Sep 30, 2007 - Men's World Record
Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) - 2:04:26
Berlin Marathon, Berlin, Germany
Haile Gebrselassie did what he said he would do: set a new world record in the Marathon, finishing the Berlin Marathon in 2:04:26 - knocking 29 seconds off of the previous record. From the start of the race, Gebrselassie ran ahead of the previous record splits set four years earlier by Paul Tergat. By 10K, Gebrselassie was 30 seconds ahead of the previous record pace. From that point on, Gebrselassie's margin ahead of the record pace would range from a high of 42 seconds to a low of 21 seconds - but the fact that Gebrselassie was going to set a record was never in doubt. Running with pacers through the first 30K, Gebrselassie ran the final 12K alone - in contrast to the previous record performance when Tergat was paced and chased by Sammy Korir throughout. Despite running solo, Gebrselassie's final 2K was faster than Tergat/Korir's - in all respects an amazing run and record.
Sep 28, 2008 - Men's World Record
Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia) - 2:03:59
Berlin Marathon, Berlin, Germany
Haile Gebrselassie, the reigning world record holder, became the first man to break the 2:04 barrier in the marathon when he completed the 2008 Berlin Marathon in 2:03:59. In a race that was setup for Gebrselassie's record attempt - without major competition, but with strong support from pacemakers - Gebrselassie seemed to have no problem with the 4:44 average pace. Riding on Geb's coattails, James Kwambai surprisingly held on through mile 22 and finished with his own PR by 5 minutes, a 2:05:36.