South African Lusapho April is gunning for his own course record at the 26th running of the HAJ Hannover Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, on Sunday (10).
April clocked 2:08:32 on the flat Hannover course at the 2013 edition, a performance that remains the 33-year-old&rsquo;s personal best. If he succeeds, he&rsquo;ll become the race&rsquo;s first three-time winner.&nbsp;
Organisers have assigned pacemakers to bring the field through the half in 1:04:00 to hopefully lead to a sub-2:08 finish, a performance well within the range of Kenyans Philipp Sanga and Duncan Koech, who could be April&rsquo;s prime challengers.
Sanga has a personal best of 2:06:07 from the Frankfurt Marathon in 2011 and although he&rsquo;ll be contesting the race for the first time, Koech will be on familiar turf, having won here in 2008 and finishing fourth in 2011. Koech boasts a personal best of 2:07:53 from Cologne in 2012.
Also returning is Martin Kosgey, who was fourth here in 2014 clocking 2:11:37, and third a year ago, when he improved his best to 2:09:50.
But it was April, who&rsquo;ll be contesting the race for the fifth time, who seized much of the pre-race attention this week.
&ldquo;I am fit and feel very well,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I believe I can run a personal best here and hope to run under 2:08 on Sunday.&rdquo;&nbsp; He&rsquo;ll also be chasing a spot on the South African Olympic team; for that he said, a time of around 2:11:30 should punch his ticket.&nbsp;
Kenyan Moses Masai also intends to figure in the mix. A 2009 world championships 10,000m bronze medallist on the track, Masai is hoping to finally produce a sub-2:10 run in the marathon.
I will go with the first group and run the first half in 64 minutes,&rdquo; said Masai, who ran his career best of 2:10:36 in Dusseldorf two years ago. &ldquo;It is my goal to run sub-2:08 in Hannover.&rdquo;
<h3>Hahner twins looking to secure Olympic team spots</h3>
Germany's Anna Hahner leads the women&rsquo;s field, armed with 2:26:44 career best and a major city marathon title under her belt.
The 26-year-old is aiming to not only improve on her 2014 campaign in which she won the Vienna City Marathon in the spring and then improved her still-standing best in Berlin in the autumn, but to also secure a place on the German Olympic team along with her twin sister Lisa, who is also running on Sunday.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I am in top shape and want to run the first half in 1:15,&ldquo; said Anna Hahner, who&rsquo;ll them aim for a negative split.
However, she&rsquo;ll have to run faster than her 2:30:19 performance in Berlin last September for a chance to punch her ticket to Rio.
Lisa Hahner meanwhile is in better position for an Olympic berth based on her 2:28:39 run in Frankfurt last October.
&ldquo;I have trained well and look forward to Hannover,&ldquo; said Lisa Hahner, who confirmed that she and her sister will run together in their first marathon head-to-head since the 2013 Frankfurt Marathon.
Out to spoil the Hahner family party will be Ethiopia's Tizita Terecha Dida, who clocked 2:28:02 in Guangzhou last year, and Ukraine&rsquo;s Olena Burkovska, who has a 2:27:07 best from 2013.
Jorg Wenig (organisers) for the IAAF

South African Lusapho April is gunning for his own course record at Sunday’s 26th running of the HAJ Hannover Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race.

April sets sights on course record in Hannover

Aberu Kebede from Ethiopia will return to the BMW Berlin Marathon on 27 September in a bid to get her third win at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race after victories in 2010 and 2012.Kebede ran her personal best of 2:20:30 in the German capital three years ago.Kenya&rsquo;s world half-marathon champion Gladys Cherono will be a strong challenger for Kebede. Cherono ran 2:20:03 in her marathon debut earlier this year when finishing second in Dubai, a race in which Kebede finished fifth in 2:21.17.Ethiopia&rsquo;s 2012 world half-marathon champion Meseret Hailu, who won the Hamburg Marathon earlier this year, will also be on the start line in Berlin. She set her best of 2:21:09 when winning the 2012 Amsterdam Marathon, although she has not otherwise broken 2:25.Local interest will be provided by Germany&rsquo;s Anna Hahner, who set her best of 2:26:44 in Berlin last year.Organisers for the IAAF<h3>Elite field (with PBs)</h3>Gladys Cherono (KEN) 2:20:03 Aberu Kebede (ETH) 2:20:30 Meseret Hailu (ETH) 2:21:09 Tadelech Bekele (ETH) 2:22:51 Fate Tola (ETH) 2:25:14 Eri Hayakawa (JPN) 2:25:31 Lisa Nemec (CRO) 2:25:44 Tomomi Tanaka (JPN) 2:26:05 Anna Hahner (GER) 2:26:44 Amy Cragg (USA) 2:27:03 Deborah Toniolo (ITA) 2:28:31 Maja Neuenschwander (SUI) 2:29:42 Sonia Samuels (GBR) 2:30:56 Alyson Dixon (GBR) 2:31:10 Maria Diaz (ESP) 2:32:22 Andrea Deelstra (NED) 2:32:39 Wendy Thomas (USA) 2:32:49 Iris Fuentes-Pila (ESP) debut

Aberu Kebede from Ethiopia will return to the BMW Berlin Marathon on 27 September in a bid to get her third win at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race after victories in 2010 and 2012.

Kebede will look for her third Berlin Marathon win

After winning the Vienna City Marathon with a course record of 2:05:41 last year, Getu Feleke promised to return to the IAAF Gold Label Road Race in 2015. And that&rsquo;s exactly what he will do on Sunday (12).Not long ago, such a time was thought to be impossible on this course. But the 28-year-old Ethiopian intends to attack his own course record this weekend. With weather forecasts looking good and pacemakers instructed to set up a 2:05 target time, organisers hope to see a fast winning time.&ldquo;If the weather is good then I want to attack my personal best,&rdquo; said Feleke, who has a PB of 2:04:50 from his second-place finish in Rotterdam in 2012. &ldquo;If the conditions are not ideal then I will at least go for the course record and possibly below 2:05:30.&rdquo;The current world-leading time stands at 2:05:28, run by Dubai winner Lemi Berhanu of Ethiopia.When Feleke won last year&rsquo;s Vienna City Marathon, he was still feeling the effects of a chronic stomach problem that had kept him out of competition for nearly a year. &ldquo;I have no more stomach problems now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But I picked up a leg injury in the build up to Frankfurt, which took a long time to heal.&rdquo;After recovery, he started preparing for Vienna and ran a 1:00:45 half marathon in Barcelona, where he placed second in February. &ldquo;This was a very good result for me and it showed that I am in good form. I could relax a bit more in training after that,&rdquo; said Feleke, who now receives training programmes from renowned Italian coach Renato Canova.While the defending champion is the big favourite, there are two fellow Ethiopians who could do well.Sisay Lemma and Siraj Gena are expected to follow Feleke&rsquo;s pace. Lemma has clocked a 2:07:06 personal best in Dubai this January while Gena has a PB of 2:08:31. &ldquo;I have recovered well after Dubai and now I am in a better shape than before the Dubai race,&rdquo; said Lemma.A Kenyan challenge might come from Duncan Koech, who has a personal best of 2:07:53 and finished fourth in Vienna last year in 2:09:17. &ldquo;It is a big advantage that I know the course and I know that I am able to run the second half faster than the first one,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It is my goal to run a personal best on Sunday.&rdquo;Organisers had to cope with a couple of last-minute cancellations due to injuries. Among them there are Ethiopia&rsquo;s Gebo Burka, Kenya&rsquo;s Josphat Keiyo and Brasil&rsquo;s Paulo Paula.<h3>After training with Bekele, Hahner is ready for Chepkwony rematch</h3>With a different tactical approach, Caroline Chepkwony hopes to succeed on her second attempt in Vienna.The Kenyan had a big lead a year ago, but then faltered in the final stages and was overtaken by Anna Hahner. The German winner from 2014 is back in Vienna as well to defend her title.&ldquo;It has always been my priority to return to the Vienna City Marathon as a defending champion,&rdquo; said Hahner. &ldquo;You never know how often you get the opportunity to start a race wearing bib number 1. This is a great motivation for me.&rdquo;The 25-year-old ran 2:28:59 a year ago and then improved her personal best to 2:26:44 in last year&rsquo;s Berlin Marathon.Like the defending men&rsquo;s champion Feleke, Hahner is coached by Canova. Since the Italian became the coach of Kenenisa Bekele last autumn, the group&rsquo;s training base was switched from Kenya to Ethiopia. Hahner went there this winter for almost six weeks together with her twin sister Lisa.&ldquo;It was an inspiring experience to train together with the Ethiopian world-class runners,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;We stayed at Kenenisa&rsquo;s new training camp in Sululta. Sometimes the electricity or the water would go off. Once we had no water for one-and-a-half days. But we still enjoyed it and had great conditions for training.&rdquo;A time in the range of 2:28 is a goal since the German national qualifying standard for the Olympics is expected to be between 2:28:30 and 2:29:00. &ldquo;I want to show early that I am ready for Rio,&rdquo; said Hahner.During her final preparations, she watched the video of last year&rsquo;s race. &ldquo;I like films with a happy end &ndash; and this was one for me of course,&rdquo; she joked.Chepkwony will be less keen to see last year&rsquo;s film again. &ldquo;I had stomach cramps in the final part of the race and I nearly collapsed,&rdquo; recalled the 30-year-old Kenyan, who finished 19 seconds behind Hahner and needed medical treatment afterwards.While she broke away relatively early during last year&rsquo;s race, Chepkwony intends to go for a different approach this time. &ldquo;I expect a good competition,&rdquo; said Chepkwony, who set her PB of 2:27:27 when winning the 2013 Ljubljana Marathon. &ldquo;I cannot say that I will win, but I hope to do well and to break my personal best.&rdquo;With seven runners featuring personal bests between 2:25 and 2:30, a thrilling women&rsquo;s contest is on the cards.Fate Tola, winner in Vienna in 2011 and 2012, is the fastest in the field with a personal best of 2:25:14. But the Ethiopian will be running her first marathon after maternity leave and might not be in top shape yet.Switzerland&rsquo;s Maja Neuenschwander hopes to improve her personal best of 2:29:49, while Esther Chemtai, who has a PB of 2:28:41, is another of the favourites.Jorg Wenig (organisers) for the IAAF

After winning the Vienna City Marathon with a course record of 2:05:41 last year, Getu Feleke promised to return to the IAAF Gold Label Road Race in 2015. And that’s exactly what he will do on Sunday (12).

Defending champions Feleke and Hahner hope to go quicker in Vienna

Vienna City Marathon champions Getu Feleke and Anna Hahner will defend their titles at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on 12 April.Last year, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Feleke and Germany&rsquo;s Hahner produced two of the most spectacular performances in the history of the Austrian road race. While Feleke stormed to a brilliant course record of 2:05:41, Hahner came from well behind in the final few kilometres to snatch victory.&ldquo;After these memorable performances by Getu and Anna, we are more than happy to welcome these two athletes back to the Vienna City Marathon,&rdquo; said race director Wolfgang Konrad. &ldquo;We are looking forward to another great race.&rdquo;It will be Feleke&rsquo;s third appearance at the Vienna City Marathon. It was here where his marathon career began back in 2009. In a unique debutants-only elite race, Feleke took seventh place with 2:11:42.With the exception of a DNF at the London 2012 Olympics, all of Feleke&rsquo;s marathons since his debut have been faster than 2:10. His PB is 2:04:50, while his winning performance in Vienna last year was the second-fastest mark of his career.But Feleke, who had come back from an illness in 2014, then suffered more misfortune a couple of months later as an injury forced him to withdraw from the Frankfurt Marathon in October. Last Sunday, however, he showed that he has regained his form when finishing second at the Barcelona Half Marathon in 1:00:45, missing victory by just three seconds.&ldquo;My aim is to improve my Vienna course record,&rdquo; said Feleke. With about seven weeks to go before he will travel to the Austrian capital to defend his title, the 28-year-old has been preparing at high altitude in Sululta.By complete coincidence, it is exactly the same venue near Addis Ababa where Hahner is currently training. Together with twin sister Lisa, she is in Ethiopia for the first time. Both athletes are coached by Italian Renato Canova, who also takes care of Kenenisa Bekele and other world-class runners in Ethiopia.&ldquo;I am really looking forward to coming back to Vienna,&rdquo; said Hahner, who clocked 2:28:59 when winning in Vienna last April. &ldquo;Last year&rsquo;s victory was a major step forward for me. The atmosphere was very special.&rdquo;With little more than two kilometres to go, she had been almost one-and-a-half minutes behind Caroline Chepkwony. But the Kenyan badly faltered due to stomach problems and Hahner passed her with a few hundred metres to go.&ldquo;When I return to Vienna, I want to produce the best possible performance,&rdquo; said Hahner, whose personal best of 2:26:44 was set at last year&rsquo;s Berlin Marathon. &ldquo;I will really give it everything. It is my aim to make the podium again.&rdquo;Organisers for the IAAF

Vienna City Marathon champions Getu Feleke and Anna Hahner will defend their titles at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on 12 April.

Defending champions Feleke and Hahner return to Vienna

Getu Feleke overcame stomach problems in the final stages of the 31st edition of the Vienna City Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, to win in a course record time of 2:05:41 on Sunday (13).The Ethiopian sped away from the leading group just after 30 kilometres to take more than a minute off the previous course record of 2:06:58, clocked by Kenya’s Henry Sugut in 2012."In the last two kilometres I had problems with my stomach. I could have been faster," reflected Feleke, who ended a Kenyan winning streak in the Austrian capital which stretched back to 2007.An eight man group went through the halfway point in 1:02:42 to suggest that the course record was going to be substantially improved upon, and 30km was reached in 1:28:48 before Feleke put in his burst of acceleration, covering the 31st kilometre in just 2:46.“Before I pushed the pace I had a look at the others and thought that I should go," explained Feleke after the race.Running on his own and unchallenged, Feleke reached 35km in 1:43.48 with his nearest rivals around 40 seconds and held his form all the way to the line while his opponents continued to drift further back.Kenya’s Alfred Kering finished a distant second in 2:08:28, nearly three minutes behind the winner, while his compatriot Philip Kimutai was third in 2:08:58.In ideal overcast conditions and with temperatures around 12 degrees Celsius, three-time winner and defending champion Sugut lost touch with the leaders started to struggle at around 15 kilometres and quit the race shortly afterwards. "It was a very good race except for the wind," said Feleke. "There was strong wind between the 24th and 26th kilometre and when I was running alone after 30 kilometres."Feleke, who set his personal best of 2:04:50 when finishing second at the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon, was returning to the race where he made his marathon debut five years ago. He became the first Ethiopian winner in Austrian capital since Moges Taye in 1998."This is my lucky city," Feleke said. "It's not my best time but it is a great win." Germany’s Anna Hahner won the women’s race in 2:28:59. In a dramatic finale, she pulled away from Kenya’s Caroline Chepkwony just 300 metres from the line.Chepkwony finished second in 2:29:18, 19 seconds in arrears while Ethiopia’s Marta Lema was third in 2:31:10."I just can't believe it," said Hahner."I was running in fourth and started thinking that reaching the podium could be possible. When I was in second, people along the road shouted that Caroline had almost come to a standstill. “I passed her and just didn't look back," added the delighted German after arguably the biggest win of her career, although she was just over a minute outside her best of 2:27:55 set when finishing eighth at last year’s Frankfurt Marathon.Chepkwony and the Japanese runner Mai Ito passed the halfway point in an audacious 1:12:13 with Hahner almost two minutes behind in fifth place, but she had measured her effort much better than the other elite women and ran a strong second half to pass everyone in front of her, including Chepwkony who had been struggling since 40km. Hahner was the first German winner in Vienna since Christa Vahlensiek in 1989. A record number of 42,078 runners from 127 nations entered the marathon and the associated races, including a half marathon.Phil Minshull for the IAAF

Getu Feleke overcame stomach problems in the final stages of the 31st edition of the Vienna City Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, to win in a course record time of 2:05:41 on Sunday (13).

Feleke smashes course record with 2:05:41 win at Vienna City Marathon

“Everybody waltz” is the motto of the 31st edition of the Vienna City Marathon on 13 April. But who will waltz first at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race?“If my race goes well, I will waltz after crossing the finish line,” says Anna Hahner. If the German is in good form she might be able to compete for a place on the podium in Vienna, but the favourites come from elsewhere.Kenya’s Caroline Chepkwony will be challenged by Mai Ito, who hopes to become the second Japanese athlete to win in the Austrian capital. The long history of the race shows there have only been four Kenyan women to have crossed the finish line first on Vienna’s impressive Heldenplatz. One of these wins came last year; a parallel that could be a good omen for Chepkwony.In 2013 Flomena Cheyech improved her personal best by almost ten minutes when she ran 2:24:34. Before that, Cheyech won the Rome-Ostia Half Marathon with a personal best of 1:07:39.Chepkwony chose the same race schedule this year and was equally successful, winning this year’s edition of the same Italian race in 1:08:48 on 2 March, beating fellow Kenyan Sharon Cherop, the 2012 Boston Marathon champion, by three seconds.Vienna will be 29-year-old Chepkwony’s third marathon. After running a 2:30:34 debut in Berlin in 2012, she won the Ljubljana Marathon in October 2013, improving to 2:27:27.Japan’s Mai Ito has far more experience in marathon running and has a personal best of 2:25:26 from the 2012 Nagoya Marathon. Ito has been consistent at the sub-2:30 level in recent years, but has not yet managed to win a big marathon.The 29-year-old will hope to finally achieve this in Vienna, following in the footsteps of 2006 winner Tomo Morimoto, who won in 2:24:33. But the main difficulty for Ito will be the fact that she will be racing just seven weeks after running the Tokyo Marathon, in which she finished seventh in 2:28:36.Russia’s Olga Glok, who set a PB of 2:27:12 when finishing second in Vienna two years ago, and Kenya’s Alice Chelangat, who has a best of 2:29:47, are also expected to challenge for podium places.Hahner will be paced by her twin sister Lisa and hopes to run faster than 2:30 for the second time in her career. The 24-year-old significantly improved in Frankfurt last year, when she clocked 2:27:55.“In my preparations for Vienna, I have trained in Spain and Kenya recently,” said Hahner, who together with her sister has been coached by Italian Renato Canova since last spring.Organisers for the IAAF

“Everybody waltz” is the motto of the 31st edition of the Vienna City Marathon on 13 April. But who will waltz first at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race?