It's well known the Berlin course is record-friendly — so will this be the one to take down a Chinese national record?

This year in Berlin both He Jie and Zhang Deshun will toe the line, and it's highly likely their shared target is to attack the Chinese marathon national records.

This is He Jie's second time racing Berlin. In his 2022 Berlin debut he ran a PB of 2:11:18, which marked the start of his career's rise. Now, returning to the lucky course four years later, he is the country's second-fastest marathoner with a full marathon PB of 2:06:57.

After this year's Lanzhou race He Jie moved to Ningxia to recover and then returned to Yuxi to prepare for Berlin. For He Jie, there is no room for error in Berlin,if he wants to compete at next year's World Championships in Beijing he must hit the 2:06:00 qualifying standard, and the current Chinese marathon national record is 2:05:58, so the two goals can be combined into one.

Zhang Deshun is making her Berlin Marathon debut. This current No.1 of Chinese women's marathon holds the Chinese women's half-marathon record (1:07:55) and the women's 10 km road record （31:54）.Her marathon PB 2:20:53 is still short of the national record (2:19:39) by 1 minute 14 seconds, and Berlin was almost certainly one of the key races she planned for as soon as she finished Tokyo last year.

After completing her wedding earlier this year, Zhang Deshunhas organized her training plan entirely around Berlin,It can be said that Zhang Deshun, after building up form for more than half a year, will mount a challenge on the 23-year-old national record.

Beyond He Jie and Zhang Deshun, there's another unavoidable name on China's elite list: "the President" Wu Xiangdong.

This summer, the President's preparation was disrupted by an unexpected issue: in early September he revealed on social media that a cyst had appeared on his left ankle—ultrasound showed about 7 cm, and MRI confirmed the actual size reached 9 cm.What exactly is the "ankle cyst" that's been troubling Wu Xiangdong?

The choice facing the President was harsh: surgical removal could cure it, but recovery would take at least 6 to 8 weeks, meaning he'd miss Berlin. Conservative treatment (needle aspiration/drainage) is less invasive but has a high recurrence rate. The President chose the latter. But the aspiration process proved more difficult than expected.

Although the President could still, at a 1,500 m-altitude training base, complete an average paceof 3 minutes 10 secondsover 30 km. However,the injury still made his trip to Berlin full of uncertainty. His original goal had been to break his own PB (2:08:04).

Racing alongside Zhang Deshun is Zhu Qing; this will be Zhu Qing's overseas full-marathon debut, and she had set her pre-race target at 2:26.

As China's leading mass-category female marathoner, Zhu Qing ran a PB of 2:28:45 at the 2026 Wuhan Marathon. But her sights are clearly set higher.

Throughout the summer she skipped high-altitude camps and stayed in Shenzhen for heat-acclimation training; she used the September 6 Shenyang Marathon as a race workout, winning the domestic women's title in 2:30:49—she was clearly in red-hot form.

The 2:10 barrier has long been seen as the watershed for Chinese men's marathoners moving from "excellent" to "top-tier." This edition of Berlin willsee several Chinese male elites outside the state system go after the 2:10 target.

On that list, Wang Jiahao, Sheng Wang and Yang Zhangxing are at the forefront of closing in on the 2:10 mark. Wang Jiahao broke through at the 2026 Seville Marathon; Sheng Wang refreshed his PB in Seoul this year; Yang Zhangxing also set a personal best at last year's Beijing Marathon—all three are edging closer to the 2:10 threshold.

And there's also the familiarLi Jian（"Tie Dan"), this will be his full-marathon debut after officially becoming an On 昂跑–signed athlete.He will also race with his training partner Mao Huajie and the rest of their "Dandan Gang," and is currently in Lijiang making final preparations for the Berlin Marathon.

In addition, Di Yun, Wang Lianzheng ("Da Zheng") and a number of other runners hope to complete their transformations in Berlin. Although "Da Zheng"'s pre-race Achilles tendon issue has improved, his race-day condition may still be uncertain.

It's expected that once the race starts, several Chinese men attempting to break 2:10 will be running alongside the women's lead group.

Sa Wei's absence is a big regret for spectators, but there is one surprise:Kenenisa Bekelehas appeared on the latest official elite list.Bekele will return to Berlin after five years.。Bekele returns to race Berlin — how fast can the 44-year-old still run?

Born June 13, 1982, Bekele is 44 years old. His PB is 2:01:41, set in Berlin in 2019 — that year, at 37, he was only two seconds off the world record.

When he stands on the Berlin start line again, the moment will carry meaning beyond mere results.

On the women's side, Tigst Assefa knows the Berlin course very well: in 2022 she ran 2:15:37 here,improving her personal best by nearly 20 minutes.。In 2023 she once again broke the world record in Berlin, running 2:11:53 — a time that still stands as the Berlin course record.

In April this year she set a new women-only marathon world record at the London Marathon with 2:15:41.But this is not her "finish line,"she wants to "take back" the women's marathon world record.

The current women's marathon world record is 2:09:56, set by Kenyan Ruth Chepng'etich at the 2024 Chicago Marathon.

Chepng'etich is currently serving a suspension for a doping violation, but the record remains. Asefa's PB is 1 minute 57 seconds off that world record, and she returned to Berlin specifically to close that gap.

On the women's side, eight athletes have run under 2:20, includinglast year's defending champion, Kenyan Rosemary Wanjiru (PB 2:16:14). But everyone knows Asefa's real opponent in this race isn't another runner—it is the number 2:09:56.

Savi finished this April's London Marathon in 1:59:30, becoming the first athlete in history to break the two-hour barrier in an official marathon. He had confirmed he would return to Berlin aiming to defend his title and further lower the world record; his coaching team even predicted he could run as fast as 1:58:00. However,on August 27 it was announced that Savi would miss the race due to a tibial stress fracture.

With Savi out, what had been a one-man dominance turned into an open contest among many contenders,and the battle for the men's crown will be unusually fierce.。According to the latest official men's elite list, 27 athletes have run inside 2:08.

Bekele, while the fastest on the list with a 2:01:41, last completed a full marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympics—and at the 'advanced' age of 44,the true leaders of the men's title group may instead beGabriel Geay, Getaneh Molla, Guye Adola and Shura Kitata.

Geay is the Tanzanian national record-holder and finished runner-up at the 2023 Boston Marathon; Adola was the 2021 Berlin Marathon champion, and in his 2017 debut he nearly beat a peak Eliud Kipchoge—nine years on he's still competing at the top level.

With Savi absent, who will claim the men's title? The answer may not be decided until the final kilometers of the race.

At this Berlin Marathon,Japan has 14 elites entered—11 men, all Sub2:08, and 5 women.

This includes Naoki Koyama, a member of Japan's men's team at the 2024 Paris Olympics (PB2:06:33); in February this year he improved his marathon PB at the Osaka Marathon (Kiyoto Hirabayashi (2:06:14); Tsubasa Ichiyama, the only Japanese athlete to rank in the all-time top ten for both the half marathon and the marathon (half 1:00:22, marathon 2:06:00); and many other top competitors.

Notably, among Japan’s competing elites the fastest personal best (PB) belongs to Qitian Jianye; he and He Jie have faced each other in Berlin. At the 2022 Berlin Marathon, He Jie finished 16th with 2:11:18, while Qitian Jianye finished 7th with 2:07:14.

Four years later the two meet again in Berlin; 何杰's time has jumped significantly to 2:06:57 — how will this rematch play out?

Berlin's course is naturally suited to chasing personal bests.However, the weather remains the biggest wildcard.

Last year Berlin faced high temperatures; despite the adverse conditions 萨维 still ran 2:02:16, but ultimately was unable to challenge the record.

As for this yearBerlinOn race day the forecast calls for temperatures of 12℃–18℃, humidity 72%, with a light breeze — good racing conditions. If temperatures rise, it will greatly affect whether athletes can post fast times.

On the men's side, what will 44-year-old Bekele's goals be? Who will ultimately manage to break away from the scramble? Can Assefa break the women's marathon world record? Will He Jie and Zhang Deshun break the Chinese marathon record in Berlin? How will other Chinese competitors such as the "Chairman" and "Iron Egg" perform?

On September 27, the finish line in front of the Brandenburg Gate will provide all the answers.