Ryan Vail Earns Top-10 Finish in Rainy Berlin Marathon

By Adam Kopet

While much of the media focus around the BMW Berlin Marathon was around the three favorites, Eliud Kipchoge, Kenenisa Bekele and Wilson Kipsang, chasing the world record, but there were other storylines to follow. One such storyline was the return of Ryan Vail.

In the lead up to Berlin, David Monti profiled Vail, who was the only elite American competing in the race. After nearly two years of injury, Vail had finally returned to form and was looking to improve on his personal best of 2:10:57 from the 2014 Virgin Money London Marathon.

Sunday morning in Berlin was a rainy affair, with wet streets and, at times, heavy rain. The chances of the world record falling at the front of the race were dashed, but so too were Vail's chances at a personal best.

Still, it was not all bad for Vail, who finished in 2:12.40. His eighth-place finish secured him his first top-10 finish at a World Marathon Major. That meant Vail came away with one of his two goals.

Vail's eighth-place finish came with €4,000 ($4740) in prize money. It could also prove to be a springboard for the Portland-based runner toward the Olympic Trials Marathon for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.