Mengistu will arrive in the German city aiming to continue her winning streak having gone unbeaten for a year and four races.

In 2014, she won the Cape Town Marathon in 2 hours 30min 56sec, but it was this year that she achieved a breakthrough performance, triumphing on the streets of Paris with a time of 2:23:26.

She also has international experience over the shorter distances, having twice competed at the World Half Marathon Championships where she finished 11th in 2008 and sixth in 2010.

However, victory will by no means be a foregone conclusion for the 25-year-old in Frankfurt on October 25.

Among Mengistu's more experienced rivals over the distance is compatriot Ashete Bekere Dido, who has a very similar personal best.

She improved to 2:23:43 in Dubai in January, but such was the quality of the field, it was only good enough for 10th place.

Bekere has the advantage of knowing the course of the Frankfurt Marathon already, having finished third there a year ago in 2:24:59.

Another Ethiopian that makes the marathon her speciality is Dinknesh Mekash Tefera, who since 2012 has been admirably consistent, running between 2:25:00 and 2:30:00 each year.

While her personal best is 2:25:09 from Paris in 2013, when she placed fourth, she won this year’s Mumbai Marathon in January despite difficult weather conditions with a time of 2:30:00; arguably the biggest success of her career so far.

Meseret Kitata Tolwak, also of Ethiopia, is a relative newcomer to the marathon distance having only begun competing internationally in 2014.

At just 21-years-old she was the surprise winner of the Rome Marathon in March with a time of 2:30:25, which was her personal best. 

With the German Championships included in the Frankfurt Marathon, Lisa Hahner will be among the favourites to win the national race.

The 25 year-old, twin sister of Anna Hahner, last finished a marathon two years ago, clocking her current personal best of 2:30:17 in Frankfurt.

A series of injuries hindered her progress in 2014 and also this spring, when she suffered a stress fracture in her fibula.

Hahner will be aiming for a sub 2:30:00 personal best time to break the German Olympic qualifying standard for Rio next year, which currently stands at 2:28:30 and has yet to be achieved.

The Frankfurt Marathon is an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Gold Label event, the highest category of road racing awarded by the world governing body.

Around 15,000 runners are expected for the marathon which finishes in the indoor setting of the city’s "Festhalle" or Festival Hall.



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