Under four hours and 15 minutes: Robert Seele helps marathon participants achieve their desired time.
Image: Maximilian von Lachner
Robert Seele runs the Frankfurt marathon as a pacemaker – more leisurely than he could. What drives him to go into the race without making personal claims?
IIn retrospect, Robert Seele believes that he would not have made it on his own. The marathon yes, but not his personal best. It was Barcelona 2011, and Seele wanted to complete the long-distance run in three hours and ten minutes to qualify for the Boston Marathon. So he ran a good distance behind the train runner with the three-hour mark – up to 30km, then he caught up with the cluster of runners surrounding the pacemaker.
He knew he could reach his goal, and suddenly even: “Today we can do even more.” Seele overtook the pacemaker – and crossed the finish line in two hours, 56 minutes and 22 seconds. “These are things that you remember,” says the 44-year-old from Frankfurt. Even though it’s been a good decade, “I still feel thirty.”
