Running News Daily

Kenyans Benson Kipruto and Lucy Cheruiyot reign supreme at Guadalajara Half Marathon

Benson Kipruto and Lucy Cheruiyot began their 2020 season on a high note by taking the top honors at the 34th Electrolit Guadalajara Half Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label road race on Sunday, although the course records set one year ago remained intact.

With ideal conditions for long distance running, clear skies and temperatures hovering at 10 C, a pack of over dozen men covered the initial 5km in just under 15 minutes. As they hit the 10km mark in 29:40, it signaled the course record of 1:01:48, set by Kenya’s Mathew Kisorio last year, would be hard to beat.

Thirty-five minutes into the race, the lead group was reduced to five: Kenya’s Jeoffrey Kimutai, Kipruto, Cosmas Birech, Peru's Ulises Martin and Mexico’s two-time winner and two-time Olympic finalist Juan Luis Barrios.

Barrios remained with the three Kenyans at 15km, but Kimutai left Kipruto soon after. As they entered the home stretch, Kimutai moved to the front but Kipruto bided his time and launched his sprint in the last 20 meters to secure the victory in 1:02:13, a personal best over the distance for the 2019 Toronto Marathon champion. Barrios completed the podium with 1:02:27 as he prepares for the London Marathon.

In the women’s race, a Kenyan quartet soon made a statement as they moved to the front in the first kilometers. Cheruiyot was joined by her countrywomen Winfridah Moraa, Margaret Agai, Visiline Jepkesho and Ethiopia’s Belaynesh Oljira.

The group remained compact until the 15km marker, when Cheruiyot and Oljira moved away for good, setting the stage for a battle to determine the 2020 winner.

Cheruiyot launched her attack in the last 400m, but Oljira could not respond and was content to settle for second. The 23-year old Kenyan crossed the finish line in 1:10:52, four seconds ahead of the Ethiopian. Moraa completed the podium with 1:11:14.

The course and Mexican all-comers’ record of 1:08:53, set by Ethiopia’s Afera Godfay Berha in 2019, remained intact.

Vianey De La Rosa was the first Mexican to cross the finish line in sixth in 1:12:52, her fastest time in four years, guaranteeing a spot on her national team for the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia, Poland, on 29 March.

The 34th edition of the race, powered by Granvita, drew close to 14,000 runners in celebration of Guadalajara’s 478th anniversary of its foundation.

(02/17/2020) Views: 1,491 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

Jepchirchir wins Saitama Marathon in near record time

Breaking away from Fatuma Sado with 10km to go at the Saitama Marathon, Peres Jepchirchir, running her first marathon outside of Kenya, won the World Athletics Silver Label road race in 2:23:50.

The Kenyan’s winning mark was the second fastest time at the Saitama Marathon, just 32 seconds shy of the course record of 2:23:18 from 2016. Jepchirchir, the 2016 world half marathon champion and former world record-holder at the distance, was contesting just the third marathon of her career. Her official best for the marathon was a modest – by her standards – 2:46:15 recorded in Eldoret in 2018.

Two pace makers – Stacey Ndiwa and Perine Nemgampi – pushed the race at course record pace with Jepchirchir, Belaynesh Oljira, Sado and Rahma Tusa in tow. Their pace up to 15km (50:36) was consistent and steady, but it dropped slightly before the half-way point, reached in 1:11:31.

At 29km, Oljira was surprisingly the first of the top contenders to fall off the pace, and with the pacemakers exiting the course at 30km, Sado, Tusa and Jepchirchir formed the lead trio, nine seconds ahead of Oljira.

With Jepchichir forcing the pace, Tusa fell behind at 31km and then Sado did likewise one kilometre later, leaving Jepchirchir out in front alone.

Jepchirchir slowed slightly in the closing stages, but at 40km she had a two-minute lead over Sado. Her margin had grown to almost three minutes by the finish line, which she crossed in 2:23:50.

Sado, who dropped out of last year’s Saitama Marathon before going on to win the Osaka Women’s Marathon one month later, finished second, while Oljira, the fastest woman in the field with a PB of 2:21:53, finished third. Nina Savina of Belarus finished fourth in a PB of 2:28:44, taking 22 seconds off her best set in Warsaw earlier this year.

Kaori Yoshida was the first Japanese finisher, placing sixth. She was aiming to improve on her PB of 2:28:24 and was on pace to do so up until 20km, which she reached in 1:11:13. Her pace dropped in the second half, though, and she fell outside of PB pace, eventually finishing in 2:35:15.

Incidentally, 61-year-old Mariko Yugeta set a world masters’ best for the 60+ age group, clocking 2:56:54. She improved on her previous best – 2:59:15, her first sub-three-hour marathon – recorded last month in Shimonoseki.

(12/08/2019) Views: 1,593 ⚡AMP

Ethiopia's Belaynesh Oljira will start as favorite in the fifth Saitama International Marathon, a World Athletics Silver Label road race

The elite field includes eight runners from abroad as well as two Japanese. Oljira is the fastest among them with a 2:21:53 lifetime best set in the 2018 Frankfurt Marathon.

Oljira was a superb track runner, having finished fifth in the 2012 Olympics and third in the 2013 World Championships, both at 10,000m and boasts track bests of 14:42.57 in the 5000m and 30:26.70 in the 10,000m. She's only raced once this year, in a 10km road race in June, so her current fitness is a mystery.  

Oljira’s second fastest marathon is 2:24:21 - only two runners in the field have run faster: Ethiopians Rahma Tusa, who clocked 2:23:46 in the 2018 Roma Marathon and Fatuma Sado who ran 2:24:16 in the 2015 Toronto Marathon. Sado was one of the favorite in Saitama last year but failed to finish. She won the Osaka Marathon in January with 2:25:39.

The field also includes Kenyan Paskalia Chepkorir, who has a best of 2:26:04; Zinash Debebe of Ethiopia, who has a 2:27:15 lifetime best; Ethiopia's Zerfie Limeneh, a 2:26:48 runner; and Nina Savina of Belarus, who's clocked 2:29:06.

Hiroko Yoshitomi, with a best of 2:30:09 and Kaori Yoshida, who's run 2:28:24, are the Japanese entrants. Their incentive? Any Japanese runner who breaks 2:22:22 will secure the third spot on the 2020 Olympic Marathon team.

The most intriguing runner in the field is Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir, the former world half marathon record holder with a best of 1:05:06 and 2016 world champion over the distance. She's run two marathons in her career, both at altitude in Kenya and both over 2:45. But those performances don't seem indicative of her marathon potential.

Inaugurated in 1979 as the Tokyo Women’s Marathon, the first women-only marathon, it was moved to Yokohama after 30 years where it remained as an elite women-only race. After six editions, it was moved to Saitama where it became a mass race but still only features a women's elite field.

(12/06/2019) Views: 1,889 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

Ethiopian Tigist Girma is going after the Toronto Marathon title

Tigist Girma’s best marathon time may not have caught up with her impressive competitive record but the Ethiopian is quickly establishing herself as a world-class athlete to be feared. When she lines up for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 20, however, it will be a reality check of epic proportions.

Among the athletes she will face at this IAAF Gold Label road race are her countrywomen Bruktayit Degefa and Belaynesh Oljira who have run much, much faster times. Oljira, for instance, has a best of 2:21:53, almost five full minutes faster than Girma’s PB of 2:26:34 which she set in winning the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon in May. However, the 26-year-old Girma remains undaunted.

“Whenever I train for a specific competition, I have the goal to win as well as to run as fast as my training partners like Roza Dereje and Ruti Aga,” she says when asked what her target might be for Toronto. “So, I will try to run fast and win the race as well.”

Her resolve to match times recorded by members of her training group is decidedly ambitious. Dereje has a best of 2:19:17 while Ruti Aga has run 2:18:34. But it is the way Girma wins that is compelling. In each of her victories she has gone to the front with more than 12-15km remaining and simply run away from athletes, many of whom have superior personal bests.

“My coach (Haji Adilo) always trains us to run following our heart and condition. So, I am not afraid of running in front,” she explains. “My victory in both races (Guangzhou and Ottawa) with new personal bests was not only because of my strength but it was also with God’s support.

“According to my condition during the race I could have run better. But I won’t complain with the results I got in both races.”

The question of whether she can outwit and outrun her compatriots remains to be seen but there is much on the line. Toronto has seen the breakthrough of many international athletes. Past winners Sharon Cherop (Kenya) and Shure Demise (Ethiopian) went on to compete in the prestigious World Marathon Majors with Cherop finishing third in Boston in 2011, six months after her Toronto victory and was Boston champion in 2012. Demise went on to finish on the podium at both Tokyo and Chicago.

Girma first emerged on the scene with a victory in the 2016 Beirut Marathon where she ran a then personal best of 2:32:44. That was on a day when the temperature at the start was 21C. More recently she won the 2018 Guangzhou and 2019 Ottawa Marathons - both IAAF Gold Label races.

It is hard to believe that she has accomplished so much considering this is just her fourth season of competition. Moreover, coach Haji has reigned in her willingness to run three marathons in a year. Toronto Waterfront will be only her second marathon of 2019. She seems pleased with her training since Ottawa.

“I train four days a week with the team with coach Haji. Right now, I am doing all the training program my coach gave me and I run 170km each week,” she reveals.

Some of Haji’s favourite sites are well outside of Addis, the capital. This is because Addis traffic is notoriously heavy and not conducive to training. Haile Gebrselassie, for example, ran on a treadmill each afternoon in the basement gym in his office building.

 “Since the training sites are quite far and it’s long drive there my boyfriend drives me up and down,” Girma says.

The unpredictable weather coming off Lake Ontario in late October should not be a problem for her. Two of her victories were in heat and humidity while in Guangzhou it was cold and raining.

“I think (Toronto) is good timing for me,” she confirms. “Since it’s now winter-time here in Ethiopia I have been training in rain and very cold weather conditions. I don't think cold weather will be problem for my result.” 

(09/10/2019) Views: 1,992 ⚡AMP

Ethiopians Belaynesh Oljira and Bruktayit Degefa Eshetu, are ready to compete at Toronto Marathon

Belaynesh Oljira brings an enviable reputation to the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon October 20th which includes two 2013 IAAF World Championships bronze medals at 10,000m and in cross country.

The Ethiopian star, who also represented Ethiopia at the 2012 London Olympics, has run 2:21:53 (Frankfurt 2018) for the marathon staking her claim as one of the heavy favorites to win this IAAF Gold Label race.

Oljira will be joined in Canada’s largest city by a member of her training group, Bruktayit Degefa Eshetu, who is also a world class marathoner. In January of this year Degefa ran a personal best of 2:23:28 to earn herself a hat trick of Houston Marathon victories. A year ago, Degefa beat Oljira in Houston by a mere six seconds.

Despite sharing a coach and training group their contact has been minimal and it will be every woman for herself when they line up in Toronto. 

“I train with the Demadonna Athletics Promotion team,” Oljira says, “which includes also Biruktayit Degefa. We don’t train together, except when there is group training, we meet with others.

“We are not friends. I joined the team recently, I didn’t socialize with most of them but once I met her at the Houston Marathon she seems sociable and I hope we will be friends in the future.” 

Their casual relationship is not unusual. With training groups numbering as many as a hundred the athletes will meet their coach - in this case Gemedu Dedefo - two or three times a week at some of the popular training sites such as Sendafa, a thirty-minute drive outside Addis Ababa. Athletes might ride share. Training sessions begin just as the sun is rising so it is not unusual that runners might get out of bed at 4am to be picked up.

After a brief warm-up the training session starts and from then on, it’s all business. If the athletes are going to socialize it is likely to be in Addis away from training. Another barrier in their relationship is the fact Degefa is also married to an American-based Ethiopian named Abinet Adraro and spends much time in the U.S. This past spring, she prepared for the Boston Marathon for several months there. She was eighth in Boston. 

“Training with the group can benefit you with different things like you share experience, you find new friends, you have fun with them especially when you train with them you don’t think of your tiring moments of training.”

Among their training group are a strong contingent of world-class women including Tirfi Tsegaye (2:19:41 personal best, who ran an impressive 2:22:44 in Toronto in 2010), Aberu Kebede (2016 Berlin winner in 2:20:45) and two-time Toronto champion, Shure Demise.

“Yes, Shure has told me about the Toronto marathon, about its course and weather, and all the good people there,” Degefa admits. “My expectation in Toronto is to win with a good time.”

Not surprisingly Oljira is also targeting victory in Toronto.

“My main goal as for any athlete is to run a good time and to win the race,” she declares.

The pair come from vastly different backgrounds. Oljira grew up in Wellega district about 315km west of Addis. She started out running cross country and track with immediate success. Indeed, her first overseas venture was a cross country race in France where the first-place prize was a car. She won.

(09/02/2019) Views: 2,028 ⚡AMP

Prague Marathon champion Bornes Jepkirui will be heading the Kenyan runners at the Osaka Women’s Marathon

Jepkirui ran a well calculated first half of the race to take leadership from Amane Gobena of Ethiopia, who had crossed the 25km marker in 1:24.40 in Prague, clocking 2:24:19.

She crossed the finish line ahead of Ethiopians Belaynesh Oljira (2:25:13) and Amane Gobena, who finished third in 2:27:43. 

Jepkirui will be running alongside her compatriot Eunice Jeptoo.

Last year’s Osaka Marathon was dominated by Japanese women, with Mizuki Matsuda taking the title and Honami Maeda and Yuko Ando coming in second and third respectively.

Jeptoo, the defending champion of the Eindhoven Marathon in Netherlands, will be the athlete to beat at the Osaka Women’s Marathon, having clocked 2:26:13 in October in her win at the Eindhoven Marathon.

The 2019 Osaka race is also part of Japan’s Marathon Grand Championship series, a group of qualifying races for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic marathon team trial race.

There will also be Izabela Trzaskalska of Poland, who has a marathon best of 2:29:56. Japanese athletes are led by Nagoya marathon silver medalist Yuko Ando (2:21:36), Honami Maeda and Mizuki Matsuda.

(01/22/2019) Views: 2,019 ⚡AMP

Few could have predicted the winner of the women’s race in Prague

Bornes Jepkirui Kitur of Kenya ran to victory at the Volkswagen Prague Marathon on Sunday, May 6.  Few could have predicted the results in the women’s race.  Kitur wasn’t even considered in the favorite's group before the race, but she managed to hold off all challenges en route to a clear victory in 2:24:19. “I had a really good race, the only slight issue I found were the cobblestones," she said. "I managed to shave more than four minutes off my personal best and am really delighted to have won.” The 30-year-old set her previous personal best of 2:28:48 in Mumbai in January where she finished second. The second and third podium spots went to Ethiopians Belaynesh Oljira and Amane Gobena who clocked 2:27:43 and 2:25:13 respectively. The event's 24th edition featured 9778 runners. IAAF President Sebastian Coe started the race. (05/07/2018) Views: 1,833 ⚡AMP