scheidender Schritt in

scheidender Schritt in diese Richtung sein für Ringer,dem man im Marathon eine Zeit von unter 2:10 Stundenzutrauen kann. In Frankfurt passierte er im vergangenenOktober 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-Rennenan den Start gegangen. Eine deutlich schnellere Zeitals in Frankfurt sollte möglich sein, wenn Ringer gesundund fit an den Start gehen kann.Nach Berlin zurück kehrt Philipp Pflieger (LG Telis FinanzRegensburg), der hier vor einem Jahr mit 1:03:14Stunden seine persönliche Bestzeit aufstellte. DieseZeit zu unterbieten, sollte das Ziel des 31-Jährigen sein,der beim Barcelona-Halbmarathon im Februar bereits1:03:33 Stunden erreichte. Auf eine deutliche Steigerunghofft Fabian Clarkson, der seit Ende des vergangenenJahres im neu formierten SCC EVENTS PRO TEAM unterErfolgs-Coach Dieter Hogen trainiert. Beim anspruchsvollenHalbmarathon von Egmond (Niederlande) hatteer 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-Distanzkonzentrieren wird, drei Monate lang mit seiner neuenTrainingsgruppe in Neuseeland auf den GENERALI BER-LINER HALBMARATHON vorbereitet.jwIt is highly likely that the winner on Sunday will be one ofKenya’s world-class athletes once again. In the past 17years only on two occasions the winner was not from thiscountry. The defending champion will be the favourite of theGENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON: Eric Kiptanui surprisedlast year when he broke the eleven year-old course record by14 seconds. Back in 2007 fellow-Kenyan Patrick Makau ran58:56. 28 year-old Kiptanui has already won a major internationalhalf marathon this season. He took a close race inBarcelona in February with 61:04. If Kiptanui, who is coachedby renowned Italian Renato Canova, can build good form forthe GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON he will go for anothercourse record and could then even threaten the worldrecord. This mark is just 24 seconds quicker than the Berlincourse record.1 220

An athlete who this season has already run faster than thedefending champion is Wilfred Kimitei. The Kenyan improvedto 59:40 at the Ras Al Khaimah half marathon in the UnitedArab Emirates in February. While Kimitei might be the strongestchallenger for Kiptanui there are three other Kenyanswho feature personal bests of sub 61 minutes: John Lotiang,Abraham Akopesha and William Wanjiku. Newcomer PaulKiprop of Kenya might be able to cause an upset when heruns his debut on Sunday.Germany’s Richard Ringer showed fine performances last autumn,when he was a pacemaker in the Frankfurt Marathonand then competed in a Dutch 15k race in Nijmegen. The30 year-old, who was the surprise winner of the European10,000 m Cup in London last year, paced fellow-German ArneGabius in Frankfurt to just beyond the 30k mark. Then hewas fourth in 43:40 in the race in Nijmegen where Uganda’sJoshua Cheptegei established a world best of 41:05. For nowRichard Ringer’s main focus will remain on the track. Howeverlast year’s results indicated that his future will probablybe on the roads. And the GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHONcould well be another step in this direction for Ringer, whoshould be able to run a sub 2:10 marathon in future.In Frankfurt Ringer passed the half way point in 1:04:52. Sohe has already run the distance. But this will be his first startin a half marathon race. If he can keep healthy in the buildupto Berlin he should be able to run considerably quickerthan in Frankfurt.Returning to Berlin once more is Philipp Pflieger, who clockedhis personal best of 1:03:14 here a year ago. The 31 year-oldGerman showed promising form early this year, when he ran1:03:33 in the Barcelona half marathon. It will be his goal toset a personal best in Berlin again.Meanwhile a local runner from Berlin hopes for a significantimprovement on Sunday: Fabian Clarkson has so far achieveda time of 1:07:05, which he ran on the difficult course ofthe Egmond half marathon in the Netherlands five years ago.At the end of last year 28 year-old Clarkson, who is a 3,000m Steeplechase specialist with Olympic ambitions, joined thetraining group of Dieter Hogen. This was set up by race organiserSCC EVENTS. Clarkson and the other runners of theSCC EVENTS PRO TEAM spent three months in New Zealand,preparing for the spring road running season.1 — Richard Ringer verspricht ein ausgezeichneter Straßenläufer zuwerden. Derzeit liegt sein Schwerpunkt noch auf der Bahn. RichardRinger promises to be an excellent road runner. At the moment his focus is on track2 — Philipp Pflieger stellte vor einem Jahr in Berlin seine persönlicheHalbmarathon-Bestzeit auf. Dieses Mal sollte für ihn eine nochbessere Zeit als 1:03:14 Stunden möglich sein. Philipp Pflieger set hispersonal best in a Half Marathon a year ago in Berlin. This time an even betterresult than 1:03:14 should be possiblePersönliche Bestzeiten der FavoritenPersonal Bests of the elite runnersLäuferRunnerLandCountryEric Kiptanui KEN 58:42Wilfred Kimitei KEN 59:40John Lotiang KEN 1:00:16Abraham Akopesha KEN 1:00:25William Wanjiku KEN 1:00:56Abdi Hakin Ulad DEN 1:02:15Philipp Pflieger GER 1:03:14Nuno Lopes POR 1:03:57Rui Pinto POR 1:04:14Fabian Clarkson GER 1:07:05Richard Ringer GER DebütDie schnellsten Männer in BerlinThe fastest men in BerlinZeit (Min.)TimeLäuferRunnerPersönliche Bestzeit (Min.)Personal BestLandCountryJahrYear58:42 Eric Kiptanui KEN 201858:56 Patrick Makau KEN 200759:07 Paul Kosgei KEN 200659:14 Dennis Kimetto KEN 201259:14 Leonard Komon KEN 201459:14 Abraham Cheroben KEN 201459:15 Wilson Kiprop KEN 201259:22 Ezekiel Chebii KEN 201259:25 Pius Kirop KEN 201259:26 Francis Kibiwott KEN 2007Die schnellsten Frauen in BerlinThe fastest women in BerlinZeit (Std.)TimeLäuferRunnerLandCountryJahrYear1:07:16 Edith Masai KEN 20061:07:34 Deena Kastor USA 20061:07:54 Helah Kiprop KEN 20131:08:01 Philes Ongori KEN 20131:08:22 Joyce Chepchumba KEN 20001:08:22 Peninah Arusei KEN 20081:08:25 Philes Ongori KEN 20121:08:26 Helah Kiprop KEN 20121:08:28 Benita Johnson AUS 20071:08:36 Caroline Chepkwony KEN 201221