Münster promises elite German runners

“To run here in this atmosphere, with the top elite from all over the world – more than 40 nations are represented at the starting line – and even now in the field with top German athletes, is a great honor for me,” says one recreational athlete, who was asked why he chose the Volksbank-Münster-Marathon.

Register now quickly – only three weeks until the start of the Volksbank-Münster-Marathon. There are only places left for the Volksbank-Münster-Marathon itself and for the 6.2 km H+B Technics Health Run. For the first time, the number of pre-registrations for the marathon is well above the 2000 mark. And the number of recreational and amateur athletes who have opted for the health run without timekeeping is well over 200 again.

“Hendrik Pfeiffer (the reigning German champion in the marathon) is coming to Münster” – this news spread quickly. Now Pfeiffer’s friend and training companion, Tobias Ulbrich from Landshut, the German under-23 10,000m champion, is coming too. Tobias ran a time of 65:07 in his most successful half marathon, breaking the Bavarian state record set in 1999. He wants to run roughly this time in Münster, keeping up with the fastest second wave runners, before dropping out around 30km in. Both want to use this first marathon after the summer holidays for a test of their form without completing it, because they want to run a marathon in the autumn.

Hendrik Pfeiffer however is feeling so confident that he will be pacemaking for the fastest top elite runners for that 30km – equivalent to a half marathon time of around 64 minutes – which could lead to a new men’s course record. Justus Kiprotich from Kenya has held this position since 2018 with 2:09:28. Kiprotich has since become a crowd favorite in Münster and will be at the start again this year. The fastest competitor for a new course record is Moroccan Abdellah Tagharrafet, who set a personal best of 2:08:14 in Seoul a year ago. Isaac Kibet Chebuyo, who is almost 10 years his junior, should also be seen as a favourite, even though he is running his first marathon in Münster. His half marathon time of just 63 minutes gives an idea of how fast he can be if he has enough speed to cover the entire 42.195 km.

German elite runners will also take part in the Hengst Filtration 28 – the 28 km run, which is the hot race this year and alone brings 600 participants to the start (participation limit). Rabea and Deborah (Debbi) Schöneborn from Berlin are top favorites here. Debbi logged the second fastest annual best time of all female marathon runners in Germany (2:25:52 hours) at the Seville Marathon at the beginning of the year, and now wants to join her twin sister Rabea, who with a personal best of 2:27:03 is also among the top German runners – a last test run for an autumn marathon in the next few weeks. It’s nice that both are in Münster together, as Rabea was injured until recently.

Top elite also start in the women’s marathon. The course record holder from last year, Lilian Jelagat from Kenya, is back. Her new best time of 2:27:39 was a clear sign that she was below the magical 2:30 hour mark, even though she had no strength left at the finish line. This year she wants to finish with a smile. But that may not be easy for her given the competition of eight other elite runners. Judith Cherono from Kenya has the best chances with a personal best of 2:27:23 two years ago in Istanbul. The only non-African top elite runner is the Japanese Al Ikemoto, who will be running a marathon in Münster for the first time. Here, too, two pacemakers from the Netherlands and Belgium ensure that the pace of the women is right and that the runners don’t peak too early.