Running News Daily

Kenyan Celestine Chepchirchir will be targeting a first World Marathon Majors title when she makes her debut at the Chicago Marathon

Reigning La Rochelle Marathon champion Celestine Chepchirchir will be targeting a first World Marathon Majors title when she makes her debut at the Chicago Marathon on October 9.

Chepchirchir, who has competed in seven marathons across the world, said: “This is my first time competing at the World Marathon Majors, which are very competitive in nature but I want to give it my best and come home with something to smile about.”

The former Cape Town marathon champion earned the Chicago Marathon nod following her fourth-place finish at the Seoul Marathon in April in a time of clocking 2:20:10.

“Despite not winning the Seoul Marathon title, I set a good time that earned me a call to the Majors. Majority of athletes I ran with are in the Majors now. As I head to Chicago, I am targeting even better times to pave way for more top races in the future,” she added.

Chepchirchir said her training in Kapsabet has been top-notch and expects handsome rewards in one of the most congested and competitive races in the world.

“Looking at the names on the start list, I expect a very competitive race,” she added.

She will be up against compatriot Ruth Chepngetich, the defending champion and former world marathon champion.

Last year, Chepngetich won the title in 2:22:31 ahead of USA’s Emma Bates (2:24:20) and Sarah Hall in 2:27:19 for third.

Last year's third-place finisher Erick Kiptanui headlines the Kenyan contingent which also has Bernard Koech, Elisha Rotich, Benson Kipruto, and John Korir.

(10/06/2022) Views: 734 ⚡AMP
by Emmanuel Sabuni

Kenyan Victor Chumo looking forward to London Marathon duties

As world marathon Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele, the biggest threat to the Kenyan's 2:01:39 mark, prepare for the October 4 London Marathon, ‘Rabbit’ Victor Chumo is preparing for an equally daunting task.

Chumo will be pacing for Kipchoge as he seeks to retain his title in the streets of London and has revealed his kind of routine as he battles to stay sharp for the task ahead.

The reigning Barcelona Half Marathon champion disclosed that he has been running at least 30km daily ahead of what is expected to be a highly-charged race.

Chumo will be guiding the elite-runners only event, occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic, where he leads the first group while Chicago Marathon champion, Mo Farah, will be pacing for the second group.

He said he fully understands what is at stake now that it will be the third time pacing for the only man to have dipped under two hours over the distance.

“I first paced Kipchoge during the Nike Breaking 2 where he ran 2:00: 25. I then paced him during Ineos 1:59 Challenge, running 1:59:40. With this, he has trust in me and I have to once again deliver," said Chumo.

Kipchoge will be chasing his fifth title in London after winning the 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019 editions.

“There will be a strong field in London and that needs a strong pacesetter. You can imagine how speedy the race will be with some of the greatest marathon runners on show,” said the former Kenya Defence Forces man.

Kipchoge and Bekele (2:01:41) will also have to contend with some of the toughest challengers including nine who have dipped under 2:06.

They include Mosinet Geremew (2:02:55), Mule Wasihun (2:03:16), Sisay Lemma (2:03:36), Tamirat Tola (2:04:06), Marius Kipserem (2:04:11), Shura Kitata (2:04:49), Vincent Kipchumba (2:05:09), Sondre Nordstad Moen (2:05:48) and Gideon Kipketer (2:05:51).

Other pace-setters include Noah Kipkemoi, who also paced at Ineos Challenge, Erick Kiptanui, Alfred Barkach, Shadrack Kimining, Matt Clowes (Great Britain), and Jake Smith (Great Britain).

(08/26/2020) Views: 1,444 ⚡AMP
by Emmanuel Sabuni

Recovered Michael Kibet is focusing on the Olympic Games

Ndalat Gaa cross country champion Michael Kibet has set his sights on a ticket to the postponed 2020 Olympic Games after missing out on the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar despite winning the 5,000m race during the national trials.

Kibet and second place finisher Daniel Simiu failed to meet the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) anti-doping threshold for the world show thus derailing their debut at the international stage.

They were replaced by third place finisher Africa cross country junior champion Nicholas Kimeli and and another junior runner Africa 5,000m silver medalist Jacob Krop.

Kibet says the disappoint from last now over and has his eyes set on ensuring that he does everything right to make the national team to Japan.

Kenya last won the 5,000m men's Olympic title in 1988 through John Ngugi and Kibet, who was not born then, feels he has what it takes to deliver.

Born on 3rd September 3, 1999, Kibet wants to become the only Kenyan to win the title since the country debuted at the Games in 1956 in Melbourne, Australia.

“Right now my focus is to run and bring the elusive Olympic Games 5,000m title," said Kibet, following an individual training session in Kericho County.

"It hurt so much to miss the World Championships and especially flying out of the country for the first time in Kenyan colours but that is behind me now."

Last year, he won the Palio Della Quercia 5,000m race, edging out Ethiopia's Mukta Idris in a 1-2 Kenyan podium finish alongside Erick Kiptanui in a meet record of 13:11.08 to better Hayle Ibrahimov's 13:11.34 set in 2012.

“I want to bring the title to Kenya by breaking the jinx. I am sure 2021 will be a great year for me in athletics,” he said.  

With the government directive in gathering, the two times Tuskys cross country champion trains in split groups that also has Geoffrey Koech, Sheila Chelang’at, national cross country champion Faith Koech and Naomi Chepkirui.   

He observes that the disappointments of last year were only bettered by the support he got from family, friends and training mates and has now ensured that he is tested whenever Doping Control Officers visit him. He has so far been tested six times and expects more when the world opens up for sports.

(07/17/2020) Views: 1,531 ⚡AMP
by Emmanuel Sabuni

Ethiopia's Andamlak Belihu and Tsehay Gemechu are ready to defend their men´s and women´s Airtel Delhi Half Marathon titles

Ethiopia's Andamlak Belihu and Tsehay Gemechu will return to defend their men's and women's titles respectively in the 15th edition of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon on October 20.

Belihu won men's half marathon title of this prestigious IAAF Gold Label Road Race last year in 59:18, just missing out on the course record of 59:06 which remained since 2014 in the name of compatriot Guye Adola.

"Immediately after last year's race I said that I was going to come back to Delhi in 2019 as I had unfinished business with the course record and I am keeping my promise," commented Belihu, who will still be just 20 on race day.

He returned to India in May earlier this year to also win the TCS World 10K title in Bengaluru, another IAAF Gold Label Road Race promoted by Procam International.

Last year, Belihu had to work hard to hold off his fellow Ethiopian Amdework Walelegn to win by four seconds. Walelegn will also return with the ambition of going one better in this year's race.

No less than eight men in the ADHM 2019 elite field have run under the world class benchmark of one hour but much of the attention will be on a man who has yet to run the distance, Hagos Gebrhiwet.

Gebrhiwet had planned to make his half marathon debut in Delhi last year but a late bout of illness curtailed his training. However, he will stand on the start line this year. He won a bronze in Rio Olympics 5000m race.

The fastest man in Delhi this year will be Erick Kiptanui. The Kenyan notched up two impressive half marathon victories in 2018 when winning at high-quality Lisbon and Berlin races, coming home in the German capital in a personal best 58:42, and he is currently equal seventh on the world all-time list.

Kiptanui has been concentrating mainly on the track but had a solid win at the Barcelona Half Marathon earlier in the year.

In the women's elite section last year, Gemechu made a huge impact in her debut over the distance when she set an ADHM women's course record of 66:50 and in 2019 she has shown it was no fluke with a string of sparkling performances both on the roads and the track, including taking the African Games 10,000m title.

The third and fourth-placed women from the ADHM 2018 also return with Ethiopia's Zeineba Yimer and Kenya's Stacy Ndiwa coming back to do battle.

The fastest woman in the ADHM 2019 elite field will be Caroline Kipkirui. The Kenyan-born runner, who now competes under the Kazakhstan flag, set a personal best of 65:07 in the 2018 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon.

(09/25/2019) Views: 1,799 ⚡AMP

Kenyans Erick Kiptanui and Vivian Cheruyiot lead strong field's for the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon this weekend

The EDP Lisbon Half Marathon field includes 21 male runners with personal bests of under 1:01 and ten in the women's field who have dipped under 1:10.

Erick Kiptanui made his debut over the distance in this race last year, winning in 1:00:05, and went on to improve to 58:42 in Berlin one month later. Two other sub-59:00 runners are in the field: 2013 winner Bernard Kiprop Koech, who has clocked 58:41, and Solomon Kirwa Yego, who set his 58:44 best in the 2016 Rome-Ostia Half Marathon.

But there are more athletes in this race who can produce some surprises. Ethiopia comes armed with Mosinet Geremew, winner of the 2018 Dubai Half Marathon with a 59:11 lifetime best from 2014, and Betesfa Getahun, who has a 1:00:26 personal best. He was third in the Barcelona Half Marathon last month.

Behind Kiptanui, the solid Kenyan contingent includes Micah Kogo, the 2008 Olympic bronze medallist over 10,000m who's clocked 59:07; Simon Cheprot who has a 59:20 lifetime best; Edwin Kiprop Kiptoo, who has a 59:26 best; Nicholas Kosimbei, who clocked 1:00:21 at this race last year; late addition Edwin Soi, the 2008 Olympic 5000m bronze medallist, who improved to 1:00:24 in Granollers, Spain, this year; and Japhet Korir,  who has run 1:00:08.

Others to watch include Callum Hawkins of Great Britain, who'll be looking to improve on his 1:00:00 personal best and Abrar Osman of Eritrea, who's clocked 1:00:19.

In the women's field, Vivian Cheruyiot, the 2016 Olympic 5000m champion, is the undisputed star of the field. The 35-year-old, who also won three world titles on the track and the 2017 London Marathon, was second in this race last year clocking 1:09:44. She clocked 1:07:43 at last year's Great North Run, also finishing second.

She'll face a formidable field however, led by Ethiopia's Gelete Burka, who has a solid 1:06:11 lifetime best set last year.

(03/15/2019) Views: 2,194 ⚡AMP
Erick Kiptanui, Vivian Cheruyiot

Zimbabwean’s Canisious Nyamutsita is set to race the Copenhagen Half Marathon

Promising Zimbabwean long distance runner Canisious Nyamutsita (left), will be hoping to carry his fine run of form on the local circuit on to the international stage when he takes part in the biggest race of his career at the Copenhagen Half Marathon in Denmark on Sunday. The 27-year-old Nyanga-born athlete has been in brilliant form on the local circuit, winning almost all the country’s major road races over the last two years, including the recent Old Mutual Westgate Half Marathon. Nyamutsita is set to rub shoulders with some of the world’s finest runners over the distance including Kenyan born Bahraini Abraham Cheroben, who will be seeking to defend his title, having won last year in a world-leading 58:40. Other top runners in the field include Berlin Half Marathon champion Kenyan Erick Kiptanui, who has announced that he will be attacking the world record in Copenhagen. Nyamutsita will be joined by his teammate at the Chitungwiza-based Mr Pace Athletics Club Bertha Chikanga, who will line up in the women’s race of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Gold Label. (09/15/2018) Views: 1,769 ⚡AMP

The world record will be under attack at the 2018 Copenhagen Half Marathon on September 16

Kenya’s Jorum Okombo and Alex Korio will be hoping to improve on their respective second and third finishes at the 2018 Copenhagen Half Marathon on September 16. Organizers have assembled one of the deepest half marathon fields in history of the road race. “An elite field boasting 17 sub-60-minute men, including three of the four fastest half marathon runners over the past six years, is proof of an extremely high level,” says Jakob Larsen, director of the Danish Athletics Federation. Abraham Cheroben will be back to defend his title, having won last year in a world-leading 58:40. His main opposition looks set to come from Berlin Half Marathon champion Erick Kiptanui, Okombo and Korio. Kiptanui has announced that he will be attacking the world record in Copenhagen. The women’s race also boasts superb depth as it contains seven runners with PBs faster than 68:00. (09/10/2018) Views: 1,640 ⚡AMP

Reigning champion Abraham Cheroben will be leading the copenhagen Half Marathon

The Copenhagen Half Marathon is a Gold Label race ranked by the athletics world governing body IAAF. Leading the Kenyan charges will be reigning champion Abraham Cheroben, a Kenyan who represents Bahrain. "It has always been hard to win at this level of competition. There is always somebody new coming in trying to raffle the feathers and I must be on the lookout if I want to retain my title," said Cheroben, who trains in Iten in northwest Kenya. No fewer than 17 athletes with career bests under the one hour-mark will be on the starting line-up in the men's race. The line-up includes reigning champion Abraham Cheroben (58:40) from Bahrain and Kenyans Jorum Okombo (58:48) and Alex Korio (58:51) who were second and third behind Cheroben last year. "We train well with Cheroben, but that will not mean that I will not take the challenge to him. He is a stronger athlete, but I have done well in training and believe, I can outshine him in Copenhagen," Korio said on Friday in Eldoret. Kenya's Erick Kiptanui, the joint world leader with 58:42, is also in the line-up along with former London Marathon winner Daniel Wanjiru (59:20), Olympic marathon bronze medalist Galen Rupp (59:47) and Ethiopians Lelisa Desisa (59:30) and Shura Kitata (60:10). Wanjiru is using the race in Copenhagen to gauge his preparedness ahead of his running at the New York Marathon on Nov. 4. (08/31/2018) Views: 1,719 ⚡AMP

Double World Record Attempt at Copenhagen Half Marathon

It is said that Copenhagen is the place to run, if you want to set a new world record in the half marathon. When the race takes place on the September 16 the chase for a new world record is set for both men and women ”I am coming to Copenhagen to set a new world record," says Erick Kiptanui. The 28-year old Kenyan is confirmed for the Copenhagen Half Marathon.  His statement could prove to be correct, as earlier this year he ran the distance in just 58.42, at the Berlin Half Marathon. His time was only 19 seconds from the current world record, and two seconds from the fastest time ever run in seven years. This time was set at Copenhagen Half Marathon last year, where Abraham Cheroben clocked 58:40. Cheroben will also be present and he too will be going after the world record. ”In my opinion the Copenhagen Half Marathon is the place to run, if you want to run fast. I had an amazing race last year and I will be back again this year to reclaim the title,” Cheroben says.  The women's race will include the world champion Netsanet Gudate, who also holds the the world record in the women's half marathon and even though she is a good candidate for a gold medal, she will have to battle Joan Melly, who came in second place last year. Joan Melly expects to improve her placement and says that she will come to Copenhagen and set a new world record.  Melly or any other female runner will have to run better than 64:51 to set a new record in a mixed division.  A world record is never guaranteed,everything has to come together, but with a route like the one in the Copenhagen Half Marathon and world class runners, who want to set a new world record, the premises are as good as they get. (08/22/2018) Views: 1,899 ⚡AMP

Kenya´s Daniel Kipchumba clocks 59:06, at the Lake Maggiore Half Marathon in Verbania

Kenyan trio Daniel Kipchumba, Mangata Kimai Ndiwa and Josphat Kiptoo Boit finished inside 59:20 on their half marathon debuts at the 11th edition of the Nexia Audirevi Lake Maggiore Half Marathon. Held on a spectacular course from Verbania to Stresa in perfect weather conditions and with no wind, the previous course record of 1:00:00 was bettered by all three men. One week after pacing training partner Erick Kiptanui to a world-leading time of 58:42 in Berlin, Kipchumba crossed the finish-line here first in 59:06, holding off compatriot Ndiwa by just one second. Boit completed the all-Kenyan podium in third place in 59:19. Kipchumba, Ndiwa Ndiwa and Boit broke away from the rest of the field after three kilometres. Running at 2:46-per-kilometre pace, they passed through 10 kilometres in 27:47. The following five-kilometre section was covered in 14:16, then they upped the pace again with a 14:05 split between 15 and 20 kilometres. (04/16/2018) Views: 1,809 ⚡AMP

Erick Kiptanui was just 19 seconds off the world record at Berlin Half Marathon

Kenya’s newcomer Erick Kiptanui clocked a sensational course record of 58:42 in the Berlin Half Marathon, equalling the fastest time in the world this year. Running only his third race in Europe and winning for the third time, Kiptanui moved to equal fifth in the all-time performances for the distance. His impressive running on Berlin’s fast course left him just 19 seconds short of the world record. Kenyans dominated the event and took the first seven places. Emmanuel Kiprono and Richard Mengich finished second and third with 60:29 and 60:36 respectively. The best non-Kenyan runner was Germany’s Homiyu Tesfaye who took eighth place in 62:13. Ethiopia’s Melat Kejeta won the women’s race in sunny but windy conditions with 69:04. Switzerland’s Martina Strähl was second and set a Swiss record of 69:29, improving her personal best by more than two minutes. Anne-Mari Hyryläinen of Finland took third with 71:04, also setting a personal best. At her second attempt the European steeplechase champion Gesa Felicitas Krause of Germany finished the distance for the first time and placed fifth. Her time of 72:16 was the fastest time by a German woman this year. (04/08/2018) Views: 2,011 ⚡AMP

Kenyan Erick Kiptanui wins at the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon

Battling high winds, Kenyan Erick Kiptanui and Etagegn Woldu of Ethiopia prevailed in their respective races at the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon. Despite the wind and rain, the men's race still witnessed deep results with the first 12 running under 61 minutes. The challengers tried to make up ground at different points in the waning different stages, but they couldn't catch Kiptanui who closed with a 2:47 final kilometre end route to 1:00:05 victory in his debut over the distance. "I’m really happy with this result," said Kiptanui, whose biggest career win came at the San Silverstre 10km in Madrid last New Year's Eve. "I must thank the organisation for inviting me and trusting that I can run at this level. I think I could have achieved a better result if there were no strong wind. (03/12/2018) Views: 2,075 ⚡AMP

Kiptanui wins the San Silvestre Vallecana in Madrid

Kenya’s Erick Kiptanui was the overwhelming winner at the men’s Madrid’s 53th San Silvestre Vallecana, an IAAF Silver Label road race, on the New Year’s Eve. Kiptanui produced the race’s third fastest ever time by clocking 27:34 while Ethiopia’s Gelete Burka stormed to a 30:55 victory in the corresponding women’s race to miss her own race record by just two seconds. (01/02/2018) Views: 1,371 ⚡AMP