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Mizuki Noguchi and Haile Gebrselassie at the 33rd real,- BERLIN-MARATHON

2006-09-05

The 33 rd real,- BERLIN-MARATHON marks the beginning of a new promising era in the history of the biggest German marathon event. With its 40,000 participants and a series of world-class performances, the real,- BERLIN-MARATHON has already been one of the world’s most spectacular races for the past few years. The foundation of the World Marathon Majors (WMM) which the real,- BERLIN-MARATHON is part of next to the Flora London Marathon, the BAA Boston Marathon, the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon and the ING New York City Marathon, has only strengthened this position. These five events basically represent the running sport’s Formula 1.

Accordingly, the participants of this year’s real,- BERLIN-MARATHON are high-ranking runners from all over the world such as Haile Gebrselassie and Olympic Champion Mizuki Noguchi who will be cheered on by about a million spectators along the course. The enthusiastic spectators in Berlin will not only cheer on those stars however, but also the fun runners, walkers, wheelchair athletes and handbikers as well as the pupils participating in the real,- MINI-MARATHON.

Five records have been run at the real,- BERLIN-MARATHON so far – as many as in no other marathon race still held today. Most recent world records have been Naoko Takahashi’s ( Japan ) barrier breaking 2:19: 46 from 2001 and Paul Tergat’s ( Kenya ) 2:04: 55 from 2003, which still stands today.

The man who as pace maker had significantly contributed to the record and nearly even beaten Paul Tergat in the final sprint will also be running – this time not as pacemaker however. Kenyan runner Sammy Korir is still the second fastest runner ever with his time of 2:04: 56 hours. “This will be a great competition, and that is great for the spectators,” Haile Gebrselassie predicts. “It will be less good for me but I hope that he is well prepared as I will be, too.”

Favourites of the 33rd real,- BERLIN-MARATHON