Press Release - Berlin Marathon - 7/10/12

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                 The World's Fastest Marathoner to Run the 
                    BMW Berlin-Marathon on 30 September

In April 2011, Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya won the Boston Marathon in a time of 
2:03:02, covering the 42.195 km distance faster than anyone in history. 
This time is not recognized as the standing world record because Boston's 
139 m* net drop does not conform to international road-running course 
standards. Six months after his victory in Boston, Mutai ran the ING New 
York City Marathon in 2:05:06, winning the race and crushing the former 
course record of 2:07:43 (2001).

The current world record stands at 2:03:38, set by Kenyan Patrick Makau at 
the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON in 2011. Geoffrey Mutai ran the Berlin course in 
2010, finishing only two seconds behind Makau in a fast 2:05:10 despite 
persistent rain throughout the race. Earlier that year, Mutai ran 2:04:55 
to finish second in the Rotterdam Marathon (behind Makau).

"We are pleased to have Geoffrey Mutai run the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. He is 
one of the best athletes in the world and will have the opportunity to 
prove it on the fast Berlin course," said race director Mark Milde.

Surprisingly, Geoffrey Mutai was not nominated to participate in the 
Olympic marathon team in London (Patrick Makau was also sidelined). Mutai 
regards this decision as a challenge to run a strong race in Berlin. "I am 
familiar with the Berlin course and know that you can run very fast here. 
If the weather is good, there is nothing in the way of a fast time," said 
the Kenyan. His performance in a late-June 10 km road race showed him to be 
in top competitive form when he won the Boston race unchallenged in 27:29.

*Records may be sanctioned only when set on courses that conform to certain 
criteria. The finish line must be located no more than half the course 
distance from the start line (21 km). Additionally, the net elevation 
change between start and finish must not exceed 1 meter per kilometer (42 
m).

Started in the late 19th century, the Boston Marathon course was based on 
the first modern-day marathon held in the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. 
The course is more or less flat from the start to the halfway point before 
sloping upward at 26 kilometers from which point the course includes 
notable slopes (Newton Hills, "Heartbreak Hill") until approximately the 34 
kilometer mark. The last 8 kilometers have a slight decline.

                      www.bmw-berlin-marathon.com

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