scheidender Schritt in

scheidender Schritt in diese Richtung sein für Ringer, dem man im Marathon eine Zeit von unter 2:10 Stunden zutrauen kann. In Frankfurt passierte er im vergangenen Oktober die Halbmarathon-Marke in 1:04:52 Stunden. Die Distanz an sich ist für Richard Ringer somit kein Neuland. Aber er ist noch nie bei einem Halbmarathon-Rennen an den Start gegangen. Eine deutlich schnellere Zeit als in Frankfurt sollte möglich sein, wenn Ringer gesund und fit an den Start gehen kann. Nach Berlin zurück kehrt Philipp Pflieger (LG Telis Finanz Regensburg), der hier vor einem Jahr mit 1:03:14 Stunden seine persönliche Bestzeit aufstellte. Diese Zeit zu unterbieten, sollte das Ziel des 31-Jährigen sein, der beim Barcelona-Halbmarathon im Februar bereits 1:03:33 Stunden erreichte. Auf eine deutliche Steigerung hofft Fabian Clarkson, der seit Ende des vergangenen Jahres im neu formierten SCC EVENTS PRO TEAM unter Erfolgs-Coach Dieter Hogen trainiert. Beim anspruchsvollen Halbmarathon von Egmond (Niederlande) hatte er 2014 seine Bestzeit von 1:07:05 Stunden aufgestellt. Jetzt hat sich der 28-jährige 3.000-m-Hindernis-Spezialist, der sich im Sommer wieder auf diese Bahn-Distanz konzentrieren wird, drei Monate lang mit seiner neuen Trainingsgruppe in Neuseeland auf den GENERALI BER- LINER HALBMARATHON vorbereitet. jw It is highly likely that the winner on Sunday will be one of Kenya’s world-class athletes once again. In the past 17 years only on two occasions the winner was not from this country. The defending champion will be the favourite of the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON: Eric Kiptanui surprised last year when he broke the eleven year-old course record by 14 seconds. Back in 2007 fellow-Kenyan Patrick Makau ran 58:56. 28 year-old Kiptanui has already won a major international half marathon this season. He took a close race in Barcelona in February with 61:04. If Kiptanui, who is coached by renowned Italian Renato Canova, can build good form for the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON he will go for another course record and could then even threaten the world record. This mark is just 24 seconds quicker than the Berlin course record. 1 2 20

An athlete who this season has already run faster than the defending champion is Wilfred Kimitei. The Kenyan improved to 59:40 at the Ras Al Khaimah half marathon in the United Arab Emirates in February. While Kimitei might be the strongest challenger for Kiptanui there are three other Kenyans who feature personal bests of sub 61 minutes: John Lotiang, Abraham Akopesha and William Wanjiku. Newcomer Paul Kiprop of Kenya might be able to cause an upset when he runs his debut on Sunday. Germany’s Richard Ringer showed fine performances last autumn, when he was a pacemaker in the Frankfurt Marathon and then competed in a Dutch 15k race in Nijmegen. The 30 year-old, who was the surprise winner of the European 10,000 m Cup in London last year, paced fellow-German Arne Gabius in Frankfurt to just beyond the 30k mark. Then he was fourth in 43:40 in the race in Nijmegen where Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei established a world best of 41:05. For now Richard Ringer’s main focus will remain on the track. However last year’s results indicated that his future will probably be on the roads. And the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON could well be another step in this direction for Ringer, who should be able to run a sub 2:10 marathon in future. In Frankfurt Ringer passed the half way point in 1:04:52. So he has already run the distance. But this will be his first start in a half marathon race. If he can keep healthy in the buildup to Berlin he should be able to run considerably quicker than in Frankfurt. Returning to Berlin once more is Philipp Pflieger, who clocked his personal best of 1:03:14 here a year ago. The 31 year-old German showed promising form early this year, when he ran 1:03:33 in the Barcelona half marathon. It will be his goal to set a personal best in Berlin again. Meanwhile a local runner from Berlin hopes for a significant improvement on Sunday: Fabian Clarkson has so far achieved a time of 1:07:05, which he ran on the difficult course of the Egmond half marathon in the Netherlands five years ago. At the end of last year 28 year-old Clarkson, who is a 3,000 m Steeplechase specialist with Olympic ambitions, joined the training group of Dieter Hogen. This was set up by race organiser SCC EVENTS. Clarkson and the other runners of the SCC EVENTS PRO TEAM spent three months in New Zealand, preparing for the spring road running season. 1 — Richard Ringer verspricht ein ausgezeichneter Straßenläufer zu werden. Derzeit liegt sein Schwerpunkt noch auf der Bahn. Richard Ringer promises to be an excellent road runner. At the moment his focus is on track 2 — Philipp Pflieger stellte vor einem Jahr in Berlin seine persönliche Halbmarathon-Bestzeit auf. Dieses Mal sollte für ihn eine noch bessere Zeit als 1:03:14 Stunden möglich sein. Philipp Pflieger set his personal best in a Half Marathon a year ago in Berlin. This time an even better result than 1:03:14 should be possible Persönliche Bestzeiten der Favoriten Personal Bests of the elite runners Läufer Runner Land Country Eric Kiptanui KEN 58:42 Wilfred Kimitei KEN 59:40 John Lotiang KEN 1:00:16 Abraham Akopesha KEN 1:00:25 William Wanjiku KEN 1:00:56 Abdi Hakin Ulad DEN 1:02:15 Philipp Pflieger GER 1:03:14 Nuno Lopes POR 1:03:57 Rui Pinto POR 1:04:14 Fabian Clarkson GER 1:07:05 Richard Ringer GER Debüt Die schnellsten Männer in Berlin The fastest men in Berlin Zeit (Min.) Time Läufer Runner Persönliche Bestzeit (Min.) Personal Best Land Country Jahr Year 58:42 Eric Kiptanui KEN 2018 58:56 Patrick Makau KEN 2007 59:07 Paul Kosgei KEN 2006 59:14 Dennis Kimetto KEN 2012 59:14 Leonard Komon KEN 2014 59:14 Abraham Cheroben KEN 2014 59:15 Wilson Kiprop KEN 2012 59:22 Ezekiel Chebii KEN 2012 59:25 Pius Kirop KEN 2012 59:26 Francis Kibiwott KEN 2007 Die schnellsten Frauen in Berlin The fastest women in Berlin Zeit (Std.) Time Läufer Runner Land Country Jahr Year 1:07:16 Edith Masai KEN 2006 1:07:34 Deena Kastor USA 2006 1:07:54 Helah Kiprop KEN 2013 1:08:01 Philes Ongori KEN 2013 1:08:22 Joyce Chepchumba KEN 2000 1:08:22 Peninah Arusei KEN 2008 1:08:25 Philes Ongori KEN 2012 1:08:26 Helah Kiprop KEN 2012 1:08:28 Benita Johnson AUS 2007 1:08:36 Caroline Chepkwony KEN 2012 21