Mainova Frankfurt Marathon on Sunday: Elisha Rotich and Yeshi Chekole head strong elite fields in Frankfurt

This is a release on my favorites, the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon.

I visited this wonderful German city and marathon for almost a decade, courtesy of meet management.

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I loved the race! The expo and race gave me a yearly update on the health of German road racing. The expo was quite fun.

German road running was a look back at US road running in the 1970s when runners were a bit more severe and would race anywhere.

Germany and France have many trail races with many elevation changes. I also enjoyed seeing some brands still needing a presence in North America.

The presser was always fun. There would be some German athletes and a chance to interview Ethiopian and Kenyan athletes via translators.

The race, through the ancient streets of old Frankfurt (dating back to the Middle Ages), takes runners through the financial capital of Europe. I enjoyed watching the race, covering the event, and watching finishers from outside the Movenpick Hotel.

I will miss seeing my old German friends and the many wonderful race volunteers this year. If you want to race a marathon in Germany, please consider the Frankfurt Marathon.

As the race returns to vitality after the pandemic, the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon is building its numbers again and should have a fantastic race. RunBlogRun will provide coverage on Sunday, October 27, 2024.

Mainova Frankfurt Marathon on Sunday:

Elisha Rotich and Yeshi Chekole head strong elite fields in Frankfurt

Elisha Rotich of Kenya and Ethiopia’s Yeshi Chekole head the elite field of the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon next Sunday. Rotich has a personal best of 2:04:21, while Chekole’s record stands at 2:21:17. More than 14,000 marathon runners have entered the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon, a World Athletics Elite Label Road Race.

A number of athletes had to cancel their starts recently due to injury or visa problems. Among them are Ethiopians Herpasa Negasa and Tigist Abayechew and Kenyan Eric Kiptanui. The men’s start list now features four runners with personal bests of sub 2:07:00 and another ten who have run below 2:10:00.

While the leading men will probably run at a 2:05 pace, and organizers hope that a winning time slightly below that mark might be possible, the women could produce the highlight at the 41st edition of Germany’s oldest city marathon. They are expected to attack Valary Aiyabei’s course record. The Kenyan ran 2:19:10 in 2019. Five women entered the race, featuring personal bests of sub 2:23:00. Ethiopia’s Hawi Feiysa might have done very well. She currently has a PB of 2:23:36. But her half marathon time of 65:41 suggests that she should be able to run much faster. Additionally, Hawi Feiysa ran a brilliant race at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia, last year when she placed sixth.

Tom Thurley and Laura Hottenrott lead the domestic challenge in Frankfurt. Thurley was second in this year’s national championships with 2:14:52, and Hottenrott ran 2:24:32 in Valencia a year ago. She competed in the Olympic marathon in Paris and finished 38th.

Elite runners with personal bests

MEN

Elisha Rotich KEN 2:04:21

Lencho Tesfaye ETH 2:06:18

Aychew Bantie ETH 2:06:23

Birhan Nebebew ETH 2:06:52

Gossa Challa ETH 2:07:43

Workneh Serbessa ETH 2:07:58

Abdelaziz Merzougui ESP 2:08:00

Gerba Dibaba ETH 2:08:25

Jake Robertson NZL 2:08:26

Belay Bezabeh ETH 2:08:58