Running News Daily

Chepngetich shatters Buenos Aires record as Kenyans dominate races

2019 World Marathon champion Ruth Chepngetich blazed through the Buenos Aires Half Marathon on Sunday, setting a new course record of 1:05:58.

Chepngetich broke the previous record of 1:06:10, held by Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh, who claimed the title last year.

Alemaddis Eyayu finished second with a time of 1:07:04 while Joyce Chepkemoi rounded out the podium clocking 1:07:35.

Veronica Loleo secured fourth in 1:08:09, with Dorcas Jepchirchir coming in seventh at 1:09:03 and Sandrafelis Chebet finishing 11th in 1:12:19.

Chepngetich improved on her previous appearance in the half marathon, where she placed third in 1:06:18, trailing Ethiopia’s Yashaneh (1:06:10) and Gutemi Shone (1:06:12).

In the men’s event, Ethiopia’s Gerba Dibaba outshined the Kenyan contingent, clinching the crown in 1:00:24.

Kenya's Cosmas Mwangi (1:00:25), Richard Yator (1:00:44), Bernard Biwott (1:00:53), Gideon Kiprotich (1:00:54) and Isaac Kipkemboi (1:01:06)followed in that order. 

Mwangi improved on his third-place finish from last year, where he clocked 59:29 behind Roncer Konga (59:08) and Felix Kipkoech (59:28).

(08/26/2024) Views: 205 ⚡AMP
by Teddy Mulei

Wanjiru and Takele return for 50th Berlin Marathon

Four women with sub-2:20 PBs and six men to have dipped under 2:05 feature on the entry lists for the BMW Berlin Marathon, a World Athletics Platinum Label road race, on September 29.

Ethiopia’s Tigist Ketema and Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru top the women’s entry list with PBs that put them in the top 10 on the world marathon all-time list.

Ketema, who had been better known as an 800m and 1500m specialist, stormed into the marathon spotlight in Dubai in January as she ran 2:16:07, a time that makes her the ninth-fastest women’s marathon runner in history. She followed that with 2:23:21 for seventh place in London in April and Berlin will be her first race since then.

Just one place behind Ketema on the all-time list is Wanjiru, who clocked 2:16:14 to finish second in Tokyo in March. That followed her sixth place in the World Championships marathon in Budapest and victory in the Tokyo Marathon last year. Wanjiru also finished second in Berlin in 2022, running 2:18:00 on her debut.

Joining them on the start line are Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba and Yebrugal Melese, who have respective PBs of 2:18:05 and 2:19:36, plus their compatriots Mestawot Fikir (2:20:45), Azmera Gebru (2:20:48), Sisay Gola (2:20:50), Ababel Yeshaneh (2:20:51) and Fikrte Wereta (2:21:32), as well as Japan’s Mizuki Matsuda (2:20:52).

A total of 13 world records have so far been set in the Berlin Marathon, the most recent being the 2:11:53 by Tigist Assefa in last year’s women’s race.

The men’s title on that occasion was won by Eliud Kipchoge, as he claimed a record fifth victory.

This year, for the first time since 2014, the men’s race will not feature Kipchoge or Kenenisa Bekele – who between them have won the race seven times, with two of Kipchoge’s wins having been claimed in world records – but fast times will still be the target.

Among those who will be returning to Berlin are Ethiopia’s Tadese Takele and Ronald Korir of Kenya, who placed third and fourth last year in respective PBs of 2:03:24 and 2:04:22. 

Kenya’s Cybrian Kotut ran his PB of 2:04:34 when finishing second in Amsterdam last year and makes his Berlin Marathon debut, while Ethiopia’s Hailemaryam Kiros and Bazezew Asmare have also broken 2:05 in their careers so far, respectively running 2:04:41 in Paris in 2021 and 2:04:57 in Amsterdam in 2022.

Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie races the marathon for the third time. The former world half marathon record-holder, who clocked 57:32 for 13.1 miles in 2020, will be looking to build on the PB of 2:04:48 he set in Valencia last year.

Also seeking a spot on the podium will be Kenya’s Samwel Mailu, the world half marathon bronze medallist who set a course record of 2:05:08 to win the Vienna City Marathon last year and continues his comeback after injury.

(08/16/2024) Views: 258 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

50th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON ON 29 SEPTEMBER: ELITE FIELD

The men’s elite field for the 50th edition of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON race comes with a change that reflects the recent development at the very top of elite marathon racing.

It will be the first time since 2014 that you will not find the name of either Eliud Kipchoge or Kenenisa Bekele on the start list of the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. However the Elite Race Director of the marathon where most world records (13) were broken, Mark Milde, can be confident that not so much will change regarding the outcome. Although world-records will not be the target on 29th September, the jubilee race could well deliver extraordinary fast times yet again. 

A record number of more than 50,000 runners are expected to run the 50th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON on 29th September. The race, that saw its first edition back in 1974 with 244 finishers, never had over 50,000 runners before.

From those on the men’s start list at least one has the potential to become Kenya’s next marathon superstar: Kibiwott Kandie is a former world half marathon record holder with a personal best of 57:32. This time suggests that he could become one of the fastest marathon runners of all time if he can transform his talent to the classic distance. The 28 year-old, who has a current PB of 2:04:48 and was inspired by former Berlin world record breaker Paul Tergat, is one of half a dozen runners who feature very strong personal bests of sub 2:05:00. 

Returning to the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON will be Ethiopia’s Tadese Takele and Ronald Korir of Kenya, who placed third and fourth last year. Both ran their personal bests of 2:03:24 and 2:04:22 here. Kenya’s Cybrian Kotut, a younger brother of former Abbott World Marathon Majors Champion Martin Lel, will run his first BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. Kotut features a PB of 2:04:34. Ethiopians Hailemaryam Kiros (2:04:41) and Bazezew Asmare (2:04:57) are the other two runners with sub 2:05 PBs. Another runner who could challenge for a place on the podium is Samwel Mailu. The Kenyan smashed the course record of the Vienna City Marathon last year with 2:05:08. Due to an injury the bronze medallist from the 2023 World Half Marathon Championships was unable to compete this spring.

The women’s race could see a battle between Ethiopia’s newcomer Tigist Ketema and Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru. With their personal bests they are among the top ten on the marathon all-time list. Tigist Ketema took the Dubai Marathon this year with an unofficial world debut record of 2:16:07.

She is a training partner of Tigst Assefa, who smashed the world record at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON a year ago. Rosemary Wanjiru ran her marathon debut in Berlin two years ago and finished second with a brilliant 2:18:00. This year she improved to 2:16:14 when she was runner-up in Tokyo. 

Former 1,500m world record holder Genzebe Dibaba, who is the younger sister of Ethiopian running legend Tirunesh Dibaba, will hope to achieve a fast time on the flat Berlin course. She ran a 2:18:05 debut in Amsterdam two years ago, but was not yet able to improve this time. Genzebe Dibaba was the 2014 Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year. Fellow-Ethiopian Yebrgual Melese is the fourth woman on the start list who has a sub 2:20 PB with 2:19:36.

Elite Runners for the 50th BMW BERLIN-MARATHON:

MEN

Tadese Takele ETH 2:03:24

Ronald Korir KEN 2:04:22

Cybrian Kotut KEN 2:04:34

Hailemaryam Kiros ETH 2:04:41

Kibiwott Kandie  KEN 2:04:48

Bazezew Asmare ETH 2:04:57

Samwel Mailu KEN 2:05:08

Milkesa Mengesha ETH 2:05:29

Haymanot Alew ETH 2:05:30

Philimon Kipchumba KEN 2:05:35

Stephen Kiprop KEN 2:07:04

WOMEN

Tigist Ketema ETH 2:16:07

Rosemary Wanjiru KEN 2:16:14

Genzebe Dibaba ETH 2:18:05

Yebrugal Melese ETH 2:19:36

Mestawot Fikir ETH 2:20:45

Azmera Gebru ETH 2:20:48

Sisay Gola ETH 2:20:50

Ababel Yeshaneh  ETH 2:20:51

Mizuki Matsuda JPN 2:20:52

Fikrte Wereta  ETH 2:21:32

(08/16/2024) Views: 383 ⚡AMP

How to Watch the 2024 Boston Marathon

The world’s oldest annual marathon is back for its 128th edition.

On Monday, April 15, the World Marathon Majors will return stateside to the 2024 Boston Marathon. In its 128th year, the world’s oldest annual marathon features must-see storylines, including the return of defending women’s champion Hellen Obiri and two-time men’s winner Evans Chebet.

The point-to-point race is scheduled to begin in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and ends in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston. The weather forecast for Patriots’ Day is showing slightly warmer temperatures than average in the city. The conditions could make race day more challenging on a course famous for its hills (we ranked Boston as the second-toughest of the six World Marathon Majors).

Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s race. 

How to watch the 2024 Boston Marathon

ESPN2 will broadcast the Boston Marathon from 8:30 a.m. ET to 12:30 p.m. ET. You can also live stream the race with an ESPN+ subscription, which costs $10.99 a month. 

For those tuning in from Boston, live coverage will be provided by WCVB beginning at 4:00 a.m. ET and lasting throughout the day.

Boston Marathon start times (ET)

Men’s wheelchair division—9:02 a.m.

Women’s wheelchair division—9:05 a.m.

Men’s elite race—9:37 a.m.

Women’s elite race—9:47 a.m.

Para athletics division—9:50 a.m.

First wave—10 a.m.

Second wave—10:25 a.m.

Third wave—10:50 a.m.

Fourth wave—11:15 a.m.

Race preview

This year’s elite race comes with added high stakes for many international athletes. Countries that don’t host Olympic Trials for the marathon are currently in the national team selection process. A standout performance in Boston could be a game-changer for athletes looking to represent their country in Paris this summer. 

Women’s race

On the women’s side, Boston podium contenders Hellen Obiri and Sharon Lokedi were included in the shortlist of marathoners under national team consideration by Athletics Kenya. 

Obiri, 34, is set to return to Boston after a stellar 2023 campaign. Last year, the On Athletics Club runner won the Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon. A former track standout with two world championship titles, Obiri aims to continue her winning streak on Monday. 

Lokedi, 30, is looking to top the podium at a key moment in her career. The University of Kansas graduate is set to run her first 26.2 since finishing third at the New York City Marathon last fall—a race she won in her marathon debut two years ago. 

Kenya will also be represented by 2022 World Championship silver medalist Judith Korir and two-time Boston Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat, among other standouts. 

The Ethiopian contingent should be strong as well. Ababel Yeshaneh finished second at Boston in 2022 and fourth in 2023. Plus, 2:17 marathoner Tadu Teshome will be one to watch in her Boston debut. 

In the weeks after the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in February, more Americans were added to the field. Sara Hall, 40, enters the race after finishing fifth in a new American masters record (2:26:06) at the Trials in Orlando, Florida. 2015 Boston champion Caroline Rotich, 39, joins the field after placing sixth at the Trials. Jenny Simpson, 37, also entered after dropping out in her marathon debut in Orlando. And keep an eye out for 2018 Boston Marathon champion Des Linden, 40, and Emma Bates, 31, who finished fifth in Boston last year. 

Men’s race

Evans Chebet is looking for a hat trick. Last year, the Kenyan became the first athlete to repeat as men’s champion since Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot won three in a row between 2006 and 2008. In the process, the 35-year-old took down two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge in Boston. 

His biggest challenger will likely be Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia, who is returning after a breakthrough season in 2023. In December, Lemma, 33, won the Valencia Marathon in 2:01:48, making him the fourth-fastest marathoner in history. Lemma also won the Runkara International Half Marathon in 1:01:09, a new personal best. 

Gabriel Geay, last year’s Boston runner-up, is returning to the field on Monday. The 27-year-old from Tanzania is coming off a fifth-place finish at the Valencia Marathon. 

Other runners to watch include 2023 New York City runner-up Albert Korir; Shura Kitata, who placed third in New York last year; and Zouhair Talbi, who finished fifth in Boston last year. 

The American men’s field also grew after the Olympic Trials with the addition of Elkanah Kibet and Sam Chelanga. Kibet finished fourth in Orlando in a 2:10:02 personal best, and after dropping out after mile 18 of the Trials, Chelanga will aim for redemption in Boston. They join 50K world record-holder CJ Albertson and the BAA’s Matt McDonald in the elite race. 

(04/14/2024) Views: 593 ⚡AMP
by Runner’s World

Mateiko and Gebreselama with bright future after dominant RAK wins

There were breakout victories for hitherto little known Daniel Mateiko of Kenya and Tsigie Gebreselama of Ethiopia in the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in the United Arab Emirates early Saturday morning. And the imperious manner of their wins on a breezy, humid morning with a sea mist invading the latter stages suggests they both have a very bright future.

Yet the contrast in their race-winning tactics could hardly have been greater. Mateiko led from the gun, and only conceded the lead for brief periods, before outgunning his colleagues John Korir and Isaia Lasoi in the final kilometre, to win in a world leading 58min 45sec. Korir and Lasoi finished five and ten seconds behind respectively.

In contrast, Gebreselama contented herself to stay in the pack until she was ready to strike for home in the last five kilometres. Only former world record holder (64.31) and 2020 winner, colleague Ababel Yeshaneh could go with her, but that challenge didn’t last long. And such was Gebreselama’s attritional pace that by the time she crossed the line in 65.14, Yeshaneh was exactly half a minute in arrears. Jackline Sakilu of Tanzania was the surprise of the day, setting a national record of 66.05 in third place. What was no surprise was that the podium places were taken by athletes from three East African countries who share the same topography, the high altitude plateau of the Great Rift Valley.

Konstanze Klosterhalfen of Germany threatened to gatecrash that exclusive club up to the hallway point in a race, having come directly from her own training camp in Ethiopia. But, having headed the field up to 10k, which she passed in 31.09, which would have been a PB had she finished the race, she tailed off drastically and dropped out shortly afterwards, saying she did not feel well.

Olympic marathon champion, Peres Jepchirchir had been one of the favourites to win, but in the bustle of the start, someone trod on her heel and she lost around 20sec putting her shoe back on. Surprisingly for someone with her long experience, instead of working her way gradually back to the group, she shot off and rejoined them before they had completed the first kilometre. She paid for that unnecessary effort in the closing stages, and could only finish seventh in 67.19.

Gebreselama was not entirely unknown prior to today; she finished second in the world cross country championships in Australia last year. ‘That was my best performance, but today is better than that, because I won,’ she said after the race. ‘I knew I was in good shape. I think I like cross country and road running equally, but now I must prepare for the track’. In a reversal of tradition, she is leaving here for a four-month stint in an altitude training camp in the USA, before she runs the Ethiopian trials with the intent on making the Olympic team at 10,000 metres.

Having been told that there was no pacemaker in the men’s race, we wondered why Mateiko, who led from the gun kept consulting his watch and checking over his shoulder at his pursuers. Maybe he was surprised they were still there for so long, right up to the final kilometre. But having done all work, he was rewarded with a more than worthy victory, then engagingly stated that that was his intent throughout the race. ‘After finishing second last year, I promised myself to win. But the conditions were difficult; it was windy and very humid.’

Mateiko hails from Mount Elgon on the Kenya-Uganda border, but now trains in Eldoret with twice Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge under the tutelage of former steeplechaser Patrick Sang. ‘Patrick told me I was in good shape, but to be strong-minded. And Eliud is giving me advice too. I would like to have his consistency. Now my dream is to run well in the London Marathon’. If his marathon debut is as impressive as his win here today, the London crowds in April will be in for a treat.

Results, Men:

1 Daniel Mateiko KEN 58:45

2 John Korir KEN 58:50

3 Isaia Lasoi KEN 58:55

4 Gerba Dibaba ETH 59:38

5 Benard Koech KEN 59:42

6 Birhanu Legese ETH 59:43

7 Tamirat Tola ETH 59:46

8 Amos Kibiwot KEN 59:51

9 Boki Diriba ETH 60:10

10 Alphonce Simbu TAN 60:28

Women:

1 Tsigie Gebreselama ETH 65:14

2 Ababel Yeshaneh ETH 65:44

3 Jackline Sakilu TAN 66:05

4 Margaret Chelimo KEN 66:31

5 Evaline Chirchir KEN 66:36

6 Catherine Amanang’ole KEN 66:49

7 Peres Jepchirchir KEN 67:19

8 Gete Alemayehu ETH 67:25

9 Megertu Alemu ETH 69:23

10 Ashete Bekere ETH 70:03

(02/25/2024) Views: 588 ⚡AMP

Mateiko and Gebreselama win in Ras Al Khaimah

Daniel Mateiko and Tsigie Gebreselama were victorious at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label road race, on Saturday (24).

Making his third appearance in Ras Al Khaimah, Mateiko lit up a foggy morning to storm home in a world-leading time of 58:45 and win by five seconds from his compatriot John Korir, while Isaia Lasoi completed a Kenyan top three, clocking 58:55.

In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s world cross country silver medallist Gebreselama improved her personal best by more than half a minute to win in 1:05:14, 30 seconds ahead of her compatriot Ababel Yeshaneh, the 2020 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon champion and former world record-holder. Tanzania’s Jackline Sakilu was a surprise third, beating her personal best by more than three minutes with a national record of 1:06:05.

This year’s race was held exclusively for the first time on the fast and flat roads of Al Marjan Island and the elites took it in their stride, despite unusual weather conditions which saw visibility limited to around 50m at the finish line.

Mateiko was always to the fore and he made his winning move in the final kilometre, leaving Korir and Lasoi to chase him to the finish line.

A delighted Mateiko was relieved to finally get a win in Ras Al Khaimah after finishing sixth on his debut in 2022 and runner-up to Benard Koech last year. 

“I was the fastest man in the field and I promised myself I’d win here after finishing sixth and then second last year,” said the charismatic 25-year-old, who dedicated his win to Kelvin Kiptum, the marathon world record-holder who died in a road traffic accident earlier this month.

“The conditions were very difficult – it was windy, humid and a little foggy – so this is definitely the best win of my career so far.”

While Mateiko saw off a world-class field that included defending champion Koech, who finished fifth (59:42), and New York Marathon champion Tamirat Tola, who took seventh (59:46), in the women’s event the hugely talented Gebreselama underlined why she is considered one of her country’s finest prospects.

After passing 15km in 46:42, Gebreselama and Yeshaneh broke away from the lead women’s group before Gebreselama forged ahead for victory.

“I am so happy to have run a personal best today,” said the 23-year-old, who finished fourth in the half marathon at the World Road Running Championships in Riga in October.

“I was very worried about Peres (Jepchirchir) in this race so I was surprised when she dropped back. It’s a great win for me and, while it’s too early in my career to think about the Paris Olympics, my aim is to break the half marathon world record.”

Olympic marathon champion Jepchirchir, one of the pre-race favourites and a three-time half marathon world champion, suffered a setback early on in the race when a shoe slipped off, costing her at least 20 seconds. 

(02/24/2024) Views: 825 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

RAS AL KHAIMAH HALF MARATHON IS ON SATURDAY AND IT SHOUlD BE A FAST ONE

New regime, new course, but with Olympic and world champions and the usual array of speedsters, Saturday’s Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon is virtually assured of the sort of fast times that have been a feature of the event throughout its 17 year history, including three women’s world records.

Pride of place both on the start list and at this morning’s press conference in one of the smaller emirates in the UAE were Olympic marathon and three time world half-marathon champion, Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya, and keeping the balance in the long-term East African distance running rivalry, world marathon champion Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia heads the men’s entry. The wild card, hoping to gatecrash the party is Konstanze Klosterhalfen of Germany, who surprised the East Africans when she beat a dozen of them to win her debut half-marathon in Valencia in 2022.

Jepchirchir may neither be the fastest marathoner or half-marathoner among current women long distance runners, but she knows how to win races, an asset far more valuable than fast times. In the seven months between late August 2021 and mid-April 2022, she won the Olympic, New York and Boston Marathons, a rare collective achievement. In her comeback marathon following an injury, she finished third in last year’s London Marathon. And she has won 12 of her 16 half-marathons. She is loath to admit her plans yet, but this RAK ‘half’ is perfectly scheduled as a springboard, to going back to London in April, to upgrade that third place.

Tola was similarly annoyed that an injury preventing him successfully defending his 2022 world marathon title in Budapest last summer, but a speedy recovery saw him break the long-standing New York Marathon record with 2.04.58 three months later. He is one of the few elites to be making his debut in the RAK ‘half’ and the scale of his task may be judged by the fact that on paper there are 15 men faster than his best of 59.37 set seven years ago in Prague. But he suggested that is due for drastic revision. ‘I’d like to think I can do under 59 minutes if the race turns out to be fast,’ he said at the press conference. Fastest man in the field is Daniel Mateiko of Kenya with 58.26, but his colleague Benard(sic) Kibet has the advantage of having won last year in 58.45.

Klosterhalfen, ‘Koko’ to her pals may prove to be not only the wild card, but the joker in the pack in the women’s race. A world bronze medallist on the track and European 5000 metres champion, the German called a halt to her summer season last year when a foot injury caused her to reassess her career. She had changed her shoe sponsor, left her coach and long-term training venue in the USA already. She then switched again and has teamed up with Gary Lough, latter-day coach to Mo Farah and spouse of former world record holder Paula Radcliffe (here in RAK as a TV commentator). Klosterhalfen has also switched her altitude training venue to Addis Ababa, where she has just spent six weeks, coming directly to here. ‘Road running is still a bit of an adventure for me’, she said this morning. ‘I still want to run on the track, but I want to more road races’.

The roll-call of winners since the race began in 2007 is a ‘Who’s Who’ of distance running over the last two decades; beginning with Sammy Wanjiru and Berhane Adere in the inaugural race, via luminaries such as Patrick Makau, Geoffrey Mutai, Elvan Abeylegesse, Mary Keitany, Geoffrey Kamworor, Lelisa Desisa, Samson Kandie and Hellen Obiri. Add to that Jepchirchir herself who won in 2017 in a then world record of 65min 06sec.

The promoters of the successful marathon down the road in Dubai have been invited this year to give the RAK ‘half’ a makeover, and they began by introducing a 10k race for locals and altering the half-marathon course. ‘It’s faster and better than any route before here in Ras Al Khaimah; we’ve cut out some of the sharp turns,’ said race director Peter Connerton, ‘so we’re hoping for at least similar times and hopefully better. But with a couple of good races into the bargain’.

ELITE CONTENDERS

MEN

Daniel MateikoKEN58:26

Kennedy KimutaiKEN58:28

Seifu TuraETH58:36

Amdework Walelegn ETH 58:40

Benard Kibet KoechKEN58:45

Alex Korio KEN 58:51

Birhanu Legese ETH 58:59

Haftu Teklu ETH 59:06

Tamirat TolaETH59:37

WOMEN

Ababel YeshanehETH64:31

Margaret KipkemboiKEN64:46

Peres JepchirchirKEN65:06

Catherine Amanang’ole KEN 65:39

Konstanze KlosterhalfenGER65:41

Tsigie Gebreselama ETH65:46

Evaline ChirchirKEN66:01

Vivian Kiplagat KEN 66:07

Yalemget YaregalETH66:27

(02/22/2024) Views: 508 ⚡AMP

Konstanze Klosterhalfen is running the RAK Half Marathon

Konstanze Klosterhalfen is one of the few Europeans who have successfully challenged East African superiority in long distance running in recent years; but the German star will have a mass challenge from Kenyans and Ethiopians in her next venture, the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon on Saturday February 24.

The reigning European 5000 metres champion ‘Koko,’ to her fans, won bronze in the World Championships at that same distance in 2019, but her debut victory over a posse of leading East Africans in the Valencia Half Marathon in October 2022 signalled not only a step-up in prestige but also potential for success in the full marathon. And RAK in nine days’ time will be another stepping stone.

The RAK ‘half’ has been one of the fastest 21.1k races in the world since its inception 17 years ago in one of the smaller emirates in the UAE. The list of winners and record breakers reads like a ‘who’s who’ of distance running. Leading this year’s women’s field and a formidable opponent for Klosterhalfen is reigning Olympic marathon champion and three-time world ‘half’ winner, Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya, who set a then world record of 65:06 when she ran RAK in 2017. Burgeoning competition and the advent of super-shoes has resulted in that record now standing at 62.52, to Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia.

Klosterhalfen’s debut win in Valencia came in 65:41; and with another former world record holder – Ababel Yeshaneh of Ethiopia (64:31) in the RAK field, the German will not have an easy task, the more so since she took a break in the second half of last summer season, and has not raced for six months. She was understandably cautious this week when she said, ‘Overall I am happy with how my training has been going and I’m ready to test myself and see exactly where I am after a good training camp. I’m certainly looking forward to returning to racing, especially at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon as it is a race I’ve heard a lot about’.

Klosterhalfen spends a lot of time training at altitude in the USA, and in her quieter moments has walked the runway at Berlin Fashion Week, and also plays piano and flute; but running full tilt for just over an hour before breakfast will be the order of the morning a week on Saturday.

(02/16/2024) Views: 482 ⚡AMP

Ethiopian Tamirat Tola heads stellar field for RAK Half Marathon

Former world marathon champion Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia has confirmed his participation in the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon on February 24. The area is where he emerged as a world-class road runner when winning the neighbouring Dubai Marathon in 2017.

Chicago Marathon winner Seifu Tura and former women’s half marathon world record holder, Ababel Yeshaneh, will also be joining their compatriot in RAK. The entry for the 17th edition of the event is expected to read like a who’s who of international distance running as a wealth of elite athletes seek to take advantage of the benign Gulf conditions in the countdown for the spring marathons and the Paris Olympics.

Having won Olympic bronze on the track at Rio 2016, Tola established himself as one of the leading road runners of his generation when he won Dubai 2017, and followed that up with silver at the World Championships in London later that year. Tola won world marathon gold in Eugene in 2022, but in the interim, he won the Amsterdam Marathon in 2021 and then topped that with victory in the New York City Marathon three months ago. He also finished third in the Tokyo and London Marathons in 2022. The 33-year-old’s fastest half marathon was a winning performance in 59:37 in Prague in 2017. His close family also keeps him on his toes; his wife Dera Dida won the Dubai Marathon 2023, and his younger brother Abdisa took the corresponding men’s title.

It’s a measure of the fast course in RAK that his compatriot Tura has run over a minute faster than Tola, but his 58:36 in 2022 was only good for fourth. But a victory and second place in the Chicago Marathon has bolstered his credentials.

Their colleague Ababel Yeshaneh returns to the scene of one of her greatest victories, having set a world record of 64:31 in winning on the spectacular course around Al Marjan Island in the 2020 race. That time remains her personal best at the distance, although at the marathon distance, she also has two runner-up finishes to her name in Chicago 2019 and Boston 2022, as well as a third-place finish at the New York Marathon 2021.

The three Ethiopians will join elite fields that already include men’s defending champion Benard Kibet of Kenya (58:45) and his colleague, reigning Olympic Marathon Champion and three-time World Half Marathon Champion Peres Jepchirchir, who set her best half marathon in winning RAK 2017 in a then world record of 65:06.

(02/06/2024) Views: 463 ⚡AMP
by Christopher Kelsall

World and Olympic champions to compete at Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon

The powerful list of elites confirmed for the 2024 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon continues to grow with former world marathon champion Tamirat Tola, Chicago Marathon winner Seifu Tura and former half marathon world record holder Ababel Yeshaneh joining the starting line-up.

The 17th edition of the event on February 24 will read like a Who’s Who of international distance running as a wealth of elites take advantage of the beautiful weather conditions in the countdown to both the London Marathon and the Paris Olympics.

Hosted by the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA), the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon will see Tola make his debut in the emirate just three months after winning the 2023 New York Marathon.

The Ethiopian has a personal best of 59:13 and is no stranger to the flat, fast roads of the Middle East having won the Dubai Marathon in 2017.

Fellow Ethiopian Seifu Tura returns to the race route on the iconic Al Marjan Island with a half marathon personal best of 58:36, which he set when finishing fourth at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon two years ago.

Now 26, Tura is an established distance runner with a number of impressive results on his CV most notably a superb victory in the 2021 Chicago Marathon.

He also has four other top six finishes in Major marathons including a runners-up spot in Chicago in 2022 and two fifth place finishes in London and Chicago last year.

On the women’s side, Ababel Yeshaneh will return to the scene of one of her greatest victories next month. The 32-year-old Ethiopian will kick off her 2024 season in Ras Al Khaimah and has fond memories of Al Marjan Island having set the then Half Marathon World Record of 64:31 when she claimed the women’s title there in 2020.

That time remains her personal best at the distance, although in the full marathon she also has two runner-up finishes to her name in Chicago (2019) and Boston (2022) as well as a third place finish at the New York Marathon in 2021.

The three Ethiopians will join elite fields that already include men’s defending champion Benard Kibet Koech (PB 58:45) and 2017 Ras Al Khaimah winner, reigning Olympic marathon champion and three-time World Half Marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir (PB 65:06).

As well as a wealth of elite distance runners, the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon will also offer races at 10km, 5km and 2km runs for athletes of all ages and abilities. Registration is open at rakhalfmarathon.com.

(01/29/2024) Views: 506 ⚡AMP
by khaleej Times

Why Mary Ngugi-Cooper is always eager to return to sentimental Boston Marathon

Mary Ngugi-Cooper has opened up on why the streets of Boston hold a special place in her heart.

Mary Ngugi-Cooper will once again line up for the Boston Marathon scheduled for Monday, April 15.

Ngugi expressed her elation upon returning to the streets of Boston which she considers one of her favorite courses, citing various reasons.

Ngugi has made several appearances at the Boston Marathon and has managed to finish among the top ten athletes five times. She was also in action last year, where she managed to finish ninth before ending her season with a fifth-place finish at the New York City Marathon.

“Back to Boston… I’m really excited to announce that in April I will be running the Boston Marathon. Boston holds a special place in my heart, not only for having two podium finishes in the last few years, but getting married there too!

"The streets are always amazing, crowds loud and I can’t wait to hit Heartbreak Hill once again with a ridiculously strong field of talented women. See you there," she said in a post on her Facebook page. 

The Kenyan will be up against some of the greatest female marathon runners including defending champion Hellen Obiri who has already exuded confidence ahead of the assignment.

The Kenyan charge also includes former World Marathon silver medallist Judith Korir, two-time Boston Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat, and the 2022 New York City Marathon champion Sharon Lokedi.

The Kenyans will face an acid test from Ethiopians who have confirmed participation in large numbers. Worknesh Degefa, the 2019 Boston Marathon champion, will make a return and she will enjoy the company of Tadu Teshome who will make her Boston debut.

Hiwot Gebremaryam will be aiming to improve upon her eighth-place finish last year while Senbere Teferi will also be in the mix.

Experienced marathoner Ababel Yeshaneh –second in 2022 and fourth in 2023— will try to become the seventh woman from Ethiopia to win the olive wreath in Boston.

(01/13/2024) Views: 506 ⚡AMP
by Abigael Wuafula

Hellen Obiri faces tough field in Boston Marathon title defence

Hellen Obiri will defend her Boston Marathon title on April 15 in what the organizers say is the strongest elite women's field in the history of the race.

However, Obiri faces a Herculean task in a race where 19 athletes have personal bests under 2:23:00 including Olympians, World Marathon Majors winners and national stars.

Obiri, a two-time Olympic 5000m silver medalist — now living in Colorado, USA — won the 2023 edition thanks to a perfectly-timed sprint in the final kilometer.

Obiri who has been named in Kenya’s marathon team for Paris Olympics is also the New York City Marathon champion.

“I am excited to return to the 2024 Boston Marathon to try to defend my title,” said Obiri, who finished last year’s race in 2:21:38.

“Boston is an historic race and I would like to add my name further to its history on April 15. Winning such a historic marathon with my family waiting at the finish line was an amazing experience.”

A trifecta of Ethiopians with lifetime bests under 2:18:00 will take to the Boston course.

Worknesh Degefa, the 2019 Boston Marathon champion, returns, while 2:17:36 marathoner Tadu Teshome will make her Boston debut. Hiwot Gebremaryam aims to improve on her eighth-place finish last year.

World championships medallist Senbere Teferi who won the 2022 B.A.A. 5K in a course record of 14:49 is also in the mix.

Experienced marathoner Ababel Yeshaneh –second in 2022 and fourth in 2023— will try to become the seventh woman from Ethiopia to win the olive wreath in Boston.

Joining Obiri from Kenya are 2022 World Athletics Championships Marathon silver medalist Judith Korir, two-time Boston Marathon winner Edna Kiplagat, four-time top-ten finisher Mary Ngugi-Cooper and 2022 New York City Marathon champion Sharon Lokedi.

Helah Kiprop, who holds a silver medal in the marathon from the 2015 World Athletics Championships and has earned wins in Tokyo, Copenhagen and Paris, makes her second career Boston start. From Morocco is 2023 world marathon bronze medalist Fatima Gardadi.

Desiree Linden leads the American contingent six years after winning the title. Linden has finished in the top-five five times and holds the third-fastest time by an American ever on the Hopkinton-to-Boston route (2:22:38).

Linden will run her fifth U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in February. Joining her is Emma Bates, who finished fifth last year in the second-fastest time ever by an American woman at Boston (2:22:10).

“At this point in my career it’s an easy decision to return to the Boston Marathon and make it my top priority race of the spring,” said Linden.

“I can’t wait to take on the iconic course for an 11th time and have the opportunity to mix it up with some of the best runners in the world.”

Jack Fleming, President and CEO of the Boston Athletic Association said: “The Boston Marathon is proud to showcase the world’s best athletes year in and year out on Patriots’ Day.”

“This year’s women’s field is exceptionally fast and showcases many who’ve been podium finishers on the global stage. It’ll make for an exciting race from Hopkinton to Boston, and we look forward to crowning our champions on April 15,” he added.

(01/12/2024) Views: 502 ⚡AMP
by Angwenyi Gichana

Strongest Women’s Field in the race history at Boston Marathon 2024

The 128th Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America will feature the strongest women’s field in race history, led by defending champions Hellen Obiri and Susannah Scaroni. A total of 19 women with personal bests under 2:23:00 will line up in Hopkinton aiming to earn the Open Division crown, including Olympians, Abbott World Marathon Majors winners, and national stars. In the Wheelchair and Para Athletics Divisions, Paralympic hopefuls from around the world are set to compete.

“The Boston Marathon is proud to showcase the world’s best athletes year in and year out on Patriots’ Day,” said Jack Fleming, President and CEO of the Boston Athletic Association. “This year’s women’s field is exceptionally fast and showcases many who’ve been podium finishers on the global stage. It’ll make for an exciting race from Hopkinton to Boston, and we look forward to crowning our champions on April 15.”

Women from 20 countries will be competing as part of the Bank of America Professional Athlete Team.

“Each year, the Boston Marathon sets the bar higher with an unbelievable level of athletic talent, and its impact on communities around the world,” said David Tyrie, chief digital officer and chief marketing officer, Bank of America. “The 128th Boston Marathon builds on a rich history and will continue to be an inspiration for all athletes.”

HELLEN OBIRI SET TO DEFEND OPEN DIVISION TITLE

Hellen Obiri, a two-time Olympic silver medalist from Kenya now living in Colorado, won the 2023 Boston Marathon thanks to a perfectly-timed sprint in the final mile. Adding to her trophy case, Obiri also took home the 2023 B.A.A. 10K title in June and the TCS New York City Marathon crown in November.

“I am excited to return to the 2024 Boston Marathon to try to defend my title,” said Obiri, who finished last year’s race in 2:21:38. “Boston is an historic race and I would like to add my name further to its history on April 15. Winning such an historic marathon with my family waiting at the finish line was an amazing experience.”

A trifecta of Ethiopians with lifetime bests under 2:18:00 will take to the Boston course. Worknesh Degefa, the 2019 Boston Marathon champion, returns, while 2:17:36 marathoner Tadu Teshome will make her Boston debut and Hiwot Gebremaryam aims to improve upon her eighth-place finish last year. Also from Ethiopia is World championships medalist Senbere Teferi; she won the 2022 B.A.A. 5K in a course record 14:49 and has shown talent at the longer distances. Experienced marathoner Ababel Yeshaneh –second in 2022 and fourth in 2023— will try to become the seventh woman from Ethiopia to win the olive wreath in Boston.

Joining Obiri from Kenya are 2022 World Athletics Championships Marathon silver medalist Judith Korir; two-time Boston Marathon winner Edna Kiplagat; four-time top-ten finisher Mary Ngugi-Cooper; and 2022 TCS New York City Marathon champion Sharon Lokedi. Helah Kiprop, who holds a silver medal in the marathon from the 2015 World Athletics Championships and has earned wins in Tokyo, Copenhagen, and Paris, makes her second career Boston start. From Morocco is 2023 World Athletics Championships Marathon bronze medalist Fatima Gardadi.

Desiree Linden leads the American contingent six years after winning the 2018 title. Linden has finished in the top-five five times, and holds the third fastest time by an American ever on the Hopkinton-to-Boston route (2:22:38). Linden will run her fifth U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in February. Joining her is Emma Bates who finished fifth last year in the second-fastest time ever by an American woman at Boston (2:22:10).

“At this point in my career it’s an easy decision to return to the Boston Marathon and make it my top priority race of the spring,” said Linden. “I can’t wait to take on the iconic course for an 11th time and have the opportunity to mix it up with some of the best runners in the world.” 

128TH BOSTON MARATHON PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S FIELDS

 Women’s Open Division

Country

Personal Best

Worknesh Degefa

ETH

2:15:51 (Valencia, 2023)

Tadu Teshome

ETH

2:17:36 (Valencia, 2022)

Hiwot Gebremaryam

ETH

2:17:59 (Valencia, 2023)

Judith Korir

KEN

2:18:20 (Eugene, 2022)

Meseret Belete

ETH

2:18:21 (Amsterdam, 2023)

Tiruye Mesfin

ETH

2:18:47 (Valencia, 2022)

Worknesh Edesa

ETH

2:18:51 (Berlin, 2022)

Zeineba Yimer

ETH

2:19:07 (Berlin 2023)

Senbere Teferi

ETH

2:19:21 (Berlin, 2023)

Dera Dida

ETH

2:19:24 (Berlin, 2023)

Edna Kiplagat

KEN

2:19:50 (London, 2012)*

Mary Ngugi-Cooper

KEN

2:20:22 (London, 2022)

Nazret Weldu Gebrehiwet

ERI

2:20:29 (Eugene) NR

Ababel Yeshaneh

ETH

2:20:51 (Chicago, 2019)

Vibian Chepkirui

KEN

2:20:59 (Vienna, 2022)

Helah Kiprop

KEN

2:21:27 (Tokyo, 2016)

Hellen Obiri

KEN

2:21:38 (Boston, 2023)

Emma Bates

USA

2:22:10 (Boston, 2023)

Desiree Linden

USA

2:22:38 (Boston, 2011)*

Buze Diriba

ETH

2:23:11 (Toronto, 2023)

Sharon Lokedi

KEN

2:23:23 (New York City, 2022)

Malindi Elmore

CAN

2:23:30 (Berlin, 2023)*

Fatima Gardadi

MOR

2:24:12 (Xiamen, 2024)

Angie Orjuela

COL

2:25:35 (Berlin, 2023) NR

Fabienne Konigstein

GER

2:25:48 (Hamburg, 2023)

Jackie Gaughan

USA

2:27:08 (Berlin, 2023)

Dominique Scott

RSA

2:27:31 (Chicago, 2023)

Grace Kahura

KEN

2:29:00 (Sacramento, 2023)

Katie Kellner

USA

2:32:48 (Berlin, 2023)

Briana Boehmer

USA

2:33:20 (Sacramento, 2021)

Dylan Hassett

IRL

2:33:25 (Pulford, 2021)

Parley Hannan

USA

2:33:43 (Carmel, 2023)

Sara Lopez

USA

2:33:48 (Eugene, 2023)

Annie Heffernan

USA

2:34:33 (Lowell, 2023)

Nera Jareb

AUS

2:35:00 (Queensland, 2022)*

Johanna Backlund

SWE

2:35:10 (Hamburg, 2019)

Argentina Valdepenas Cerna

MEX

2:35:34 (Chicago, 2022)*

Ariane Hendrix Roach

USA

2:35:39 (Sacramento, 2022)

Michelle Krezonoski

CAN

2:36:39 (Sacramento, 2022)

Shannon Smith

USA

2:36:43 (Columbus, 2023)

Caroline Williams

USA

2:37:01 (Sacramento, 2022)

Gina Rouse

USA

2:37:10 (Sacramento, 2023)*

Kim Krezonoski

CAN

2:37:20 (Sacramento, 2022)

Abigail Corrigan

USA

2:37:45 (Sacramento, 2023)

Marissa Lenger

USA

2:38:41 (Chicago, 2022)

Emilee Risteen

USA

2:38:46 (Duluth, 2023)

Isabelle Pickett

AUS

2:38:46 (Valencia, 2023)

Allie Hackett

USA

2:38:52 (Duluth, 2023

Mary Christensen

USA

2:38:55 (Big Bear, 2023)

Olivia Anger

USA

2:39:13 (Indianapolis, 2023)

April Lund

USA

2:39:23 (Houston, 2022)*

Sarah Short

AUS

2:39:51 (Valencia, 2023)

Maura Lemon

USA

2:40:30 (Valley Cottage, 2023)

Sarah Sibert

USA

2:40:31 (Philadelphia, 2022)

Lauren Ames

USA

2:40:34 (Valley Cottage, 2023)

Kassie Harmon

USA

2:41:48 (Utah Valley, 2023)*

Elizabeth Camy

USA

2:42:51 (Sacramento, 2022)*

Alexandra Niles

USA

2:43:23 (Hartford, 2022)*

Amber Morrison

USA

2:43:50 (Sacramento, 2022)*

Mindy Mammen

USA

2:44:01 (Duluth, 2023)*

Ziyang Liu

USA

2:44:56 (Eugene, 2023)*

*Denotes Masters Division (40+)

(01/10/2024) Views: 534 ⚡AMP

Kiptum smashes world marathon record with 2:00:35, Hassan runs 2:13:44 in Chicago

Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum became the first athlete to break 2:01 in a record-eligible marathon, clocking a tremendous 2:00:35* to take 34 seconds off the world record at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday (8).

On a remarkable day of racing, Dutch star Sifan Hassan moved to No.2 on the women’s all-time list, running 2:13:44 to triumph in the World Athletics Platinum Label road race. The only woman to have ever gone faster is Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa, who set a world record of 2:11:53 to win the BMW Berlin Marathon last month.

Less than six months on from his 2:01:25 London Marathon win, which saw him become the second-fastest marathon runner of all time, Kiptum improved by another 50 seconds to surpass the world record mark of 2:01:09 set by his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge in Berlin last year.

In the third marathon of his career, which began with a 2:01:53 debut in Valencia last December, Kiptum even had enough energy to celebrate his historic performance on the way to the finish line – pointing to the crowds and the tape on his approach.

The 23-year-old broke that tape in 2:00:35, winning the race by almost three and a half minutes. Defending champion Benson Kipruto was second in 2:04:02 and Bashir Abdi was third in 2:04:32.

Kiptum pushed the pace throughout the 26.2-mile race. He broke away from a seven-strong lead group after reaching 5km in 14:26, joined only by his compatriot Daniel Mateiko, who was making his marathon debut. They were on world record pace at 10km, passed in 28:42, but the tempo dropped a little from that point and they reached half way in 1:00:48.

Kiptum had been running in a hat but that came off as they entered the second half of the race. After 30km was passed in 1:26:31, Kiptum kicked and dropped Mateiko. He was glancing over his shoulder but running like he still had the world record – not only the win – in his sights.

A blistering 5km split of 13:51 took him to the 35km checkpoint in 1:40:22 and he was on sub-2:01 pace, 49 seconds ahead of Mateiko.

Continuing to run with urgency, he passed 40km in 1:54:23 – after a 27:52 10km split – and sped up further, storming over the finish line with the incredible figures of 2:00:35 on the clock.

"I knew I was coming for a course record, but a world record – I am so happy,” he said. “A world record was not on my mind today, but I knew one day I would be a world record-holder.”

Despite only having made his marathon debut 10 months ago, Kiptum now has three of the six fastest times in history to his name. Only Kipchoge (with 2:01:09 and 2:01:39) and Kenenisa Bekele (with 2:01:41) have ever gone faster than the slowest of Kiptum’s times.

Mateiko had helped to pace Kiptum to his 2:01:25 win in London, running to the 30km mark. The pair stayed together until that point in Chicago, too, but Mateiko couldn’t maintain the pace and dropped out after reaching 35km in 1:41:11.

Kenya’s Kipruto used his experience of the course to leave the chase group behind after 35km and was a comfortable runner-up in 2:04:02, finishing half a minute ahead of Belgium’s world and Olympic bronze medallist Abdi.

Kenya’s John Korir was fourth in 2:05:09, Ethiopia’s Seifu Tura fifth in 2:05:29 and USA’s Conner Mantz sixth in 2:07:47.

In the women’s race, Hassan returned to marathon action just six weeks on from a World Championships track medal double that saw her claim 1500m bronze and 5000m silver in Budapest.

She was up against a field including the defending champion Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya, who was on the hunt for a record third win in Chicago following her 2:14:18 victory last year.

It soon became apparent that it would be those two athletes challenging for the title. After going through 5km in 15:42 as part of a pack that also featured Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei and Ethiopia’s Megertu Alemu and Ababel Yeshaneh, Chepngetich and Hassan broke away with a next 5km split of 15:23 and reached 10km in 31:05 – on pace to break the recently-set world record.

They ran a 10km split of 30:54 between 5km and 15km, that point passed in 46:36, and they maintained that world record pace to 20km, reached in 1:02:14.

Chepngetich had opened up a six-second gap by half way, clocking 1:05:42 to Hassan’s 1:05:48, but Hassan would have surely felt no concern. On her debut in London in April, after all, she closed a 25-second gap on the leaders despite stopping to stretch twice, and went on to win in 2:18:33.

In a race of superb depth, Alemu, Jepkosgei and Yeshaneh were still on 2:14:52 pace at that point as they hit half way together in 1:07:26.

Hassan soon rejoined Chepngetich at the front and they ran side by side through 25km in 1:18:06. Then it was Hassan’s turn to make a move. Unable to maintain the pace, Chepngetich had dropped 10 seconds behind by 30km, reached by Hassan in 1:34:00, and from there the win never looked in doubt. The Dutch athlete was half a minute ahead at 35km (1:50:17) and she had more than doubled that lead by 40km (2:06:36).

Hassan was on track to obliterate her PB and also the course record of 2:14:04 set by Brigid Kosgei in 2019, which had been the world record until Assefa’s 2:11:53 performance last month.

She held on to cross the finish line in 2:13:44, a European record by almost two minutes. With her latest performance, the versatile Hassan is now the second-fastest woman in history for the track mile, 10,000m and marathon.

"The first group took off at a crazy pace, but I wanted to join that group,” said Hassan. “The last five kilometres, I suffered. Wow ­– I won again in my second marathon in a fantastic time. I couldn't be happier.”

Behind her, Chepngetich held on for second place in 2:15:37 as the top four all finished under 2:18 – Alemu placing third in 2:17:09 and Jepkosgei finishing fourth in 2:17:23. Ethiopia’s Tadu Teshome was fifth in 2:20:04, her compatriot Genzebe Dibaba sixth in 2:21.47 and USA’s Emily Sisson seventh in 2:22:09.

Leading results

Women1 Sifan Hassan (NED) 2:13:44 2. Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) 2:15:37 3. Megertu Alemu (ETH) 2:17:09 4. Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) 2:17:235 Tadu Teshome (ETH) 2:20:046 Genzebe Dibaba (ETH) 2:21:477 Emily Sisson (USA) 2:22:098 Molly Seidel (USA) 2:23:079 Rose Harvey (GBR) 2:23:2110 Sara Vaughn (USA) 2:23:24

Men1 Kelvin Kiptum (KEN) 2:00:352 Benson Kipruto (KEN) 2:04:023 Bashir Abdi (BEL) 2:04:324 John Korir (KEN) 2:05:095 Seifu Tura (ETH) 2:05:296 Conner Mantz (USA) 2:07:477 Clayton Young (USA) 2:08:008 Galen Rupp (USA) 2:08:489 Samuel Chelanga (USA) 2:08:5010 Takashi Ichida (JPN) 2:08:57

(10/08/2023) Views: 663 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

Sharon Lokedi, Hellen Obiri, Peres Jepchirchir and Brigid Kosgei to Race 2023 TCS New York City Marathon

Defending TCS New York City Marathon champion Sharon Lokedi, reigning Boston Marathon and United Airlines NYC Half champion Hellen Obiri, Olympic gold medalist and 2021 TCS New York City Marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir, and marathon world-record holder Brigid Kosgei will headline the women’s professional athlete field at the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 5.

When the four Kenyans line up in New York, it will be the first time in event history the reigning TCS New York City Marathon champion, Boston Marathon champion, Olympic champion, and world-record holder line up against each other in the TCS New York City Marathon.

Lokedi won the TCS New York City Marathon in her marathon debut last year, pulling away in the final two miles to finish in 2:23:23 and became the eighth athlete to win the race in their true 26.2-mile debut. In preparation for the marathon, Lokedi had raced the United Airlines NYC Half and the Mastercard New York Mini 10K, finishing fourth and second, respectively, in those races.

“Last year, I came into the TCS New York City Marathon with the goal of being in the thick of the race, and the result was better than I could have ever hoped for,” Lokedi said. “This year, I’m returning with a different mindset, hungry to defend my title and race against the fastest women in the world.”

Obiri is a two-time Olympic medalist and seven-time world championships individual medalist who earlier this year won the Boston Marathon in her second-ever attempt at the distance, in addition to winning the United Airlines NYC Half in her event debut. Obiri holds the Kenyan record for 3,000 meters and represented Kenya at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics, earning silver medals in the 5,000 meters at both. In her marathon debut last year in New York, she finished sixth.

“With a year of marathon experience now under my belt, a win in Boston, and my move to the U.S., I’m coming to New York this year with more confidence and in search of a title,” Obiri said. “I’m excited to show the people of New York what I’m capable of and that my win at the United Airlines NYC Half in March was just the beginning.”

Jepchirchir is the only athlete to have won the Olympic marathon, TCS New York City Marathon, and Boston Marathon. She is also a two-time world championships gold medalist in the half marathon. In 2021, she won the Tokyo Olympic marathon to claim Kenya’s second consecutive gold medal in the event. Four months later, she won the TCS New York City Marathon, finishing in 2:22:39, the third-fastest time in event history and eight seconds off the event record. In April 2022, in a back-and-forth race that came down to the final mile, she fended off Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh to take the Boston Maraton title on Boylston Street in her debut in the race in 2:21:02. This April, she recorded another podium finish, taking third at the TCS London Marathon.

“I was so disappointed that I couldn’t defend my title in New York last year due to an injury, and winning again in Central Park has been my main motivation as I begin my preparations for the autumn,” Jepchirchir said. “New York is an important step in defending my Olympic gold medal next summer in Paris, and I will do my best to make my family and my country proud.”

Kosgei is the world-record holder in the marathon and has won an Olympic silver medal and five Abbott World Marathon Majors races; she will now make her TCS New York City Marathon debut. In 2019, Kosgei broke Paula Radcliffe’s 16-year-old world record by 81 seconds, running 2:14:04 to win the Chicago Marathon. It was her second Chicago Marathon victory, as she’d also won in 2018. Additionally, she won back-to-back London Marathons in 2019 and 2020, the Tokyo Marathon in 2022, and the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympic marathon.

“I am very excited to make my New York City debut this fall, and attempt to win my fourth different Major,” Kosgei said. “I am not worried about the course, as I have had success in hilly marathons before, but New York has always been about head-to-head competition, and I know I must be in the best possible shape to compete with the other women in the race.”

The 2023 TCS New York City Marathon women’s professional athlete field is presented by Mastercard®. The full professional athlete fields will be announced at a later date.

The 2023 TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 5 will have 50,000 runners and be televised live on WABC-TV Channel 7 in the New York tristate area, throughout the rest of the nation on ESPN2, and around the world by various international broadcasters.

(08/10/2023) Views: 648 ⚡AMP
by Running USA

Evans Chebet successfully defended his title at the Boston Marathon and fellow Kenyan Hellen Obiri triumphed in the women’s race at the World Athletics Platinum Label road race on Monday

The big sub-plot of the race, however, was the performance of Eliud Kipchoge, who headed to Boston in the hopes of taking one step closer to completing his set of World Marathon Majors victories but trailed home in sixth place in 2:09:23, the slowest time of his glittering career and more than three minutes behind the winner.

But the day belonged to Chebet and Obiri, both of whom dropped their final opponents in the last few minutes of the race, winning in 2:05:54 and 2:21:38 respectively. Chebet’s mark is the third-fastest winning time ever recorded in the men’s race in Boston and Obiri’s performance is the fourth-fastest women’s winning mark.

Kipchoge looked comfortable in the early stages and was part of a lead pack of 11 men that passed through 10km in 28:52 before reaching the half-way point in 1:02:19.

Chebet and Kipchoge were still together in the lead group through 30km, reached in 1:29:23, but the double Olympic champion and world record-holder started to lose contact with the leaders just a minute or two later, having missed picking up his bottle at a water station.

At 35km, with 1:44:19 on the clock, the lead pack was down to five men – Chebet, 2021 Boston winner Benson Kipruto, Tanzanian record-holder Gabriel Geay, Kenya’s John Korir and Ethiopia’s Andualem Belay. Kipchoge, meanwhile, was more than a minute behind the leaders and no longer in contention for a podium spot.

 

Evans Chebet wins the 2023 Boston Marathon (© Getty Images)

With three miles to go, and Korir and Belay no longer in the running, the race was down to three men: Geay, Chebet and Kipruto. They ran together as a trio for the best part of two miles before Geay’s challenge eventually faded, leaving the Kenyan duo out in front. Chebet then gradually pulled ahead of his compatriot and training partner Kipruto, going on to cross the finish line in 2:05:54.

Geay recovered enough to pass Kipruto in the closing stages, claiming the runner-up spot in 2:06:04, two seconds ahead of Kipruto. 2021 New York winner Albert Korir finished strongly to take fourth place in 2:08:01 and Morocco’s Zouhair Talbi was fifth (2:08:35). Kipchoge followed a further 48 seconds in arrears.

 

“I train with Benson; he’s my friend and like a brother to me,” said Chebet, who became the sixth man to win back-to-back Boston titles. “With one kilometre to go, I said to him, ‘let’s go’.”Obiri wins in final mile thriller

Five months after making her marathon debut with a sixth-place finish in New York, two-time world 5000m champion Hellen Obiri triumphed in her second race over the classic distance.

In an incredibly close race that wasn’t decided until the final few minutes, Obiri disposed of one of the strongest women’s fields ever assembled for the Boston Marathon.

In contrast to the men’s race, the women’s contest started off at a cautiously steady pace and gradually picked up as the race went on. A large lead pack of more than 20 runners passed through 10km in 34:46, but they had been whittled down to 11 contenders by the half-way mark, reached in 1:11:29.

By this point, the lead pack still included Obiri, world marathon champion Gotytom Gebreslase, Ethiopian record-holder Amane Beriso, Amsterdam course record-holder Angela Tanui, 2020 Tokyo champion Lonah Salpeter, Eritrean record-holder Nazret Weldu and 2021 London champion Joyciline Jepkosgei.

Gebreslase and Weldu had fallen out of the pack with five miles to go, and the lead pack was reduced further to just six women at 23 miles: Obiri, Salpeter, Beriso, Jepkosgei, Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh and USA’s Emma Bates.

Jepkosgei and Bates started to fade in the last few miles, while Yeshaneh tripped and fell, only to rejoin the lead pack soon after. Salpeter was the next to fade, leaving just Obiri, Beriso and Yeshaneh to battle it out for the victory.

 

Hellen Obiri wins the 2023 Boston Marathon (© Getty Images)

With 2:17 on the clock, Obiri and Beriso had broken free from Yeshaneh. About 90 seconds later, Obiri embarked on a long drive for the finish line. With occasional glances over her shoulder, the Olympic silver medallist maintained a healthy gap ahead of Beriso and went on to finish in 2:21:38.

Beriso took second place in 2:21:50 and Salpeter overtook Yeshaneh in the closing stages to claim third place in 2:21:57, three seconds ahead of the Ethiopian. Bates was fifth in 2:22:10, making her the top US finisher in either of the races.

“I’m so happy,” said Obiri. “I was undecided about which marathon to do this year, but eventually I decided to do Boston. My coach (Dathen Ritzenhein) told me, ‘you have trained well, you’re ready to do Boston’. I’m very, very happy I chose to do it.”

Leading results

 

Women1 Hellen Obiri (KEN) 2:21:382 Amane Beriso (ETH) 2:21:503 Lonah Salpeter (ISR) 2:21:574 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:22:005 Emma Bates (USA) 2:22:106 Nazret Weldu (ERI) 2:23:257 Angela Tanui (KEN) 2:24:128 Hiwot Gebremaryam (ETH) 2:24:30

Men1 Evans Chebet (KEN) 2:05:542 Gabriel Geay (TAN) 2:06:043 Benson Kipruto (KEN) 2:06:064 Albert Korir (KEN) 2:08:015 Zouhair Talbi (MAR) 2:08:356 Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 2:09:237 Scott Fauble (USA) 2:09:448 Hassan Chahdi (FRA) 2:09:46

(04/17/2023) Views: 936 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

The Boston Marathon has never been easy, that’s why Des Linden keeps coming back

The conditions were wretched when Des Linden first toed the starting line in Hopkinton in 2007. An amped-up nor’easter brought rain, a 30-mile-per-hour headwind, and soggy, chilly misery for the runners.

“I was one probably of the few people who felt, that was one of the best things I’ve ever done,” Linden recalled years later. “I’m going to do this forever. I loved it.”

On Patriots Day Linden will lace up for her 10th Boston Marathon. During the 16 years since her first appearance here, which also was her 26-mile debut, Linden has won the laurel wreath (”storybook stuff”), lost by two seconds on a sprint down Boylston Street, finished fourth twice, and 17th in a “total suffer-fest.”

Every trip here is a homecoming, said the California native and Michigan resident who has a dog named Boston. What brings Linden back is the race’s incomparable history, the feeling of family that she gets from the Boston Athletic Association, the exuberant crowds along the course, “the greatest finish line in our sport,” and the unchanging challenge from the lumpy layout and mercurial weather.

“We’re in this era where we want the marathon to be easier than ever before,” said Linden. “We want it faster, we want it flatter, we want wind blockers, we want shoes that bounce you forward, we want better gels. You name it, we’re trying to dumb this thing down. Boston is already not going to manage well with a lot of those things, then you throw in the weather conditions. I’ll take the tough one every time.”

Boston never has been easy. For decades there were no mile markers or water on the course. There was no prize money until 1986 — the reward was a medal and a bowl of canned beef stew. The starter fired the gun and sent you off. If you ended up sitting on the curb, cramped and blistered, the “meat wagon” picked you up.

Linden loves the purity of a race that always has the same course but rarely the same conditions. “A lot of people get surprised by it,” she said. “Well, it’s Boston in the spring.”

Boston is the recurring theme of “Choosing To Run,” Linden’s new memoir written with Bonnie D. Ford. Chapters recounting her 2018 triumph, the first by an American woman here in 33 years, are interspersed with a narrative of her evolution from a track racer to a marathoner.

Linden, who’ll officially become a master when she turns 40 in late July, is in the final stretch of her elite career, which she hopes will include a third Olympic team next year in Paris. Maybe she’ll run a fall marathon to prep for the Orlando trials in February. “Or maybe I just spin the legs and do some fast stuff,” she mused.

At this stage of her career it’s all about being smart and patient. “It’s a challenge letting go of your prime years, but there’s also a reality to it,” Linden said. “It’s recalibrating and readjusting what the goal is. I’m learning.”

One significant concession is her weekly mileage, which Linden has reduced from 120 to between 95 and 105. “I have this mentality that I’m being lazy if I’m not doing 115-120-mile weeks,” she said. “ ‘You’re not being lazy,’ my coach [Walt Drenth] said. ‘It’s just not practical.’ ”

At her age, maintaining speed and power are more important than training volume. “So work on what’s going away,” Linden said, “and rely on what you’ve done in the past as far as the volume goes.”

The lighter workload paid dividends at the recent New York City Half Marathon, where she placed fifth in 1 hour, 12 minutes, 21 seconds, the top American finisher. “It was the first time in a while that I got good momentum from a race,” she said.

Up against a stacked Boston field that includes Gotytom Gebreslase and Lonah Salpeter, the world gold and bronze medalists; two-time Boston victor Edna Kiplagat; returning medalists Ababel Yeshaneh and Mary Ngugi; two-time Olympic track medalist Hellen Obiri; and Amane Beriso, a sub-2:15er, Linden is realistic about her chances.

“Top 10 is a great goal at times and particularly this year — the field’s incredible,” said Linden, who was 13th last year. “Just mixing it up and racing is fun for me.”

At this point in her career Linden has little left to chase. She was seventh in the 2016 Olympics, cracked the top 10 at the 2009 world championships, and has posted top-five efforts in New York, Chicago, and Berlin.

But her crowning achievement came in Boston five years ago when she slogged her way through punishing wind and chilly rain to win a race that she didn’t plan on finishing. “It’s not gonna be my day,” Linden told Shalane Flanagan after 6 miles. “I think I’m going to drop out soon.”

But she pushed on, thinking more about survival than victory. “I was running in fear for most of the race,” Linden said. “Even halfway through Boylston I was thinking, if someone comes up on my shoulder I know I can respond.”

She won by more than four minutes, to her astonishment. Linden’s jacket and headband were added to the BAA memorabilia collection, whose artifacts date from the 19th century. “The same museum I had once viewed as an unattainable sanctum,” she wrote in “Choosing To Run.”

Gloria Ratti, the BAA’s longtime first lady, had given Linden the tour before her 2007 debut. That, she said, “made me fall in love with 26.2.”

“Everyone talks about Boston’s special history,” Linden said. “You can feel it on the course, you can see it on race day. But to have that collection of the very first medals and the shoes that were being worn … ”

(04/10/2023) Views: 1,013 ⚡AMP
by John Powers

B.A.A. announces women’s elite field for 127th Boston Marathon

The Boston Athletics Association (B.A.A.) has revealed the women’s elite field for the 127th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 17. The field features 16 women who have run under 2:21, including the 2022 world marathon champion Gotytom Gebreslase and two-time Boston champion Edna Kiplagat.

Three other notable athletes who are making their Boston debuts are 2022 world championship bronze medallist Lonah Salpeter of Israel, 2022 NYC Marathon champion Sharon Lokedi, and 2022 Valencia Marathon champion (and third fastest woman of all-time 2:14:58) Amane Beriso of Ethiopia.

“I am very excited to run the B.A.A. Boston Marathon this year,” said Salpeter in a press release. “It has always been my dream to run on this course and to experience the incredible atmosphere.” Salpeter is coming off a second-place finish at the New York City Marathon in November and a bronze medal in the 10,000m at the European Championships in August.  

Last year’s second and third-place finishers in Boston, Ababel Yeshaneh of Ethiopia and Mary Ngugi of Kenya, both return with hopes of claiming the top spot on the podium. Yeshaneh came within four seconds of victory, while Ngugi placed second and third in Boston in back-to-back years.

Also back is Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya, a past winner of the New York City and London Marathons. Jepkosgei fell shy of her expectations in her 2022 debut, with a seventh-place finish. She will look to better her time of 2:24:43 in 2023.

Among the American contingent are Sara Hall, Aliphine Tuliamuk, Emma Bates, Nell Rojas and 2018 champion Des Linden. Rojas has finished as the top American at Boston two years in a row (fifth in 2021 and 10th, 2:25:57 in April 2022), while Hall and Bates were fifth and seventh in the marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Ore.

Canada will be well represented in Boston with three athletes on the elite list. Liza Howard, the top Canadian at the 2022 Chicago Marathon, will lead the way with the top qualifying mark of 2:35:29. Howard is an up-and-coming marathoner out of Toronto, who had a breakthrough 2022 with a 19th-place finish in Chicago and a 12th-place result at the Canadian 10K Championships in Ottawa last May. 

Other Canadians on the elite list are 2004 1,500m Olympian and masters athlete Carmen Hussar, who has returned to racing recently, coming off a Boxing Day 10 Miler win in Hamilton, Ont., and Julie Lajeunesse of Montreal, with a personal best of 2:44:49 from the 2022 Chicago Marathon.

(01/09/2023) Views: 918 ⚡AMP
by Marley Dickinson

2022 - the year when international road racing got back to normal

There have been big city races with mass participation, high-profile clashes between the world’s elite distance runners, and numerous records broken across a range of distances.

Road running is back in a big way.

While some World Athletics Label road races in 2022 still had to be postponed or adapted in the face of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, road running as a whole is almost back to normal.

Nine Elite Platinum Label marathons have been held already this year, with the 10th and final one due to take place in Valencia on 4 December.

World Athletics Elite Platinum marathons in 2022

Tokyo – 6 March

Winners: Brigid Kosgei (KEN) 2:16:02 CR, Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 2:02:40 CRWorld record-holders Brigid Kosgei and Eliud Kipchoge got their years off to a great start, winning in the Japanese capital with course records.Finishers: 18,272

Nagoya – 13 March

Winner: Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) 2:17:18 CRAfter an enthralling tussle with Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, Ruth Chepngetich prevailed in 2:17:18, breaking the course record in the world’s largest women-only marathons.Finishers: 8698

Seoul – 17 April

Winners: Joan Chelimo Melly (KEN) 2:18:04 CR, Mosinet Geremew (ETH) 2:04:43 CREventual winners Joan Chelimo Melly and Mosinet Geremew were pushed all the way to course records in the Korean capital in two close races. Geremew won by six seconds, while Melly finished eight seconds ahead of her nearest rival.

Boston – 18 April

Winners: Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) 2:21:01, Evans Chebet (KEN) 2:06:51Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir maintained her winning streak to win in one of the world’s most prestigious races, finishing just four seconds ahead of Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh. Evans Chebet enjoyed a more comfortable victory in the men’s race.Finishers: 24,607

Berlin – 25 September

Winners: Tigist Assefa (ETH) 2:15:37 CR, Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) 2:01:09 WROlympic champion Eliud Kipchoge returned to the site of his last world record-breaking performance and improved on the mark by 30 seconds, setting a world record of 2:01:09. Meanwhile, Tigist Assefa smashed the women’s course record – and Ethiopian record – with her 2:15:37 victory.Finishers: 34,879

London – 2 October

Winners: Yalemzerf Yehualaw (ETH) 2:17:26, Amos Kipruto (KEN) 2:04:39Yalemzerf Yehualaw got the better of defending champion Joyciline Jepkosgei in an enthralling duel, while Amos Kipruto made a similar late-race break to take the men’s title.Finishers: 40,578

Chicago – 9 October

Winners: Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) 2:14:18 WL, Benson Kipruto (KEN) 2:04:24Ruth Chepngetich came within seconds of the world record to win in 2:14:18, the second-fastest time in history. Benson Kipruto, winner in Boston last year, added another US big city marathon win to his collection.Finishers: 39,420

Amsterdam – 16 October

Winners: Almaz Ayana (ETH) 2:17:20 CR, Tsegaye Getachew (ETH) 2:04:49Ethiopia’s 2016 Olympic 10,000m champion Almaz Ayana ran the fastest marathon debut in history to win in the Dutch capital, holding off former track rival and compatriot Genzebe Dibaba. Tsegaye Getachew made it an Ethiopian double, winning by just five seconds from Titus Kipruto.Finishers: 12,669

New York City – 6 November

Winners: Sharon Lokedi (KEN) 2:23:23, Evans Chebet (KEN) 2:08:41Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi pulled off one of the biggest road-running surprises of 2022, winning the New York City Marathon on her debut at the distance and beating many established stars of the sport. Evans Chebet added to his Boston win from earlier in the year.Finishers: 47,839

Valencia – 4 December

Elite field: includes Letesenbet Gidey, Sutume Kebede, Tiki Gelana, Tigist Girma, Etagegne Woldu, Amane Shankule and Tadelech Bekele in the women’s race, and Getaneh Molla, Tamirat Tola, Dawit Wolde, Jonathan Korir, Hiskel Tewelde, Chalu Deso and Gabriel Geay in the men’s race.Places: 30,000

For the masses

It’s not just elite runners who have been able to enjoy top-quality road racing. Events in most corners of the world have been able to stage mass races of some sort in 2022.

That looks set to continue in 2023 too, not just with Label road races but also at World Athletics Series events.

(11/27/2022) Views: 729 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

Gotytom Gebreslase Wins World Marathon Gold in Championship Record

With a strong downhill surge in the 41st kilometer, Gotytom Gebreslase of Ethiopia won the 2022 world marathon title in 2:18:11. The time set a new championship record; the previous mark of 2:20:57 was held by Paula Radcliffe.

Judith Korir of Kenya, who led Gebreslase by half a step for most of the closing miles, finished second in 2:18:18, and Lonah Salpeter of Israel took the bronze medal in 2:20:18.

Sara Hall was the top American finisher, placing fifth in 2:22:10. Emma Bates placed seventh in a personal best of 2:23:18, and U.S. record-holder Keira D’Amato finished eighth in 2:23:34. D’Amato was added to the team at the beginning of the month after Molly Seidel withdrew because of injury. The three ran together through the middle miles until Hall, ninth at halfway, pulled away and started picking off former members of the lead pack.

Today’s 5-7-8 is the best team performance by a U.S. squad, male or female, since the marathon world championship was first run in 1983. They succeeded thanks to just the right mixture of aggressiveness and patience.

“I went out with the leaders, but then I could tell it was a little too fast,” Hall said. “So fortunately I had talked to Emma and Keira and been like,‘Hey, I’d love to work with you guys. I don’t want to mess up your mojo, but if we’re together somewhere I’d love to work together.’ So thankfully Emma and I found each other.

"I was checking our splits and we were running plenty fast out there, so I didn’t really want to run faster than that,” Hall continued. “It was awesome to get to work with [Emma] for so much of the race.”

Bates, who was the top American at Chicago last October, said, “My coach and I had decided that I go out in 70-minute pace for the first half. Which I had never done before, that’s close to my PR for the half marathon. We knew I could be in 2:20 range, fitness-wise.

“I went out with Sara. We were planning on working together before the race, so it was great the first lap to be with each other and then the second lap. Sara took off the later portion of the second lap. So proud of her today for going after it. She really pulled me along that first bit.

“I’m very happy,” Bates continued. “I always want more, we always want more. But to be top 10 in the world is something really really cool, especially on U.S. soil. And to run a PR doing it, it’s something that I won’t forget.”

Well past 30K, Hall was still acknowledging cheering spectators (including Olympian and fellow Flagstaff resident Rachel Schneider).

“I think this is the most fun I’ve ever had in a marathon,” Hall said. “I wanted to smile as much as I could early on, ’cause you know its gonna turn to a grimace eventually. But I was even smiling that last lap. I’m really thankful for everyone that turned out, ’cause I knew that this would be so special. I don’t know if I’ll ever get the opportunity to run a championship like this in the U.S. again.”

How the Race Was Won

Within the opening kilometer, it was obvious that the script for yesterday’s men’s marathon—a huge lead pack running cautiously for the first half—would be ignored. Headed by three Kenyans and three Ethiopians, the leaders took off at 2:17 marathon pace. D’Amato started with the pack but dropped back in the fifth kilometer; in the 12th kilometer, a chase pack led by Bates and Hall caught D’Amato, who then tucked in.

Toward the end of the first of three 14-kilometer loops, the chase pack got within 11 seconds of the leaders. Korir then spurted ahead just before an aid station. That reestablished a quicker tempo for the leaders, and the chase pack’s hope of joining the leaders was permanently ended.

The first significant event occurred in the 19th kilometer, when defending champion Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya stepped off the course, apparently looking for tall grass in which to make a pit stop. Sensing an opportunity, Gebreslase and fellow Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh surged on a downhill stretch. Subsequent kilometers of 3:05 and 3:09 (an average of roughly 5:00 mile pace) pared the group to four. They passed halfway in 69:01; the chase pack, including the three Americans, hit halfway in 70:17.

Toward the end of the second lap, Korir again surged approaching an aid station. Her teammate Angela Tanui briefly lost contact for the second time, clawed her way back, but was then dropped for good. In the 27th kilometer Yeshaneh started grabbing at her side and was left by the eventual gold and silver medalists.

Korir and Gebreslase ran within inches of each other for most of the third lap; the Ethiopian was usually just off of Korir’s right shoulder. Korir occasionally motioned to her rival to either help with the pace or back off a bit. It was hard to tell who was feeling more feisty or fatigued.

Or at least it was until the overpass over Route I-5. After cresting the summit, Gebreslase leaned into the long, gradual descent toward the finish. She almost immediately had two, then three, then five seconds on Korir. Gebreslase, who won Berlin last fall, had judged her effort perfectly. For the second day in a row, an Ethiopian won the world title in a championship record.

(07/18/2022) Views: 1,141 ⚡AMP
by Scott Douglas

World Athletics Championships Oregon22 preview: marathon

Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor, whose career was traumatized in June 2020 when he was hit by a motorbike during a training run and required surgery on a broken tibia, is due to contest his first major championship marathon in Eugene on July 17.

The 29-year-old from Nyen was named on the Kenyan team for the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 along with 33-year-old Lawrence Cherono – who missed a medal by one place in the marathon at last year’s Olympics – and 35-year-old Barnabas Kiptum.

Kamworor, confident and outgoing, was flying high when he had his accident.

Although he had performed to high levels on the track, where he earned 10,000m silver at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, it was on grass and roads that he had excelled, winning the world cross-country senior titles in 2015 and 2017, and world half marathon titles in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

In his first competitive marathon in 2012 he finished third in Berlin in 2:06:12, and he was a consistent presence on the podium at World Majors Marathons thereafter, particularly in New York, where he finished second in 2015, first in 2017, third in 2018 and first again in 2019.

Kamworor ran his first race since the accident in January 2021, winning the Kenyan Police Cross Country Championships before going on to secure a place on Kenya’s Olympic 10,000m team after winning the national trials, only to have to pull out with an ankle injury.

But at the Valencia Marathon last December he was able to perform to the peak of his ability once more as he set a personal best of 2:05:23 in finishing fourth.

At the previous year’s running in Valencia, Cherono was second in a personal best of 2:03:04, putting him eighth on the world all-time list, having made his World Marathon Majors breakthrough in 2019 when he won in Boston in 2:07:57 and then Chicago in 2:05:45.

Like Kamworor, Kiptum also set a personal best last year as he clocked 2:04:17 in placing third at the Milan Marathon and he has a solid top-three record in virtually every race he has contested.

Such is the depth of Kenyan talent that they can name 2017 world champion Geoffrey Kirui as a reserve.

Meanwhile Kenya’s perennial rivals Ethiopia will be looking to their current world champion Lelisa Desisa, who found the way to win in the steamy heat of Doha three years ago, to make the most of his wild card entry to this year’s competition.

Desisa had early track success, winning the African U20 10,000m title in 2009, and he has since become a highly consistent performer at the highest level, achieving podium finishes four times in New York, including victory in 2018, and four times in Boston, where he won in 2013 and 2015.

He also has championship pedigree, having earned world silver in 2013 six years before his Doha gold, and has a personal best from 2013 of 2:04:45.

The formidable talent Ethiopia can call upon was made clear when it was confirmed that Desisa will have as teammates Tamirat Tola, Mosinet Geremew and Seifa Tura.

Tola earned Olympic 10,000m bronze in 2016 and world marathon silver in 2017. He set his personal best of 2:03:38 last year.

Geremew took silver behind Desisa at the 2019 World Championships, having finished second at that year’s London Marathon in 2:02:55, the third-fastest time in history.

Tura set his personal best of 2:04:29 last year in Milan before going on to win the Chicago Marathon in 2:06:12.

Uganda, the rising nation in distance running, earned this title in 2013 thanks to their 2012 Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich. But the 33-year-old hasn’t been selected for Oregon, nor have Stephen Kissa, who ran a national record of 2:04:48 in Hamburg earlier this year, and Victor Kiplangat who was third in the second-fastest time ever by a Ugandan, 2:05:09.

Instead, Filex Chemonges, Fred Musobo and Jackson Kiprop will run the World Championships marathon, according to the Uganda Athletics Federation. So Kiprop, who helped Kiprotich to win the 2013 world title, is back at the World Championships for the first time since 2015.

Kissa, meanwhile, is due to be in Oregon in the 10,000m, where he will run with fellow Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei, the world 5000m and 10,000m record-holder, while Kiplangat is reported to be running the Commonwealth Games marathon.

Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands and Belgium’s Bashir Abdi earned surprise silver and bronze medals respectively at the Olympics last year, but went on to confirm that their performance in Sapporo was anything but a fluke. Abdi set a European record of 2:03:36 to win the Rotterdam Marathon just two months later, while Nageeye was victorious at the Rotterdam Marathon earlier this year in a Dutch record of 2:04:56, finishing ahead of Abdi.

Both men will line up for the marathon in Oregon, only this time it will be less of a surprise if they reach the podium.

The United States will be looking to the highly consistent figure of Galen Rupp. After taking Olympic 10,000m silver in 2012, Rupp moved to the roads and earned Olympic bronze in 2016.

In 2017 he became the first US man to win the Chicago Marathon since 2002 and finished second at the Boston Marathon. He qualified for Oregon by finishing eighth at last year’s Olympics.

The championships will be in Rupp’s home state, in the same city where he made his first Olympic team in 2008 while he was a student at the University of Oregon.

The other US selections are Elkanah Kibet and Colin Mickow. Kibet, who is with the US military, finished 16th at the 2017 World Championships and set a personal best of 2:11:15 in finishing fourth at last year’s New York marathon.

Mickow is a 32-year-old full-time financial analyst for an organic and natural foods distributor who took up road running six years after finishing his college track career. He qualified for his first international vest after being the top US man home at last year’s Chicago Marathon, where he was sixth in 2:13:31.

Japan’s trio of male runners will be headed by Kengo Suzuki, who set a national record of 2:04:56 in February 2021 at the Lake Biwa marathon in Otsu. Daniel Do Nascimento of Brazil has run a 2:04:51 personal best this year and is another one to watch.

The three-loop World Athletics Championships marathon course only varies by about seven meters between its high and low points and the weather is likely to be considerably cooler than it was in Sapporo or Doha, where the men's marathon had to be held at midnight and the start time temperature was 29C/84F with 51% humidity.

Women's marathon

Ruth Chepngetich will defend her marathon title at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 on July 18 by virtue of a wild card.

Chepngetich claimed the first gold medal of the 2019 World Championships, clocking 2:32:43 in the steamy heat to gain her first major gold.

She went on to finish third at the 2020 London Marathon before a roller coaster 2021, when she set a world record of 1:04:02 at the Istanbul Half Marathon, failed to finish the Tokyo 2020 Marathon in Sapporo but then won the Chicago Marathon.

At this year’s Nagoya Women's Marathon she won in 2:17:18, just 10 seconds off her personal best and the second-fastest ever women-only marathon.

She will be joined on the Kenyan team in Oregon by Judith Jeptum and Angela Tanui. Jeptum set a French all-comers’ record of 2:19:48 to win the Paris Marathon this year, while Tanui won the 2021 Amsterdam Marathon in 2:17:57.

Ethiopia will be represented by Gotytom Gebreslase, who won the 2021 Berlin Marathon on her debut and finished third in this year’s Tokyo Marathon in 2:18:18, Ababel Yeshaneh, second at the 2019 Chicago Marathon in a personal best of 2:20:51, and Ashete Bekere, third in last year’s London Marathon in 2:18:18, who has run 2:17:58 this year.

USA’s Keira D’Amato, who broke the North American record when winning January’s Houston Marathon in 2:19:12 – taking 24 seconds off the mark set by Deena Kastor in 2006 – has answered a late call to join the host nation’s team following the withdrawal of Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel.

Seidel has been suffering from a hip injury that forced her to drop out of the Boston Marathon in April and withdrew from the team after being unable to resolve her issue, giving the 37-year-old D’Amato, who only began serious marathon running in 2017, three weeks to prepare, but she is reported to be in “great shape”.

Her teammates will be Emma Bates, runner-up at last year’s Chicago Marathon, and Sara Hall, who finished second at the 2020 London Marathon and third at last year’s Chicago Marathon.

Japan has named Mizuki Matsuda, who has a personal best of 2:20:52, Mao Ichiyama, who has run 2:21:02, and Hitomi Niiya, who has a best of 2:21:17.

Britain will be represented by Rose Harvey, Olympian Jess Piasecki and Charlotte Purdue, who ran a personal best of 2:23:26 in finishing 10th at last year’s London Marathon.

Other names to watch out for are Bahrain’s Eunice Chumba, who ran 2:20:02 in Seoul in April this year, and Israel’s European 10,000m champion Lonah Salpeter, who won the 2020 Tokyo Marathon in 2:17:45 and was going well in the lead group at last year’s Olympic marathon before dropping down to 66th place in the closing stages.

After also dropping out of the 2019 World Championships marathon, Salpeter will be seeking to make the global impact her talent warrants.

Meanwhile Eritrea’s Nazret Weldu, who has run a personal best of 2:21:56 this year, is another one to watch.

(07/11/2022) Views: 1,380 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

Peres Jepchirchir, world’s top marathoner, withdraws from world championships

Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir, who in the last year won the Olympics, New York City and Boston marathons, withdrew from next Monday’s world championships marathon due to a right hip injury, her agent confirmed.

Jepchirchir, a 28-year-old mom, began feeling discomfort last week, according to the Daily Nation.

Last year, Jepchirchir became the first person to win the Olympic and New York City Marathons in a career, doing so in a span of three months. She then added a title in Boston on April 18, cementing her status as the world’s top marathoner.

In Jepchirchir’s absence, the marathon field at worlds in Eugene, Oregon, is led by defending champion Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya and Ethiopians Ababel Yeshaneh (second to Jepchirchir in Boston) and Gotytom Gebreslase (Berlin Marathon champion), plus American record holder Keira D’Amato.

D’Amato replaces Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel, who withdrew two weeks ago, citing a hip injury, an ongoing process seeking a therapeutic use exemption for ADHD medication and a focus on her mental health.

(07/11/2022) Views: 1,024 ⚡AMP
by Olympic Talk

Ethiopia Has Changed Its Team Again for the 2022 Worlds

On Tuesday, the Ethiopian Athletics Federation announced its team for the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene. If this sounds familiar, that’s because Ethiopia already named its team on June 13…and then updated it four days later to sub in Dawit Seyaum after she ran 14:25 to win the Oslo Diamond League.

Tuesday’s list — which the federation says is the final roster (it pretty much has to be, since entries were due to World Athletics on Monday) — features even more changes, which will have a major impact on Worlds, which begin on July 15 at Hayward Field. Remember, at World Indoor Championships earlier this year in Belgrade, Ethiopian athletes won eight of the 12 available medals across the 1500 and 3000 meters — including all four golds and a 1-2-3 sweep in the women’s 1500. The country is a distance powerhouse.

Here is the full roster, with changes, followed by some analysis on what it all means.

Men’s 800 (no changes)Ermiyas GirmaTolosa Bodena

Women’s 800Habitam AlemuDiribe WeltejiHirut Meshesha (1:58.54 sb) replacing Freweyni Hailu (1:59.39 sb)

Men’s 1500Samuel TeferaTaddese Lemi (3:37.06 sb) replacing Melese Nberet (no races this year)Samuel Abate

Women’s 1500Gudaf Tsegay (3:54.21 sb) replacing Axumawit Embaye (3:58.80 sb)Freweyni Hailu (3:58.18 sb, 4th in Olympics) replacing Ayal Dagnachew (3:59.87 sb)Hirut Meshesha

Men’s 3000 steeple (no changes)Lamecha GirmaHailemariyam AmareGetnet Wale

Women’s 3000 steepleMekides AbebeWorkua GetachewSimbo Alemayehu (9:09.17 sb at age 18) replacing Zerfe Wondemagegn (9:27.75 sb)

Men’s 5,000Muktar EdrisBerihu AregawiYomif KejelchaSelemon Barega replacing Telahun Bekele

Women’s 5,000Ejgayehu TayeLetesenbet Gidey (14:24.59 sb) replacing Gudaf Tsegay (14:26.69 sb)Dawit Seyaum (14:25.84 sb) replacing Fantu Worku (14:47.37 sb)

Men’s 10,000Selemon BaregaTadese WorkuBerihu Aregawi (26:46.13 sb) replacing Milkesa Mengesha (27:00.24 sb)

Women’s 10,000Letesenbet GideyEjgayehu Taye (30:44.68 sb) replacing Girmawit Gebrzihair (30:47.72 sb)Bosena Mulate

Men’s marathonLelisa DesisaTamirat TolaMosinet GeremewSeifu Tura

Women’s marathonGotytom GebreslaseAbabel YeshanehAshete Bekere

Quick Takes

1) Ethiopia’s team just got A LOT stronger and Ethiopia went from no one doubling to a lot of doublers

In recent years, Ethiopia has been reluctant to allow its stars to double at global championships. Last year in Tokyo, Ethiopia had two huge 5,000m medal threats in Selemon Barega (Olympic 10,000 champ) and Berihu Aregawi (the 10,000 4th placer who would go on to win the Diamond League 5,000 title) but neglected to enter either in the 5,000 meters. Of the three men Ethiopia did enter, two failed to even make the final and the third, Milkesa Mengesha, wound up 10th.

The federation took criticism after that misstep and it looked as if it would double down in 2022 as the initial team named in June featured no doublers. But the final squad features five athletes double-entered: World Indoor bronze medalist Hirut Meshesha (800/1500) and Ejgayehu Taye (14:12 pb, #5 woman all-time), Letesenbet Gidey (women’s 5k/10k world record holder), Barega and Aregawi, all of whom are running the 5,000 and 10,000.

2) The meet is more interesting with the Ethiopians doubling; the men’s 5,000 final is now totally stacked

The World Championships are meant to be about the best against the best. When a world final is over, we don’t want to be asking ourselves, “What would have happened if Athlete X was in the race?” But that’s absolutely what we were thinking after the 2021 Olympic 5000 final without Barega. And it’s been an issue for a lot longer than that. Only once in his career did Haile Gebrselassie attempt the 5,000/10,000 double at a global champs (1993), in part because there were still prelims in the 10,000 in those days and in part because he didn’t want to tire himself for the lucrative post-championship meets in Europe.

That shouldn’t be an issue in 2022 (and if it is, it won’t have been the fault of the Ethiopian federation) as the distance finals are much stronger with Taye, Gidey, Barega, and Aregawi doubling up. The men’s 5,000 could be an all-timer. Not only do you have Olympic 5,000 champion Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda, but now we have Olympic 10,000 champ Barega stepping down and Olympic 1500 champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen stepping up. It’s reminiscent of one of the most famous races in track history, the 2003 World Championship 5,000 final in Paris which featured Hicham El Guerrouj stepping up from the 1500 and Kenenisa Bekele stepping down from the 10,000 only for both of them to be defeated by an 18-year-old Eliud Kipchoge.

Having Aregawi in the 10,000 makes for a stronger race as well as he was 3rd at the Ethiopian trials in that event and set a Diamond League record for margin for victory when he ran 12:50 to win the Pre Classic 5,000 by 16 seconds.

3) Gudaf Tsegay’s medal odds went up but her gold medal odds went down

Tsegay is pretty clearly the #2 women’s 1500 runner in the world. She won World Indoors by 5+ seconds and is 3+ seconds faster than the #3 1500 woman in the world right now. But she’s also not close to double Olympic champ Faith Kipyegon, who beat her convincingly at Pre, 3:52.59 to 3:54.21.

Initially, Tsegay was entered in the 5,000 at Worlds (she ran the 5,000 only at the Olympics last year, earning the bronze medal) and while there’s no overwhelming favorite in that event like Kipyegon (well at least until we see how Sifan Hassan looks this weekend), Tsegay is not as good at the 5,000 as the 1500 (as evidenced by her defeat to countrywoman Dawit Seyaum in the 5,000 in Oslo). By running the 1500, Tsegay has a better shot at a medal but her odds at gold are worse.

4) It just got a WHOLE LOT harder for the Americans to medal

An American medal in the women’s 5,000 or 10,000 was already unlikely, so the Ethiopian roster changes didn’t make a huge impact on the chances of Karissa Schweizer or Elise Cranny. But the medal odds of Grant Fisher, who finished 5th in the Olympic 10,000 last year, are way lower today than they were a week ago (a statement also true for his US teammates Woody Kincaid and Joe Klecker).

Last Wednesday, two of the four men who finished ahead of Fisher in the 10,000 in Tokyo were major question marks. Bronze medalist Jacob Kiplimo hadn’t raced on the track all year, while Aregawi, the 4th placer, was named to Ethiopia’s team in the 5,000 only. Since then, Kiplimo ran 7:29 for 3,000 in Stockholm to show he’s very fit right now and Aregawi was added to Ethiopia’s 10,000 squad. Plus Barega was added to the 5,000.

Those developments will make it significantly harder for Fisher (or any American man in the 5,000 or 10,000) to earn a medal. That said, if an American can somehow medal, it will go down as a monumental achievement since no one can accuse these fields of being watered down.

Sinclaire Johnson‘s medal hopes in the 1500 also took a BIG hit. With Tsegay now in the 1500, two medals seem to be spoken for and new addition Freweyni Hailu, who was 4th in the Olympics last year at age 20, is better than Ayal Dagnachew (who is no slouch herself, world junior 800 champ last year and 3:59 this year).

5) Ethiopia needs to figure out a better way to do this

One of the most important jobs an athletics federation has is selecting national teams. And for countries that don’t use a “top 3 at the trials” model — which is to say, every country except for the US — things can get prickly as someone, inevitably, is going to be upset they’re missing out on the team.

There are ways to limit the outrage. The simplest solution is the one USATF has already discovered: hold a trials and just pick the top three finishers. Ethiopia actually did this ahead of the Olympics last year. The problem was, they held all the races on the same day, making it impossible for athletes to try out for both the 5,000 and 10,000 teams.

But even if you don’t want to stage a trials, a federation can avoid much of the backlash by announcing a clear criteria ahead of time and sticking to it. You want to pick the team based off season’s bests? Fine. Just let everyone know before the season starts and let them plan their races accordingly. Transparency and consistency are the keys.

Heck, even if you want to be subjective and use a selection panel, you can at least cut down on some of the drama by letting the athletes know in advance that they’ll have to run a few performances to impress the selectors.

What you don’t want to do is announce a team well before the entry deadline (and three days before two key Diamond League meets featuring most of your athletes) only to drastically change it three weeks later. Which is exactly what happened in Ethiopia, leaving athletes like Telahun Bekele (winner of the 5,000 in Oslo) to think they’re on the team only to yank it away less than a month later.

In the end, Ethiopia ended up picking the team by season’s best except in the 10,000, where it staged a trial race (and the top 3 there were the fastest 3 on the year). If it had just used that criteria throughout the year and stuck to it, there would be fewer angry people right now. The athletes deserve better.

(07/08/2022) Views: 1,334 ⚡AMP
by Jonathan Gault

Joyciline Jepkosgei, Brigid Kosgei ready to clash in London Marathon

Defending champion Joyciline Jepkosgei will confront two times champion and world record holder Brigid Kosgei at this year's London Marathon on October 22 in the British capital.

Jepkosgei, who claimed her maiden victory in the British capital in a personal best and eighth fastest time of two hours, 17 minutes and 43 seconds last year, and Kosgei, the 2019 and 2020 winner, are part of the elite field heading for the race.

Jepkosgei became the 10th Kenyan woman to win the London Marathon on her third appearance in 2019.

In the same year, she won the New York Marathon in 2:22:38 and finished second at the Valencia Marathon (2:18:40).

Kosgei, who set the world record of 2:14:04 at the 2019 Chicago Marathon, finished a surprise fourth last year, but bounced back to win this year’s Tokyo Marathon in a world-lead time of 2:16:02.

Jepkosgei, 28, joined the long list of Kenyan athletes who have won the London Marathon; Joyce Chepchumba (2), Tegla Loroupe (1), Margaret Okayo (1), Keitany (3), Prisca Jeptoo (1), Edna Kiplagat (1), Jemima Sumgong (1), Vivian Cheruiyot (1) and Kosgei (2).

“It was a great achievement for me,” said Jepkosgei on the London marathon website.

“It was not an easy race.There were a lot of strong competitors and I stayed with them until there were only a few kilometres left."

“Then I was on my own. It was hard, but the cheerers around me kept me motivated and got me to the end. I was so happy to get to the finish line.”

Jepkosgei’s delight at winning was hard to miss and stayed with her throughout the night:

“I didn’t sleep at all, I was so happy,” she said.

“This achievement will stay with me forever. It was a great achievement and will last a lifetime.”

The other Kenyan in the race is Mary Ngugi, 33, who for the second consecutive time, came third during the Boston Marathon on April 18, but this time around in a personal best of 2:21:32.

The Kenyans will take on the fastest-ever female marathon debutant Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who leads a horde of Ethiopian runners to the London streets.

The 22-year-old Yehualaw is the current 10K world record holder (29:14) and ran 2:17:23 to win the Hamburg Marathon in April, the fastest marathon debut ever.

Ethiopian duo Degitu Azimeraw and Ashete Bekere, who finished second and third last year, also return.

Bekere finished second behind Kosgei at this year’s Tokyo Marathon in a personal best of 2:17:58.

ELITE FIELD

Brigid Kosgei (Ken) 2:14:04 (WR)

Yalemzerf Yehualaw (Eth)2:17:23

Joyciline Jepksogei (Ken)2:17:43

Degitu AZIMERAW (Eth)2:17:58

Ashete BEKERE (Eth) 2:17:58

Joan Chelimo MELLY ROU 2:18:04

Sutume Asefa KEBEDE (Eth) 2:18:12

Alemu MEGERTU (Eth) 2:18:51

Hiwot GEBREKIDAN (Eth) 2:19:10

Ababel YESHANEH (Eth) 2:20:51

Mary NGUGI (Ken) 2:21:32.

(07/06/2022) Views: 1,032 ⚡AMP
by Ayumba Ayodi

Peres Jepchirchir, Senbere Teferi and Sara Hall Headline 50th New York Mini 10K

With one month to go until the 50th anniversary of the Mastercard® New York Mini 10K, New York Road Runners (NYRR) announced today that Olympic, TCS New York City Marathon, and Boston Marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir, United Airlines NYC Half champion and 5K world-record holder Senbere Teferi, and two-time Mastercard® New York Mini 10K champion Sara Hall will headline the professional athlete field for this year’s race.

The Mini 10K, which began in 1972 as the first women-only road race known as the Crazylegs Mini Marathon, has gone on to garner more than 200,000 total finishers to date. Former NYRR President Fred Lebow named the race after the miniskirt, which back then was in vogue. A total of 72 women finished the first race, and three weeks later, Title IX was signed into law, guaranteeing girls and women the right to participate in school sports and creating new opportunities for generations of female athletes.

Jepchirchir, of Kenya, is the only athlete – male or female – to have won the Olympic, New York City, and Boston marathons, and is also a two-time world champion in the half marathon. Last year, she won gold in the Tokyo Olympic marathon by 16 seconds, and then four months later ran the third-fastest time in TCS New York City Marathon history (2:22:39) to win the race in her U.S. debut. In April, in a back-and-forth race that came down to the final mile, she fended off Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh to take the Boston Marathon title in her debut in the event and will now be racing the Mastercard® New York Mini 10K for the first time.

“I have heard about the Mini and how it is a wonderful celebration of women and running,” Jepchirchir said. “It is very important to me that I use my success to inspire young women and girls coming after me. It is very special to be able to return to New York City after my marathon victories in New York and Boston to be a part of the 50th anniversary of this race.”

Teferi, of Ethiopia, is a two-time Olympian, two-time world championships silver medalist, and the 5K world-record holder. Earlier this year, she set both the course and event records at the United Airlines NYC Half, finishing in a time of 1:07:35 to win the race. She followed that up a month later by winning the B.A.A. 5K in a course-record time of 14:49. In her NYRR race debut, Teferi won the 2019 UAE Healthy Kidney 10K with a time of 30:59, breaking the previous course record set in 2014 by Joyce Chepkirui.

“My first race in the United States was in New York City in 2019, and I broke the event record at the Healthy Kidney 10K in Central Park,” Teferi said. “Then, earlier this spring, I broke the event record at the United Airlines NYC Half, again crossing the finish line in Central Park. I cannot promise another record on June 11, but I am happy to return to Central Park for my first Mini 10K, and look forward to be joined by thousands of my sisters-in-running.”

Hall, of the United States, who has 10 national titles to her name, ran what was then an American record-breaking 1:07:15 half marathon at the Houston Half Marathon in January. She was the runner-up at the 2020 London Marathon and that same year clocked what was then the second-fastest marathon ever by an American woman at The Marathon Project. She is the two-time reigning champion of the Mastercard® New York Mini 10K, having won the 2019 event that also served as the USATF 10 km championships and then following it up in 2021 with another victory.

“My three races at the Mini have all aligned with big important milestones in the history of the event: The first time hosting the USA Championships in 2019, the first big NYRR race coming out of the pandemic in 2021, and now the 50th anniversary in 2022,” Hall said. “I’m very aware that many of the opportunities I’ve had as an athlete are because of the groundbreaking work of the women who came before me, and of my duty to inspire the young women who will follow me, including my daughters. I will do everything I can to honor all of them with another top finish on June 11.”

The Mastercard® New York Mini 10K will offer $45,000 in total prize money, including $10,000 to the winner of the open division and $2,500 to the winner of the wheelchair division. The professional athlete races will be streamed live on USATF.TV beginning at 7:40 a.m. ET. Mastercard® will serve as title sponsor of the event for the second time, and as part of its on-going partnership with NYRR will also serve as the presenting sponsor of professional women’s athlete field.

To mark the 50th anniversary, several legends and pioneers of the sport will also be joining the Mastercard® New York Mini 10K race weekend festivities this year, including Jacki Marsh-Dixon, the first Mini 10K champion; Kathrine Switzer, the 1974 New York City Marathon champion who also ran the first Mini 10K; Deena Kastor, Olympic medalist and 2004 Mini 10K champion; and Lynn Blackstone, Pat Barrett, Jane Muhrcke, and Nina Kuscsik, four of the “Six Who Sat” at the 1972 New York City Marathon. Both Switzer and Blackstone will run the Mini 10K again this year.

(05/12/2022) Views: 1,355 ⚡AMP
by Letsrun

Peres Jepchirchir wins Boston in a final sprint and Evans Chebet takes the men's title

 It was not until 1972 that the Boston Marathon’s organizers allowed women to race as official entrants. Before then, those who were brave enough to defy the ban were often jeered or forcibly pulled off the course. Among the rationales cited? That women were “physiologically incapable” of running 26.2 miles.

It all seems so painfully misguided now, of course, but that pockmarked piece of the event’s history was worth remembering Monday as Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya and Ababel Yeshaneh of Ethiopia charged through Kenmore Square, in the shadow of Fenway Park, not far from the finish line. The rest of a decorated women’s field had splintered in their wake, and now Jepchirchir and Yeshaneh went back and forth, trading the lead several times as they staged a memorable duel.

Finally, with one last push, Jepchirchir lengthened her stride to create some separation as she sprinted to the finish, her narrow win coming 50 years after women first vied for Boston Marathon glory. Perhaps the only person surprised by the outcome was Jepchirchir herself.

“I was not expecting to win,” said Jepchirchir, the reigning Olympic champion. “But I’m feeling grateful, and now I can say that I believe in myself more.”

 For the first time since 2019, the Boston Marathon returned to its traditional slot on the calendar. Until the coronavirus pandemic, the marathon had been staged every April since 1897. But in 2020, the race was canceled for the first time in its history. And last year, the race was pushed to October, when it competed for elite entrants with a cluster of other marathons.

Order was restored this year, as a full field of about 30,000 participants — runners, wheelchair racers, para athletes, hand cyclists — formed a giant wave from Hopkinton, Mass., to Boston on a cool, sun-splashed day.

No one shined brighter than Jepchirchir, 28, who finished in 2 hours 21 minutes 1 second, just four seconds ahead of Yeshaneh. Mary Ngugi of Kenya placed third after running a smart race: She knew enough to pace herself when Jepchirchir and Yeshaneh pounded the gas, blowing away the field.

“I’m glad I didn’t follow them and just die,” Ngugi said.

Establishing herself as the most formidable female marathoner on the planet, Jepchirchir has now won her last five marathons and three in the last eight months: After surviving extraordinarily hot conditions to win at the Tokyo Games in August, Jepchirchir won the New York City Marathon in November. Now, after another triumph, she is already looking ahead.

“I still have more to do,” she said.

Kenyans swept the men’s podium. Evans Chebet, 33, won his first world marathon major when he broke clear of a large pack, finishing in 2:06:51. Lawrence Cherono was second, and Benson Kipruto, last year’s winner, was third.

The pack began to dissolve behind Chebet after he covered the 22nd mile in 4:27, a preposterous tempo. Crushing his opposition only seemed to spur him forward.

“My counterparts were nowhere close to me,” he said through a translator, “and that gave me the motivation and the determination to hit it off and seize the win.”

On Monday, fortune largely favored the brave — but not everyone. CJ Albertson, a 28-year-old Californian who trains for marathons by doing marathons, pushed the pace from the start.

“My only chance to really win or be up there in the top is to kind of break some people,” he said. “I had the mind-set that I’m invincible, and you kind of have to run like that.”

The problem: “There are limits,” he said.

Albertson faded to a 13th-place finish in 2:10:23, which was still a personal best. Scott Fauble, 30, was the top American man, in seventh. “I think I do well with hills,” he said.

Molly Seidel, a crowd favorite and a former Boston-area resident, struggled in her Boston debut, dropping out at Mile 16. She said in a statement that she had been dealing with a hip injury.

“I had to make the difficult call to stop at a medical tent to avoid really damaging anything,” she said.

Seidel, the bronze medalist in the women’s marathon at the Tokyo Games, was coming off a fourth-place finish at the New York City Marathon with broken ribs.

Nell Rojas was the fastest American woman, finishing 10th in 2:25:57.

Manuela Schӓr of Switzerland won the women’s wheelchair race, cruising to her fourth victory in the event, and Daniel Romanchuk of the United States won the men’s title for a second time in Boston.

Many runners were drawn to this year’s race by the opportunity to accomplish a one-of-a-kind feat: running back-to-back Boston Marathons mere months apart.

“It feels almost a little bit too soon,” said Joyce Lee, who was running her sixth Boston Marathon after serving as guide for a visually impaired runner in the October race.

Many were also grateful for the chance to compete on the 50th anniversary of women’s official inclusion in the marathon. “It’s incredible to think that was a thing back then and women had to work so hard to participate in this event,” said Christine Valdes, 46. “They paved the way for us.”

Sport is seldom immune from global politics, and this year’s marathon was no different. Amid the war in Ukraine, runners from Russia and Belarus were barred from competing by the Boston Athletic Association, which organizes the race. (Citizens of Russia and Belarus who are residents of other countries were still allowed to take part.)

And there were, as always, reminders of the terror that tore through the marathon nine years ago. Henry Richard, 20, crossed the finish line at 2:52 p.m., and the timing could not have been more poignant: It was around that time in 2013 when two bombs exploded and killed his 8-year-old brother, Martin, and two other people, and wounded 264 others.

“I know Martin would have been doing it with me,” Richard said after the race on Monday. “That’s all I could think about.”

Richard finished in 4:02:20. “I did it for both of us, and my sister and the rest of our family,” he said. “I couldn’t be more happy now. I’m going to do it again.”

In her own subtle way, Jepchirchir offered a counterpoint to some of the world’s divisions. In the race’s late stages, she and Yeshaneh appeared to work together to extend their lead. At one point, Jepchirchir offered Yeshaneh some of her water.

It all seemed straight from the Jepchirchir playbook. Consider her performance in New York last year, when she encouraged Viola Cheptoo, a fellow Kenyan, to stick with her as they entered Central Park side by side. Jepchirchir eventually pulled away, but Cheptoo lauded her sportsmanship.

On Monday, it was more of the same, all those years after eight women broke the gender barrier by racing against more than a thousand men.

“I love my competitors,” Jepchirchir said, “because I can’t do it by myself.”

(04/18/2022) Views: 1,123 ⚡AMP
by New York Times

Kenyans Evans Chebet, Peres Jepchirchir win men's and women's titles

Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir outlasted Ethiopia's Ababel Yeshaneh in the final stretch down Boylston Street to capture the women's crown at the Boston Marathon on Monday.

The Kenyan star crossed the finish line in two hours 21 minutes and one second, four seconds ahead of Yeshaneh, who dueled with Jepchirchir in the final few hundred meters. Jepchirchir's win gave Kenya both the men's and women's titles as Evans Chebet topped the men's race in 2:06:51 — his first major marathon win.

He led a 1-2-3 finish for Kenya with countrymen Lawrence Cherono second in 2:07:21 and Benson Kipruto, the defending champion, third in 2:07:27.

The fastest Americans have crossed the finish line: Scott Fauble finished seventh among the men in 2 hours 8 minutes 52 seconds and Nell Rojas came in 10th among the women at 2:25:57.

American Daniel Romanchuk, who captured Boston in 2019, won the men's wheelchair event in 1:26:58. Defending champion Marcel Hug of Switzerland pulled out just before the start of the race due to medical reasons.

On the women's wheelchair side, Manuela Schar of Switzerland captured her fourth Boston title in 1:41:08.

The marathon returned to its traditional Patriot's Day timeslot after a three-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The in-person event was canceled in 2020 for the first time in history. It returned in 2021 but was held in October with a smaller field of around 20,000 runners. More than 30,000 competitors were registered for Monday's event.

(04/18/2022) Views: 1,032 ⚡AMP

Jacob Kiplimo and Girmawit Gebrzihair break course records in Ras Al Khaimah

Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo and Ethiopia’s Girmawit Gebrzihair ran course records to win the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon on Saturday (19), clocking 57:56 and 1:04:14 respectively during another fast edition of the World Athletics Elite Label road race.

Kiplimo had gone into the race targeting his own world record of 57:31, which he set in Lisbon in November. The 21-year-old world half marathon champion, who finished third in the 10,000m and fifth in the 5000m at the Tokyo Olympics last year, was on blistering pace for much of the race, recording a split of 13:23 for 5km and then going through 10km in 26:56 – on target for a sub-57:00 half marathon. By that point he was 16 seconds ahead of Kenya’s Rodgers Kwemoi, with a group including Kenneth Kiprop Renju, Alexander Mutiso, Daniel Kibet, Amedework Walelegn, Abel Kipchumba, Seifu Tura and Kennedy Kimutai another six seconds back.

Kiplimo’s pace dropped slightly over the next 5km but he still passed 15km in 40:43, a time which beats the world 15km best of 41:05 which had been set by his compatriot Joshua Cheptegei in Nijmegen in 2018. Although the world half marathon record seemed to be moving out of reach, Kiplimo went through the 20km mark in 54:53, 33 seconds ahead of Kwemoi, before crossing the finish line in 57:56 to win by 34 seconds.

The fifth-fastest half marathon in history, it is the third occasion that Kiplimo has broken 58 minutes for the distance, a time that only three other athletes – Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie, Rhonex Kipruto and Mutiso – have ever achieved.

The top six athletes all beat the previous course record of 58:42, which had been set by Bedan Karoki in 2018 and then matched by Stephen Kiprop in 2019. Kenya’s world 10,000m fourth-place finisher Kwemoi was second in 58:30, which moves him to 11th on the world all-time list, while his compatriot Renju was third in 58:35.

Ethiopia’s Tura was one second back in fourth, with his compatriot Walelegn fifth in 58:40 and Kenya’s Kibet sixth in 58:45. Mutiso and Kipchumba also dipped under 60 minutes, running 58:48 and 59:47 respectively.

Gebrzihair wins on debut

Gebrzihair made a successful start to her half marathon career in the women's race, her course record of 1:04:14 being the second-fastest ever women’s debut for the distance behind Letesenbet Gidey’s world record of 1:02:52 run in Valencia in October.

The 20-year-old Gebrzihair, who claimed world U20 5000m bronze in 2018 and recently finished second in the Great Ethiopian Run 10km, was joined by athletes including Kenya’s two-time world 5000m champion Hellen Obiri and Sheila Chepkirui as well as Ethiopia’s Bosena Mulate in an eight-strong group which went through 5km in 15:12. That pack was down to five athletes by the 10km point, which Gebrzihair, Obiri, Mulate, Chepkirui and Kenya’s Judith Jeptum passed in 30:28.

Obiri, Gebrzihair and Chepkirui then broke away and went through 15km together in 45:50, before Chepkirui was dropped and the leaders clocked 1:01:04 through 20km. Gebrzihair kicked over the closing stages to secure success on her debut, eventually winning by eight seconds in 1:04:14 to Obiri’s 1:04:22. Chepkirui was third in 1:04:36 and the top three in Ras Al Khaimah now respectively sit fourth, fifth and seventh on the world all-time list.

Jeptum finished fourth in 1:05:28 and Mulate fifth in 1:05:46. In sixth, Britain’s Eilish McColgan ran 1:06:26 to break Paula Radcliffe's national record of 1:06:47, which had stood since 2001.

Kenya’s Daisy Cherotich, Bahrain’s Eunice Chebichii Chumba and Kenya's Pauline Esikon were all also under 68 minutes, with respective times of 1:06:33, 1:07:22 and 1:07:50. Yeshaneh was also in action but after passing 15km in 46:08, the former world record-holder did not finish the race.

The performance improves on the 1:04:31 course record – then a world record – set by Ababel Yeshaneh the last time the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon was held in 2020.

(02/19/2022) Views: 1,316 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

Abel Kipchumba, Brigid Kosgei among marquee names for the 2022 RAK Half Marathon

A stellar line-up of world-class runners will be a part of the 2022 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon on February 19 (Saturday) as organisers Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) Tuesday revealed the race route and technical sponsors.

Vying for top spot in the world’s fastest half marathon is Kenya’s Abel Kipchumba and Brigid Kosgei, who will both compete against recently announced international elite athletes Jacob Kiplimo, and reigning champion of the 2020 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, Ababel Yeshaneh.

With a goal of bettering her personal best time of 1:04:49, current Marathon world record holder Kosgei is an experienced and highly sought after runner and makes an excellent addition to the impressive elite line up confirmed so far. Kosgei’s achievements include second place in Olympic Games, first place in both the 2020 and 2019 London Marathon and second place in the 2020 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon.

Joining Kosgei is male elite athlete, Abel Kipchumba, who famously secured the second fastest time in the 2021 Half Marathon distance category, with an incredible personal best of 58:07.

Looking to beat his personal best time, Kipchumba is expected to deliver an exciting competition and add to a series of world-class records which includes first place at the 2021 Valencia Half Marathon and 2021 Adizero Road to Records, and second place in the 2020 Napoli City Half Marathon.

The race will once again return to the stunning Marjan Island, set against the picturesque backdrop of the Arabian Gulf, treating all athletes to pristine views of the nature-based Emirate’s white sandy beaches and shimmering coastline.

(01/21/2022) Views: 1,127 ⚡AMP

Kenyan duo of Peres Jepchirchir, Albert Korir win 50th edition of New York City Marathon

Peres Jepchirchir pulled off a historic double Sunday.

Three months after she won gold at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Jepchirchir turned around and won the 50th edition of the New York City Marathon, emerging from a pack of three in the final mile to cross the finish line in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 39 seconds.

The 28-year-old Kenyan is the first woman to win Olympic gold in the marathon, then win a major fall marathon thereafter.

Meanwhile, countryman Albert Korir won the men's race in dominant fashion, with a time of 2:08:22.

While Korir separated himself from the rest of the field by Mile 20, the women's race proved to be much tighter, with three women neck-and-neck entering the final mile.  Viola Cheptoo ended up finishing second, followed by Ababel Yeshaneh of Ethiopia in third.

Cheptoo, the younger sister of retired American marathoner Bernard Lagat, shared a moment with her brother after the race; Lagat was working as a commentator for ESPN's television coverage of the event.

Molly Seidel, who won a surprising bronze at the Tokyo Olympics over the summer, was the highest-placing American in the women's field. The 27-year-old finished fourth with a time of 2:24:42.

Elkanah Kibet, who also placed fourth, was the top American finisher on the men's side with a time of 2:11:15.

Sunday's race marked the 50th running of the New York City Marathon. The event initially consisted of 127 people running laps around Central Park in 1970, with a $1 entry fee. It has since blossomed into one of the largest and most iconic marathons in the world.

Reigning Paralympic champion Marcel Hug of Switzerland dominated the men's wheelchair race, besting the rest of the field by more than six minutes with a time of 1:31:24. Madison de Rozario of Australia also followed up a Paralympic gold with a win in New York, cruising to victory in the women's wheelchair race in 1:51:01. 

(11/07/2021) Views: 1,075 ⚡AMP

World marathon champion, Ruth Chepng’etich, will headline the women’s race in Sunday’s Chicago Marathon.

Ruth Chepng´etich will team up with 2021 Copenhagen Marathon bronze medallist Vivian Kiplagat in the third race in the 2021 World Marathon Majors (WMM) series.

And Kiplagat, who will be competing outside the country for the first time this year, has predicted a good race.

“We don’t know how things will unfold on Sunday, but the target remains to run well and beat the quality field,” Kiplagat, who trains at Kapsait Athletics Training Camp in Elgeyo Marakwet alongside world marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei, told Nation Sport at the Eldoret International Airport on Friday before flying out to Chicago.

Chepng'etich, who ran the marathon at the 2020 Tokyo  Olympic Games in August but dropped out mid-way through the race, will be seeking redemption in Chicago on Sunday as she takes on 2020 London Marathon second-placed runner, Sara Hall.

Chepng'etich rose to the limelight when she won 2017 Istanbul Marathon in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 36 seconds. She then finished second in 2018 Paris Marathon (2:22:59).

In 2019, she retained the  Istanbul Marathon title in a course record time of 2:18:35, and went on to win the 2019 Dubai Marathon in a personal best time of 2:17:08.

Chepng’etich then ended the season in style, winning the marathon race at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in 2:32:43 in Doha.

Last year, she finished third in the London Marathon behind fellow Kenyan Brigid Kosgei who won the race and Hall.

She went on to run in a world record time of 64:02 in victory at the 2021 Istanbul Half Marathon in April.

In the 2019 edition, Brigid Kosgei won the Chicago Marathon in a world record time of 2:14:04 ahead of Ethiopians Ababel Yeshaneh (2:20:51) and Gelete Burka (2:20:55) who were in second and third respectively.

(10/07/2021) Views: 1,229 ⚡AMP
by Bernard Rotich

World Marathon champ Ruth Chepng'etich eyes stellar Olympics show

Last month, Chepng'etich tore the field apart to win the Instanbul Half Marathon in one hour, four minutes and one second (1:04:02), smashing the previous world record held by Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh by 29 seconds. 

Speaking Thursday at the Athletics Kenya offices, Nairobi after receiving the LG/Sports Journalist Association of Kenya (SJAK) Sports Personality of the Month Award for April, Chepng'etich is confident of a good outing at the Summer Games.

"I resumed training last week with focus on Olympics and so far I'm doing great. I really don't want to look at who I will be competing against, but I'm focusing on myself. With hardwork, discipline and dedication, everything is possible.It's always such a great feeling when your efforts are recognised. This award is timely and a great motivation ahead of the Olympics," a visibly jubilant Chepng'etich said.

The 26-year-old received a state-of-the-art LG Artificial Intelligence (AI) DD washing machine worth Sh92,000.

Veteeran coach Julius Kirwa said that he was closely following Chepng'etich's training program and remained optimistic of good results in Tokyo.

Chepng’etich beat Equator Rally winner Carl "Flash" Tundo, Eliud Kipchoge, who won the NN Mission Marathon in Enschede, Holland in 2:04.30 and Kenya Ports Authority Libero Sam Juma to the award.

Other nominees were Meldine Sande, who led Kenya Prisons women's volleyball team to third position at the African Clubs Championship in Tunisia and rugby star Daniel Taabu, who scored 7 tries for Kenya Sevens at the Emirates Invitational in Dubai.

Chepng’etich joins the growing list of sportsmen and women to have won the coveted title this season.

Other winners are tennis superstar Angela Okutoyi (January), basketballer Tylor Okari Ongwae of Kenya Moran's (February) and boxer Elly Ajowi (March).

LG Electronics Corporate Communications manager Maureen Kemunto noted that the company is proud to be a part of an initiative which rewards excellence.

"Our partnership with SJAK goes a long way in bolstering athletes talent and empowering them to be the backbone of sports in the country. Being an Olympic year, sports personalities are giving their all to uphold higher standards hence the need to motivate their efforts"

SJAK President Chris Mbaisi, on his part, thanked LG Electronics for their unswerving support, saying the partnership continues to make a gigantic difference in the promotion of sporting activities across the country.

(05/06/2021) Views: 1,198 ⚡AMP

World half-marathon record falls to Ruth Chepngetich in Istanbul

Istanbul race promised fast times due to red-hot line up and it delivered despite damp conditions

Ruth Chepngetich took almost half a minute off the women’s world half-marathon record in Istanbul on Sunday (April 4).

The Kenyan, who won the world marathon title in the heat and humidity of Doha in 2019, clocked 64:02 for the 13.1-mile distance as she smashed the 64:31 mark held by Ababel Yeshaneh of Ethiopia.

The 26-year-old is certainly familiar with the roads of Istanbul. She has now won the city’s half-marathon three times and in 2018 she ran 2:18:35 to win the Istanbul Marathon.

Yeshaneh’s world record was set at the RAK Half in February last year. That race was called off this year due to the coronavirus, which effectively meant many of the leading entrants competed in Istanbul instead.

Racing less than 24 hours after Beth Potter ran the fastest ever 5km on the roads at the Podium 5km in Lancashire, Chepngetich drew away from a strong field in Istanbul in damp and cool conditions.

The event featured a mass participation field and also inline skaters and saw the runners tackling the distance on the banks of the Bosphorus on a wet morning in Turkey.

Not only was Chepngetich’s time a world record, too, but it was quicker than the fastest-ever half-marathon set on the roads – the 64:28 by Brigid Kosgei on a Great North Run course that is disallowed for record purposes.

Runner-up Yalemrzew Yehualaf clocked 64:40 to go No.3 on the world all-time lists while Hellen Obiri, the world cross-country champion, clocked 64:51 on her debut, making this the first time three women had broken the 65-minute barrier in the same race.

Joan Chelimo Melly was fourth in 65:09 and world marathon record-holder Kosgei fifth in 66:01 as the top seven broke 67 minutes.

The eagerly-anticipated men’s race head to head between Kibiwott Kandie beats Geoffrey Kamworor, meanwhile, saw Kandie take the win by three seconds in 59:35 as he gradually drew away from his rival in the closing stages.

The runners were well outside Kandie’s men’s world record of 57:32 but Kandie’s time was a course record and the top five men broke the one-hour mark.

 

(04/04/2021) Views: 1,613 ⚡AMP

World Records in danger at Istanbul Half Marathon Sunday

Super-strong fields tackle 13.1 miles in Turkish city on Sunday with Hellen Obiri, Brigid Kosgei, Peres Jepchirchir, Kibiwott Kandie and Geoffrey Kamworor among the entries

World records could fall at the Istanbul Half Marathon on Sunday (April 4) due to the red-hot line-ups that have been assembled.

The women’s race features marathon world record-holder Brigid Kosgei, world half-marathon gold medallist Peres Jepchirchir and world cross-country and 5000m champion Hellen Obiri.

Whereas the men’s race sees world half-marathon record-holder Kibiwott Kandie against former world record-holder Geoffrey Kamworor.

Obiri makes her half-marathon debut and she could hardly have picked a tougher first race.

In addition to Kosgei and Jepchirchir, the Kenyan faces world marathon champion Ruth Chepngetich, plus Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw, Melat Kejeta of Germany and Yasemin Can of Turkey.

All eyes will be on Kandie and Kamworor in the men’s race but watch out too for Ethiopia’s Amdework Walelegn and Uganda’s Stephen Kissa plus Turkey’s Kaan Kigen Ozbilen.

Kandie and Kamworor were due to have a much-anticipated showdown at the RAK Half on February 19 but it was called off due to the pandemic.

If conditions are good Kandie’s world record of 57:32 – which was set in Valencia in December – will be under threat, whereas the women’s world record of 64:31 held by Ababel Yeshaneh is also in danger.

The races start 10am local time on Sunday April 4.

(04/03/2021) Views: 1,372 ⚡AMP
by Athletics Weekly

Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon has been postponed to 2022

Stacked fields had been announced for the February 19 event but it will no longer take place this year

There will be no Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon this year, with organisers confirming that the 15th edition which had been scheduled for February 19 will now take place in 2022.

Stacked fields including three-time world half-marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor, world half-marathon record-holder Kibiwott Kandie, world half-marathon champion Jacob Kiplimo, world half-marathon record-holder Ababel Yeshaneh (pictured), world marathon record-holder Brigid Kosgei and two-time world 5000m champion Hellen Obiri had been announced for the event.

‘Elite bubble’ procedures had been put in place for the race in Ras Al Khaimah, which is the northernmost emirate of the United Arab Emirates, because of the pandemic.

It had also been set to include a 500-strong mass event, however the ever-changing pandemic situation has forced a rethink.

“After careful consideration, we have taken the decision to postpone the 15th edition of the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, which was set to take place on February 19th, 2021 on Al Marjan Island, to 2022,” the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority said in a statement.

“This is a necessary measure to protect the wellbeing of our participants, spectators and staff in light of the ever-evolving situation. All registered participants will receive a refund, as per the cancellation policy and, as gesture of gratitude and a thank you for ongoing support, all UAE registered runners will receive their race pack and race medal.

“The safety of all visitors to Ras Al Khaimah remains our utmost priority and we are very grateful for the understanding and support of the event participants at this time. We hope any participants who planned to stay in Ras Al Khaimah will continue to enjoy the diverse beach, adventure and culture offer in the Emirate.”

(02/03/2021) Views: 1,269 ⚡AMP
by Athletics Weekly

5000m champion Hellen Obiri added to Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon line-up

Obiri, who won world titles at 5000m and cross country in 2019, will be making her half marathon debut. The Kenyan has limited road running experience, but her few outings to date have been promising; she clocked 29:59 for 10km on Madrid’s downhill course at the end of 2018.

World half marathon silver medallist Melat Kejeta of Germany and world marathon bronze medallist Helalia Johannes are the other recent top additions to the field, and they will face a formidable line-up of stars, as previously announced by the organisers.

World marathon champion Ruth Chepngetich, who recently set a half marathon PB of 1:05:06, will make her Ras Al Khaimah debut. Peres Jepchirchir, who won the world half marathon title last October in a women-only world record of 1:05:16, will return to the scene of her 2017 triumph when she set a world record of 1:05:06.

The three fastest women in history – world record-holder Ababel Yeshaneh, Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw and marathon world record-holder Brigid Kosgei – will also line up in Ras Al Khaimah.

Yeshaneh and Kosgei have clashed twice to date, both races resulting in world records. Their first duel came at the 2019 Chicago Marathon, which Kosgei won in a world record of 2:14:04 while Yeshaneh placed second in 2:20:51. Just four months later, Yeshaneh levelled the score by winning in Ras Al Khaimah in a world record of 1:04:31. Kosgei was runner-up in 1:04:49, the second-fastest time in history.

Yehualaw, meanwhile, finished third at the recent World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, just a few seconds behind Jepchirchir. Six weeks later, she won the New Delhi Half Marathon in 1:04:46, the second-fastest time in history.

USA’s Sara Hall, who placed second at this year’s London Marathon, and South Africa’s Gerda Steyn are also in the field.

(01/26/2021) Views: 1,283 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

World marathon champion Ruth Chepng’etich hopes to end a coronavirus ravaged season lining up for the San Silvestre Vallecana

World marathon champion Ruth Chepng’etich hopes to end a coronavirus ravaged season on a high on the last day of the year when she lines up for the San Silvestre Vallecana 10-kilometer road Thursday night.

Chepng’etich will be up against Ethiopia’s World Half Marathon bronze medalist Yalemzerf Yehualaw among other invited athletes.

The two last met in October during the New Delhi Half Marathon where Yalemzerf bagged victory in one hour, four minutes and 46 seconds with Chepng’etich second in 1:05.06 and Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh third in 1:05.21.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way races are organized and today’s race in the Spanish city is no exception.

Elite athletes are the only ones who will compete with this years’ race on a 2.5-kilometer loop “bubble” at Ensanche de Vallecas, as one way of protecting the athletes with the possibility of mingling with the public.

Olympic dream

The women’s race will start at 8.30pm Kenyan time with the men’s race going off one hour later with Chepng’etich seeking to wrestle the title currently held by Ethiopia after Hellen Bekele Tola won the race last year.

“It has been a difficult year for athletes but I’m happy because this is my third race and I will be running my own race. I have prepared well and I will be expecting a good competition eyeing a place in the podium,” said Chepng’etich.

“It’s my dream to compete in the Olympic Games and I have to start preparing early. I’m just using these races for speed work as we wait for next year which we hope things will ease off.”

In Italy, five Kenyan women will line up for Boclassic 10-kilometre road race with a different course expected to be used due to Covid-19 restrictions. World 5,000 metres silver medalist Margaret Chelimo leads compatriots who include Janet Kisa, Norah Tanui, Dorcas Tuitoek and Gloria Kite in the city of Bolozano.

(12/31/2020) Views: 1,085 ⚡AMP
by Bernard Rotich

Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Kenya’s Daniel Simiu poised to strike in Madrid

The 56th edition of the San Silvestre Vallecana will be held, as is tradition, on New Year’s Eve in Madrid, but this year there have been some significant changes to the World Athletics Gold Label road race.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers have been forced to design a new circuit and so the race won’t start alongside Real Madrid’s famous Santiago Bernabeu stadium, nor will it finish in the stadium of another Spanish first division football club, Rayo Vallecano. Instead, competitors will have to cover four laps of a flat 2.5km circuit, meaning – unlike previous years when the race was held on a slightly downhill course – performances will be record-eligible.

The mass race, which often attracts about 40,000 runners, has been cancelled and only the elite contests will be held with separate starts for men and women.

The showdown between Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich in the women’s race promises to be one of the highlights of the evening.

Yehualaw is in the form of her life. After taking bronze at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020, the 21-year-old Ethiopian stormed to a 1:04:46 victory over the same distance in New Delhi in late November, beating Chepngetich in the process. Yehualaw now sits second on the world all-time list behind compatriot Ababel Yeshaneh, while Chepngetich, the world marathon champion, emerged from New Delhi with a lifetime best of 1:05:06.

Yehualaw’s fastest clocking in a standalone 10km race is 31:55, recorded more than a year ago at altitude in Addis Ababa. It’s worth noting, however, that she recorded 30:49 and 30:43 for the two 10km sections in New Delhi.

Chepngetich, meanwhile, has an official PB of 31:12 and she recorded 30:57 on Madrid’s downhill course last year. She, too, passed through the first 10km in New Delhi in 30:49.

Ethiopia’s Likina Amebaw, a 32:55 performer over 10km, is expected to battle with top Spaniards Lucía Rodríguez and Irene Sánchez-Escribano in the hunt for a place on the podium.

The men’s race features Olympic 5000m silver medallist Paul Chelimo. Having finished fourth and second at the World Athletics Cross Country Permit meetings in Elgoibar and Seville respectively in January, the 30-year-old US distance runner will compete in Spain for the third time this year.

His most recent outing was a cross-country race in November in Terre Haute where he finished second. His last completed race before that was the 3000m at the US Indoor Championships, which he won. Chelimo’s main aim in Madrid will be to break the US 10km record of 27:48, co-held by Bernard Lagat and Mark Nenow. The continental record of 27:41, held by Mexico’s Arturo Barrios, could also be within his sights.

Kenya’s Daniel Simiu Ebenyo appears to be the most in-form athlete heading into the race. The 25-year-old set a big 10km PB of 27:18 in Berlin in September to move to fourth on this season’s list.

Burundi’s Thierry Ndikumwenayo, who finished ninth at the 2019 World Cross in Aarhus, is also one to watch. He has recently enjoyed a one-month training stint in Tenerife in the company of Italian 3000m and 5000m record-holder Yemaneberhan Crippa.

Many of the top Spaniards will be in Madrid, headed by Ouassim Oumaiz, Toni Abadía, Javier Guerra, Fernando Carro, Ayad Lamdassem and Yago Rojo. Oumaiz improved to 13:13.14 over 5000m this summer, Abadía holds the national 10km record at 27:48, Guerra is fresh from a 1:01:21 PB at the Valencia Half Marathon, European steeplechase silver medallist Carro clocked 27:46 last month at a downhill event in Alcobendas, 39-year-old Lamdassem is the newly-minted Spanish marathon record-holder with a 2:06:35 clocking in Valencia, and Rojo is a newcomer to the elite, having run under 2:10 on his marathon debut earlier this month.

(12/30/2020) Views: 1,541 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

Fresh from winning Valencia Marathon with a course record, Evans Chebet is looking towards the Olympic Games

Chebet, who edged out experience marathoners like Boston and Chicago Marathon champion Lawrence Cherono for the title, said his focus has now shifted to the Olympic Games.

“Running at the Olympic Games will be good achievement for me. It has been a long journey and making the marathon team will be a dream come true for me,” he added.

The Elgeyo Marakwet-based runner returned home after winning Valencia 42km race in a personal best time of of 2:03:00 ahead of compatriot Cherono (2:03:04) and Ethiopian Birhanu Legese (2:04:53), who completed the podium. 

“It will be good if the team is named early to ensure we start our preparations on time. If I can make the team, I assure Kenyans that I will  return with a medal,” added Chebet, who competed alongside world marathon bronze medalist Amos Kipruto.

“I look forward to competing for my country at the Olympics Games after a good break and my prayer is that Athletics Kenya names the team early," said a jubilant Chebet. He said his biggest worry in Valencia was Legese but he is happy he shook him off.

Amos Kipruto, who has dominated in many marathons across the world, was named alongside Eliud Kipchoge and Lawrence Cherono in the Olympic Games marathon team.

“I managed to run my personal best because that was my target and I still believe I will be joining Team Kenya to the Tokyo show. The team that ran in Valencia was the best and we hope the federation will take note,” said Kipruto.

In 2019, Kandie 42:39 edged Kiplimo (43:00) in the San Silvestre Road Race in Brazil. Other entrants in men's category include Alexander Mutiso Munyao, Ethiopian Mosinet Geremew, Japan-based Bedan Karoki and Stephen Kiprop, winner of the 2019 edition. 

Geremew won the Dubai Marathon in 2018 and came second in the London Marathon in 2019 with a time of 2.02.55, clocking the 4th fastest time ever in that distance.

Meanwhile, Mutiso recently placed 4th in Valencia in 57.59 and was runner-up in the men’s 2020 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in 59:16.

In the women's category, World Half Marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir will battle against World marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei and 2019 World marathon champion Ruth Chepngetich.

Jepchirchir has fond memories of the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, where she set her personal best time of 1:05.06 in 2017 on her way to victory.  Chepngetich recently clocked a remarkable time of 1.05.06 at the New Delhi Half Marathon.

At the 20th Dubai Marathon in 2019, she won in a course record breaking time of 2.17.08, securing the world’s 4th best marathon time ever. Ethiopia's Ababel Yeshaneh will also be in contention.

(12/18/2020) Views: 1,447 ⚡AMP
by Emmanuel Sabuni

World Half Marathon record holder Kandie Kibiwott and world defending champion Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda will face off at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in February next year

Kandie and  Kiplimo to renew rivalry in Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon.

The two are fast becoming rivals in the 21km race having faced off several times this year. 

In their latest meet-up on December 6, the Kenyan emerged top after clocking a world record 57:32 to finish ahead of Kiplimo at the Valencia Marathon. 

Kandie's win was revenge for his loss at the hands of the Ugandan at October's World Half marathon Championships in Gydnia, Poland where the latter crossed the finish line in in 58:49 — five seconds ahead of Kandie. 

In 2019, Kandie 42:39 edged Kiplimo (43:00) in the San Silvestre Road Race in Brazil. Other entrants in men's category include Alexander Mutiso Munyao, Ethiopian Mosinet Geremew, Japan-based Bedan Karoki and Stephen Kiprop, winner of the 2019 edition. 

Geremew won the Dubai Marathon in 2018 and came second in the London Marathon in 2019 with a time of 2.02.55, clocking the 4th fastest time ever in that distance.

 Meanwhile, Mutiso recently placed 4th in Valencia in 57.59 and was runner-up in the men’s 2020 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in 59:16.

In the women's category, World Half Marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir will battle against World marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei and 2019 World marathon champion Ruth Chepngetich.

Jepchirchir has fond memories of the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon, where she set her personal best time of 1:05.06 in 2017 on her way to victory.  Chepngetich recently clocked a remarkable time of 1.05.06 at the New Delhi Half Marathon.

At the 20th Dubai Marathon in 2019, she won in a course record breaking time of 2.17.08, securing the world’s 4th best marathon time ever. Ethiopia's Ababel Yeshaneh will also be in contention.

(12/18/2020) Views: 1,372 ⚡AMP
by William Njuguna

World champions Ruth Chepngetich and Peres Jepchirchir added to Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon line-up

The fields for the Ras Al Khamimah Half Marathon continue to go from strength to strength with world champions Peres Jepchirchir and Ruth Chepngetich being added to the line-up for the World Athletics Gold Label road race on 19 February 2021.

World marathon champion Chepngetich, who recently set a half marathon PB of 1:05:06, will be making her Ras Al Khaimah debut. Jepchirchir, who won the world half marathon title in October in a women-only world record of 1:05:16, will return to the scene of her 2017 triumph when she set a world record of 1:05:06.

But the Kenyan will be up against the three fastest women in history when she lines up in Ras Al Khaimah. World record-holder Ababel Yeshaneh, Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw and marathon world record-holder Brigid Kosgei will also be returning to the United Arab Emirates in February.

Yeshaneh and Kosgei have clashed twice to date, both races resulting in world records. Their first duel came at the 2019 Chicago Marathon, which Kosgei won in a world record of 2:14:04 while Yeshaneh placed second in 2:20:51. Just four months later, Yeshaneh levelled the score by winning in Ras Al Khaimah in a world record of 1:04:31. Kosgei was runner-up in 1:04:49, the second-fastest time in history.

Yehualaw, meanwhile, finished third at the recent World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, just a few seconds behind Jepchirchir. Six weeks later, she won the New Delhi Half Marathon in 1:04:46, the second-fastest time in history.

USA’s Sara Hall, who placed second at this year’s London Marathon, finishing between Kosgei and Chepngetich, is also in the field.

Three former winners – including the joint course record-holders – have been added to the men’s line-up. 2019 champion Stephen Kiprop and two-time winner Bedan Karoki, who jointly hold the course record at 58:42, will return to Ras Al Khaimah alongside 2015 winner Mosinet Geremew.

They will take on the previously announced defending champion Kibiwott Kandie, who recently set a world half marathon record of 57:32 in Valencia, and world half marathon champion Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda. Kiplimo reduced his PB to 57:37 in Valencia earlier this month, making him the second-fastest man in history for the distance.

Alexander Mutiso, who ran 57:59 in Valencia to move to fourth on the world all-time list, will also be in action in Ras Al Khaimah.

Switzerland’s Julien Wanders and Norway’s Sondre Nordstadt Moen complete the line-up.

(12/17/2020) Views: 1,454 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

Kibiwott Kandie smashes half marathon world record, a Kenyan double in Valencia marathon

All top four finishers in the half marathon managed to beat the previous mark of 58:01 set by Geoffrey Kamworor last year. Evans Chebet and Peres Jepchirchir win the men and women's marathon in course records.

Kibiwott Kandie led Jacob Kiplimo home in world record time to win the Valencia Half Marathon on Sunday in a reverse of the World Championship resultfrom October.

Kandie, Kiplimo, Rhonex Kipruto, and Alexander Mutiso all finished the race in under 58 minutes, bettering the existing record of 58:01 set by Geoffrey Kamworor in Copenhagen in September 2019.

Kenya's Kandie finished in 57:32, taking more than a minute off his previous personal record of 58:37. Ugandan Kiplimo and Kandie's compatriot Mutiso also lowered their own personal bests by similar margins, while it was Kipruto's debut over the distance.

The new record is subject to World Athletics' usual ratification processes.

It is the fourth time Kandie has run sub-59 minutes this year, having also done so at the Ras Al Khaimah, Prague, and Gdynia half marathons.

Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia won the women's race in a course record one hour, five minutes 18 seconds, missing the women's world record in a mixed race (1:04.31) currently held by Ababel Yeshaneh who set it in RAK earlier this year.

It was Dibaba's first race in 16 months, since last August, and her debut over the half marathon distance.

Kenyan double in the marathon

Kenya’s Evans Chebet sprinted past compatriot Lawrence Cherono in the home stretch to win the Valencia marathon in a course record of 2:03:00.

The men’s race was a close one with Chebet and Cherono going head to head in the final kilometre after dropping Ethiopia’s Birhanu Legese, the 2019 Tokyo marathon champion.

This was the first big marathon win for the 32-year-old Chebet that moves him to sixth in the men’s marathon all-time list.

Chebet’s victory also ensured that a Kenyan topped the podium again for the 18th time in the last 40 editions of the Valencia Marathon.

“I am happy because I have run my personal best here," said Chebet after the race.

"I know this course very well. I am happy because it’s my first major win and in a course record,” said the Kenyan who finished 28th at the Rio 2016 marathon, delighted and hopeful that his top finish could impress Athletics Kenya selectors for the Tokyo Olympics.

Evans Chebet of Kenya won the Men’s Marathon in Valencia with a course Record.

The reigning Boston and Chicago Marathon champion Cherono who had a slight stumble in the last bend clocked 2:03:04 for second, in his third big marathon in the last 18 months.

Legese finished third in 2:03:16, in the race that saw eight of the top 10 finishers record personal bests.

Cherono, 32, was named by Athletics Kenya in Kenya’s provisional Tokyo Olympics marathon team alongside the Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge and World Championships marathon bronze medalist Amos Kipruto.

Double Olympian Ayad Lamdassem set a Spanish men's marathon record of 2:06:35 that qualifies him for the Games in Tokyo.

Just seven weeks after winning the World Half Marathon title in a world record, Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya won the women’s race in 2:17:16, also a course record.

“It’s unbelievable,“ said Jepchirchir, a double world half marathon gold medallist.

It was the perfect ending of the season for Jepchirchir who holds the world record for the women-only of 1:05:16 from her winning run in Poland on 17 October.

In Gdynia she improved her own 21km world mark from the previous month set in Prague, and is now the fifth fastest women marathoner.

Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya wins the Women’s Marathon in Valencia with a Course Record.

It was another 1-2 finish for Kenya as Joyciline Jepkosgei clocked 2:18:40 for second ahead of third placed Namibian record holder Helalia Johannes, the 2019 World Championships bronze medallist. Johannes crossed the line in 2:19:52.  

(12/06/2020) Views: 1,844 ⚡AMP
by SK Goh and Evelyn Watta

More details about the Delhi Half Marathon Record performances

t was a great morning for the 2020 World Half Marathon bronze medallists as Ethiopians Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Amedework Walelegn both picked up $37,000 wins ($27k for 1st, $10k for event records) in event record time today at the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon.

The headline performance came in the women’s race where Yehualaw, the 21-year old who just missed out on winning in Delhi by 1 second last year in 66:01, ran an unofficial 64:46, the second-fastest women’s half marathon in history on a records-eligible course.

The 5 Fastest Women’s Half Marathons Ever1 64:28* Brigid Kosgei KEN 2019 Great North Run 08.09.20192 64:31 Ababel Yeshaneh ETH 2020 RAK Half 21.02.20203 64:46 Yalemzerf Yehualaw ETH  2020 Delhi Half 28.11.20194 64:49 Brigid Kosgei KEN 2020 RAK Half 21.02.20205 64:51 Joyciline Jepkosgei KEN 2017 Valencia 22.10.2017*Not records eligible

In the men’s race, the Walelegn, also 21, won a three-way sprint finish in an unofficial 58:52 as two-time defending champion Andamlak Belihu of Ethiopia and Stephen Kissa of Uganda also broke 59:00 to finish second and third respectively. The order of finish today was the same as it was at World Half last month as in Poland Walelegn was third, Belihu was 5th and Kissa 19th. 2017 and 2019 world 5000 champion ran Muktar Edris of Ethiopia also ran very well today in his debut as he was in fourth in 59:04 .

The course this year was different than in years past due to Covid-19 but the event record coming in was 59:06 for the men and 66:00 for the women.

Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw produced a stunning run over in the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon  2020, a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race, to clock the second fastest  women’s time ever over the distance when she crossed the line in the  Indian capital in 64:46. 

The 21-yearold, who had to settle for third at the World Athletics Half  Marathon Championships last month when she slipped around 80 metres  from the line, bounced back with aplomb to take the $27,000 first prize and  an additional $10,000 as an event record bonus. 

In the men’s race, the event record – with the course having been  changed significantly from previous years – also fell when Amdework Walelegn outsprinted his Ethiopian compatriot and two-time defending  champion Andamlak Belihu to win in 58:53, the latter coming home in  58:54 and just missing out on an unprecedented third title. 

A blistering pace from the gun was set in the women’s race by the  Kenyan male pacemaker Alex Kibarus and several of the elite field were  quickly dropped. 

Six women – three Kenyans: Irene Cheptai, 2019 world marathon  champion Ruth Chepngetich and marathon world record holder Brigid  Kosgei; and three Ethiopians: two-time defending champion and event record holder Teshay Gemechu, world record holder Ababel Yeshaneh and Yalemzerf Yehualaw – followed Kibarus through 5km in 15:27. 

World marathon record holder and recent London Marathon winner  Kosgei was forced to drop out midway through the eighth kilometre, holding her leg as she limped to the side of the road. 

A kilometre later, Gemechu also started to suffer and lost contact with the  leaders although she hung on to eventually finish fifth.

Chepngetich, Cheptai, Yehualaw and Yeshaneh went through 10km  together in 30:49 as a thrilling race started to take shape. 

Cheptai was the next to fall away, becoming detached in the 12th kilometre with the remaining trio going through 15km in 46:15. 

With just three kilometres to go, and within the space of a few hundred  metres, first Chepngetich and then Yeshaneh found themselves unable to  stay with the pace. 

However, Yehualaw continued to follow Kibarus, and once he dropped  out with two kilometres to go it was just a question of how much she would  take off Gemechu’s 2019 course record of 66:00. 

In the end, she improved the mark by more than a minute, aided by a  strong run over the final quarter of the race. 

Yehualaw won in 64:46 but Chepngetich also ran the race of her life to  finish in a personal best of 65:06 and move up to equal-sixth on the world  all-time list.  

“My training since the world championships told me that maybe I could  break the course record as I ran 65:19 there, but this was more than I  expected, and I hoped for a win here after just losing by a second a year  ago,” said Yehualaw. 

“My plan was to push hard with two kilometres to go and that helped my  fast time, and it was also very nice weather,” she added, with early  morning temperatures in Delhi around 12-14 degrees Celsius. 

In the men’s race, three pacemakers took field through 3km in 8:22 and  then 5km in 13:57 – well under 59-minute pace – with Belihu always to the  fore. 

The main pacemaker, Uganda’s Abel Sikowo, continued to forge ahead  and passed 8km 22:17 and then 10km in 27:50, with eight men still directly  in the wake of Sikowo who was doing an admirable job in keeping the  tempo high and sub-59 times definitely in sight. 

Just after 12km Sikowo dropped out and Belihu, along with Kenya’s  Leonard Barsoton, dictated matters at the front for the next two kilometres  although, as he was later to admit, this decision might have cost the  defending champion dearly in the later stages of the race. 

Eight men were still in contention at 15km, which was passed in 42:00. By  18km the leading group had slimmed just slightly to six men: the Ethiopian  quartet of Belihu, Walelegn, 2017 and 2019 world 5000m champion Muktar  Edris who was making his competitive debut over the distance, Tesfahun  Akalnew, Barsoton and Uganda’s Stephen Kissa. 

Akalnew started to falter shortly afterwards and with two kilometres to go,  Edris and Barsoton also started to drop off the back of the group as their  challenge for a place on the podium began to evaporate. 

Belihu, Walelegn and Kissa passed the 20km checkpoint in 55:59, and just  a hundred or so metres later, Walelegn threw down the gauntlet. 

However, Kissa was still full of running and darted between the two  Ethiopians with 500m to go and held the lead for the next 300 metres  before Walelegn found another gear and passed the Ugandan on his  right as he sprinted for the line. 

Walelegn finished in 58:53, the third fastest time of the year and an event record by 13 seconds as well as a personal best by 15 seconds. Belihu was  just one second in arrears and Kissa two seconds further back, both men also setting personal bests. 

“I had a few bad patches but in the final kilometre I felt strong. I was  second in Delhi in 2018 and this is a much faster course which has less  sharp turns,” commented Walelegn, reflected on the new circuit which  incorporated two six-kilometre loops. 

“I have to be happy as I ran a personal best. After the pacemaker  dropped out I pushed the pace but I think this might have left me with a  bit less energy when we sprinted in the last kilometre,” reflected Belihu,  who just fell short in his bid to be the first three-time winner in Delhi. 

In fourth place Edris ran 59:04, the second fastest debut over the distance  ever, while Avinash Sable smashed the Indian record by more than three  minutes when he ran 60:30 in tenth place.

(11/29/2020) Views: 1,150 ⚡AMP
by Lets Run

Defending champion Gemechu eyes hat-trick of course records at Delhi Half Marathon

Two-time defending champion Ethiopia''s Tsehay Gemechu on Thursday said she is aiming to break the course record for the third time in the women''s race of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon here on Sunday.

The 21-year-old Gemechu made a huge impact on her ADHM debut in 2018, setting a women''s course record of 66:50. She then went on to better her own record by 50 seconds when she ran a stunning personal best of 66 minutes last year.

"This year again I''m going to try for the course record. After corona I have done a lot of training and I am in shape to go even faster than last year," Gemechu said at the pre-race press conference.

Her compatriot, men''s defending champion Andamlak Belihu, who will be aiming for an unprecedented third successive victory like Gemechu, also expressed his desire to break the course record.

The 22-year-old is coming off a fifth place finish in the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships and said he is in good shape despite the coronavirus pandemic stalling training earlier this year.

"I came fifth in the World Half Marathon Championships and after that I trained for a month to five weeks and my training improved. So, I''m expecting to go for the race record like last year. I''m in similar or maybe even better shape," Belihu said.

"Last year, I was just four seconds outside the course record (59:06 set by Ethiopia''s Guye Adola in 2014) and I think I can find the difference," the two-time champion added.

The 16th edition of the ADHM will see one of the best fields of international elite athletes with an unprecedented 13 men, having run under the world class bench mark of one hour, and seven women clocking sub-67 minutes results.

This year''s ADHM has two women''s world record holders in Kenya''s Brigid Kosgei (marathon record) and Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh (half marathon record) and an enticing battle between the two is on the cards.

"I am coming here looking to show what I can do after finishing fifth at the World Half," Yeshaneh said.

"I fell there (about three kilometres from the finish) and was very frustrated, finishing in tears, because I know I was in shape to win but you just have to pick yourself up and carry on. I have brought the shape I had in Poland to Delhi."

On the other hand, Kosgei stunned the world when she broke the long-standing women''s world marathon record by more than a minute at the 2019 Chicago Marathon, clocking 2:14:04, with Yeshaneh a distant second on that occasion although she still ran a superb personal best of 2:20:51.

However, Yeshaneh prevailed with a world record 64:31 at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in February this year with Kosgei (64:49) finishing second. More recently, Kosgei won the London Marathon on October 4 with a timing of 2:18:58.

"After London, I took 10 days off, but I have since had six weeks very good preparation for this race. I have a good record in half marathons, but I am not going to make predictions about this race as it is a very tough field," commented Kosgei.

(11/27/2020) Views: 1,388 ⚡AMP

Defending champions Belihu and Gemechu believe that course records could fall at the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2020

The topic of discussion at the traditional pre-race press conference for the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon on Thursday was whether the course records could be broken at this year’s World Athletics Gold Label Road Race on Sunday (29). The response was resoundingly positive from everyone.

"I have been training very well, and I was disappointed with my fifth place at the World Half Marathon Championships in Poland last month, so I am in shape and very motivated to run well here," commented the two-time men’s defending champion Andamlak Belihu, from Ethiopia.

"Last year, I was just four seconds outside the course record (59:06 set by Ethiopia’s Guye Adola in 2014) and I think I can find the difference." On Sunday, Belihu will be bidding for an unprecedented third successive title in the Indian capital but the course he will cover is radically different to the one he won on in 2018 and 2019.

To comply with prevailing health-related related measures, the runners will cover around 4.5 kilometres, starting at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, and then embark on two loops of approximately six kilometres, before returning to the finish outside the stadium by the same route.

"However, with smoother corners, less undulations and with the elite runners not having to contend with mass-race participants, I believe this is a faster course than previous years," said race director Hugh Jones.

Belihu’s compatriot Tsehay Gemechu, who revised the women’s course record when winning in both 2018 and 2019 - it currently stands at 66:00 - concurred with the comments about course records being in danger.

"I am in shape to go even faster than last year," said Gemechu. However, the defending champion will face an even stronger set of rivals on Sunday than the two outstanding fields she defeated in the past two years.

On the start line will be Gemechu’s fellow Ethiopian and world half marathon record holder Ababel Yeshaneh.

"I am coming here looking to show what I can do after finishing fifth at the World Half. I fell there (about three kilometres from the finish) and was very frustrated, finishing in tears, because I know I was in shape to win but you just have to pick yourself up and carry on. I have brought the shape I had in Poland to Delhi," said Yeshaneh

This year’s Airtel Delhi Half Marathon can boast of not one but two world record holders in the women’s race.

Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei stunned the world when she broke the long-standing women’s world marathon record by more than a minute at 2019 Chicago Marathon, clocking 2:14:04, with Yeshaneh a distant second on that occasion although she still ran a superb personal best of 2:20:51.

However, at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in February this year Yeshaneh prevailed in a world record 64:31 with Kosgei second in 64:49. More recently, Kosgei won the London Marathon on 4 October in 2:18:58. "After London, I took 10 days off, but I have since had six weeks very good preparation for this race. I have a good record in half marathons, but I am not going to make predictions about this race as it is a very tough field. Some of the ladies may be better prepared as they competed at the World Half Marathon Championships last month," commented Kosgei.

(11/26/2020) Views: 1,408 ⚡AMP

Ababel Yeshaneh, Brigid Kosgei, Kibiwott Kandie and Jacob Kiplimo will renew rivalry at Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon

The fastest half-marathon in the world has attracted the best half-marathon runners on the planet again.

The 15th edition of the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon on February 19 will see reigning champions Kibiwott Kandie and Ababel Yeshaneh defending their titles while world half-marathon champion Jacob Kiplimo and world marathon record-holder Brigid Kosgei will try to wrestle their titles off them.

The event, which is often known simply as ‘the RAK Half’ and which takes place on a super-fast course in the northernmost emirate of the United Arab Emirates in three months’ time, will see mouth-watering clashes in separate men’s and women’s races. More entries are expected to be announced in coming weeks but so far they include:

» Kibiwott Kandie – fastest man in the world over 13.1 miles in 2020 with 58:38 from Prague in September and winner in Ras Al Khamah in February with 58:58. The Kenyan (below) was also runner-up in the World Half Marathon Championships in 58:54, making him the first man to run sub-59min three times in one year.

» Jacob Kiplimo – the Ugandan took the world-marathon title ahead of Kandie in Gdynia last month following a track season that saw him run 7:26.64 for 3000m and 12:48.63 for 5000m. Only 20, he also took world cross-country champs silver behind Joshua Cheptegei in Aarhus last year.

» Ababel Yeshaneh – set a women’s world half-marathon record of 64:31 to win the Ras Al Khaimah race in February. At the World Half in Gdynia she was fifth but the Ethiopian fell in the closing stages. Over the marathon she was runner-up to Kosgei in Chicago last year with 2:20:51.

» Brigid Kosgei – world record-holder for the marathon with 2:14:04 from Chicago in 2019 and winner of the last two London Marathons, whereas over 13.1 miles the Kenyan (below) was 18 seconds behind Yeshaneh in Ras Al Khaimah this year in the second-fastest time in history.

The race is often dominated by east African distance runners but Sara Hall of the United States is one of the early entries, too, and will be sure to attract interest from US fans after her battling runner-up performance at the London Marathon in October.

“This is the fastest half-marathon course in the world and we want it to maintain its fame,” says Ras Al Khaimah Half race director Andrea Trabuio.

With the coronavirus pandemic causing problems around the world, Trabuio says the elite races and non-elite events will be run separately on February 19 in order to maintain social distancing. With the non-elite event there will be seven waves with about 400 runners in each wave with temperature checks at the start and masks being worn for the first few hundred meters.

(11/25/2020) Views: 1,351 ⚡AMP
by Jason Henderson

Strict Covid protocols will be included in 2020 Delhi half marathon

The Delhi Half Marathon is going ahead as per schedule on November 29 with a star-studded field of foreign athletes as well as a strong Indian line-up despite the rising number of coronavirus cases in the national capital. The organizers have planned a slew of safety measures to ensure safety for all.

Significantly, the 15 elite women and 18 men will be applying online for an exemption from quarantine before arriving in the country. That procedure can be initiated only post a negative RT-PCR test result obtained not earlier than 72 hours before traveling to India. All participants will also have to fill in and submit a health declaration form. All 33 were self isolating for 15 days prior to their flight as instructed by the race organizers.

Once the athletes start arriving in Delhi on November 23, they will be stationed at an upscale hotel which will be a bio-secure zone. They will also be issued with a list of SOPs. These include restricted movement access and social distancing protocols. All the racers including Indians will be subject to two further RT-PCR tests prior to race day and only if they test negative will they be allowed to run. 

Apart from the COVID-19 threat, Delhi is also reeling under poor air quality conditions. To tackle this, low power-pulsed Wifi waves will be used to clear air pollutants and ecologically safe reagents will be sprayed at strategic points.

Star-studded fieldThe 16th edition of the World Athletics Gold Label Race will see one of the strongest line-ups in its history. Marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei and Ababel Yeshaneh, World Half Marathon record holder will join the fray apart from defending champions Tsehay Gemechu and Andamlak Belihu.

Among Indians, Avinash Sable, Srinu Bugatha and Abhishek Pal will be in focus among the men while Parul Chaudhary, will lead the Indian women’s category along with Sanjivani Jadhav, Monika Athare and Chinta Yadav.

“It is a star-studded field and most athletes have not competed in a long time and it will be a great opportunity to test ourselves against the world’s elite athletes in our own backyard,” Avinash, who has already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, opined.

Govt to launch fitness app in Jan: Sports secyNew Delhi: Sports secretary Ravi Mittal revealed on Saturday that the government is planning to launch the Fit India app next year which would help users evaluate and improve their fitness levels. “We are developing the Fit India app next year. We will be launching this app sometime in January.  It will be like other health apps but the main thing will be that everyone will be able to evaluate their fitness,” Mittal said during Airtel Delhi Half Marathon press conference. The secretary also praised the race organizers and extended his best wishes. “Events like this will help us to understand that things are slowly getting normal. So these events will help in strengthening our mind. I would like to request Procam to organize more such marathons before the Olympics, so we can strengthen the mind.”

(11/23/2020) Views: 1,220 ⚡AMP
by Ayantan Chowdhury

World record holders Brigid Kosgei and Ababel Yeshaneh are set to clash at Delhi Half Marathon

World record holders Brigid Kosgei and Ababel Yeshaneh have been added to the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon women's field, making the 16th edition of this World Athletics Gold Label race on 29 November the strongest in the history of event - and one of the strongest half marathon contests in the world in 2020.

At the Chicago Marathon in October 2019, Kenya’s Kosgei stunned the world when she broke the long-standing women’s world marathon record by more than a minute, clocking 2:14:04. Yeshaneh was a distant second on that occasion but nevertheless still ran a superb personal best of 2:20:51.

However, the tables were turned at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in February this year when a head-to-head contest in the final stages of the race saw Ethiopia’s Yeshaneh prevail in a world record 1:04:31 with Kosgei second in 1:04:49.

In their most recent outings last month, the 26-year-old Kosgei won the rescheduled London Marathon in 2:18:58 while the 29-year-old Yeshaneh had to contend with misfortune and fell at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, Poland, with just over three kilometres remaining, which took her out of medal contention although she recovered quickly to finish fifth.

A trio of Ethiopian runners have already been announced that will provide stiff competition for Kosgei and Yeshaneh as well as a host of other world class athletes.

Women's course record holder Tsehay Gemechu is seeking an unprecedented third successive victory. In 2019, Gemechu improved her own course record from 12 months earlier by no less than 50 seconds when she stopped the clocking 1:06:00.

Yeshaneh and Gemechu's compatriots on the start line in in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium include Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Netsanet Gudeta.

Yehualaw finished second in the ADHM 2019, just one second behind Gemechu, and third at the 2020 World Championships last month in a personal best of 1:05:19 while Gudeta finished eighth in Poland but was the 2018 world half marathon champion.

Both the men's and women's races have first prize cheques of US$27,000, part of a total prize money purse (combined men and women) of US$233,270.

Strict safety measures in place

This year's race will be unlike any previous edition with only an estimated 60 elite international and Indian runners in action on the Delhi roads, with the traditional start and finish still in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The event will follow the highest level of safety standards, with bio-secure zones to ensure a COVID-free race for the runners. All mandatory protocols in line with the advisories issued by the Government of India have been established for the event crew, vendors and suppliers, elite athletes, media and all guests.

(11/21/2020) Views: 1,590 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

The Kenyan trio of Hellen Obiri, Faith Kipyegon and Peres Jepchirchir are among 10 nominees for the 2020 World Athletes of the Year- Female Award

The winner will be declared during the 2020 World Athletics Awards to be held virtually on December 5.

Obiri, the World 5,000m champion, remained undefeated in three races over 3000m and 5000m during this season's Diamond League and ran a world-leading of 8:22.54 over 3000m at Doha on September 25.

Kipyegon also had a great year undefeated in five races over all distances and also ran world-leading performances over 800m (1:57.68) and 1000m (2:29.15) in Doha.

Peres Jepchirchir twice broke the world half marathon record for a women-only race (1:05:34 and 1:05:16) at the Prague Half Marathon and at the World Half Marathon Championship. No Kenyan woman has ever emerged the World Athlete of the Year winner despite their dominance in long distance races.

On Monday, Kenya's Timothy Cheruiyot was shortlisted for the men's award.

World Athletics disclosed on Tuesday that the list of 10 nominees for the Female World Athlete of the Year were selected by an international panel of athletics experts comprising representatives from all six continental areas of World Athletics.

“The nominations reflect the remarkable range of exceptional performances that the sport has witnessed this year, despite the challenges that the global Covid-19 pandemic presented,” said a statement on World Athletics website.

The trio of Kenyans will definitely face stiff competition from Muir, Gidey, Ababel Yeshaneh and Ethiopian-born Dutch European 10,000m record holder, Sifan Hassan. Also to watch out is Jamaican sprinting queen Elaine Thompson-Herah.

 

(11/04/2020) Views: 1,184 ⚡AMP

Britain’s Laura Muir and Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei among World Athletics awards nominees

Britain’s Laura Muir is among the nominees for the female world athlete of the year honor, while Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei is on a shortlist for the male prize at the World Athletics Awards.

This year the global governing body’s awards event will be held virtually on Saturday December 5.

Muir clocked 1500m times of 3:57.40, 3:57.86 and 3:58.24 to lead the world rankings and set a British 1000m record of 2:30.82 in 2020, while Cheptegei broke three world records throughout the year – running 12:51 for a road 5km, 12:35.36 for 5000m on the track and 26:11.00 for 10,000m on the track.

Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey, who set a world record of 14:06.62 over 5000m, and Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan, who recorded a world record distance of 18,930m in the one-hour run and broke the European 10,000m record with 29:36.67, are also among the female nominees.

The men’s shortlist also features Sweden’s world pole vault record-breaker Mondo Duplantis and Norway’s Karsten Warholm, who ran a world-leading 46.87 in the 400m hurdles and was unbeaten in that event.

Female world athlete of the year nominees: Femke Bol, Netherlands; Letesenbet Gidey, Ethiopia; Sifan Hassan, Netherlands; Peres Jepchirchir, Kenya; Faith Kipyegon, Kenya; Laura Muir, Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Hellen Obiri, Kenya; Yulimar Rojas, Venezuela; Elaine Thompson-Herah, Jamaica; Ababel Yeshaneh, Ethiopia

Male world athlete of the year nominees: Donavan Brazier, USA; Joshua Cheptegei, Uganda; Timothy Cheruiyot, Kenya; Ryan Crouser, USA; Mondo Duplantis, Sweden; Jacob Kiplimo, Uganda; Noah Lyles, USA; Daniel Stahl, Sweden; Johannes Vetter, Germany; Karsten Warholm, Norway

A three-way voting process will determine the finalists. The World Athletics Council and the World Athletics Family will cast their votes by email, while fans can vote online via the World Athletics’ social media platforms.

As well as male and female athlete of the year honors, the World Athletics Awards will include the president’s award, coaching achievement award and athletics photograph of the year, as well as a Covid inspiration award, athletes community award and member federations award.

Last year Eliud Kipchoge and Dalilah Muhammad were named world athletes of the year, while the 2018 winners were Kipchoge and Caterine Ibarguen.

(11/03/2020) Views: 1,259 ⚡AMP
by Athletics Weekly