Gebrselassie Going for It Again in Berlin

This upcoming September, one of the greatest distance runners in history, a man who has set 19 official and seven unofficial world records, Haile Gebrselassie, will return to run the real,- Berlin Marathon.

And for good reason: Berlin has been very good to the 36-year-old Ethiopian.

Last year, he won the race, setting a new world record. His time, 2:03:59 hours, was the first time anyone has dipped under 2:04 hours. And the year before, he ran it in 2:04:26—then a world record as well.

Can Gebrselassie break his own world record yet again? After his 2008 victory, he hinted it may be possible. “I can still run a little faster. I know that I can run 2:03:30, perhaps even 2:02:59 when everything is right on the day,” he said.

Should Gebrselassie succeed in breaking his own world record for the third time in a row at the Berlin Marathon, it will be an unprecedented achievement since no runner has done that in the same race on consecutive occasions. In addition, Gebrselassie could become the first athlete to win Berlin four times—and in succession as well. Apart from him, German runners Ingo Sensburg and Take The Magic Step’s own Uta Pippig as well as Renata Kokowska of Poland have won it on three occasions.

After winning the Dubai Marathon earlier this year in 2:05:29, Gebrselassie indicated that he will definitely not be running the World Championship marathon in Berlin in August. Since then, however, the Kenyan, Duncan Kibet, has improved the world leading time this year with 2:04:27 in Rotterdam. Never before has anyone come so close to Gebrselassie’s world record—a big reason why the Ethiopian is coming back to Berlin to try and distance himself from the competition.

The real,- Berlin Marathon is Germany’s largest marathon and the second largest marathon in the world. A record 40,000 runners registered for the race in record time. Entries have long since been sold out.