European Athletics (EAA) – News – France’s Abdellatif Meftah makes marathon debut in Paris on Sunday

Abdellatif Meftah had a superb four months at the end of 2010 including setting a French national half marathon record of 60:46 in Lille last September, the fastest time by a European runner last year by more than half-a-minute.

The 29-year-old runner then produced his best ever cross country performance when he finished fourth at the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in December.

Now Meftah is looking to extend his range and he will make his debut over the classic distance of 26.2 miles in the Paris Marathon on Sunday.

In an interview published on the French athletics federation website www.athle.com, Meftah talks about his hopes for this year’s Paris Marathon and his longer term ambitions.

FFA: Abdellatif, why did you choose to start your career as a marathoner in Paris?
Meftah: I have long been planning to run my first marathon in 2011, and I had proposals from New York, Rotterdam and Amsterdam. However, in my mind, it was impossible to start anywhere other than Paris, because this is my country. I already have a history here in the city with good results in the Paris-Versailles race, for example, so for my first marathon it had to be Paris. After that, I'll go abroad.

What is your target for your debut?
I want to get the qualifying standard for the London Olympics, where I want to run the marathon. I’m aiming to finish under 2:12 but I know I can do much better. This year I then plan to focus my attention on the track and participate in the World Championships over 10,000m. After that, for my second marathon, I think I’ll try to attack the French record (Benoit Zwierchiewski’s time of 2:06:36 was run in 2003 and he is also the joint holder of the European record). Why not?

Do you have any apprehensions about your marathon debut?
This is not a distance like the others, and some athletes experience problems after the 35th kilometre. However, I have worked hard in training, both on changes of pace and on very long training runs. I have also talked with many other athletes, like Benoit Z, Dominique Chauvelier or my coach Laurent Plumail. They all tell me that I have a good chance to do well at this distance.

What is your strategy on Sunday?
I cannot possibly follow those who will be in the first group, those who are looking to win in a time around 2:06 or 2:07. I will analyze the situation as the race progresses but generally I prefer to run alone rather than follow the pace set by someone else. We’ll see on the day.

Munyutu alongside Meftah …
Alongside Meftah on the Paris Marathon start line will be his compatriot Simon Munyutu.

Munyutu has a best of 2:09:24, which he ran in the 2008 Paris Marathon and which ranked him as the second fastest European marathon runner that year. However, he has not run a marathon since he finished 32nd at the 2009 World Championships and has struggled with injuries in the last 18 months.

The course record for the Paris Marathon is 2:05:47, set by Kenya’s Vincent Kipruto two years ago.