Running News Daily

The Haspa Marathon Hamburg returns this Sunday with one of the deepest elite fields in Europe, led by two-time champion Bernard Koech and fellow Kenyan Rebecca Tanui.

Hamburg has quietly developed into one of the fastest marathon courses in the world, with course records of 2:03:46 and 2:17:23. Organizers are again expecting a quick race, and the strength of this year’s field suggests those marks could be tested.

The men’s race features exceptional depth. Six athletes arrive with personal bests under 2:06, while another six have broken 2:07, creating a highly competitive field from front to back.

Bernard Koech returns to a course that has suited him perfectly. He won here three years ago, matching his personal best of 2:04:09, and followed that with another victory in 2024 in 2:04:24. Now he is aiming for a third Hamburg title, a rare achievement at this level.

Among those looking to challenge him are Gashau Ayale and Abdisa Tola. Ayale, an Ethiopian-born runner competing for Israel, ran 2:04:53 in Valencia last year and earned a silver medal at the European Championships marathon. Tola, the brother of Olympic champion Tamirat Tola, made an immediate impact in the marathon with a 2:05:42 victory in Dubai in his debut.

Germany’s hopes rest with Samuel Fitwi, whose 2:04:56 personal best makes him the second-fastest German marathoner ever. If his recent training camp in Addis Ababa has gone well, he could be in contention for a podium finish.

In the women’s race, Rebecca Tanui enters as the clear favorite with a personal best of 2:21:08. Following late withdrawals from top contenders Tigist Ketema and Degitu Azimeraw, Tanui has stepped into the leading role.

The Kenyan has built a reputation for consistency, winning three of her last five marathons—Mersin in 2025, Kosice in 2024, and Venice in 2023—while finishing on the podium in the other two.

Her main challengers are expected to come from a trio of athletes with personal bests under 2:23: Ethiopia’s Kasanesh Baze and Muluhabt Tsega, along with Kenya’s Marion Kibor.

With strong depth in both races and favorable conditions expected, Hamburg is set for another fast and competitive edition.

Elite Runners with Personal Bests

MEN:

Bernard Koech (KEN) 2:04:09

Gashau Ayale (ISR) 2:04:53

Samuel Fitwi (GER) 2:04:56

Othmane El Goumri (MAR) 2:05:12

Kennedy Kimutai (KEN) 2:05:25

Abdisa Tola (ETH) 2:05:42

Tsedat Ayana (ETH) 2:06:18

Balew Yihunle (ETH) 2:06:22

Felix Kibitok (KEN) 2:06:28

Shumi Dechasa (BRN) 2:06:43

Mohamed El Aaraby (MAR) 2:06:45

Belay Bezabeh (ETH) 2:06:58

Taresa Tolosa (ETH) 2:07:01

Vincent Nyageo (KEN) Debut

Aaron Bienenfeld (GER) Debut

WOMEN:

Rebecca Tanui (KEN) 2:21:08

Kasanesh Baze (ETH) 2:22:06

Muluhabt Tsega (ETH) 2:22:21

Marion Kibor (KEN) 2:22:35

Brillian Kipkoech (KEN) 2:23:56

Mercy Kwambai (KEN) 2:23:58

Manon Coste (FRA) 2:32:46

Vibeke Jensen (NOR) 2:34:22

Aselef Amare (ETH) Debut

Selamawit Teferi (ETH) Debut

Adidas May Have Changed Marathon Racing Again — This Time With Apparel

 

For the past decade, marathon innovation has revolved around shoes. Carbon plates. Super foams. Lighter and faster racing models that transformed what athletes believed was possible over 26.2 miles.

 

Now Adidas may have opened the next chapter in performance technology — and this time the breakthrough is not on runners’ feet.

 

At the 2026 London Marathon, much of the focus centered on the historic performances by Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha, who became the first two athletes in history to officially break two hours in the marathon in the same race. But another important development may have quietly emerged alongside those performances: Adidas’s new biomechanical racing suit.

 

What makes the apparel intriguing is that it is not primarily about aerodynamics. The company’s bigger claim is biomechanical efficiency — helping runners maintain form deeper into the race as fatigue takes over.

 

Every experienced marathoner understands what happens late in a hard marathon. The hips begin to drop. The pelvis tilts. Posture weakens. Stride efficiency slowly deteriorates. Over the final miles, small mechanical losses become major time losses.

 

According to Adidas, the suit is designed to slow that breakdown.

 

Jessica G. Hunter, Adidas’s Manager of Athlete Performance and the leader behind the research project, spent years building the case internally that apparel itself could improve marathon performance. Leadership within the company was skeptical.

 

“Nobody had ever done it successfully before,” Hunter told The New York Times.

 

Her research focused on stabilizing the relationship between the core and hips — the key area responsible for keeping runners upright, balanced, and efficient during prolonged fatigue. The conclusion was that traditional apparel systems could not fully achieve that because singlets and shorts function as separate pieces.

 

“The only way to do that is with a full, connected suit,” Hunter explained.

 

That detail may prove to be the real innovation.

 

During the London Marathon broadcast, Kejelcha appeared to be wearing a fairly standard racing setup consisting of half-tights and a singlet. In reality, the upper and lower portions were connected into a single integrated garment. Adidas intentionally designed the suit to avoid looking radical or futuristic.

 

By comparison, Sawe raced in aerodynamic half-tights paired with a traditional untucked singlet. Every piece of his apparel could be clearly identified separately. Kejelcha’s system operated differently beneath the surface.

 

The idea of performance-enhancing apparel is hardly new in sports. Swimming saw a revolution — and eventual controversy — when full-body suits contributed to a flood of world records in 2008 and 2009. Cycling has long embraced skinsuits designed for aerodynamics and body stabilization. Running, however, has remained comparatively conservative outside the shoe revolution.

 

That may now be changing.

 

The timing is significant because marathon performances continue to improve at an astonishing rate. When races are decided by seconds rather than minutes, even marginal improvements become valuable. If a connected biomechanical suit helps an athlete maintain efficient posture just slightly longer over the final 10K, the competitive impact could be enormous.

 

The larger question is whether this represents the future of marathon racing or simply another experimental step in the sport’s endless pursuit of speed.

 

Either way, London may have marked the beginning of a new era — one where what runners wear from shoulders to hips becomes almost as important as what they wear on their feet.

Kenya’s Elvis Cheboi delivered a composed and courageous performance to capture the Ottawa International Marathon title, storming to victory in 2:09:08 and handing Kenya its first marathon win of the weekend in emphatic fashion.

On the rain-soaked streets of Canada’s capital, Cheboi showed remarkable patience, strength and tactical intelligence as the race unfolded into a dramatic late battle. With Ethiopia’s Gizealew Ayana pushing hard behind him, the Kenyan dug deep over the closing kilometres and held firm to cross the line just two seconds ahead of his rival in one of the closest finishes of the day.

The victory was far more than just another marathon win. It was a statement performance from Cheboi, who mastered difficult conditions and resisted relentless pressure during the decisive stages of the race. His ability to maintain rhythm and composure while the chasing pack closed in highlighted both his experience and competitive maturity.

Ayana finished second in 2:09:10 after an aggressive final surge that nearly overturned the result, while Canada’s Rory Linkletter thrilled the home crowd with a strong third-place finish in 2:09:25. Ethiopia’s Afewerk Mesfin followed in fourth with 2:09:41, ahead of compatriot Gebretsadik Abraha in 2:09:47.

Top 10 Finishers

1. Elvis Cheboi — Kenya — 2:09:08

2. Gizealew Ayana — Ethiopia — 2:09:10

3. Rory Linkletter — Canada — 2:09:25

4. Afewerk Mesfin — Ethiopia — 2:09:41

5. Gebretsadik Abraha — Ethiopia — 2:09:47

6. Mulugeta Debasu Mereh — Ethiopia — 2:10:05

7. Shura Kitata — Ethiopia — 2:10:56

8. Luke Kibet Cheruiyot — Kenya — 2:12:25

9. Patrick Cullen — United States — 2:13:00

10. Blake Buysse — United States — 2:13:53

From the opening kilometres, the pace remained honest despite the damp weather, with a tightly packed lead group refusing to give an inch. As the race entered its final stretch, Cheboi gradually separated himself at the front before producing one final decisive push that ultimately secured the crown.

The triumph adds another memorable chapter to Kenya’s proud marathon tradition and gives the nation an early breakthrough on an important weekend of global road racing. For Cheboi himself, the Ottawa victory could prove to be a defining moment — a performance built on discipline, resilience and perfect execution when it mattered most.

In a marathon decided by seconds, Elvis Cheboi stood tallest when the pressure peaked.

For more than two decades, the world has watched Eliud Kipchoge redefine the boundaries of endurance and greatness. At the 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, however, the spotlight belonged to someone whose strength has long existed away from the cameras — his wife, Grace Sugut.

In one of the most emotional stories of the marathon weekend, Grace completed her very first 42.2-kilometre race in 4:29:59, transforming a personal milestone into a moment that resonated far beyond the finish line in Cape Town.

Her marathon journey unfolded exactly the way most first marathons do — honest, demanding, unpredictable, and deeply human. She opened with calm discipline, reaching 5K in 28:30 while maintaining a controlled rhythm. By halfway, she was still moving strongly through the streets of the Mother City in 2:02:47, showing patience and composure in the early stages of the race.

Then the marathon began asking harder questions.

As the kilometres accumulated, the pace gradually slowed — the inevitable reality familiar to nearly every debut marathoner. By 30K, fatigue had started to take hold, and the final stretch became less about time and more about determination. Yet Grace kept pushing forward, kilometre after kilometre, refusing to surrender to the pain that defines the final chapter of every marathon.

And that perseverance carried special meaning.

Before the race, Eliud Kipchoge had spoken publicly about his wife’s challenge, encouraging her to embrace the suffering, trust the process, and simply finish the race. After she crossed the line, his words became even more powerful.

“I have run my first marathon 13 years ago. It has brought me to where I am today, but I could not do this without the support of many including my family,” Kipchoge shared. “My heart is filled with pride, for my wife Grace completing her first marathon in Cape Town.”

The message revealed a side of the marathon icon the world rarely sees — not the record-breaker or Olympic champion, but the grateful husband recognising the woman who has stood beside him throughout one of the greatest careers in sporting history.

While Eliud built a global legacy on the roads of Berlin, London, Tokyo, and Vienna, Grace quietly anchored the family behind the scenes in Eldoret, raising their children and managing family responsibilities far from international attention. For years, she supported marathon greatness from the sidelines. In Cape Town, she stepped into the arena herself.

That alone made her finish extraordinary.

Grace’s 4:29:59 will not enter record books, but its significance reaches somewhere deeper. It reflects the experience shared by countless runners around the world — the excitement of the start line, the physical battle through the closing kilometres, and the emotional reward that comes only after refusing to quit.

The final 12 kilometres tested her in every possible way. She answered every challenge with courage.

When Grace Sugut crossed the finish line in Cape Town, the crowd did not witness another world record performance. Instead, they witnessed something equally memorable: the beginning of a new running journey built on resilience, humility, and the quiet strength that has always existed behind one of athletics’ greatest champions.

Elise Thorner delivered the race of her career in Los Angeles, producing a stunning breakthrough performance in the women’s 3000m steeplechase at the Sound Running Track Festival.

The British distance runner stormed to victory in a massive personal best of 9:07.39, completely dominating the field and crossing the finish line an astonishing 14 seconds clear of her nearest rival. It was not only the biggest win of her season so far, but also a statement performance that firmly places her among the finest steeplechasers Britain has produced.

Under the California evening sky, Thorner looked composed and fearless from the opening laps. She attacked the barriers with confidence, maintained a relentless rhythm throughout the race and gradually pulled further and further away from the chasing pack. By the closing stages, the contest had turned into a solo run to the line as she powered home to one of the fastest times ever recorded by a British woman in the event.

Her remarkable run now moves her to second on the British all-time list, behind only Lizzie Bird’s national record of 9:04.25. More significantly, Thorner and Bird remain the only British women in history to break the prestigious 9:10 barrier in the 3000m steeplechase — a reflection of just how exceptional the performance was.

The improvement also highlights the rapid rise of the talented Briton, who continues to make giant strides on the international stage. Cutting several seconds from an already impressive personal best is no small achievement at elite level, yet Thorner made it look effortless with a performance full of maturity, strength and tactical intelligence.

With the summer season still gathering momentum, attention will now shift toward the British record. On current form, Bird’s long-standing mark suddenly looks vulnerable, and Thorner appears to be developing into a genuine contender for major championship success.

For now, Los Angeles belongs to Elise Thorner — an evening where talent, confidence and preparation came together perfectly to produce a career-defining performance.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida Yami delivered a performance of grit, composure, and pure class to capture the women’s title at the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, crossing the finish line in a brilliant 2:23:18 after a fiercely contested battle through the streets of the Mother City.

From the opening kilometers to the dramatic closing stages, Yami remained calm under immense pressure in one of the most competitive women’s races the event has witnessed. She narrowly missed the course record of 2:22:22 by just 56 seconds, but her commanding run still ranks among the finest performances ever produced on the Cape Town course.

The Ethiopian star was pushed all the way by compatriots Mestawut Fikir and Waganesh Amare, who finished second and third in 2:23:46 and 2:23:57 respectively. Only 39 seconds separated the entire podium, highlighting the breathtaking intensity of the race and the extraordinary depth of the women’s field.

Yami gradually asserted herself as the race unfolded along Cape Town’s scenic route, maintaining a relentless rhythm while the chasing pack refused to let her escape. Every surge was answered, every kilometer contested, creating a dramatic contest that kept spectators captivated until the final stretch.

Kenya’s Leah Cheruto placed fourth in 2:24:31, while veteran marathon star Edna Kiplagat finished fifth in 2:25:44 in another strong showing from the Kenyan contingent.

Top 10 Women’s Finishers – Sanlam Cape Town Marathon

1. Dera Dida Yami (Ethiopia) – 2:23:18

2. Mestawut Fikir (Ethiopia) – 2:23:46

3. Waganesh Amare (Ethiopia) – 2:23:57

4. Leah Cheruto (Kenya) – 2:24:31

5. Edna Kiplagat (Kenya) – 2:25:44

6. Gojjam Enyew (Ethiopia) – 2:26:24

7. Mercy Jerop Kwambai (Kenya) – 2:30:36

8. Desi Jisa Mokonin (Bahrain) – 2:30:44

9. Cynthia Jerotich Limo (Kenya) – 2:32:00

10. Fortunate Chidzivo (Zimbabwe) – 2:41:09

Beyond the fast times and elite competition, the marathon once again demonstrated why Cape Town continues to strengthen its reputation as one of the world’s rising road racing destinations. With passionate crowds lining the route and athletes producing world-class performances, the event delivered another major statement in its journey toward becoming Africa’s first World Marathon Major.

The 2026 edition, held on 23–24 May, showcased marathon racing at its absolute finest — and at the heart of it all stood Dera Dida Yami, whose unforgettable victory combined courage, resilience, and championship quality on one of Africa’s grandest stages.