiptanui. The men’s start list now features four runners with personal bests of sub-2:07:00 and a further ten who have run under 2:10:00.
While the leading men are likely to run at a 2:05 pace and organizers are hoping to win just under that mark, the women could be the headliners in the 41st edition of Germany’s oldest city marathon. They are expected to attack Valarie Aiyabei’s course record. In 2019, the Kenyan ran 2:19:10. Five women competed in the race, posting personal bests around 2:23:00. Ethiopia’s Havi Feysa could do very well. He currently has a PB of 2:23:36. But his half marathon time of 65:41 suggests he should be able to run much faster. Additionally, Havi Feisa had a brilliant race at the World Championships in Bathurst, Australia last year when he finished sixth.
Tom Turley and Laura Hottenroth lead the domestic challenges in Frankfurt. Turley was second at this year’s nationals in 2:14:52, while Hottenroth ran 2:24:32 in Valencia a year ago. He took part in the Paris Olympic Marathon and took 38th place.
Elite runners with personal bests
MEN
Elisha Rotich KEN 2:04:21
Lencho Tesfaye ETH 2:06:18
Aychew Bantie ETH 2:06:23
Birhan Nebebeu ETH 2:06:52
Gossa Challa ETH 2:07:43
Workneh Serbessa ETH 2:07:58
Abdelaziz Merzugou’s ESP 2:08:00
Gerba Dibaba ETH 2:08:25
Jake Robertson NZL 2:08:26
Belay Bezabeh ETH 2:08:58
Ebba Chala SWE 2:09:06
Ruben Nari KEN 2:09:06
Bernard Muia KEN 2:09:17
Vincent Ronoh KEN 2:09:21
Tom Turley GER 2:14:52
Jonathan Dalke GER 2:15:42
Jan Lucas Becker’s GER debut
WOMEN
Yeshi Chekole ETH 2:21:17
Shuko Genemo ETH 2:21:35
Magdalyne Masai KEN 2:22:16
Kidsan Alema ETH 2:22:28
Meseret Dinke ETH 2:22:52
Betty Chepkwony KEN 2:23:02
Agnes Keino KEN 2:23:26
Hawi Feiysa ETH 2:23:36
Linet Masai KEN 2:23:46
Laura Hottenrott GER 2:24:32
Watch Ned’s ETH 2:26:23
Georgina Schwiening GBR 2:26:28
Aberash Corsa ETH 2:29:04
More information and online registration is available at: www.frankfurt-marathon.com
