Running News Daily

Kiplimo Set to Defend Title in Star-Studded NN Zevenheuvelenloop Race

Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo returns to the NN Zevenheuvelenloop (Seven Hills Run) on Sunday, November 17, aiming to defend his title in the 15km race, which last year saw him match the world record.

Kiplimo, one of the brightest talents in distance running, will be joined by an elite lineup, including his half-brother, reigning marathon world champion Victor Kiplangat, adding extra competition to an already loaded field.

Other big names set for NN Zevenheuvelenloop Race

Great Britain’s Marc Scott, Belgian marathoner Koen Naert, and Nils Voigt of Germany are also set to compete, promising a highly contested race on the rolling hills of Nijmegen. A strong domestic lineup looks to challenge the Dutch record, with national runners such as Mike Foppen, Richard Douma, Filmon Tesfu, Khalid Choukoud, Frank Futselaar, and Gianluca Assorgia joining the field.

NN Zevenheuvelenloop Race women’s race will be hot

In the women’s race, Norway’s Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal leads a strong roster and will face Ethiopia’s Mizan Elam and Ireland’s Fionnula McCormack. Dutch hopefuls Diane van Es, Maureen Koster, and Jill Holterman will also race alongside Rachel Klamer, a seasoned Olympic triathlete representing the Netherlands.

The NN Zevenheuvelenloop’s hilly course and competitive field promise an exciting race as top international and local athletes chase records and titles in one of the Netherlands’ premier running events.

Strong group of Dutch riders at Zevenheuvelenloop will be on the hunt for the Dutch record on the 15 kilometers

On Sunday November 17, a strong group of Dutch runners will be on the hunt for the Dutch record on the 15 kilometers. Mike Foppen from Nijmegen is going for the record in his hometown and will face competition from Richard Douma, Filmon Tesfu, Khalid Choukoud, Frank Futselaar and Gianluca Assorgia, among others. In the women's race, Olympians Diane van Es and Maureen Koster will start.

Battle for the Dutch recordMike Foppen and Richard Douma are the runners with the fastest times on the 15 kilometers behind their name. Foppen has a best time of 43:21 and Douma of 43:18. Filmon Tesfu starts as one of the favorites after his successful marathon debut in Amsterdam (2:10:58). Last year he trumped Foppen in the final sprint and finished as the fastest Dutchman. Khalid Choukoud is the Dutch record holder with his time of 43:13 from 2019 and is also competing. The Dutch men will face competition from Belgium from Koen Naert (personal best 43:37) and from Germany from Nils Voigt (personal best 43:18).

Four Dutch Olympians in the women'srace Training mates Diane van Es and Maureen Koster are competing for the title of fastest Dutchwoman. Van Es competed in the 10,000 meters in Paris and finished sixteenth at that distance. Two months before the Olympics, the 25-year-old runner won silver on the longest track distance at the European Athletics Championships. In 2022, Diane van Es was the fastest Dutch rider at the NN Zevenheuvelen in 47:57.

Maureen Koster also competed at the Olympics in Paris. She finished tenth in her heat in the 5,000 meters. In 2018, the 32-year-old athlete ran her best time on the 15 kilometers at the NN Zevenheuvelenloop: 49:04. Just like her teammate Van Es, Koster has a European Championship medal in her cabinet: silver in the 3,000 meters indoor in 2015.

In addition to Van Es and Koster, Olympians Jill Holterman and Rachel Klamer will also be at the start. Holterman ran the Tokyo Marathon in 2021. Klamer has competed in the triathlon for the past four Olympic Games. In Tokyo, she achieved her best result with a fourth place.

TheUgandan athlete Jacob Kiplimo defends his title at the NN Zevenheuvelenloop. Last year, the 23-year-old athlete equalled the world record in the 15 kilometres in Nijmegen. This year he will compete with his half-brother Victor Kiplangat, reigning world champion in the marathon. In the women's race, European half marathon champion Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal is on the start list.

The 15 kilometres of the 39th NN Zevenheuvelenloop are sold out with 28,000 participants. With more than 10,000 registrations, the 10th Night of the Seven Hills has a record number of registrations.Below are the start lists of the 39th NN Zevenheuvelenloop.

'I’ve found my spot in Iten'- Belgian marathoner training in Kenya ahead of Paris 2024 Olympics

A Belgian long-distance runner has opened up about how training in Kenya has changed his mindset ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Koen Naert, a Belgian long-distance runner loves training in Kenya and he also has a favorite spot he loves training at as he gears up for the Olympic Games in Paris, France later this year.

The 34-year-old already qualified for the Olympic Games, clocking a stunning personal best of 2:06:56 at last year’s Rotterdam Marathon.

The Belgian is targeting a top-eighth finish after finishing 22nd at the 2016 Rio Olympics and then improved that with a 10th-place finish at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

To achieve the goal, Naert has been burning the midnight oil in Kenya, and in an interview with Athletics Weekly, he explained how it feels training in his new-found spot in Iten.

He explained that being in Kenya has helped him work on different aspects of his training since he is away from family and has time to work.

“It depends on the build-up. I think right now I’m doing 100km of running and a 50/60km alternative on the Elliptical Machine. In between my marathon blocks, I’ll do a lot of alternative training like aqua jogging but during the marathon block itself – the 12 weeks preceding my marathon – I’ll run 200km a week. Sometimes even 240km or 250km.

“I meditate at least twice a day and when I’m on camp at altitude I do a lot more sessions of meditation. That’s one advantage of being in Kenya. I also like to train in the US and have been to train with Deena Kastor’s group on occasion.

“Since 2021 however, I’ve found my spot in Iten. I waited a long time to go to Kenya because I was a little bit afraid of the food and life there but once you are on the ground, there’s no distraction and it’s a bit like living like a monk on a mountain,” he told Athletics Weekly.

He added that Olympic success for him would be to have to be honest with himself and he explained that he would need a little miracle to get on the podium.

“However, sometimes miracles exist and you never know. It will be challenging with the weather and the course. I will prepare myself the best I can but the top eight is my absolute goal. I was pretty close in Tokyo but we will see and every race/championship is different,” he said.

There are a lot of training camps in Kenya.  One of the best is the KATA Running Retreat located near Thika.  At any one time there are 20 or more athletes training at the Kenyan Athletics Training Academy (KATA).

Lots of exciting racing on the streets of New York City and a new course record

Hellen Obiri timed her kick to perfection to win a thrilling women’s race and Tamirat Tola broke the course record for a dominant men’s title triumph at the TCS New York City Marathon, a World Athletics Platinum Label event, on Sunday (5).

Claiming their crowns in contrasting styles, Obiri sprinted away from Letesenbet Gidey and Sharon Lokedi in Central Park and crossed the finish line in 2:27:23, winning by six seconds, while Tola left his rivals far behind with 10km remaining in a long run for home. Clocking 2:04:58, he took eight seconds off the course record set by Geoffrey Mutai in 2011 to claim his first win in the event after fourth-place finishes in 2018 and 2019.

While super fast times have dominated recent major marathon headlines, the focus in New York was always more likely to be the battles thanks to the undulating course and competitive fields, although the men's race ended up being the quickest in event history.

The women’s race was particularly loaded. Kenya’s Lokedi returned to defend her title against a strong field that featured Boston Marathon winner Obiri, 10,000m and half marathon world record-holder Gidey, and former marathon world record-holder Brigid Kosgei, while Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir was a late withdrawal following the leg injury she sustained a week before the race.

There was no clear pre-race favourite and that remained the case right up to the closing stages, with many of the leading contenders locked in a fierce fight after a tactical 26 miles.

The pace was conservative in the first half, with a series of surges but no big moves. Eleven of the 14 members of the field remained together at half way, reached in 1:14:21. It set the scene for a final flurry, with the pace having gradually slowed after 5km was passed by the leaders in 17:23, 10km in 34:35 and 15km in 52:29.

Obiri, Lokedi and Kosgei were all firmly part of that group, along with their Kenyan compatriots Edna Kiplagat, Mary Ngugi-Cooper and Viola Cheptoo. Ethiopia’s Gidey was happy to sit at the back of the pack, with USA’s Kellyn Taylor and Molly Huddle taking it in turns to push the pace.

The tempo dropped again as the lead group hit the quiet of Queensboro Bridge, with the 25km mark reached in 1:28:39. But the group forged on, hitting 30km in 1:47:06 and 35km in 2:04:45.

Then Cheptoo made a move. The 2021 New York runner-up managed to create a gap but Obiri was the first to react and covered it gradually. Gidey followed and as Cheptoo surged again, Obiri and Gidey ran side-by-side behind her. It wasn’t decisive, though, and soon Lokedi and Kosgei were able to rejoin them.

As the group hit 24 miles in Central Park, Lokedi was running alongside Obiri and Cheptoo, with Gidey and Kosgei just behind. The pace picked up again but each time Kosgei was dropped, she managed to claw her way back – Lokedi leading from Gidey, Obiri and Kosgei with one mile to go.

Looking determined, two-time world 5000m champion Obiri saw her chance and began to stride for the finish. Being chased by Gidey and with Lokedi four seconds back, she kicked again at the 26-mile mark and couldn’t be caught, using her superb finishing speed to extend her winning margin to six seconds.

It was a brilliant return for Obiri, who finished sixth when making her marathon debut in New York last year and who went on to win the Boston Marathon in April. She becomes the first women since Ingrid Kristiansen in 1989 to complete the Boston and New York marathon title double in the same year.

Gidey followed Obiri over the finish line in 2:27:29, while Lokedi was third in 2:27:33, Kosgei fourth in 2:27:45 and Ngugi-Cooper fifth in 2:27:53.

"It's my honour to be here for the second time. My debut here was terrible for me. Sometimes you learn from your mistakes, so I did a lot of mistakes last year and I said I want to try to do my best (this year)," said Obiri.

"It was exciting for me to see Gidey was there. I said, this is like track again, like the World Championships in 2022 (when Gidey won the 10,000m ahead of Obiri)."

Tola finishes fast

The men’s race also started off at a conservative pace but by 20km a lead group of Tola, Yemal Yimer, Albert Korir, Zouhair Talbi and Abdi Nageeye had put the course record of 2:05:06 set 12 years ago back within reach.

Most of the field had been together at 5km, reached by the leaders in 15:28, and 10km was passed in 30:36. Then a serious surge in pace led to a six-strong breakaway pack, with Ethiopia’s Tola, Yimer and Shura Kitata joined by Kenya’s Korir, Dutch record-holder Nageeye and Morocco’s Talbi.

Kitata managed to hang on to the back of the pack for a spell but was dropped by 20km, reached by the leaders in 59:34.

The half way mark was passed by that five-strong lead group in 1:02:45, putting them on a projected pace just 24 seconds off of Mutai’s course record.

Tola – the 2022 world marathon champion – surged again along with Yimer, who was fourth in the half marathon at last month’s World Road Running Championships in Riga, and Korir, the 2021 champion in New York. They covered the 5km split from 20km to 25km in 14:41, a pace that Nageeye and Talbi couldn’t contend. It also turned out to be a pace that Korir couldn’t maintain and he was the next to drop, leaving Tola and Yimer to power away.

After an even quicker 5km split of 14:07, that leading pair had a 25-second advantage over Korir by 30km and Tola and Yimer were well on course record pace as they clocked 1:28:22 for that checkpoint. Tola was a couple of strides ahead as they passed the 19-mile mark, but Yimer was fixed on his heels.

The next mile made the difference. By the 20-mile marker Tola had a six-second advantage and looked comfortable, with Korir a further 45 seconds back at that point and Kitata having passed Nageeye and Talbi.

Then Yimer began to struggle. He was 33 seconds back at 35km, reached by Tola in 1:42:51, and he had slipped to fourth – passed by Korir and Kitata – by 40km.

Tola reached that point in 1:58:08, almost two minutes ahead of Korir, and more than four minutes ahead of Yimer, and he maintained that winning advantage all the way to the finish line.

With his time of 2:04:58, Tola becomes the first athlete to dip under 2:05 in the New York City Marathon. Korir was second in a PB of 2:06:57, while Kitata was third in 2:07:11. Olympic silver medallist Nageeye finished fourth in 2:10:21 and Belgium’s Koen Naert came through for fifth in 2:10:25.

"I am happy to win the New York City Marathon for the first time," said Tola. "It's the third time for me to participate, after two times finishing fourth. Now, I'm happy."

30 runners DNF in Sapporo heat

It wasn’t as fast as we’ve come to expect, but from 30K in, there was never any doubt that Eliud Kipchoge was on his way to a repeat performance of his 2016 Olympic marathon win. He stepped on the gas and immediately started to put distance between himself and the rest of the small lead pack, crossing the finish line in 2:08:38, a minute and 20 seconds ahead of the next finisher. The race for silver and bronze was won by lesser known runners, Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands (silver, in a season’s best 2:09:58) and Bashir Abdi of Belgium, who crossed the line for the bronze medal two seconds later, in 2:10:00 (also a season’s best time).

With this win, Kipchoge joins the greats who have won back-to-back marathons at an Olympic Games. He is the third runner to do so – and in 2024, he will have the chance to become the only athlete ever to three-peat in the marathon.

Nageeye is one of Kipchoge’s training partners on the NN Running Team. This was his best marathon performance, in terms of finishing position; he has two top-10 finishes at the Boston Marathon (seventh in 2018 and eighth in 2016). The same is true for Abdi, who is a training partner of Mo Farah’s and paced Farah to his one-hour world record on the track in 2020. His best finish before today was seventh at the 2019 London Marathon.

Despite the heat, Canadians Ben Preisner, Trevor Hofbauer and Cam Levins had excellent races, Preisner in particular, who finished in 46th position, in 2:19:27), followed closely by Hofbauer in 48th (2:19:57). Preisner was in 73rd position at 5K and made steady progress as he made his way up throughout the race. Levins was in good shape through the first half, but was not able to maintain the pace, dropping to 72nd in 2:28:43 – a very respectable result, considering the high attrition rate.

Heat and humidity result in multiple DNFs

It was another hot, muggy morning in Sapporo for the final event of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The lead pack consisting of Kipchoge, defending bronze medallist from 2016 and U.S. Trials winner Galen Rupp and 2019 world champion Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia, among others, set off at 7 a.m., settling into a comfortable pace of just over three minutes per kilometre. Jeison Alexander Suarez of Colombia maintained a position at or near the front for more than half of the race as athletes stuffed their hats with ice to keep their bodies as cool as possible.

Around halfway, Kipchoge was seen exchanging fist bumps with Daniel Do Nascimento of Brazil, but a short time later, Do Nascimento collapsed, then rallied, then dropped out. By halfway, 10 men had already left the course, including 2012 Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich, 2020 London Marathon winner Shura Kitata and Jack Rayner of Australia, who was one of Kipchoge’s pacers at INEOS 1:59. Sisay Lemma (third at Berlin and Tokyo marathons, with a PB of 2:03) appeared to be struggling soon thereafter. Galen Rupp led the pack briefly, but for the most part appeared willing to let others do the work at the front; he ended up finishing eighth. By 27K, the lead pack had dwindled to about 10, with Kipchoge, Rupp and Suarez leading; Japanese record holder Suguru Osaka was still in the lead pack, as was Desisa.

At 30K, Rupp dropped further and further off the pace. Amos Kipruto also dropped back (eventually joining the long list of DNFs), and the chase pack dwindled to 2019 Boston Marathon winner Lawrence Cherono, Ayad Lamdassem of Spain, Nageeye and Abdi. Osaka tried to come back to them, as Kipchoge stormed toward the finish line with a bounce in his step. Cherono ultimately finished fourth, Lamdassem fifth and Osako sixth.

Top 10 finishers

Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya)

Abdi Nageeye (Netherlands)

Bashir Abdi (Belgium)

Lawrence Cherono (Kenya)

Ayad Lamdassem (Spain)

Suguru Osako (Japan)

Alphonce Felix Simbu (Tanzania)

Galen Rupp (USA)

Othmane El Goumri (Morocco)

Koen Naert (Belgium)

Belgian distance runner Koen Naert sets sights on Gdynia for return to competitive action

Luckily, Koen Naert has the habit of writing things down.

As he sat – socially distanced, naturally – outside the meeting hotel for the Brussels Wanda Diamond League meeting in September, he smiled ruefully as he reflected on just how valuable this quirk is to him.

Fingers crossed, and further Covid-19 complications permitting, Belgium’s 31-year-old European marathon champion will have the opportunity to take part in his first race in almost a year when he participates at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships Gdynia 2020 on 17 October.

“Luckily I am always writing everything down so if something goes good I write it down, for you will never know if you forget, so I am glad I wrote everything down,” he said. “So I have to read everything again because after 11 months it’s started fading away! So I am happy I can find it…

“These championships will be very important. I think it will be difficult for me to be in 100% optimal condition, because I need some other races to race a fast half marathon, so I need some 10km races to really hit the wall, and then I really can dig deep in a half marathon.

“And so I miss those other competitions, I think physically, but also mentally because, in the beginning you say ‘Oh, we will train base, because there are no competitions. A good base level is enough’.

“But if you have base level for four months, maybe you want to start to dig a little deeper, so I think the World Half Marathon Championships are perfect mid-goal for that.

“It will be good mentally for me, too, because I think that when I race in Gdynia it will be 11 months without competition, so when I was thinking about racing I really got excited and I really had to think deep like, ‘Oh, how did I do it again?’”

Naert, whose unexpected victory at the 2018 European Championships in Berlin was followed by a personal best of 2:07:39 at the following year’s Rotterdam Marathon, admits that preparations for the championships, which were shifted from their original date of 29 March because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, have been “very difficult”.

Originally, he explained, he had targeted the Valencia Half Marathon, set on a course conducive to fast times. But when that was cancelled he went back to the Belgian Athletics Federation – which helps fund his support team along with his kit sponsor, Asics – and asked them: “Is it too late to run in Gdynia?”

It wasn’t. So Naert now has a focus, albeit one for which he has prepared in a way he would never have envisaged a year ago. Earlier in 2020, Naert had spoken of running 200 kilometres a week, but that target was soon modified.

“Not in Covid-19 times,” he said. “I think I was actually doing 140, 150km a week, because I knew there weren’t any competitions in the near future. If you are in April or May, I can’t remember when the European Championships got cancelled, but if you know they will be cancelled for August, and you are three months away from that, you don’t have to peak in that period.

“So I decided with my coach, Raymond Van Paemel, that I would work on other points and take another shot next year for the Olympics. I didn’t take a rest or anything, but I took it a little bit easier so that the body had more time to recover because since 2017 all the marathons and races I did were great, but my body was glad it had a few months to reload actually.

“It wouldn’t be ideal for 2020, but I think that 2020 is already lost for us on the road. So we gambled and we are aiming for a fantastic 2021.”

El Mahjoub Dazza wins the Fukuoka Marathon

It came down to a race between #1-ranked El Mahjoub Dazza (Morocco) and top Japanese man Taku Fujimoto (Toyota) after 30 km, but the Moroccan proved the stronger as he pulled away to win the Fukuoka International Marathon in 2:07:10.

Japanese men had to run under the national record of 2:05:50 to score the last spot on the 2020 Olympic marathon team. Fujimoto, 2:08 man Yuki Sato (Nissin Shokuhin) and ambitious 2:12 guy Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) were the only ones to really give it a go, staying up front in the lead pack with most of the internationals, with Bedan Karoki (Kenya/DeNA) laying down the law at the head of the pacer group.

A secondary lead group quickly separated off the back of the lead group, with Japan-based Kenyan Daniel Muiva Kitonyi (Track Tokyo), 2:09:52 man Jo Fukuda (Nishitetsu), Keita Shitara (Hitachi Butsuryu) and others cutting back to 2:07 pace. European marathon champ Koen Naert (Belgium) and Pan-Am Games gold medalist Christian Pacheco (Peru) were more conservative, going out with the sub-2:10 pace B-group.

The high pace took its toll up front, with most of the invited internationals falling off and then dropping out to leave just Dazza, Fujimoto, Sato, Ichida and former Takushoku University ekiden captain Workneh Derese (Ethiopia/Hiramatsu Byoin).

Ichida, Sato and Derese all fell back on the trip out to the 31.6 km turnaround point, leaving just Dazza and Fujimoto when the pacers stepped off at 30 km. Dazza immediately surged, breaking Fujimoto and running unchallenged for the win in 2:07:10. Fujimoto slowed progressively, almost shuffling down the home straight of the track for 2nd in 2:09:36 after a 1:03:02 first half. Derese dropped Sato, but in the last km he was run down by second group runner Fukuda who took 3rd in 2:10:33 to Derese's 2:10:52 for 4th.

Early caution paid off, as runners from the sub-2:10 third pack took the next four spots led by Natsuki Terada (JR Higashi Nihon), who closed with the fastest split in the field, 6:44, for a 5-minute PB of 2:10:55 and a 5th-place finish. 

Raymond Kipchumba Choge (Kenya) was the only other athlete from the original front pack to make the top 10, taking 9th in 2:11:38. Taiki Suzuki (Raffine) followed up a solid 3rd-place finish two weeks ago at China's Yiwu International Half Marathon with a 2:12:09 debut for 10th.Amateur runner Yusuke Tobimatsu (Hioki City Hall), a regular front runner in Fukuoka, survived going with the sub-2:10 this time to take 11th in a major PB of 2:12:44, while Sato faded to 2:14:56 after going through halfway in 1:03:02.

Still on sub-2:10 pace at 35 km, Ichida paid heavily for his own 1:03:02 first half as he fell to 29th in 2:19:05. Fan favorite Shitara, twin brother of former national record holder Yuta Shitara (Honda), fell short of his sub-2:10 goal at 14th in 2:14:31 just ahead of Sato.

Apart from Dazza and Choge, the only other invited internationals to finish were Naert and Pacheco, Naert finishing 18th in 2:15:51 and Pacheco 40th in 2:21:15.The Final Challenge series, the three-race chance for men to replace Osako on the 2020 Olympic team, continues in March with the Tokyo Marathon and Lake Biwa Marathon.

The dire crash and burn results today showed just how high a bar it will be to pull off, and that whatever else happens there's really only one person who could do it. But with the Valencia Marathon having quickly surpassed Fukuoka's place on the world calendar and the Osaka Marathon putting on heavy domestic pressure, more than ever before today's race seemed like a relic of times gone by.

Dazza's winning time was only just over 30 second faster than Osaka winner Asefa Tefera's, and Osaka had a quality women's race and field of over 30,000 on top of that. What is Fukuoka's route forward to stay relevant in a rapidly changing landscape?

El Mahjoub Dazza, Koen Naert, Ayana Tsedat, and Yuki Kawauchi are set to compete for the title at Fukuoka Marathon

When the Fukuoka International Marathon became a non-domestic race in 1966, the intent of the organizer was to invite the winners from all the international championship marathons which took place over the previous 12 months. In keeping with the spirit of the event, this year’s edition of the World Athletics Gold Label road race, set to take place on Sunday, December 1st, , features European champion Koen Naert and Pan American Games gold medalist Christian Pachoco.

Naert recorded his marathon personal best, 2:07:39, at this year’s Rotterdam Marathon. But Morocco’s El Mahjoub Dazza is the fastest in the field as he recorded 2:05:26 at the 2018 Valencia Marathon and 2:05:58 in Prague earlier this year. Those two performances are faster than the PBs of all the other runners in the field.

“I am ready,” he said. “If the weather is good, I can run fast.”

Other invited runners include Tsedat Abeje Ayana, who set a PB of 2:06:36 in Seville earlier this year, as well as sub-2:09 performers Raymond Choge, Amanuel Mesel, Abdi Ibrahim Abdo, and Shadrack Kiplagat. Mesel has competed in the past four editions of Fukuoka Marathon and has broken 2:10 in 2017 and 2018.

Kenyans running for a corporate sponsored team won the race on three occasions between 2011 and 2013. This year Michael Githae, who runs for Suzuki Hamamatsu Athletics Club, will try to become fourth Kenyan with a Japanese connection to win the Fukuoka Marathon. He was eighth at the 2017 Fukuoka Marathon and recorded a personal best of 2:09:21 at the 2018 Lake Biwa Marathon.

For Japanese runners, the significance of the race is that anybody who improves the national marathon record, 2:05:50, will clinch the third spot on the Japanese Olympic Marathon team – unless someone else improves the record further at the 2020 Tokyo or the Lake Biwa Marathon. Given the Japanese entrants for Sunday’s race, however, a national record appears unlikely in Fukuoka.

Taku Fujimoto, who ran 2:07:57 at the 2018 Chicago Marathon, is the fastest Japanese runner in the field, while Yuki Sato, who has a 10,000m best of 27:38.25, may have the best marathon potential.

Yuki Kawauchi will run the Fukuoka Marathon for the fifth straight year. His personal best is 2:08:14, while his best time in Fukuoka is 2:09:05 from 2013. Now that Kawauchi no longer works for Saitama prefecture government, he may be ready for a quicker time.

Leading contenders for this year’s NN Marathon Rotterdam will try to break the course record of 2:04:27

Kenya’s Marius Kipserem will start as the slight favorite. He won the Abu Dhabi Marathon in December in 2:04:04, but his time cannot be counted as an official PB because it was later found that the course was slightly short. That in itself, though, will act as a huge motivating factor for the 30-year-old as he seeks to improve on his fifth-place finish from Rotterdam last year.

Ethiopia’s Tsegaye Mekonnen and Markos Geneti have sub-2:05 PBs, while Emanuel Saina and Woldaregay Gezahegn Kelkile are also strong competitors. Josphat Kiptoo Boit, who burst on to the road-running scene last year with half-marathon clockings of 59:19 and 59:42, will be making his marathon debut.

Dutch record-holder Abdi Nageeye and European champion Koen Naert of Belgium will be aiming to break their respective PBs of 2:08:16 and 2:09:51 or at least secure the Olympic qualifying mark of 2:11:30.

Three world records had been set in the Dutch city: Carlos Lopes’s 2:07:12 in 1985, Belayneh Dinsamo’s 2:06:50 in 1988 and Tegla Loroupe’s 2:20:47 in 1998. The men’s course record of 2:04:27 was set – and shared – by Duncan Kibet and James Kwambai in 2009 with the pair moving to equal second on the world all-time list at that time.

Having won the Valencia Marathon last year in 2:21:14, Ethiopia’s Ashete Bekele Dido will start as favorite in the women’s race. Compatriot Sentayehu Lewetegn and Kenya’s Stella Barsosio are both sub-2:24 performers and are expected to challenge for top honours.

USA’s Kellyn Taylor, Ethiopia’s Betelhem Moges and Portugal’s European half marathon champion Sara Moreira should also be in contention for the podium places.

Approximately 17,000 runners will take to the Erasmus Bridge for the start of the race on Sunday.