Michael Sohn/Associated Press

Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge won the 2015 Berlin Marathon with a world-leading time of two hours, four minutes and one second despite being dogged by problems with his shoes throughout.

In the women's race, compatriot Gladys Cherono also set a world-leading time as she topped the standings in two hours, 19 minutes and 25 seconds.

Here are the top finishers in the two races:

2015 Berlin Marathon Top Finishers Men's Place Name Finish 1 Kipchoge, Eliud (KEN) 02:04:01 2 Kiptanui, Eliud (KEN) 02:05:22 3 Lilesa, Feyisa (ETH) 02:06:57 4 Mutai, Emmanuel (KEN) 02:07:46 5 Mutai, Geoffrey (KEN) 02:09:29 6 Coolseat, Reid (CAN) 02:10:28 7 Naert, Koen (BEL) 02:10:31 8 Shegumo, Yared (POL) 02:10:47 9 Gokaya, Koji (JPN) 02:10:58 10 Overall, Scott (GBR) 02:11:24 Women's Place Name Finish 1 Cherono, Gladys (KEN) 02:19:25 2 Kebede, Aberu (ETH) 02:20:48 3 Hailu, Meseret (ETH) 02:24:33 4 Bekele, Tadelech (ETH) 02:25:01 5 Deelstra, Andrea (NED) 02:26:46 6 Neuenschwander, Maja (SUI) 02:26:49 7 Nemec, Lisa (CRO) 02:27:57 8 Tanaka, Tomomi (JPN) 02:28:00 9 Samuels, Sonia (GBR) 02:28:04 10 Tola, Fate (ETH) 02:28:24 results.scc-events.com

The flat course took the runners from the Brandenburg Gate and past sites such as the Berlin Cathedral and the State Opera House before returning to the historical landmark.

As the event's official Twitter feed noted, the calm and sunny weather provided excellent ground for a strong race.

Kipchoge took full advantage of the kind course and the favourable conditions as he finished ahead of fellow Kenyan Eliud Kiptanui and Ethiopian Feyisa Lilesa with defending champion Dennis Kimetto not running.

The event's Twitter feed captured the 30-year-old Kipchoge's struggles with his insoles and reserved praise for the runner as he coped remarkably well:

Kipchoge's outstanding 2015 continues after he won the London Marathon in April.

Emmanuel Mutai contested the lead alongside the other three for much of the race but fell away slightly in the latter stages and finished almost a minute behind Lilesa in fourth.

The highest-placed German was Philipp Pflieger, who came in 16th with 2:12.50.

As expected, the women's race was contested only between Cherono and Aberu Kebede, and the Kenyan beat the two-time Berlin winner by more than a minute.

Michael Sohn/Associated Press

Meseret Hailu claimed third place more than five minutes behind Cherono, while German Anna Hahner began strongly but struggled at the finish, coming in 13th thanks to a time of 2:30.19.

The win is an excellent result for Cherono, who missed out on a place on Kenya's Olympic team in 2012.

As both Kipchoge and Cherono go from strength-to-strength, there remains an excellent possibility both will be hitting the streets of Rio in 2016 and potentially even contesting medal places.