Geoffrey Mutai aims for world record - and redemption - in Berlin Marathon

Nesha Starcevic, The Associated Press

BERLIN - Geoffrey Mutai returns to the flat course of the Berlin Marathon seeking to break the world record and prove Kenyan athletics officials were wrong in leaving him off the Olympic team for London.

The relatively unchallenging course in the German capital has produced seven world records in the past 15 years. The most recent was last year when Patrick Makau ran 2 hours, 3 minutes, 38 seconds in a race that effectively ended the great career of Haile Gebrselassie.

"I can't promise a world record, but I'll try my best," Mutai said ahead of Sunday's race.

Makau, who was also dropped from the Kenyan Olympic team, is skipping the Berlin race this year and will instead run the Frankfurt Marathon on Oct. 28.