The 2008 Boston Marathon winner Dire Tune of Ethiopia will make this year's Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon her 2010 marathon debut, reports the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). With Tune's fast feet now entered in the Frankfurt Marathon, race directors are hoping for a course record setting performance from the experiened 25 year old professional.
The Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon will run on October 31, Halloween Day, and a sold out, record crowd of 13,000 participants is expected for the 26.2 mile race. You can still register online for the event that will showcase some of the world's top marathon running talent.
Dire Tune had a spectacular 2008 season, sparked by her winter win at the Houston Marathon where she ran her personal best marathon time of 2:24:40. Hot off her Houston victory, Tune took over the 2008 Boston Marathon, showing her competitors and Heartbreak Hill alike that they were no match for her marathon fitness. Her convincing 2:25:25 Boston Marathon win secured her a spot on the Ethiopian Olympic Marathon team and made her a favorite to win the gold medal in Beijing in 2008. She even broke the 1-hour world record in at the Ostrava Golden Spike Meeting, running 18.517 km in 60 minutes.
Despite her stellar season, Dire Tune finished a disappointing 15th place at the 2008 Beijing Olympics Marathon in a time of 2:31:16. After her Olympic debut, Tune experienced some setbacks in 2009, including a split second loss to Salina Kosgei at the closest Boston Marathon in history and a 23rd place result at the IAAF World Championships Marathon in Berlin.
So far in 2010, Tune has taken on more half marathon races and will make the Commerzbank Frankfurt Marathon her 26.2 debut. At Frankfurt, she will have to battle it out with Lithuania’s Zivile Balciunaite who recently won the European Championships Marathon in a dominating 2:31:14. Balciunaite beat Tune at the 2008 Beijing Olympics to place 11th overall, but her personal best of 2:25:15 is five years old and 35 seconds slower than Tune.
Race directors in Frankfurt hope that Tune and Balciunaite will be able to beat the five year old course record held by Russia’s Alevtina Biktimirova in 2:25:12. Last year in 2009, Agnes Kiprop of Kenya won the Frankfurt Marathon in 2:26:57 over fellow countrywoman Hellen Jemaiyo Kimutai (2:27:50) and Karolina Jarzynska of Poland (2:29:10).
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