Eliud Kipchoge. Wilson Kipsang. Kenenisa Bekele. The lineup for the Berlin Marathon on Sunday is about as fast as they will ever come—three men who all have the potential to set a new world record for 26.2 miles.
The race coverage begins at 3 a.m. eastern on Sunday on NBC Sports Network or streaming on NBC Sports Gold. Yes, that’s early (or late, depending on where in the U.S. you plan to watch), but it’ll be worth it. If you happen to sleep through it, Runner’s World will be providing full coverage and recaps live from Berlin.
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Kipchoge, who is from Kenya, is the 2016 Olympic marathon champion and the man who ran 2:00:25 in May, during Nike’s Breaking2 experiment around a racetrack in Monza, Italy. Though that is the fastest time ever for the distance, it doesn’t count as an official record because of the tactics used, like the team of rotating pacesetters.
So Kipchoge, 32, whose personal best on a record-eligible course is 2:03:05 (London, 2016), has repeatedly said that he has a singular goal on Sunday: Set a new world record. He has to run faster than 2:02:57, the current mark run by Dennis Kimetto at the 2014 Berlin Marathon. He said at a news conference on Friday that he plans to cover the first 13.1 miles in 60 minutes and 45 seconds.
“Winning is not an option,” he said. “It’s a necessity.”
The only man to ever beat Kipchoge in a marathon is Kipsang and he ran a then-world record in the process (2:03:23 at the 2013 Berlin Marathon). The 35-year-old Kenyan has also said the world record is within his reach and set his personal best of 2:03:13 at the 2016 Berlin Marathon, where he was beat by none other than Bekele, from Ethiopia, who won in 2:03:03, his best time to date and the second-fastest 26.2 miles of all time.
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At the press conference, Bekele, 35, did not state how fast he intends to run the first half, but Kipsang targeted between 61 minutes and 1:01:10.
“I’m confident because, first of all, I want to say for myself [that] my preparation was good,” Kipsang said. “Trying to analyze my previous performances and trainings, I think this is the best.”
While Kipchoge is the prevailing favorite to not only win, but take the world record, it’s not a given. How much did the Breaking2 effort take out of him 20 weeks ago? And the Olympic marathon before that?
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Although Bekele has been inconsistent in his marathon performances, he is regarded as the best distance runner of all time for his three Olympic gold medals, five outdoor world championships, and two world records (5,000 meters in 12:37.35 and 10,000 meters in 26:17.53). He has won 11 world cross-country championships as well. If he has his best day, he can’t be discounted.
And then there’s Kipsang, whose consistency of success in the marathon is remarkable. He’s won five titles at World Marathon Majors events and he’s broken 2:05 eight times.
Predictions abound, including from the three top competitors.
“I am confident that I’ll run a beautiful race here,” Kipchoge said on Friday.
Cindy Kuzma contributed to this report from Berlin.
