BERLIN, GERMANY -- Can the third time be a charm?
That is the perspective former Drake standout distance runner Matt Gabrielson is taking when he runs the marathon Saturday morning at the World Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
The marathon will be videostreamed on Universalspors.com at 4:35 a.m. Central time.
This will mark just the third marathon the Belmond, Iowa, native has ever run.
Gabrielson, a 2000 graduate of Drake, was clocked in 2 hours 19 minutes 53 seconds in the first marathon he ran in New York City in 2006 where he finished 20th.
Gabrielson then earned a berth in the World Championships when he finished second at the USA Marathon Championships in Minneapolis, Minn., last October when he ran a personal best of 2:17.38.
"This course is flat as a pancake," said Gabrielson, who was a 12-time All-Missouri Valley Conference performer at Drake. "There's maybe one five-foot hill over a bridge. It's a loop type course. The variable that's going to play the biggest part is what the weather's going to be. So if the weather's absolutely perfect for marathoning, I think on a good day I can run 2:12."
It appears the marathon runners might catch a break. The high for Saturday is expected to be 71, with the low 54.
“I'm more just nervous for what the weather is going to be like,” Gabrielson said. “It's supposed to be 70 degrees. I think I'm ready to run a fast one. The weather could be detrimental.
"I would look to run, at the very least, 2:13 or 2:14. My coach Dennis (Barker) thinks I can run 2:11, and I believe him. I've run 13:30 for 5K and I know the 5K and marathon are completely different beasts but I believe the ability to run that fast is there. This is my third marathon; 2:19 and then 2:17 and then 2:12 or whatever it is, that's a very nice progression."
This marks the fourth U.S. national team that Gabrielson has been a member. He also ran on the U.S. team at the World Cross Country Championships in 2005-07.
Gabrielson was a four time MVC champion at Drake, running on two winning distance medley relay teams for the Bulldogs as well as capturing the 3,000-meter run at the 2000 MVC Indoor meet and the 3,000 steeplechase at the 2000 MVC Outdoor meet.
"I'm not even going to be concerned about my mile splits, at least for the first few miles," Gabrielson added. "I'm going to go by feel. I feel like when you start worrying about time, you tense up and are not as relaxed, and you're trying to push things. You have to be relaxed in your upper body and in your mind to run as fast as you can.
"Dangling a carrot with a time goal attached to it is great, but I'm not even going to worry about what the time is. I'm just going to compete with guys around me and maybe I'll check my watch at seven miles or whatever it is.
Gabrielson was disappointed to learn that the 26.2-mile course would not start or end at famous Berlin Stadium. It is the first time in the history of the World Championships the marathon won't begin or end instead the stadium.
Instead, the course starts and ends at the famous Brandenburg Gate and features four 10-kilometer loops past the main sights in the city, including the Potsdamer Platz, the Victory Column, Bellevue Palace, the Reichstag and Museum Island. On the fourth lap, a 2k loop around Alexanderplatz and past the Red City Hall will be added to complete the 42.195-kilometer course.
“It's a little disappointing, bittersweet,” Gabrielson said. “Just the history with Jesse Owens, not running in the same stadium.”
