Berlin Marathon — Saweâ€s Bold Gambit Scuppered By Weather

Sabastian Sawe came prepared to run WR pace in his second marathon. The weather declined to cooperate. (VICTOR SAILER/PHOTO RUN)

BERLIN, GERMANY, September 21 — The 2025 Berlin Marathon may well be long remembered as the one that got away. Thatâ€s why Sabastian Saweâ€s ever-dominant 2:02:16 win, good for =No. 6 on the all-time performance list, merited a muted response from the champion.

â€Iâ€m happy for this performance,†the 30-year-old Kenyan said. “I felt good at the beginning, and I hoped to run fast, to run my personal best. Then it was hot, and I just managed to get this outcome. I expected to run faster, but I accept the results that I have today.â€

Saweâ€s hot reference was a bit of an understatement as an unusual batch of warm and humid air moved in a couple days before the race, delivering a performance-stifling 16-degree (60.8F) dewpoint at the start and 17 (62.6F) midrace. Thatâ€s a Berlin record, not a friendly one, for a crucial metric.

Saweâ€s third straight 2:02 win was quite remarkable given that the conditions simply overwhelmed the elite fields. Akira Akasaki finished 2nd in 2:06:15, as the 7th-place finisher in the Olympic Marathon led a strong contingent of Japanese runners. Ethiopians placed 3rd and 4th: Chimdesa Debele with 2:06:57 and Guye Adola with 2:07:11.

The women also suffered. Kenyan Rosemary Wanjiru (2:21:05) just made it to the finish line ahead of Ethiopiaâ€s Dera Dida (2:21:08) and Azmera Gebru (2:21:29), the slowest podium times in a decade.

Sawe came to the German capital with great expectations. Following the late Kelvin Kiptumâ€s swift footsteps, Sawe logged a debut 2:02:05 victory in Valencia last December followed by a 2:02:23 runaway win in London. Kiptum ran his stunning WR 2:00:43 in his third marathon (with a very favorable 3 degree [37.4F] dewpoint), and Sawe looked to run really fast in Berlin.

Ensconced in the middle of a diamond-shaped pacing formation, Sawe started with determination, zipping the opening 5K in 14:09 and 10K in 28:26. That translated to 1:59:25 pace at the first checkpoint and 2:00:02 at the latter.

The shady opening kilometers were but a mirage that quickly faded in the bright sun. Defending champ Milkesa Mengesha and Tanzanian Gabriel Geay soon gave up the chase, destined for DNFs. The two were far from alone as 9 of the top 13 runners at 10K would DNF.

Saweâ€s pacemakers also began to falter. At 15K (42:51, 2:00:32 pace) he was down to three pacers, and just two as he crossed halfway in 60:16, for all intents and purposes still on target.

The final two rabbits gave out in the 23rd and 24th kilometers. Humidity fatigue set in and 67 minutes into the race Sawe faced a long solo run home.

“At 5K my body was running naturally,†Sawe said. “I had no problems, then in the second half it became difficult to keep the pace.â€

Sawe accepted his fact: “I like running in the races, it has become special for me. So, I just had courage to run alone.â€

Saweâ€s strength as a marathoner is his ever-efficient shuffle stride the speed of which is deceiving as it appears effortless. Even with just a minimal muscle twitch in his legs, he managed to click off 2:56–2:58 kilos and keep a 2:02 time in play.

For Sawe, his coach Claudio Berardelli, and manager Eric Lilot you could sense the teamâ€s profound frustration as extensive preparations and superb training all disappeared into thick humid air.

“It seems like he had a very good performance in these conditions,†Berardelli analyzed. “He was so confident, because of the training done in Kenya, that I think he was not taking into consideration the weather.â€

“Itâ€s only his third marathon, and with three wins we canâ€t complain. He told Eric it was probably the hardest race ever in his life. I like that because it means that itâ€s pushing his idea of what is fatigue and what he can sustain to a new dimension. Weâ€ll see, but itâ€s a bit of a bittersweet taste.

Wanjiru had finished 2nd at Berlin in â€22, then won her first WMM title a year later in Tokyo, her adopted home. Thereâ€s no doubt that her second WMM title was well earned, down to the very last step.

The 30-year-old Kenyanâ€s race followed a similar humidity-impacted trajectory. She started fast through 15K (2:18:07 pace), kept it up through 35K (2:19:16 pace), then fell off sharply over the closing kilometers.

Born in Mombasa and accustomed to warm weather racing in Japan, Wanjiru surged away from the 5-woman lead pack at 27K and built a 53-second lead at 35K. She still held a 36-second advantage at 40K when the humidity won out.

Passing 41K, it was readily apparent that Wanjiru had little left. She staggered across the road while Dida and Gebru closed in. Wanjiru just managed to hold onto her lead as she crossed and crashed at the finish line.

Carted away to the medical tent and then to hospital, by evening Wanjiru had recovered and was able to recount her race — sort of:

“I broke the pack between 27 and 28 kilometers, from there I just went with my pacemaker. Then when we reached 35K he just stopped. I said, ‘What?! Nobody is there for me; let me just keep my body moving and see what will happen.â€

“I just keep pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing. At the end, unfortunately the last 1200m, I was feeling Iâ€m losing control, unconscious. Iâ€m just running but I donâ€t know where Iâ€m going. Even when I finished the race, I didnâ€t know that I finished. Marathon is not just running, you have to fight, and it is not that easy.â€

BERLIN MARATHON MENâ€S RESULTS

(World Marathon Major)

1. Sabastian Sawe (Ken) 2:02:16 (x, =8 W) (60:16/1:02:00);

2. Akira Akasaki (Jpn) 2:06:15 PR; 3. Chimdesa Debele (Eth) 2:06:57; 4. Guye Adola (Eth) 2:07:11; 5. Yuhei Urano (Jpn) 2:07:35; 6. Hassan Chahdi (Fra) 2:07:43; 7. Shin Kimura (Jpn) 2:08:37; 8. Hendrik Pfeiffer (Ger) 2:09:14; 9. Joseph Tiophil (Tan) 2:09:35 PR; 10. Ahmed Ouhda (Ita) 2:10:39 PR;… 15. Nick Hauger (US) 2:11:48 PR;… 20. Eddie Mulder (US) 2:15:07 PR;… 26. Joe Whelan (US) 2:18:21;… 32. Will Nation (US) 2:19:58;… 46. Brendan Martin (US) 2:22:15.

BERLIN MARATHON WOMENâ€S RESULTS

1. Rosemary Wanjiru (Ken) 2:21:05; 2. Dera Dida (Eth) 2:21:08; 3. Azmera Gebru (Eth) 2:21:29; 4. Violah Lagat (Ken) 2:21:40 PR; 5. Fantu Worku (Eth) 2:21:57 PR; 6. Fabienne Königstein (Ger) 2:22:17 PR; 7. Degitu Azimeraw (Eth) 2:23:02; 8. Domenika Mayer (Ger) 2:23:16 PR; 9. Honami Maeda (Jpn) 2:24:36; 10. Mestawot Fikir (Eth) 2:24:52; 11. Aleksandra Lisowska (Pol) 2:24:59 PR;…19. Katja Goldring (US) 2:37:37;… 30. Sarah Reiter (US) 2:42:56; 31. Emily Haggerty (US) 2:44:53.

When “Professor Marathon†isnâ€t crafting topographical maps and pace charts for 26-milers around the world, the now Emeritus geographer at Wisconsin–Eau Claire, serves as the Chair of the Lower Chippewa River conservation organization and hits the airwaves Thursday afternoons as a DJ on a community radio program called “All Things 6 String.†(Hint: Sean’s the one in the photo who never set a World Record ?)

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