RUNNING GERMANY: FRANKFURT – What the Top Runners are saying before the Frankfurt Marathon

Fans and spectators at the Frankfurt Marathon on Sunday will have the chance to enjoy a high-class landmark. For the first time in any German-speaking country, five runners with personal bests of under 2:05:30 will be on the start line as well as three women who have gone under 2:22.

“It’s important for us to have strength in depth and an exciting race. That provides spectators with an exciting show along the route and in the Festival Hall. We don’t put all the emphasis on two stars with not much going on behind them. We want to show the real breadth of this sport of running,” said race director Jo Schindler. 

Here’s what the top names from Kenya and Ethiopia have been saying in race week:

Feyisa Lelisa (Ethiopia) | 23 years | Personal Best: 2:04:52
“I have four goals on Sunday: the world record, the course record of 2:03:42, the Ethiopian record of 2:03:59 and my personal best. If the pacemakers can do a good job, I’d like to run 2:03. Haile’s record is always on my mind, he is my idol. At the very least I want to run a personal best. As Ethiopians we get along well with the Kenyans but it’s going to be a great contest on Sunday.”

Dino Sefir (Ethiopia) | 25 years | Personal Best: 2:04:50
“My personal best is the fastest in the field but it’s all about your form on the day. I’m hoping for victory. The Kenyans have better basic speed than the Ethiopians but we’ll be trying to beat them. I’ve watched the Frankfurt Marathon on television and seen the finish on the red carpet in the Festival Hall. I want to be the first into the Hall!” 

Vincent Kipruto (Kenya) | 26 years | Personal Best: 2:05:13
 “I want to run a personal best and go under 2:05. I don’t think a lot about the other runners. I’ll go with the pace and we’ll see what happens after 30 kilometres.”

Gilbert Kirwa (Kenya) | 27 years | Personal Best: 2:06:14
“There are many runners here with a chance of victory and I’m one of them. The win in Frankfurt in 2009 was one of the most important points of my career and I want to do that again. I feel very good, better than last year. My aim is a time of 2:05.”

Gelete Burka (Ethiopia) | 27 years | Debut

 “I only decided to run a marathon after the World Championships in Moscow. My basic speed isn’t as strong as it was. I’ve not run further than 15 kilometres in a race on the road but have done 40k runs in training. My goal is a time of 2:20. Marathon training is hard and demanding, both physically and mentally. But long distances aren’t a problem for us in Ethiopia, I had to cover long distances at home whenever I wanted to go somewhere.”