By David Rogers. BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — It wasn’t the day either Josh Izewski or Tyler Pennel were working toward in the BMW Berlin Marathon on Sept. 24. With Izewski pulling up and out with a “hip flare,” Pennel continued on but was well off his personal best, finishing in 2 hours, 14 minutes and 28 seconds, No. 39 to cross the finish line out of almost 29,000 runners, according to the Berlin Marathon official results.
Pennel’s “PR” was set in the Chevron Houston Marathon this past January, in 2:12:16 where he finished No. 5 in a strong field. ZAP Endurance head coach said before this year’s Berlin race that Pennel and Izewski were both aiming for 2:11, perhaps lower.
At the halfway point in the race, Pennel was running in the No. 55 position, so was able to close on some of those ahead of him by the end. His 3:04 to 3:05 per kilometer pace in the first half of the race slowed to 3:26 by the end, according to data obtained from BMW Berlin Marathon. Pennel was No. 6 in his Men 35 age group.
Izewski, unfortunately, had to drop out after the halfway point, where he was running No. 56 on the shoulder of training partner Pennel, at No. 55.
“Josh had to drop out early because his hip flared up badly,” said Rea, after the race. “Tyler’s 2:14 was an OK day, not great.”
Overall, the race was not without its dramatic moments, however. Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge won a record fifth Berlin Marathon in the Men’s Division, in 2:0242. He was followed by countryman Vincent Kipkemoi (2:03:13) and Ethiopia’s Tadese Takele (2:03:24).
In the Women’s Division, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa blew away the field in world record fashion, recording a 2:11:53, well ahead of second place finisher Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya (2:17:49). Magdalena Shauri of Tanzania was came in No. 3 (2:18:41). Six of the top 8 runners were from Ethiopia.
