BERLIN, GERMANY, September 27 — Guye Adola broke from the pack at 34K (in the 22nd mile) and ran uncontested to take his second Berlin title in a PR 2:02:50. A veteran on Ethiopian coach Gemedu Dedefo’s juggernaut marathon squad, Adola said, “The most important thing about winning in Berlin the second time is to honor my team. For our team Berlin is the most important thing.”
The tall 35-year-old backed up his 2:03:54 win in Rotterdam in April with his third strong performance in Berlin. He had won the 2021 race (2:05:45) and produced a stunning 2:03:46 debut in 2017 to finish a close 2nd to Eliud Kipchoge.
Gemechu Dida (2:03:19) finished 2nd with Tanzanian Gabriel Gerald Geay (2:03:59) taking third. Ethiopians Getaneh Tamire (2:04:55) and Selemon Barega (2:04:58) ducked under 2:05.
Good results considering Berlin race director Mark Milde was on to Plan B after sub-2:00 WR man Sabastian Sawe sustained a lower left leg stress fracture and was forced to withdraw a month before the race.
Fortunately for Berlin, plan B is 2:03 and 2:04 guys ambitious enough to ante up to the targeted 61:00 first half.
Ten men followed three pacers through the opening 5K in 14:28 — brisk yet a bit uneven as Adola admitted, “My biggest problem in the beginning was with the wind.”
Lost amid the awe over Tigst Assefa’s brilliant run in the women’s contest was that race day was a tad humid with a 9-degree dewpoint and 5–8mph wind.
A second, more even, 14:29 segment followed to cross 10K in 28:57 with Tokyo 10,000 champ Barega joining Geay and Adola on the heels of the pacers.
Adola explained, “In the beginning, my plan was to run with the pacemakers to establish my position and feel the race to ensure that they are going decently.”
Indeed, the pacers found their groove and tapped out a steady dose of 2:51–2:54 kilometers to reach 15K in 43:23 (14:26) and 20K in 57:47 (14:24). The group crossed halfway right on schedule at 61:00.
Barega continued to chomp on the pace bit accompanied by Dida while Geay and Adola took a seat at the back of the 9-man pack, taking it all in.
Passing 25K in 1:12:21 (14:34) they were still on target for 2:02:07, but the pace slowed on the slight uphill climb. After a 2:59 for the 28th K raised the projected pace to 2:02:26, Adola knew it was time to move.
“After half-marathon I could run at the back watching the guys, it was a good group with many fast guys. I went to the front position when I saw that some guys were tired, slowing the [projected] finish time.”
Leaning into the tempo, the tall yet somewhat short-striding Adola threw down a 2:52 kilo and a subsequent 2:49 to cross 30K in 1:26:56 (14:34).
The move recast the race as only Barega and Dida and pacer Andrea Kiptoo could cover the downshift. The trio ran together until Adola surged again with a 2:51 for the 34th K and this time it was just Kiptoo who could keep up.
“When I go faster, only the pacemaker followed,” said Adola. “He did a good job.” Kiptoo won the Berlin Half last March benefiting from the over-the-top pacing of eventual runner-up Dennis Kipkogei.
A 14:21 split to 35K (1:41:18) put Adola on 2:02:07 pace. This surge finally set Adola clear of the field in the wide open streets of the city center. Sans pacer and exposed to the wind the tempo immediately slowed, fairly soon to over 3-minute kilometers.
Adola admitted, “The wind was a problem when there was still 5 kilometers to finish.” Despite slowing Guye didn’t appear in trouble and he continued to build his lead, which reached 18 seconds at 40K (1:56:23).
Adola revved up the velocity with a final 2:50 to finish in 2:02:50 and finally better his PR dating back to his debut race with Kipchoge.
The two-time champ was quick to acknowledge his training mates and coach: “The team and Gemedu is very good for me, the training is hard but the morale is good.”
Dida proved to be the real find in this race, closing well to finish his second marathon effort in 2:03:19, a massive 3:26 improvement over his debut 2:06:45 last December in Valencia.
He certainly is a talent having run 13:03 and 26:42 on the track. The 10,000 PR placed him 5th in the ’24 Ethiopian Olympic trials race. The 27-year-old has also run 5 sub-1-hour half-marathons.
With a podium finish in his first WMM, Dida said with a smile, “I’m really happy about the results and this gives me hope that I will be performing much better for the future.”
BERLIN MARATHON MEN’S RESULTS
1. Guye Adola (Eth) 2:02:50 PR (13, x W) (1:01:00/1:01:50); 2. Gemechu Dida (Eth) 2:03:19 PR; 3. Gabriel Gerald Geay (Tan) 2:03:59; 4. Getaneh Tamire (Eth) 2:04:55; 5. Selemon Barega (Eth) 2:04:58 PR; 6. Asefa Boki (Eth) 2:05:32 PR; 7. Andamlak Belihu (Eth) 2:05:55 PR; 8. Shura Kitata (Eth) 2:06:04; 9. Yuhei Urano (Jpn) 2:06:09 PR; 10. Tadu Abate (Eth) 2:07:16;… 23. Charlie Sweeney (US) 2:09:33 PR;… 29. Will Nation (US) 2:11:08;… 31. Lars DeWall (US) 2:12:13;… 34. T-Roy Brown (US) 2:12:38;… 47. Brendan Martin (US) 2:14:36;… 55. Blake Buysse (US) 2:16:20.
