Michael Spöttel is a German former marathon runner and author. As a runner, he won the 1978 Berlin Marathon, and came third in the

marathon race The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road running, road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also w ...

at the

1983 Summer Universiade The 1983 Summer Universiade, also known as the 1983 World University Games or XII Summer Universiade, took place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada between July 1 and 12, 1983. Over 2400 athletes from 73 countries participated. It was the first time Can ...

. He won West German National Championships in the marathon and 25 km race.

Running career

Michael Spöttel competed for , and . In 1977, he won the West German junior 10,000 metres, and team

cross-country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

titles. Spöttel won the 1978 Berlin Marathon in a time of 2:20:03, four minutes ahead of Michael Weiß who finished second. In 1979, he won the marathon event at the West German National Championships in a time of 2:20:15. In 1982, Spöttel won the race at the German National Championships. He came third in the

at the

. In the same year, he won the

half-marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

event. In 1984, he set the

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

regional marathon record, finishing in a time of 2:12:53. That year, he set a personal best time of 2:12:51 at the

Houston Marathon The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently wi ...

. He competed in the marathon event at the

1987 World Championships in Athletics The 2nd World Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy between August 28 and September 6, 1987. Men's results Track 1983 , 1987 ...

, finishing 19th. Spöttel retired in 1990.

Personal life

Spöttel was born in Bad Nauheim, West Germany, and grew up in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

. He studied ethnology in Munich, and also earned a PhD. In 2015, he moved to .

Works

* ''Die ungeliebte "Zivilisation"'' (''The unloved "civilisation"''), Lang, 1995 (in German) * ''Hamiten'' (''Hamites''), Lang, 1996 (in German) * ''Max Weber und die jüdische Ethik'' (''Max Weber and the Jewish ethics''), Lang, 1997 (in German) * ''Vergebliche Hoffnung'' (''Futile hope''), , 2006 (in German) Source:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spottel, Michael Living people German male marathon runners German male cross country runners West German male long-distance runners Berlin Marathon male winners Medalists at the 1983 Summer Universiade Universiade bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade bronze medalists for West Germany People from Bad Nauheim Sportspeople from Darmstadt (region) Year of birth missing (living people)