Last year's Pittsburgh Marathon Champion Wants to run faster this year

Two-time winner Clara Santucci and defending men’s champion Jacob Chemtai will be seeking repeats against top international fields at the 2018 DICK’S Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, set for Sunday, May 6. This year’s 26.2 mile race features a prize purse of $57,000, including $8,000 for each race champion. Jacob Chemtai, 31, of Kenya, who won the 2017 race in 2:15:25, wants to run even faster this year, but like Santucci, he will face a strong field of contenders. “Coming to the start line as the defending champion, I will already be motivated, and I will try not to disappoint,” Chemtai said. “I will try to push early while bearing in mind that I am competing against the world's best, so I will have to focus and run my race by not competing with anyone but time.” Challenging him will be several men who have clocked a marathon under 2:10, including Milton Rotich, who has a marathon PR of 2:08:55; Werkuneh Seyoum Aboye, who has a marathon PR of 2:09:27; and Fikadu Girma Teferi, who sports a marathon PR of 2:09:34.

posted Thursday April 26th