Running News Daily

Jepkorir ready to shake off rivals as she seeks to defend Copenhagen title

Rodah Jepkorir is gearing up to defend her Copenhagen Marathon crown against top-tier competition on May 5 in Denmark’s capital.

Last year, Jepkorir blazed through the course in 2:23:14 to claim victory, setting a new personal best (PB) in the process.

Valentina Mateiko secured second place in 2:25:05, while Britain’s Philippa Bowden completed the podium with a time of 2:29:16.

The 33-year-old is no stranger to success, boasting three Buenos Aires Marathon titles under her belt.

In 2019, she clocked 2:25:46, followed by 2:26:53 in 2022, and completed a hat trick in 2023 with a time of 2:24:52. 

Jepkorir also clocked 2:27:10 to seal the Gold Coast Marathon title in Australia last year as well as the 2019 title in 2:27:56.

However, she'll face fierce competition from Ethiopia’s Derartu Hailu, who holds a PB of 2:23:18 from the Sevilla Marathon, where she finished fourth.

Hailu also holds the Xuzhou Marathon title with a time of 2:27:27.

Joining the fray is 2022 Kosice Marathon champion Margaret Agai, who aims to challenge Jepkorir for the title. Agai has a personal best of 2:23:28 from the 2013 Daegu Marathon.

In the men’s elite race, Castellon Marathon silver medallist James Kiplagat and 2018 Paris Marathon bronze medallist Ernest Ngeno will be among the contenders.

Kiplagat holds a PB of 2:09:08 from the 2023 Zurich Barcelona Marathon and also secured a runners-up spot at the 2021 Stockholm Marathon with a time of 2:12:26. Ngeno boasts a personal best of 2:06:41 from the 2018 Paris Marathon.

The duo will be joined by 2023 Durban Marathon bronze medallists Cornelius Yego and Benson Tunyo.

Ethiopia’s Gadisa Birhanu will prove a tough test for the Kenyans as he boosts a 2:04:59 PB set in 2023 at the Sevilla Marathon, where he clinched the title.

Abdi Gelelchu of Bahrain is also in the elite list with a PB of 2:07:15 set at the 2022 Sevilla Marathon and so will be Japan’s Tsubasa Ichiyama with a a PB of 2:07:41.

Ethiopian Tadu Abate And Kenya's Veronica Maina Win Wuxi Marathon In China

China's marathon runner He Jie improved the national record to 2:06:57 at the Wuxi Marathon, marking the third new national record in a year.

He Jie set China's new national men's marathon record at the 2024 Wuxi Marathon on Sunday, while Tadu Abate Dedm of Ethiopia and Kenya's Veronicah Njeri Maina won the men's and women's races respectively.

25-year-old He clocked two hours, six minutes and 57 seconds to finish fourth in the men's race, 39 seconds shy of Dedm, who set a new event record. Abay Alemu Lesa of Ethiopia and Nicholas Kirwa of Kenya finished second and third respectively.

"I'm more than satisfied with myself today, it's a result of our hard work from the training camp in Kenya," He reflected on the race. "The international athletes raced at a very high level today and I almost collapsed in the final kilometers. But the result showed that the better my opponents are, the stronger I am."

He had improved the national record by 46 seconds at last year's Wuxi Marathon, which was lowered by another 21 seconds by Yang Shaohui at the Fukuoka International Marathon last December.

"My goal was to break into two hours and six minutes for China. The new record doesn't belong to myself, but is a result of collective efforts from marathon runners of my generation," said a modest He.

Looking ahead to the Paris Olympics, both He and his coach Xiao Li have high expectations, aiming to bring Chinese marathon to a new height. "He won all 10 races that he competed in last year, including the Asian Games. A top eight finish will be our goal in Paris, which will be a historic result for China," Xiao added.

On the women's side, Maina also broke the event record with a time of 2:24:46, sweeping the podium with her compatriots Rodah Jepkorir Tanui and Monica Chebet Chepkwony.

As the Wuxi Marathon marks its 10-year anniversary, the event also serves as the first leg of this year's National Marathon Championships and the trials for the Paris Olympic Games.

He, Yang and Sangji Dongzhi finished top three in the men's domestic race, while Zhang Deshun won gold in the women's domestic category with 2:27:12, followed by Li Dan and Bai Li.

According to the qualification criteria of the Chinese Athletics Association, the Wuxi Marathon and several international marathons with World Athletics points held between January 1 and May 5 are counted as the Paris Olympic trials. Three athletes with the best finishes from the above-mentioned events will qualify for the Paris Olympics.

As of now, He, Yang and Wu Xiangdong lead the men's squad, while Xia Yuyu, Zhang and Bai top the women's list.

Olympic silver medalist Paul Tanui set for his marathon debut in Argentina

The Buenos Aires International Marathon takes place on Sunday, September 24 having attracted strong fields in both the men’s and women’s races.

Olympic 10,000m silver medalist Paul Tanui will be making his long-awaited debut over the distance and he will definitely be bracing up for a tough test. 

The 32-year-old intended to make his debut at the Daegu International Marathon but failed to finish the race and he will be hoping to have a better outing in Argentina.

Tanui has only competed once this season, at the Bogota Half Marathon where he finished fourth in a time of 1:05:02.

In the men’s race, there are four other runners who already have records under 2:10, led by Kenyan Cornelis Kibet. Edwin Kibet Kiptoo, runner-up of the 2022 Buenos Aires Marathon, will also be in the hunt for victory this time around.

The list of Argentines includes several of the most notable marathon runners in recent times such as David Rodríguez, Martín Méndez, Miguel Maza, José Félix Sánchez, and Pablo Toledo.

The men's record was set at 2:05:00 by Kenyan Evans Chebet in 2019 and no one has gotten closer to it since then.

Chebet went ahead to become one of the best marathoners in the world by winning major events such as Valencia (2:03:00), New York, and Boston.

In the women’s category, the circuit record was also achieved in 2019 by Rodah Jepkorir Tanui, with 2:25:46. Tanui now returns in search of her third consecutive victory (she also triumphed in 2022).

She will have strong rivals such as her co-patriot Pamela Jepkosgei and Sharon Jemutai Cherop, a former winner of the Boston Marathon, who arrives for the third time in the country

Defending champion Hurisa eyes winning return in Tata Mumbai Marathon

Defending champion Derara Hurisa is back to where his marathon journey began — the prestigious Tata Mumbai Marathon — as he eyes a winning return from injury in the upcoming 18th edition on Sunday, January 15.

The 25-year-old Ethiopian clinched the 2020 crown with a blistering course record of 2:08:09 and went on to win both his outings over the classic distance in 2021 — Vienna and Guadalajara Marathon (Mexico) — but was disqualified in Austria due to a shoe technicality.

He spent 2022 recovering from a hip injury.

“I’ll try to defend my title, but the competition here is really good,” Hurisa told a news conference on Saturday. “My training was nice, with the focus on the Tata Mumbai Marathon,” he added.

In the men’s field, 10 runners hold personal bests under the course record, including Hurisa’s compatriot and training partner Hayle Lemi.

The 28-year-old is a winner of seven marathons, including the Boston Marathon in 2016 and Dubai in 2015. “The conditions here look good for me,” said Lemi, a.k.a. Lemi Berhanu, runner-up in the 2021 Boston Marathon in 2:10.37 and with a preference for warm weather.

Leading the Kenyan charge in the men’s International Elite field of 16 is Philemon Rono, the training partner of marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge. “My training has been good, I just got to go out there and express myself,” said the 31-year-old, who finished an impressive sixth at the 2019 Boston Marathon and won the Toronto Marathon for the third time that year in 2:05:00.

The women’s International Elite field will feature 2019 winner Worknesh Alemu of Ethiopia and the 2020 runner-up from Kenya, Rodah Jepkorir Tanui, and six runners with personal bests under the course record (2.24.33), headlined by the experienced Kenyan Sharon Cherop.

The 18th edition of the USD 405,000 prize fund World Athletics Gold Label Road Race takes place after a two-year pandemic-forced break and will also witness over 55,000 amateurs across six categories on its much-awaited return.

The elite men’s and women’s winners will take home USD 45,000 each. The runners will be further incentivized by a Course Record Bonus of USD 15,000.

Ethiopian Derara Hurisa breaks the Tata Mumbai Marathon record in borrowed shoes

Ethiopians Brihanu Testome, Ayele Abshero and Derara Hurisa chatted among themselves as they strode along the Tata Mumbai Marathon route, before Hurisa took charge to finish in two hours, eight minutes, nine seconds — under the course record 2:08:35 (Gideon Kipketer, 2016).

Hurisa earned $45,000 first prize, plus a $15,000 bonus for the record. He also dragged Ayele (2:08:20) and Testome (2:08:26) under the course mark. The first seven runners in men’s elite category finished under 2:10min in this IAAF Gold Label event, run along a slightly revised course, in cooler January weather and pushed by pacemakers for a major part of the race.

The women’s winner, Ethiopian Amane Beriso (2:24:51s) did not get on top of the conditions and struggled in the last phase. But, with the nearest challenger far behind, she held on to breast the tape first, but missed the course record of 2:24:33s (Valentine Kipkieter, 2014). She will also be richer by $45,000.

Long-limbed pace-setter Sylvester Kipketer loped ahead of Amane from start to finish, even alerted the Ethiopian to forget fatigue and put in a burst to the tape as the course record was within grasp till the end. Rodah Jepkorir finished in 2:27:14 for the silver while Haven Hailu bagged the bronze in 2:28:56.

The men’s race turned into an engrossing tussle, seven remaining in the lead pack after the pace-setters had exited. Defending champion Cosmas Lagat from Kenya also faded away, supposedly due to injury. Ayele remained the name to watch (personal best 2:04:23). “My body felt good at the 30km mark and thoughts in my mind changed from finishing to running in record-breaking time.”

However, running in borrowed shoes, Hurisa stole the show with a stunning burst to leave his fellow countrymen behind. The champion is a cross-country runner with no marathon experience. “I knew Ayele is experienced over this distance and looked to him to show the way. I kept telling him to take charge of the race. Sensing that he was holding back, I decided to finish,” said Hurisa, a World junior athletics participant for Ethiopia in cross country.

His shoes were borrowed from Abraham Girma, a fellow elite runner. “I lost my regular shoes in flight,” said the champion. The TMM is organized by Procam International.

Yuta Shitara sets new course record at the Gold Coast Marathon even when weather conditions were not ideal

The second fastest Japanese marathon runner in history became the fastest runner in Gold Coast Marathon history when Yuta Shitara won the IAAF Gold Label race in 2:07:50 this morning.

The 27-year-old had an exciting duel with placegetters Barnabus Kiptum of Kenya and Zane Robertson of New Zealand over the final 12km before making his move with 2km remaining.

It was the eighth win by Japanese men in the 41-year history of the event and bettered the race record and Australian all comers record previously held by Kenyan Kenneth Mungara (2:08:42).

Shitara takes home $20,000 in victory prize money and an additional $10,000 time bonus for his record-breaking effort today.

Kiptum, the winner of the Hong Kong Marathon in February, finished second in a personal best 2:08:02, while marathon debutant Robertson placed third in 2:08:19.

It was an extra special result for Robertson as his time was a New Zealand record, bettering the previous mark of his brother Jake (2:08:26, Lake Biwa, 2018), and he was crowned the IAAF Oceania Area Marathon Champion for 2019.

The first Australian across the line was Victorian Liam Adams in sixth place clocking a pb 2:11:36 – a bittersweet result for the 32-year-old as it was an agonising six seconds outside the 2020 Olympic qualification standard.

Dual world champion over 1500m and 5000m on the track Bernard Lagat (USA) improved his marathon pr to 2:12:10 for seventh place, while 2013 race winner Yuki Kawauchi (JPN) placed 13th in 2:15:32.

"It's definitely a confidence builder, and I have had a lot of things to make me confident, but this is a big one heading into the Japanese Olympic trials," said Shitara.

Shitara, who stayed with the lead group of four throughout the race, said although he was not aiming for a particular time or result, the win showed his training had paid off.

“We did a lot of training, and I think that helped," he said in a post-race interview.

Weather conditions on the Gold Coast were less than ideal, with athletes in both the full- and half-marathons battling headwinds and heavy rain.

"Honestly, I'd like to be able to run together with Yuta but I'm still not good enough," Kimura said.

Kenyan Rodah Jepkorir (KEN) held off a strong finishing burst from Tasmanian Milly Clark (AUS/TAS) to take the women’s Gold Coast Marathon.

The 27-year-old broke away from the 30km mark and then lasted to break the tape in 2:27:56, with Clark second (2:28:08) and Eritrea’s Nazret Weldu (ERI) third in 2:28:57.

This year’s eight Gold Coast Marathon races attracted a total of 26,287 entries, including 3,678 overseas competitors, as the event continues to achieve a long-term upward trend.