Querfeldein wrote:
I thought the coverage (of the mens race) was excellent, and the commentators were clearly knowledgable. I did not see any pictures of 4:00+ runners, or of running bananas, or any of the usual "general interest" stories - the only part that did not focus on the elite races was the occasional coverage of a fun relay made up of German Olympians from other disciplines, which I didn't find too distracting, and which was probably needed in order to keep non-runners interested.
Two of the commentators on bikes (with Lisa Hahner and with Sören Kah) were Anna Hahner and Jan Fitschen, both elite runners in their own right, so it wasn't a surprise that the two top German runners were covered quite a lot. Jan Fitschen's comments in particular were mostly spot-on.
My criticism would be the lack of coverage of the front-end of the women's race - i don't know if it was a lack of interest or a question of not enough camera crews, but coverage only started in ernest after the first men had finished. Admittedly, the mens race was much more exciting this time, with lots of changes in pace, but still I would have appreciated some updates about the situation in the women's race earlier on.
Still, nice to see a full broadcast of a marathon on TV and online - no commercial breaks either, and all for free.