Joyciline Jepkosgei and Edna Kiplagat showdown at New York City Half Marathon

Former two-time world marathon champion Edna Kiplagat and world half marathon record-holder Joyciline Jepkosgei will be among a horde of Kenyan stars who will take part in the New York Half Marathon on Sunday.

Majority of the athletes are using the race as part of their preparations for upcoming major races.

Jepkosgei will be debuting in the full marathon in Hamburg in April and she is using the race to gauge her preparedness as she seeks to swim in the deep end of the 42km race.

“I’m really prepared for the race in April but I’m using the half marathon to test my capability so far. Training in Iten has always given me good results,” said Jepkosgei.

“Competition will always be tight but I have the experience in the 21km. I will be doing my best to win the race as I finalise my training ahead of my debut,” Jepkosgei told Nation Sport.

Jepkosgei was the first woman to run under 30 minutes in 10km when she clocked 29:43 in the Prague Grand Prix in 2017.

She holds the half marathon record of 64:51 from 2017 Valencia Half Marathon.

Kiplagat, who is eyeing victory in Boston Marathon, said that she has finalised her training.

"The New York race is just part of training for me and I will be participating as part of my recovery program. I will be happy with any outcome in the race as I set my sights on the big race in April,” said Kiplagat.

Kiplagat told Nation Sport that her ultimate goal is to represent Kenya once again in the World Championships where she will be chasing a third title.

posted Saturday March 16th