Kimberly BoginMore than 40,000 runners will be headed to Berlin on Sunday, September 26, for the real, -Berlin Marathon.
When it comes to flat and fast marathons, there's none better than Berlin. Many world records have been set on the Berlin Marathon course, including Haile Gebrselassie's blistering 2:03:59 back in 2008.
After winning the Berlin Marathon for the last four years, Gebrselassie will take on the ING New York City Marathon on November 7 instead.
But there's still plenty of competition left in the men's field in the real, -Berlin Marathon, including seven athletes who have run sub 2:07. Here's a look at the top five elite men in this Sunday's race:
Patrick Makau, 25, Kenya
Makau holds the fastest marathon PR of the field, a 2:04:48 set at the Rotterdam Marathon in April. It's the fourth fastest marathon time ever and the fastest marathon time run so far in 2010.
Makau is also the third fastest half marathoner of all time, behind Zersena Tadese and Sammy Wanjiru. His half marathon PR is 58:52, set at the RAK half marathon in 2009.
Geoffrey Mutai, 28, Kenya
Mutai currently holds the second fastest time for the year in the marathon, clocking a 2:04:55 for second at the Rotterdam Marathon. He holds a half marathon PR of 59:30, set at the Valencia Half Marathon in 2009. He won the Monaco Marathon in 2008, and the Eindhoven Marathon in 2008 and 2009.
Eliud Kiptanui, 21, Kenya
Kiptanui has only run two marathons, but he's won them both. He made his marathon debut in 2009 at the Safaricom Marathon in Africa in 2:12:17. Five months later he won the Prague Marathon in 2:05:39, setting a new course record. Judging by the improvement he was able to make in such a short time, Kiptanui is definitely one to watch on Sunday.
Bazu Worku, 20, Ethiopia
Worku was second at the Paris Marathon in 2009 where he ran a 2:06:15. He was only 18 at the time. He holds a half marathon PR of 1:01:56, also set in Paris in 2009.
Gilbert Yegon, 22, Kenya
Yegon won the 2009 Amsterdam Marathon in 2:06:18, his first marathon. He also broke Haile Gebrselassie's course record at the event. He holds a PR in the half marathon of 1:01:26, set in Berlin in 2009
Check here for a preview of the top 5 elite women in the 2010 real, -Berlin Marathon.
Check back on Sunday for a full race recap and the results of the 2010 real, -Berlin Marathon.
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