Around two dozen Pakistani and Pakistani-origin runners took part in the 52nd Berlin Marathon on Sunday, with Muhammad Uzair Butt clocking the fastest time among them on his marathon debut, while Maheen Sheikh and Ayesha Akhtar completed the coveted Six Star journey.
Butt, who was born in Lahore and now lives in Boston, United States, completed the 42.195-kilometre race in three hours, 21 minutes and 27 seconds, leading the Pakistani runners tracked by Geo News.Mohammed Samad Siddiqui, a British-Pakistani runner, was the second fastest in 3:25:44, while Karachi-based 19-year-old Munir Imran produced an impressive negative-split performance to finish in 3:45:07.
Bilal Umar completed the race in 3:47:09, followed by Canada-based Saif Ullah in 3:48:10.For Butt, a healthcare consultant, Berlin was his first attempt at the marathon distance.
He made a fast start, covering the opening 5km in 21:21 and reaching 10km in 42:43. He crossed the halfway point in 1:30:38.
His pace dropped after the halfway stage, particularly between 25km and 30km, but Butt managed the closing stages to finish well inside three-and-a-half hours.
