Running News Daily

Kenya's Edwin Kiptoo wins 40th Athens Marathon with new course record

Edwin Kiptoo of Kenya set a new course record at the 40th Athens Marathon in 2:10:34 on Sunday, slicing three seconds off of the previous record of 2:10:37 set by fellow Kenyan Felix Kipchirchir Kandie in 2014.

"I was not well prepared for the race. I did not expect to break the record. I thank my family for giving me ample time to prepare for this marathon," said the 30-year-old who shook off his main challengers over the second half of the course and ran the last 10 kilometers alone.

Kiptoo's compatriots Rhonzai Lokitam Kilimo and Felicien Muhitira of Rwanda finished second and third in the men's event. Moroccan Soukaina Atanane finished first in the women's category in 2:31:52, followed by Kenya's Caroline Jepchirchir and local Gloria Privileggio. 

The event attracted some 70,000 runners from 140 countries and regions in the 42km course, as well as the 10km, 5km and kids' races, setting a record high of participants, according to the Hellenic Athletics Federation. The 42km classic course from Marathon city to Athens follows in the footsteps of ancient soldier Pheidippides who inspired the race.

The Athens Marathon has a relatively hilly route, which somehow makes it almost impossible for runners to set a world record here, with the course rising almost continuously between the 17th and 32nd kilometers before descending most of the rest of the way.

(11/13/2023) Views: 122 ⚡AMP

Edwin Kiptoo is targeting Athens Marathon course record

Kenya’s Edwin Kiprop Kiptoo will make his debut in Greece at the 40th edition of the Athens Classic Marathon slated for this Sunday (12) in Athens, Greece.

The 30 year-old comes to this race with a life time best of 2:06.52 that he got last year at the Haspa Marathon where he finished in seventh place. This year in March he participated at the Seoul Marathon, finishing in seventh place in a time of 2:08.56.

Kiptoo will not have an easy ride as he will have to get past his compatriot Rhonzas Lokitam Kilimo who comes to this race with the second fastest time on paper of 2:08.08 that he got this year in April at the Haspa Marathon where he crossed the finish line in fifth place.

The two Kenyans will face-off with the defending champion and the Greece National Record Holder, Charalambos Pitsolis who won last year’s edition in time of 2:23.44. The 30 year-old who comes to this race with a personal best of 2:21.23 that he got early this year in Germany.  Pitsolis will have an acid test from the Kenyans as the race organizers invited International elite athletes after three years of absence due to Covid-19 pandemic.

The organizers have assembled a strong deep elite field to try and chase the race course record of 2:10.37 that was set nine years ago by Felix Kipchirchir Kandie from Kenya.

(11/09/2023) Views: 146 ⚡AMP
by John Vaselyne

Tanui and Kirwa are the winners at the 2023 Copenhagen Marathon

Kenyans Rodah Chepkorir Tanui and Solomon Kirwa survived the heat to win the women’s and men’s 2023 Copenhagen Marathon on Sunday (14). 

Running her second marathon of the year, Tanui pulled away from the field to better her personal best from 2:25:46, which was set in Buenos Aires on 22 September 2019. She ran 2:28:30 for sixth place in her other marathon race in 2023 in Riyadh in February.

For her top performance today, Tanui collected €$6000 for the win and an extra €$3000 in bonus prize for breaking the race record. Look for her to race in other big marathon races in the near future!

Valentina Mateiko, the 2014 World Junior 3000m bronze medalist, made an impressive start to her marathon career in the extremely hot condition in Copenhagen today, clocking in at 2:25:05 to take second place on debut before being well received by her Kenyan teammate at the finish line.

Philippa Bowden of Great Britain also smashed her personal best big time when she ran in at 2:29:16 for third place, lowering her previous mark by almost five minutes.

The top American finisher today in the women’s contest was Roberta Groner, the 2019 World Championship sixth place finisher, who ran 2:31:37 to take sixth place today as well.

Karen Ehrenreich won the Danish title with a time of 2:35:02 for 9th place overall, with Stine Schønning a distant second place in the Danish Championships at 2:45:10.

Kirwa Leads Kenyan Sweep in Men’s Race

Meanwhile, Solomon Kirwa led a Kenyan podium sweep in the men’s race at the 2023 Copenhagen Marathon. The 36-year-old, running for the first time in the Copenhagen race, made it a fruitful debut at the Denmark event, clocking in at 2:09:12 for first place after surging away from his rivals after the 40km mark.

Edwin Kiptoo of Kenya, who led after the halfway mark, was second in the end with a time of 2:09:51, followed by countrymen Kenneth Keter, who posted 2:09:47 for third place and Pius Karanja in fourth.

T-Roy Brown was the best-placed male runner from the United States today, taking 18th place with a time of 2:21:17.

Karen Ehrenreich was crowned the Denmark champion after he finished at 2:35:02 for 9th overall, while Andreas Lommer of Denmark, who changed his race plans to work with Tanui in her chase for glory today, ran out of gas and finished with a time of 2:23:50.

(05/14/2023) Views: 398 ⚡AMP

Police identify the man who poured rum into Mexico City Marathon water cups

In a wild video posted to social media, a man who does not appear on camera recorded himself as he poured white rum into sports drinks at a water station set up for participants at the Mexico City Marathon last Sunday. On Wednesday, the director of the Mexico City Institute of Sport, Javier Hidalgo Ponce, announced that police have identified the drink-spiker, who will likely face prosecution for attempted poisoning.

According to reports, the man was intoxicated, and spiked the drinks around 6 a.m. after leaving a nightclub. It is apparent in the video that he aimed to get the marathon runners drunk.

The water station was located near the halfway point on the course, when runners would have covered more than 21 km, and the consumption of undiluted alcohol combined with exertion could be dangerous. No runners drank the spiked drinks, since race volunteers who worked at the water station realized in time what had happened, and dumped out the alcohol.

Ponce blamed the incident on the Mexico City mayor’s office for allowing nightclubs to close so late. 

More than 19,000 runners participated in Sunday’s marathon. Kenya’s Edwin Kiptoo won the men’s event, completing the course in 2:10, and Ethiopia’s Amane Beriso won the women’s race in a course record time of 2:25

(09/03/2022) Views: 570 ⚡AMP
by Running Magazine

Yalemzerf Yehualaw runs sensational 2:17:23 marathon debut in Hamburg and Kipchoge’s course record was shattered in men’s race

Yalemzerf Yehualaw won the Haspa Marathon Hamburg, producing a sensational marathon debut. The 22 year-old Ethiopian clocked 2:17:23 which is the fastest time by a debutant ever. So far Paula Radcliffe’s time of 2:18:56 from London in 2002 was the fastest debut time by a woman.

Yalemzerf Yehualaw became the sixth fastest women in the history of marathon running, broke the course record and set a German Allcomer record. Fikrte Wereta took second in 2:26:15 and Bone Cheluke made it an all-Ethiopian podium with 2:26:23 for third place. 

In the men’s race Eliud Kipchoge’s 2:05:30 course record from 2013 was broken by fellow-Kenyan Cybrian Kotut. He clocked 2:04:47, just edging Uganda’s debutant Stephen Kissa who crossed the line one second behind the winner. Ethiopia’s Workineh Tadesse followed in third place with 2:05:07. 

A total of 20,000 entries from 68 nations were registered by organisers for the 36th edition of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg, including shorter running events on Sunday. Around 10,500 of them competed in the marathon. Additionally 9,000 children participated in a 4.2 k run on Saturday. 

“That was a great spring comeback for us. We presented a stunning race on the streets of Hamburg and we are proud of the extremely strong results including two course records and a unique debut by Yalemzerf Yehualaw,“ said chief organiser Frank Thaleiser.

Yalemzerf Yehualaw came in late on Thursday and missed the pre-race press conference, but she took centre stage on Sunday when it mattered. In sunny but windy conditions and temperatures around 10 Celsius Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw dominated the women’s race from the beginning and constantly increased her lead.

She ran past the half marathon mark in a super fast 68:30. At this point she was already over two and a half minutes ahead. At the end of the race the gap between her and the second runner was almost nine minutes. “The race went well for me considering this was my first marathon. The fast Hamburg course suited me and the spectators helped me a lot,“ said the winner.

Yalemzerf Yehualaw was around four and a half minutes faster than former Hamburg course record holder Meselech Melkamu of Ethiopia (2:21:54 in 2016). Additionally she broke the German Allcomers record of Kenya’s Gladys Cherono who ran 2:18:11 in Berlin in 2018.

In the men’s race things looked a lot closer from the beginning. 17 men passed the 10k mark in 29:29. A major surge came late in the race with only four kilometres to go. Cybrian Kotut and Stephen Kissa, a debutant from Uganda, broke away from the leading group which included six runners at that point. Both delivered a stunning showdown right to the finish line.

In the final sprint Cybrian Kotut pushed himself to a close victory in 2:04:47, a second ahead of Stephen Kissa (2:04:48). Ethiopia’s Workineh Tadesse took third spot in 2:05:07. All three runners were within the former course record of Eliud Kipchoge which stood at 2:05:30. The Kenyan superstar set this record back in 2013 running his marathon debut in Hamburg. ’’I am very happy that I broke the course record.

The pacemakers covered me well from the wind. It was not easy with the wind, but overall the conditions were very good,“ said Cybrian Kotut.

The fastest German runner was Florian Röser. He ran a solid marathon debut in 2:15:03. ’’I’m very surprised to be the fastest German athlete. The race was not ideal for me but considering that this was my debut it was good,“ he said.

Kristina Hendel was the dominant German woman in the field. She finished the race in a strong fifth position with a  personal best of 2:27:29. “We had to fight against the wind from kilometer 8 till 31. On top of that I got cramps but they eased later in the race. I broke my personal best and I am very proud of that. I hope I will run in a German vest at the European Championships in Munich,“ said Christina Hendel.

The former Croatian gained German citizenship in 2021 but is not eligible yet to compete for Germany internationally. Deborah Schöneborn finished the race as the second fastest German woman in 9th place with a time of 2:29:51.

Men:

1.  Cybrian Kotut KEN 2:04:47

2.  Stephen Kissa UGA 2:04:48

3.  Workineh Tadesse ETH 2:05:07

4.  Victor Kiplangat UGA 2:05:09

5.  Abebe Negewo ETH 2:06:05

6.  Masresha Bere ETH 2:06:44

7.  Edwin Kiptoo KEN 2:06:52

8.  Abraham Kiptoo KEN 2:06:59

9.  Bazewe Asmare ETH 2:07:13

10. Bernard Ngeno KEN 2:07:27

Women:

1.  Yalemzerf Yehualaw ETH 2:17:13

2.  Fikrte Wereta ETH 2:26:15

3.  Bone Cheluke ETH 2:26:23

4.  Tseginesh Mekonnen ETH 2:26:29

5.  Kristina Hendel CRO 2:27:29

6.  Priscah Jeptoo KEN 2:28:48

7.  Rosa Chacha ECU 2:28:52

8.  Gadise Mulu ETH 2:28:37

9.  Deborah Schöneborn GER 2:29:51

10. Jana Soethout GER 2:34:28

(04/24/2022) Views: 727 ⚡AMP

Africa cross country silver medalist Leonard Barsoton is now eyeing New Delhi Half Marathon

Fresh from competing at the World Half Marathon in Gdynia, Poland, former Africa cross country silver medalist Leonard Barsoton is now eyeing honors in New Delhi Half Marathon.

In an interview, Barsoton said his mission in New Delhi will not only be to win the title but also to improve on his 59:09 personal best.

“I am working towards this and I am sure come the New delhi event, I will be ready,” said Barsoton.

The New Delhi race will be his third this year after finishing sixth at the Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Half Marathon and winning Kolkata 25km road race, where he lowered Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele’s

“This will be my first race after World Half Marathon and I know I am capable of pulling it off,” he noted.

Barsoton, who is also the Africa Games 10,000m silver medalist, bragged that he is an all weather runner hence he is not worried of the harsh climatic conditions in New Delhi.

Barsoton will enjoy the company of fellow Kenyans  Josphat Boit (59:19) and Edwin Kiptoo (59:26).

Others in the race are Abraham Cheroben (Bahrain) and Ethiopia’s Guye Adola, Amdework Walelegn, Andamlak Belihu and Solomon Berihu.

(11/18/2020) Views: 1,170 ⚡AMP
by Emmanuel Sabuni

2020 Delhi Half Marathon (Nov 29th) Is Loaded As Usual – 12 sub-60 men and 9 sub-70 women will compete

Race promoters Procam International are happy to announce that defending champions Andamlak Belihu and Tsehay Gemecu will return to the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon for the 16th edition of this prestigious World Athletics Gold Label Road Race on Sunday 29 November.

The Ethiopian pair will both be aiming for an unprecedented third successive victory in the Indian capital.

“I have been training well in (the Ethiopia capital) AddisAbaba for the last couple of months and I am very thankful to have the opportunity to race in Delhi, a city I always enjoy returning to and racing in,” commentedBelihu, who will turn 22 just over a week before race day.

“This has been a difficult year, for everyone around the world, not just professional athletes, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and I have been training alone much more than that I am normally used to but my fifth place at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Poland last month has assured me that I am in good shape and I am confident I can put up a good defence of my title,” he added.

Belihu’s compatriot Guye Adola still holds the ADHM course record with 59:06 that the latter clocked in 2014 but Belihu has gone very close in the last two years with 59:18 and a personal best 59:10 in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

He will be aiming to finally go into new territory on the streets of Delhi, perhaps even going under 59 minutes, and confirm his place as the most successful runner in ADHM history after having also placed second in his race debut in 2017.

An unprecedented 13 men in the ADHM 2020 elite field have run under the world class benchmark of one hour, and five of them have actually run faster than Belihu in their careers including Adola who returns to Delhi for the first time since his record run six years ago.

The fastest man in the field is Bahrain’s 2018 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships silver medallist Abraham Cheroben, who holds the Asian record for the distance with 58:40.

Two other men to watch will be the Ethiopian pair of Amdework Walelegn, who was second in Delhi last year and also took the bronze medal at 2020 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships last month, and 2017 and 2019 world 5000m champion Muktar Edris, who will be making his half marathon debut.

Last year, Tsehay Gemechu improved her own women’s course record from 2018 by no less 50 seconds when she ran a stunning personal best of 66:00

Ideally, Gemechu would like to go even faster this year but, like so many runners around the world, her training and racing this year have been hugely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“COVID-19 is a disaster which has affected everyone’s life all over the globe and, definitely, it has affected my training, not least in the early stages of the pandemic when we were all fearful of infection. Later, my coach and I decided to take care of ourselves, taking into account all the advice from the World Health Organisation, and I started my own individual training programme with my main goal of coming back to Delhi, although since September I have had some races on the track,”reflected Gemechu, who will turn 22 in December.

“Like all the athletes who will be coming to Delhi, I’d like to express my thanks to the race promoters Procam International who have committed their time and effort and invested their money in making sure this race goes ahead while we all respect the appropriate health measures,” sheadded.

Gemechu will have a host of outstanding rivals in this year’s race, arguably the strongest women’s field ever seen in the history of the ADHM with seven women having run under 67 minutes.

Among them are two of her compatriots, Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Netsanet Gudeta.

The in-form Yehualaw finished second in the ADHM 2019, just one second behind Gemechu, and showed she’s a rising star of women’s distance running by finishing third at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships last month in a personal best of 65:19. Gudeta, the 2018 world half marathon champion. was eighth in Poland but helped Ethiopia to team gold.

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

The ADHM 2020 will be unlike any previous edition with 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 and hygiene standards with bio-secure zones to ensure a COVID-19 free race.

Non-elite runners of all abilities will have the chance to participate virtually from any location, running at any time between 25-29 November via the ADHM App. Details of how to download and use this app can found on the ADHM 2020 website airteldelhihalfmarathon.procam.in

Procam International Pvt. Ltd. A-262, 1st Floor, Defence Colony, New Delhi – 110024. India, Tel. +91112433 5984/85/86 Fax +911141634836

Elite fields for the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2020 (with personal bests)

Men

Andamlak Belihu (ETH) 59:10

Abraham Cheroben (BRN) 58:40

Guye Adola (ETH) 59:06

Amdework Walelegn (ETH) 59:08

Leonard Barsoton (KEN) 59:09

Solomon Berihu (ETH) 59:17

Josphat Boit (KEN) 59:19

Edwin Kiptoo (KEN) 59:26

Stephen Mokoka (RSA) 59:36

Abrar Osman (ERI) 59:47

Aron Kifle (ERI) 59:51

Dawit Wolde (ETH) 59:58

Women

Tsehay Gemechu (ETH) 66:00

Yalemzerf Yehualaw (ETH) 65:19

Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) 65:30

Netsanet Gudeta (ETH) 65:45

Evaline Chirchir (KEN) 66:01

Brillian Kipkoech (KEN) 66:56

Irene Cheptai (KEN) 67:39

Mimi Belete (BRN) 68:16

Failuna Matanga (TAN) 69:36

Nazret Weldu (ERI) 70:51

Tsigie Gebreselama (ETH) debut

Hawi Feysa (ETH) debut

Eva Cherono (KEN) debut

(11/15/2020) Views: 833 ⚡AMP
by Lets Run

Lawrence Cherono shattered the course record at Amsterdam Marathon

Kenyan’s Lawrence Cherono shattered the course record at the TCS Amsterdam Marathon, clocking 2:04:06 at the 43rd edition of this IAAF Gold Label Road Race on Sunday October 21. Running in nearly ideal conditions with cloudy skies and very light winds - Cherono clipped more than a minute from the 2:05:09 course record and lifetime best he set last year. The 30-year-old also broke the Netherlands' all-comers record of 2:04:27 set by Duncan Kibet in Rotterdam in 2009. A lead group of 14, including Cherono and Kenenisa Bekele, sped through the opening five in 14:33 and 29:08 through ten, in range similar to the 14:29 and 29:01 splits that propelled Eliud Kipchoge to his world record run in Berlin last month. The leaders reached 15 in 44:03 and 20k in 59:00, well inside the 59:52 course record pace that guided Cherono last year. When the half was reached in 1:02:11, 11 men still remained in contention.  But after 25 kilometers (1:13:48) the lead group slowly began to unravel. The last remaining pacesetter, Edwin Kiptoo, completed his chores just before the 30 -mark, with Bekele, Özbilen and Alamirew falling back soon thereafter. Cherono switched gears near the city's Filmmuseum before pulling away for the decisive victory. "I am happy with my race," said Cherono, whose performance squalled the fourth fastest run of 2018. "Today the weather that was very good: little wind and an ideal temperature. That made it possible to run harder this year. My goal was to run 2:04 and that worked." Wasihun and Deksisa were next, clocking 2:04:37 and 2:04:40 respectively, also under the previous course record. There was good depth behind them. Kipketer was fourth in 2:06:15, Özbilen fifth in 2:06:24 and Laban Korir sixth in 2:06:33. Abate (2:06:47) and Jonathan Korir (2:06:51) also broke 2:07. Bekele meanwhile didn't finish, dropping out near his hotel at about 40 from where he chose to walk back to his room. (10/21/2018) Views: 1,615 ⚡AMP

The hot and humid weather did not stop Geoffrey Kamworor from winning the TCS World 10K

Geoffrey Kamworor fulfilled all expectations and consolidated his reputation as arguably the best road racer in the world below the marathon distance by winning his third title at the TCS World 10K in Bengaluru, India, an IAAF Gold Label road race, on Sunday May 27.  The Kenyan, the winner of the last two world half marathon titles and first man across the line in Bengaluru in 2012 and 2014, couldn’t challenge his course record of 27:44 on a hot and humid morning but crossed the line in 28:18 after impressively imposing his authority on the race just after the halfway point. Kamworor led during the early stages of the race almost from the gun as the rest of the leading pack ran in single or double file behind him through the first five kilometres, with only his compatriot and defending champion Alex Korio helping with the pace.  A few strides after the halfway point was passed in 14:28 – making it almost certain that the course record would not fall this year – Kamworor suddenly went through the gears. Only Ethiopia’s 2018 Birhanu Legese opted to go with Kamworor as he strode away from the rest of the elite field, throwing in two back-to-back kilometres of 2:42 to reach 6km in 17:10 and 7km in 19:52. However, in the eighth kilometre Legese had to toss in the towel and by the 8km mark was 50 metres adrift with another 100 metres back to a four-man group consisting of Korio, his fellow Kenyan Edwin Kiptoo, Ethiopia’s 2018 Dubai Marathon winner Mosinet Geremew and Bahrain’s IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018 silver medallist Abraham Cheroben.  Kamworor kept up his relentless pace and deservedly took the plaudits in front of a packed and raucous audience in the Kanteerava Stadium to continue his unbeaten streak which started with his win at the New York City Marathon last November and has continued through his four outings in 2018. “I think we were all cautious about the weather in the first half of the race. It was very hot, and I think that’s what cost me the course record. I came here thinking about the course record and tried the best I could, but I could feel the temperature rising as I was warming up. I was jogging for just three minutes before starting to sweat,” reflected a smiling Kamworor. (05/27/2018) Views: 1,600 ⚡AMP