While German's top marathoner Irina Mikitenko is headed to the Chicago Marathon on October 10, a number of elite women will be in Berlin on September 26, trying to take advantage of the flat and fast real, -Berlin Marathon course.
Three women who have run sub 2:25 marathons will be gunning for the top spot in Berlin. Here's a look at the top five elite women in Sunday's race:
Bezunesh Bekele, 27, Ethiopia
Bekele is the fastest woman in the field, with a PR of 2:23:09 set at the Dubai Marathon in 2008. She was fourth at the Virgin London Marathon back in April. She just missed a spot on the very competitive 2008 Ethiopian Olympic team.
Aberu Kebede, 21, Ethiopia
Kebede was the bronze medalist in the half marathon at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships. She set a PR of 1:07:39 at the event, making her one of the fastest female Ethiopian half marathon runners of all time. She was second at Dubai Marathon in January with a time of 2:24:26, a PR.
Tomo Morimoto, 26, Japan
Morimoto won the Vienna City Marathon in 2006 clocking a PR of 2:24:33. She was second at the Osaka Marathon in 2008, and was an alternate in the marathon on the Japanese Olympic Team in 2008.
Sabrina Mockenhaupt, 29, Germany
Mockenhaupt is Germany's top contender in the women's field. She won the 2008 Frankfurt Marathon in 2:26:22, and is the number two German marathoner behind Mikitenko. She won the 2009 Berlin Half Marathon in 1:08:45, a PR. She was also the 10,000 meter national champion in 2009.
Genet Getaneh, 24, Ethiopia
Getaneh holds a marathon PR of 2:26:27, set at the Dubai Marathon in 2009. She was fifth at the real, -Berlin Marathon last year in 2:27:09. Her PR in the half marathon is 1:08:18.
Check here to preview the top 5 men at the 2010 real, -Berlin Marathon.
Check back on Sunday for a complete recap and results of the 2010 real, -Berlin Marathon.
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