MY HALF MARATHON: AMANAL

MY HALF MARATHON: AMANAL PETROS I ’m really happy I did it. All the effort was already worth it—even though my prep for London starts again immediately after the race. I hadn’t been training specifically for the half marathon in Kenya, but I did focus on recovery during the last six days before the race. I actually flew straight back to high-altitude training in Kenya the same night. I want that marathon record back. What Berlin showed me is: I’m very, very ready. “I’ll put everything on the line for the German record.” I don’t care that London’s course is not considered as fast as Berlin’s. I’ll go out with the second group and won’t hold anything back. Then I want to do everything in my power to break the German record and fight for this goal until the very end. “The atmosphere in Berlin was incredible again.” I hope the vibe in London is just like it was here. The support along the course was amazing—I felt like I was being carried along. Of course, the wind was brutal, and it was cold. That made it a really tough race. But I knew I had a huge chance, and I was desperate to at least go sub-60. I approached the race in a positive mindset—and for the first time, I wore glasses during a competition. They helped protect my eyes from the cold. In the past, I’d sometimes struggle to see clearly towards the end of cold races. I’m just really glad everything went smoothly—especially after all the bad luck I had in 2024. At the European Championships in Rome, I was still battling for gold in the final stretch of the half marathon. But - 4 -

About the athlete Amanal Petros is the first athlete in German athletics history to break the three most important national records—in the 10K, half marathon, and marathon—and to even hold them simultaneously. In February 2023, he broke Carsten Eich’s nearly 30-year-old 10K record (27:47) by running 27:32 in Castellón, Spain. In September 2023, he ran 2:04:58 in the BMW BERLIN MARATHON. Before the recent half marathon, his German record stood at 60:09 for the 21.0975 km distance. Born in Eritrea, Amanal fled to Germany as a teenager. For years, he trained with TV Wattenscheid under coach Tono Kirschbaum, alongside marathoners Hendrik Pfeiffer and Tom Gröschel. In 2023 and 2024, he ran for the Marathon Team Berlin, and since early 2025 he has been representing Hannover 96. However, he spends most of the year training in Kenya with the group led by renowned Italian coach Renato Canova. - 5 -