Jesse Squire | On 27, Sep 2013

The World Marathon Majors fall season begins at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate.

Fall is finally here and that means cross country and marathons are getting serious. This weekend’s top matchups are still early in those seasons but awfully good. Let’s take a look.

1. Wilson Kipsang vs the clock

BMW Berlin Marathon
Sunday, 8:45am local time (2:45am ET)
Webcast at UniversalSports.com and WatchAthletics.com

Kipsang says he’s taking a shot at the Berlin course record of 2:03:38, which also happens to be the world record. Berlin has produced eight world records and you never want to say anything is impossible here. WR holder Patrick Makau recently announced his withdrawal due to injury, so it’s assumed that Kipsang, the Olympic bronze medalist, will go it alone but you never know when a breakout star will arrive in the marathon.

Geoffrey Mutai is the most accomplished of Kipsang’s competitors; he is the defending champion and holds the world’s fastest time of 2:03:02 (run in significantly aided conditions in Boston two years ago). Others to watch for include former track star Eliud Kipchoge, 5k world champion ten years ago, and Geoffrey Kipsang, the junior world cross country champion two years ago.

2. Oklahoma State vs Northern Arizona

University Men’s race, Cowboy Jamboree
Oklahoma State Cross Country Course, Stillwater OK
9:45am local time (10:45am ET)
Meet website
Flotrack coverage | Runnerspace page

This is a rare early-season matchup between the #1 and #2 ranked teams in the nation. It being the early season, neither will fully show their hand, especially since both teams are nearly assured of qualifying to the NCAAs once they do put all of their best runners on the line. So who wins isn’t by itself so meaningful as much as what we find out about the runners who do race and what kind of shape they’re in. #6 Tulsa lurks in the background.

I think we might find out about something else, namely the Breaking Bad series finale. Northern Arizona is in the same high-altitude southwest desert area as Albuquerque, the show’s setting. The Lumberjacks’ top runner is named Brian Shrader, oddly similar to Hank Schrader, one Breaking Bad‘s central characters. That character is played by Dean Norris, who also portrayed Bill Dellinger in Without Limits. Next week, Oregon hosts the Bill Dellinger Invitational. I have no idea what will happen in Sunday night’s finale, but it obviously has a lot to do with college cross country.

3. Florence Kiplagat vs Sharon Cherop

BMW Berlin Marathon
Sunday, 8:45am local time (2:45am ET)

Kiplagat is considered the favorite to win this race given her impressive PR (2:19:44) and long list of accomplishments at shorter distances, but she hasn’t raced well lately (5th at the RAK Half Marathon and 6th at the London Marathon). Cherop has done far better, with two marathon wins and a third over the last year and a half, and I think she just might pull off an “upset”.

4. Providence vs Oregon

Women’s race, Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown
Franklin Park, Boston MA
Friday, 3:30pm
Flotrack coverage

This meet might as well be called the Kickoff Classic. The football game of the same name was held from 1983 to 2002 and attempted to match up the defending national champions and the pre-season’s #1 team. That’s what we have here in #3 Oregon and #1 Providence. This might be a better matchup than the 1-2 men’s matchup above, as both of these squads will be closer to full power. The Friars will be running all three of their stars (Emily Sisson, Laura Nagel, Sarah Collins) and the Ducks will only sit their new transfers (Lindsay Crevoiserat, Julia Zrinyi). Neither can look past the other, as #9 Cornell will also be in the race.

5. Desi Davila vs the comeback trail

BMW Berlin Marathon
Sunday, 8:45am local time (2:45am ET)

Two years ago Davila came that close to winning the Boston Marathon and ending a long US drought. For her heroic efforts she became a mainstream sports hero for a time, especially in her adopted hometown of Detroit. But injury stopped her shortly into last summer’s Olympic marathon and she’s had a long and slow road back to health. She’s not really certain what she has in her; she’s thrown out times ranging from 2:26 to 2:30 (which are unlikely to make her competitive for the win). US fans are simply hoping for a good sign. Davila is the third fastest American ever, after all, and her brilliant run in Boston was the best result by an American since Deena Kastor won London in 2006.

6. Adams State vs Grand Valley State

Men’s and Women’s Gold Races , Roy Griak Invitational
Les Bolstad Golf Course, St. Paul MN
12:20 and 1:20pm local time (1:20 and 2:20pm ET)
Meet website
Webcast at Flotrack.org (subscription required)