Nairobi — The world marathon record of 2:03.59 will stay for a long time. Coming from former world marathon record holder, Paul Tergat, and Olympic champion Samuel Wanjiru, this statement has a lot of substance.Tergat said on Friday it will be hard to take away a second off the current record held by Haile Gebrselassie while Wanjiru said the pressure and expectations on the elite runners is too much for them to remain focused.
Gebrselassie and Kenyan Duncan Kibet, the Rotterdam Marathon champion (2:04.27), are the two current fastest marathon runners in the world and will both try to run under the mark the Ethiopian set over the same course in Sunday's Berlin Marathon.
Wanjiru and Tergat concurred that the weather must be perfect if either of the athletes stands a chance of setting a new world record.
"The weather is important for both to consider. It might be windy or hot and hence not favour them. But in terms of fitness and capability to set a new world record, both Gebrselassie and Kibet qualify and have the energy required," said Tergat.
Sunday's forecast for Berlin is a sunny 26 degrees Celcius with a humidity of 58 percent and wind speed of 11 kilometres per hour, great conditions for a record-breaking run.
Wanjiru, who could not get the chance to race against the legendary Ethiopian in Berlin, said Gebrselassie is enjoying his best form and needs to improve on the record in a bid to lock out any Kenyan from claiming it starting next year.
"I wanted to run in Berlin but it was not possible. But it will be a priority for me to run there and if all goes well, maybe then the record will be shattered. But for now, let Kibet make his attempt and we will be watching to cheer him on," said Wanjiru.
The 22-year-old Wanjiru is currently preparing for his fifth marathon, in Chicago on October 11, and said his eighth place in the Rotterdam half marathon was good enough for him running 61 minutes.
"If I wanted to run under the one hour mark, I could have done so. But I'm preparing for a marathon and did not want to expose myself and use all the energies I had," he said.
Wanjiru has won all but one of the four marathons he competed in, finishing second to Martin Lel in London last year. Wanjiru is targeting to run 2:04 in Chicago on another flat course. But he is keen on winning the race more than setting a fast time as he seeks to make history by becoming the third Kenyan after Robert Cheruiyot and Lel top win the lucrative World Marathon Majors series which comes with a jackpot prize of Sh38 million ($500,000).
Tergat, 40, is preparing to return to the tarmac after winning the Lake Biwa Marathon in Japan in March. The former world marathon record holder is lined up against other previous winners for the New York City Marathon on November 1.
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