Muteti eyeing Hannover Marathon title

Three Kenyans led by former Pune Half Marathon champion Daniel Muteti head to Hannover Marathon in Germany on Sunday 3 April where they look to medal. 

Muteti is the second fastest on the field as the Marathon makes a return after a two-year absence occasioned by Covid-19. 

Mongolia and Olympic marathoner Byambajav Tseveenravdan headlines the field with a personal best (PB) of 2:09:03 from Oita, Japan in 2020. This his only sub 2:10 time. He ran at the Tokyo Olympics last summer and placed 55th.

Muteti has a PB of 2:09:25 set in Cape Town in 2019 in a race he finished in second place when he was initially meant to pace set. 

However the Kenyan has not raced internationally in the past two years. The 2018 Madoka Half Marathon winner has only been in action at the 2021 Cape Town Marathon in October 2021. 

It is a similar story with fellow-Kenyan Josphat Kiptis, who only competed once during this time. He will run his marathon debut on Sunday. Kiptis features a promising half marathon PB of 60:21, he ran this back in 2015. 

The third Kenyan in the elite list is Wilfred Kiptoo who holds the fourth fastest PB on the field at 2:13:55, behind third-placed home runner Hendrik Pfeiffer, who was 50th in the tough Olympic race. 

The German has a personal best of 2:10:18 from Sevilla in 2020, which makes him the clear favourite in the race for the German title on Sunday. 

"My goal is to qualify for the European Championships in Munich and to run a personal best in Hannover. It is a nice and fast course and I look forward to enjoy the atmosphere with spectators back along the course,“ said Pfeiffer. 

Returning for its 30th edition, the race will also serve as the German Marathon Championships. Because of uncertainties regarding the Covid-19 situation in the build-up organisers decided to focus on the national championships this year and to only allow a limited international elite field. 

"It will be a very emotional return for all participants as well as for the organising team," said Race Director Stefanie Eichel. “We are really happy to come back with this race and we are well aware about our responsibility under the current conditions. Our approach is to make sure that our participants feel good and safe during our event."

Elite men athletes

Byambajav Tseveenravdan- 2:09:03

Daniel Muteti - 2:09:25

Hendrik Pfeiffer - 2:10:18

Wilfred Kiptoo - 2:13:55 

Martin Olesen -2:15:33

Archie Casteel - 2:15:48

Marcus Schöfisch - 2:15:59

Frank Schauer - 2:16:30

Valdas Dopolskas - 2:16:35

Tobias Blum - 2:16:57

Christian Steinhammer - 2:17:19

Josphat Kiptis - Debut