As of: December 7, 2025 8:05 a.m
Will the German men’s marathon record fall in Valencia today? Both the current record holder Samuel Fitwi and his predecessor Amanal Petros are at the start. Gesa Krause makes her debut. The ARD broadcasts in a live stream.
“My goal is to get the German record back in Valencia,” said Petros, who has already demonstrated his outstanding form this year. In September he became sensationally runner-up world champion in Tokyo and missed the gold medal by just three hundredths in the spectacular finish sprint. In the spring he also improved his German half marathon record in Berlin to 59:31 minutes and was the first German to stay under an hour.
Video:
Petros on German record: “Optimistic that I can attack” (2 min)
Ultra-fast course and good weather prospects
The German men had made great use of the marathon in the east of Spain in recent years: the German record fell four times in the past five years, three of them on the ultra-fast, flat course in Spain. Fitwi last broke the record there a year ago, previously held by Petros, which has since stood at 2:04:56 seconds. The man from New Year’s Eve Run Trier was two seconds faster than Petros in Berlin in 2023, who has been racing for Hannover 96 since this year.
Video:
Record hunt in Valencia – Fitwi: “I’m fit” (1 min)
The 30-year-old Petros prepared for around eight weeks in the high-altitude training camp in the Kenyan marathon paradise of Iten and Fitwi in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The 27-year-old said he expects the German record to fall. Through himself or vice world champion Petros, who has already achieved this twice in Valencia. After all: the weather forecast for the city on the Mediterranean looks good.
In addition to Fitwi and Petros, Hendrik Pfeiffer (Düsseldorf Athletics/personal best time 2:07:14 hours), Sebastian Hendel (SCC Berlin/2:07:33), Simon Boch (2:09:25), Filimon Abraham (both LG Telis Finanz Regensburg) and Erik Hille (TV Burglengenfeld/ 2:13:03) are also at the start.
Krause hopes for a successful debut
Among the women, Gesa Krause is the only top German runner in the field. The two-time European champion over 3,000 m obstacles (2016 and 2018) is making her marathon debut and is aiming for a time of under 2:30 hours. “That would be the first sound barrier that I would like to achieve for my debut. But I said that I would like to leave this race with a positive marathon experience,” said the 33-year-old.
“The goal is 2:29:59 hours. It will be a new experience for Gesa. I hope she copes well with the length of the route,” explained her coach Wolfgang Heinig. His protégé “copeed with the new training very well”.
However, the 42.195 kilometers inspired her respect, the Hessian confessed. The marathon will be “very, very cool,” but also “very, very strenuous. For me, this is a distance that I have never run before and it is very different from what I usually do.” Krause leaves it open as to whether the run in Valencia will remain a one-off excursion to the marathon distance: “Now I want to run one before I get too full of my mouth.”