To compliment the mass field of 35,000 participants the 31st Berlin marathon will be packed with elite running talents on September 26.
Although last year's winner and World record holder Paul Tergat from Kenya will not defend his title after coming tenth in the Athens Olympics on 29 August, a trio of his countrymen with the ability to run below 2:07 hours will contest the race.
Titus Munji was the pacemaker last year when Tergat set the current World record of 2:04.55 and, despite dropping off the pace to finish third (2:06:15), he will have set his sights higher this time around.
2004 Rotterdam marathon winner Felix Limo (2:06:14) was second last autumn in another top European race in Amsterdam (2:06:42), but this year hits the streets of Berlin instead.
"We're pleased to be able to present such a strong field a year on from Paul Tergat's World record run despite the proximity of the Olympic Games, where obviously a lot of top marathon runners were involved," said race director Mark Milde.
