Running News Daily

Ethiopians Make Impact at TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

On a record setting day more than 6,200 runners crossed the line making the 2024 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon the largest marathon in Canada.

Ethiopian women once again filled the top four places with the first three smashing the course record.

Waganesh Mekasha crossed the line first in a marvellous time of 2:20:44 to claim the $20,000 winners’ purse together with $10,000 for beating the course record. The record of 2:22:16 had been set by Kenya’s MagdalyneMasai in 2019.

A year ago Waganesh had finished one second behind the winner and returned here with victory in mind.

“I had prepared very well and I thought I could get the course record,” she said through a broad grin. ‘I thought I might get 2:21. I didn’t expect 2:20 so I am very happy.”

Second place went to Roza Dereje, who was returning to marathon racing after taking three years off to start a family. The Olympic 4th place finisher in 2021 she has a personal best of 2:18:30 and had been boldly insistent that she wanted a pacemaker to take the leaders out at course record pace. She got her wish.

The four-woman Ethiopian contingent passed half way in 1:10:19 but at 30km there were just three of them left, Waganesh, Roza and Afera Godfay.

“Around 35 -37km is where I made my move,” Waganeshsaid afterwards while waving to a Toronto spectator who hails from her village in Ethiopia. “From there I pushed on and that is where I was able to separate.”

Roza was pleased with her performance and praised her compatriots.

“I praise the Lord first, I am very happy with the run and with the time,” she declared. “I am happy for my kids and my husband. It has been three years (since her last marathon) and I am happy. I came to win but I am very happy with what I got.”

Following Roza home was Afera Godfay to repeat her third place finish from a year ago but this time she was rewarded with a a new personal best of 2:21:50.

The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is a World Athletics Elite Label race and doubles as the Canadian Championships. It was Natasha Wodak, a two-time Canadian Olympian and current national record holder at 2:23:12, who claimed the championship gold medal while finishing 5th overall.

After chasing the Olympic standard in 2023 and early 2024 and falling short she was delighted with her first championship in her favoured distance. She drew encouragement from the fact her time of 2:27:54 was her fastest since 2022.

“I am really happy that I was able to win,” she said as her parents and her coach Trent Stellingwerf looked on. “ Ididn’t feel awesome in the second half but I had an amazing pacer who was encouraging me and when I needed to slow down we would slow down and when I felt good we would speed up.

“I didn’t feel that great which is a little frustrating but to still run sub 2:28 when you are not feeling great on a windy day I am happy with that.”

The Canadian championship silver medal went to Leslie Sexton (2:33:15) with the bronze going to Rachel Hannah (2:34:33).

Mulugeta Uma, who is a member of the Ethiopian armed forces, won the men’s race in 2:07:16. He had also come to Toronto hoping to produce a course record (2:05:00). When the pacer dropped out at halfway reached in 63:01 he pushed the pace all the while encouraging those around him to share pacemaking duties.

Eventually Kenya’s Domenic Ngeno took on the role and opened up a ten-second lead which appeared to undo the field. But Mulugeta was unfazed.

“I was running my own pace I saw (Domenic) move ahead but I knew he would come back to us because I was running my own pace,” he revealed later. “It was very hard. It was cold and very windy so it was very difficultrunning. I didn’t get the time but I got the win.”

Ngeno hung on for second place in 2:07:23 a three second improvement over his previous personal best.

“I was thinking I would run ahead of that guy from Ethiopia,” said Ngeno. “I knew he was very strongbecause he has a personal best of 2:05:33. When the group caught me I knew I would be on the podium. I am happy with my second place.”

Third place went to Noah Kipkemboi of Kenya who also recorded a personal best with 2:07:31.

The Canadian men’s title went to Vancouver’s Justin Kent who ran a personal best of 2:12:17. He had run aggressively from the start accompanied by a dedicated pacemaker who took him through half way in 65:13.

"I felt fantastic - until we hit the wind in the last 8k,” he said afterwards. “I felt really, really good, holding back a lot, and then the pace faltered a little bit. I was just zoned in on the pacer. There were two 5km splits there where we were running 15:50, which allowed them to come back a little bit. My legs felt great just the wind was not so fun.”

At one point a chasing pack of Canadians closed the gap paced by his friend and training partner, Ben Preisner. Yet, he was able to hold them off before extending the margin .Second place went to Lee Wesselius in 2:13:52 with Andrew Alexander, who was making his marathon debut, taking the bronze medal in 2:14:13.

“I knew at the first turnaround they were a lot closer than I thought,” Kent continued. “I knew that was potentially going to happen but I knew they were just as sore as I was. I was a little bit worried that they might work together in the wind. That’s a hard stretch to run into the wind that last 8km. I was able to pull away the last couple of kilometres.”

Both Kent and Wodak earned valuable World Athletics points for their Canadian Championships which they hope will earn then places on Canada’s 2025 World Championship team bound for Tokyo.

(10/20/2024) Views: 165 ⚡AMP
by Paul Gains

Natasha Wodak hoping to surprise herself at Toronto Waterfront Marathon

The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon (TWM) returns on Sunday, doubling as the Canadian Marathon Championships. For our Canadian elite athletes, Sunday’s race provides a chance to qualify for the marathon at the 2025 World Athletics Championships, to be held in Tokyo. Canadian record holder Natasha Wodak will toe the line in Toronto for the first time in 11 years, setting her sights on her first-ever Canadian marathon title.

Wodak made her marathon debut here in 2013. The 42-year-old from Vancouver has been on a golden streak this year, winning the Vancouver Half Marathon in June and Vancouver’s Eastside 10K in September. But earlier this year, she fell short of her goal to qualify for Canadian Olympic team after completing four marathon builds and taking three attempts at the race in the span of 18 months.

“The marathon is a beast”

“Nothing is guaranteed,” Wodak says. “Never in a million years would I have thought that after running 2:23:00, I wouldn’t be able to come within four minutes of that, four different times in 18 months.” Wodak completed the 42.2K event at the 2023 Budapest World Championships, 2024 Houston and Hamburg marathon events, falling short of the Olympic standard each time, and had scratched from the 2023 London Marathon after coming down with a stomach bug. “The marathon is a beast; you’ve got to have the right day, the right fitness, the right weather–everything has to click on the right day.”

The two-time Olympian holds a personal best of 2:23:12, which has stood as the Canadian record since the 2022 Berlin Marathon. “The A goal is to win the Canadian marathon championships,” she says, hoping to add that title to her already impressive resume. “Everyone wants to be a national champion.”

After steering away from her original plan to race at the Valencia Marathon, Wodak is taking a different approach at Toronto’s big-city race; she can finally enjoy racing in Canada in front of family and friends without the pressure of hitting the Olympic standard. She adds that the generous prize purse offered by TWM was an incentive. She revealed she plans on starting out conservatively, with the hope of having a fast second half. “I’ll go out at 2:25 to 2:26 pace, and hope to catch a few of the women who go out too hard,” she says. “It would be really nice to place in the top three. If all goes well, maybe I can surprise myself and others by having a really fast last 10K.”

After her attempts to qualify for Paris 2024, Wodak says she has learned not to take anything for granted. She says she began to jump into workouts with friends, running because she wanted to and doing what felt good. “I did enjoy the process over time, so I have no regrets,” she says. “It’s a privilege to do this.”

Erin Mawhinney to make marathon debut

Defending TWM half-marathon champion Erin Mawhinney will be doubling her usual distance to make her first-ever attempt at 42.2K. The 28-year-old, a two-time winner of the Under Armour Toronto 10K, has been slowly building up her mileage while training for the past three years with coach and two-time Olympian Reid Coolsaet; at the peak of her build, she reached 190 km in one week–quite a contrast to the maximum of 43 km she used to run weekly  in university. The increase in mileage means increased time dedicated to training, adding to her already-busy schedule; the Hamilton native works full-time as a nurse, with the occasional night shift. “My apartment is a mess all the time, and I’m always out of groceries, since I’m eating more to support that mileage,” she says.

“You go in a little bit blind,” Mawhinney says. “You can sort of predict from the half-marathon what might happen, but it’s also a completely different event.” Her half-marathon best stands at 1:11:50, which she ran in March. “Somewhere in the low 2:30s would be a great day, but I’m mostly just excited to try out a marathon.”

Anne-Marie Comeau to seek redemption

Anne-Marie Comeau of Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que., is the reigning Canadian Marathon Championships silver medallist; the 2018 winter Olympian in cross-country skiing led for 42.1 kilometres of last year’s race before being passed by Quebec City’s Caroline Pomerleau, who nabbed the title. Comeau, who is 28, struggled over the last 10 km, and aims to pack her pockets with gels this year to avoid fading in the final stretch. “I had a rough year,” she says. “I’ve done a lot of marathon builds without actually racing.” Comeau was set to race the Houston Marathon and the Boston Marathon, but had to scratch from both, first due to Covid, and then to a shoulder dislocation while skiing.

Finally getting the chance to race, Comeau has set big foals for herself. “I want to get a personal best,” she says. “My marathon PB (2:34:51) is from last year on this course. I’m going to start a bit slower, at 2:31 to 2:32 pace, and see if I’m able to push harder toward the end.”

International field

Waganesh Mekasha of Ethiopia has her eyes set on the course record this year. The 32-year-old holds a personal best of 2:22:45 from the 2019 Dubai Marathon and took second in Toronto last fall, with a time of 2:23:12. “I enjoyed the race last year,” she says. “The course was great. The pacer dropped early and it affected us.” Her best time sits just off the course record of 2:22:16. The 2023 Ottawa Marathon champion feels as though she has prepared even better than last year. “If the pace goes out well and the weather is good, the course record is possible,” she says.

Ethiopia’s Roza Dereje comes into the race with the fastest personal best in the women’s field (2:18:30), and will also be fighting to take down the five-year-old course record. “I’m ready and prepared to challenge the course record,” she says. Dereje, 27, finished fourth in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympic Games, and became a mother in 2023. This is her first time visiting Canada.

For the first time in the race weekend’s history, the 5K race, traditionally held on the same day as the marathon and half-marathon, has been moved to Saturday; the race has already raised more than $3,000,000 for the TCS Charity Program.

How to watch

The 2024 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon and Canadian Marathon Championships can be streamed on Sunday, Oct. 20, on World Athletics Inside Track, CBC Sports, or the CBC Gem app. The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is one of the first North American marathons to be featured on the WA Inside Track worldwide feed. This year, 30,000 participants from 70 countries will take part in Toronto’s race weekend (a record). All runners can be tracked using the official TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon app, available for download on the App Store and Google Play.

(10/19/2024) Views: 199 ⚡AMP
by Cameron Ormond

Ethiopia’s Roza Dereje To Race 2024 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Roza Dereje has raced just once in the last three years yet her commitment to the 2024 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is a massive coup for this World Athletics Elite Label Race.

Twice she has dipped under the 2:20 barrier and can point to a personal best marathon time of 2:18:30 set when she won the 2019 Valencia Marathon.

Moreover, she represented Ethiopia in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic marathon - held in Sapporo, Japan in 2021. Under hot humid conditions she narrowly missed the podium finishing 4th that day. Then there is her incredible record at World Marathon Majors: a second place finish at the 2018 Chicago Marathon (2:21:18) and, six months later, a third place in the 2019 London Marathon (2:20:51).

Her one outing was a credible 6th place finish at the Antrim Coast Half Marathon in Northern Ireland (August 25th, 2024) - a tuneup for her first visit to Canada.

Never before has the Toronto Waterfront Marathon enjoyed the addition of an athlete sporting such credentials.

There is a good explanation for her hiatus from the sport ever since those Tokyo Olympics. A little over a year ago she gave birth to her first child, a son named Yobsan.

“Life has changed a lot,” the 27 year old admits. “Being a mom is a great thing to be in this world and life is so good after it.”

Roza’s husband is Dereje Ali, a former world class marathon runner, who finished second in the 2011 Ottawa Marathon. The couple and their infant live in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa and have reversed traditional roles in their household. Indeed, Roza credits her husband’s sacrifice for her ability to compete at the highest level and to make her comeback at this year’s TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

“He stopped running just to support me,” she explains. “We talked about it and he stopped to take care of the children and household and allow me the time to rest and recover in between training sessions and to prepare food etc. to help me to be a champion.”

Those training sessions involve meeting up with her elite training group under renowned coach Haji Adilo three times a week. She trains alone on other days. The meetups can be in a variety of different locations depending upon Haji’s objective for the session.

“Akaki, Sendafa, Entoto, they are great training places too,” Roza continues. “I drive with my husband Dereje to all of the sessions. We are very fortunate to have a good car and can travel freely to the sessions and not have to wait on public transportation.”

Normally, training sessions begin at sunrise before there is heavy traffic on the roads at these locations. During the rainy season (June to September) it is sometimes necessary to change locations since the majority of roads are unpaved and can become slippery underfoot.

Besides the sacrifices made by Dereje her greatest influence has been Haji her longtime coach whose career as a marathon runner was cut short due to health complications. He went into coaching with a personal best of 2:12:25 from 1999.

“Haji's great support has taken me this far, his hard work and commitment to the sport is what brings me to where I am now,” she declares. “I started my career with him and I am who I am today because of him and my other coaches in the team.”

Choosing Toronto for her come back made sense as many of Haji’s athletes have competed here.

"I used to watch other athletes running there (on YouTube livestream) so I am excited to come and run,” she adds. “Last year one of my training partners (Amid Fozya Jemal) was part of an exciting race right to the finish so I am hoping to come and make an exciting race too.”

The Toronto Waterfront course record of 2:22:16 was set in 2019 by Kenya’s Magdalyne Masai. It’s a time that Roza had beaten four times prior to her Olympic marathon race in 2021. However, talk of record breaking in Toronto, at least this far out, is not discussed though she might be very capable of achieving this standard.

“Even though it is my first time to race since I gave birth, running is not new to me,” she declares. “So I am not nervous about it. I am preparing well for the race to make my come back fruitful.

“I am training well targeting this race and I have more time to prepare myself too.”

Asked for a specific goal her answer is concise: “Winning, with the will of God!”

(08/27/2024) Views: 230 ⚡AMP
by Paul Gains

Kenenisa Bekele and Sara Hall drop out of the Boston Marathon

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has announced updates to the professional fields at the 126th Boston Marathon in two weeks. Previous headliners Kenenisa Bekele, Titus Ekiru and Sara Hall have all announced that they will not be running, due to ongoing injuries. Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma and Birhanu Legese have both been added.

Hall posted on her Instagram that her knee tendon has been aggravated since she tripped on a run in February, landing on a rock. She insists that she has done everything to make it to the line in Boston but does not want to risk the chance of a setback before the World Championships in Eugene, Ore. this July.

Among other big names to drop out of the women’s field are: 2019 Valencia Marathon champion Roza Dereje (ETH); 2019 Ottawa Marathon winner Tigist Girma (ETH); 2021 NYC Marathon sixth-place finisher Kellyn Taylor (USA) and sub-2:20 marathoner Zeineba Yimer (ETH).

Kenya’s Ekiru was the second-fastest elite male in the field, behind Bekele, running the fastest marathon time of 2021 (2:02:57 in Milan). Ekiru has struggled to come back from an ongoing injury he suffered at the RAK Half Marathon in February, which forced him out.

Bekele has been very silent on social media since his sixth-place finish at the 2021 New York Marathon. The reasoning for his Boston withdrawal has not been announced; the former four-time world-record holder continues to fight Father Time, turning 40 this June.

Legese of Ethiopia has been added to the men’s field. He is a two-time Tokyo Marathon champion with a personal best of 2:02:48. Lemma is the other addition to the men’s field: he won the 2021 London Marathon and has previous wins in Berlin and Tokyo and a PB of 2:03:36.

For the first time in almost three years, the prestigious Boston Marathon will return to its traditional Patriots’ Day date of April 18. 

(04/06/2022) Views: 978 ⚡AMP
by Marley Dickinson

Olympic Medalists Will Headline 2022 Boston Marathon Women’s Field

Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya, the 2021 Olympic gold medalist in the marathon, and her countrywoman Joyciline Jepkosgei, who ran the fastest marathon of 2021, 2:17:43, when she won the London Marathon, headline the Boston Marathon elite women’s field for 2022.

American Molly Seidel, who won Olympic bronze last summer, will also line up in Hopkinton on April 18.

The race marks the 50th anniversary of the first official women’s field at the Boston Marathon. This year’s elite women entrants include Olympic and Paralympic medalists, World Major Marathon champions, and sub-2:20 marathoners.

The race will include four Ethiopians with sub-2:20 credentials: Degitu Azimeraw, Roza Dereje, Zeineba Yimer, and Tigist Girma.

Former Boston Marathon champions Des Linden (2018) and Edna Kiplagat (2017) will race, as will Mary Ngugi of Kenya, who was third in Boston last October.

In addition to Linden, Sara Hall, who is the second-fastest woman in American marathoning history, is part of a strong crop of American talent. Nell Rojas, who was the top American finisher at Boston last year, and top-10 2020 Olympic Trials finishers Kellyn Taylor and Stephanie Bruce are also scheduled to run.

Other notable competitors include Canadian Olympian and national record-holder Malindi Elmore, two-time Canadian Olympian Natasha Wodak, and Charlotte Purdue, who is the third-fastest woman in British marathon history.

The Boston Marathon benefits from being the only World Marathon Major race on the calendar in the spring.

“As we look to celebrate the trailblazing women of 1972, we are delighted to welcome the fastest and most accomplished women’s field in the history of the Boston Marathon,” BAA President and CEO Tom Grilk said in a press release. “Though there have been many milestones in the five decades since the women’s division was established in Boston, this field of Olympic and Paralympic medalists, Boston champions, and global stars will make this a race to remember on Patriots’ Day.”

Elite field

Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) 2:17:16Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) 2:17:43Degitu Azimeraw (ETH) 2:17:58Roza Dereje (ETH) 2:18:30Zeineba Yimer (ETH) 2:19:28 Edna Kiplagat (KEN) 2:19:50Tigist Girma (ETH) 2:19:52Maurine Chepkemoi (KEN) 2:20:18Sara Hall (USA) 2:20:32Desiree Linden (USA) 2:22:38Viola Cheptoo (KEN) 2:22:44 Purity Changwony (KEN) 2:22:46Charlotte Purdue (GBR) 2:23:26Kellyn Taylor (USA) 2:24:28Molly Seidel (USA) 2:24:42Malindi Elmore (CAN) 2:24:50Mary Ngugi (KEN) 2:25:20 Monicah Ngige (KEN) 2:25:32Natasha Wodak (CAN) 2:26:19Nell Rojas (USA) 2:27:12 Stephanie Bruce (USA) 2:27:47Dakotah Lindwurm (USA) 2:29:04Roberta Groner (USA) 2:29:09Angie Orjuela (COL) 2:29:12Bria Wetsch (USA) 2:29:50Maegan Krifchin (USA) 2:30:17Elaina Tabb (USA) 2:30:33Lexie Thompson (USA) 2:30:37Kate Landau (USA) 2:31:56

 

(01/11/2022) Views: 1,403 ⚡AMP
by Chris Hatler

Kenyan Geoffrey Kamworor faces tough test on fast course in Valencia

Kenyan leads strong line-up in the marathon on Sunday and judging by past results we are likely to see some very fast times

Geoffrey Kamworor believes he can break the world marathon record in future and possibly dip inside two hours. This Sunday (Dec 5) should offer clues as to whether he’s correct when he takes on a strong field on a super-fast course in Valencia.

The Maraton Valencia Trinidad Alfonso EDP takes place in a Spanish city that has hosted a number of record-breaking distance running performances lately. Before he thinks about getting close to Eliud Kipchoge’s world marathon record of 2:01:39, though, Kamworor must first win the race – and it won’t be an easy task.

Kamworor’s marathon best is “only” 2:06:12 but that dates back to 2012. In recent years he has focused on the New York City Marathon – which has no pacemakers and a slowish course – and which he has won in 2017 and 2019.

Kamworor is also a former world cross-country winner and has a good record in Valencia, as he won his third world half-marathon title in the city in 2018. When it comes to marathon potential, he will no doubt be comparing his fitness to training partner Kipchoge – as they are coached by the same man, Patrick Sang – although the 28-year-old is also on the comeback from a car accident last year.

“I have big dreams and ambitions in the marathon and want to run as fast as possible and break barriers,” he says. “Valencia will be ready to help us push our limits on race day and I am sure it will be amazing.”

Facing him in the marathon on Sunday are fellow Kenyan Lawrence Cherono, a former winner of the Boston and Chicago marathons with a best time of 2:03:04, which makes him the fastest in the field.

There is also Kinde Atanaw of Ethiopia, who won the Valencia Marathon in 2019 in 2:03:51 and was poised to run in London in October but had to withdraw after a positive Covid test.

In addition there is Herpasa Negasa of Ethiopia, who has a best of 2:03:51, another Ethiopian, Chalu Deso, who has a PB of 2:04:53, Tanzanian 2:04:55 man Gabriel Geay and Sondre Moen of Norway – the latter of whom held the European record until 2019.

Altogether there are three men who have run sub-2:04:00 and eight who have broken 2:06:00, which makes Kamworor only the 10th fastest in the field based on PBs.

The women’s field is not quite as strong, but is led by 2:20 performers Guteni Shone and Asmera Gebru of Ethiopia plus 2:21 runners Bornes Chepkirui of Kenya and Bedatu Hirpa of Ethiopia. Watch out too for Nancy Jelagat, who has a 65:21 half-marathon PB.

Sonia Samuels, Alice Wright and Norman Shreeve are among almost 500 British runners in the race, although the 16,000-strong field is of course dominated by more than 9000 runners from Spain. Samuels has a best of 2:28:04 but is now 42, whereas the US-based Wright is aiming to finish her first marathon.

There is a strong Irish contingent too which includes 2:26:47 runner Fionnuala McCormick, who ambitiously plans to run the European Cross Country Championships seven days later in Dublin.

The race is also taking place for the 41st time. The first race in 1981 was won by Teodoro Perez in a modest 2:57:55 with Nuria de Miguel the first woman home in 3:20:50.

After those humble beginnings the winning times began to improve rapidly, though, and in 1984 Vicente Anton won in 2:14:01 and the women’s winner Juana Pablos Acosta was inside three hours with 2:57:28.

Now in the era of super-shoes, the last four editions have been won in 2:05:15 (Sammy Kithara), 2:04:31 (Leul Gebresilase), 2:03:51 (Atanaw) and 2:03:00 (Evans Chebet) in an elite-only race minus the masses in 2020.

The last two women’s title, meanwhile, have gone to Roza Dereje in 2:18:30 in 2019 and Peres Jepchirchir with 2:17:16 in 2020. The latter of course went on to win the Olympic title this year.

(12/02/2021) Views: 1,409 ⚡AMP
by Jason Henderson

Kenenisa Bekele will lead the entries for Sunday’s BMW Berlin Marathon

When Kenenisa Bekele lines up for the BMW Berlin Marathon this weekend (Sept 26) it marks the beginning of an unprecedented period of marathon racing. Due to Covid-related postponements, five of the six Marathon Majors will be staged within a 42-day period. If you’re a fan of the classic 26.2-mile distance, you are in for a feast.

Bekele is clearly excited by the prospect as he is racing in not just one but two of these races. After Berlin on Sunday he will attempt to recover and re-boot before tackling the New York City Marathon in early November.

Here is how the autumn marathon period plays out…

Sept 26 – BerlinOct 3 – LondonOct 10 – ChicagoOct 11 – BostonNov 7 – New York

Tokyo Marathon, which is also one of the Marathon Majors, was due to take place on October 17 too, but has been called off due to the pandemic. However the TCS Amsterdam Marathon is still on October 17 – and this Dutch race often sees fast times.

First comes Berlin, though. Bekele has not raced since March last year and during this time he has seen his world 5000m and 10,000m records fall to Joshua Cheptegei. Last October he was due to race in London but withdrew on the eve of the race with a calf injury. He is now aged 39 but don’t write him off. People thought he was a spent force in 2019 but he came within two seconds of the world record with 2:01:41 in Berlin.

“I will come back with good energy and motivation,” says Bekele. “The last race in Berlin motivated me a lot, so I hope I will fulfil my plan this year.”

Bekele will be among around 25,000 runners in Berlin as mass participation road running emerges from the pandemic. His opposition on Sunday includes Guye Adola, an Ethiopian who ran the world’s fastest ever debut marathon of 2:03:46 in Berlin four years ago but has struggled to improve since.

There is also Eliud Kiptanui of Kenya, who has run 2:05:21, plus a further eight men who have run inside 2:07 such as Philemon Kacheran and Festus Talam of Kenya, Olika Adugna and Tadu Abate of Ethiopia, plus Hidekazu Hijikata of Japan.

Adugna won his debut marathon in Dubai in 2:06:15 while Hijikata took the Lake Biwa Marathon victory earlier this year.

The women’s race, meanwhile, includes Hiwot Gebrekidan, who won the Milan Marathon this year in 2:19:35, plus fellow Ethiopian Shure Demise, together with Kenyans Fancy Chemutai and Purity Rionoripo.

Just seven days after Berlin, the Virgin Money London Marathon takes place with the fields led by women’s world record-holder Brigid Kosgei together with fellow Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei and Ethiopians Roza Dereje and Birhane Dibaba.

The men’s race in London features Ethiopians Shura Kitata, Mosinet Geremew and Birhanu Legese plus Kenyans Titus Ekiru and Evans Chebet, whereas Brits like Charlotte Purdue and Jonny Mellor will create plenty of home interest.

Chicago includes world champion Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya in the women’s race alongside American hope Sarah Hall, while another home nation hope, Galen Rupp, takes on Ethiopians Getaneh Molla and Seifu Tura in the men’s race.

 

(09/21/2021) Views: 1,255 ⚡AMP
by Athletics Weekly

Olympic Champion Eliud Kipchoge will miss 2021 London Marathon

Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge's name was conspicuously missing from the list of elite runners who will be competing at this year's London Marathon on October 3.

Organisers Thursday released a stellar list that has women's world record holder Brigid Kosgei and men's champion Shura Kitata of Ethiopia.

Kipchoge, who retained his Olympic marathon crown at the recently concluded Tokyo Games, finished eighth at the 2020 London Marathon, timing 2:06:49, more than a minute behind winner Shura Kitata.

He was expected to return to London to try and reclaim the title he won in 2019. Efforts to get a comment from the world record holder provide futile as his phone went unanswered.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday after arriving from Tokyo, the 36-year-old remained non-committal on whether he would hang his boots after the triumph in Japan.

"I think it is good not to ask about retirement... When your wife delivered the first child, did you plan for the next one immediately?" Posed Kipchoge to a journalist, who responded in negation.

Kosgei, the Olympic silver medalist, will be attempting to win her third successive London Marathon after victories in 2019 and 2020.

She will be competing against New York City Marathon champion Joyciline Jepkosgei and six other women who have run under two hours and 20 minutes.

"It is a great feeling to be coming back as London is one of my favourite marathons. Last year's win was very special, particularly given what the whole world was going through. It was fantastic just to have the London Marathon organised and even more so to be the winner. I hope to arrive again in very good shape 

Jepkosgei set a new personal best of 2:18:40 last December at the Valencia Marathon, where she finished second to Olympic champion Peres Chepchirchir.

Also in the elite women's field are Ethiopians Roza Dereje, whose PB of 2:18:30 makes her the tenth-fastest female marathoner of all time, and Birhane Dibaba (PB 2:18:35), who won the Tokyo Marathon in 2018 and 2015, and finished second in the same race on three other occasions (2020, 2017 and 2014).

The other women to have run inside 2:20 are Kenya's Valary Jemeli (2:19:10), Ethiopia's Zeineba Yimer (2:19:28) and Tigist Girma (2:19:50).

Also returning is Australia's Sinead Diver, who has had two top 10 London Marathon finishes in the past two years, and was 10th at the Tokyo Olympics.

In the men's race, Shura Kitata- who pulled out of the Olympic Games marathon last weekend after suffering in the hot and humid conditions in Sapporo- will line up with the other men as he seeks to defend his title.

Kitata bagged victory ahead of Kenya's Vincent Kipchumba and both will be meeting again in the contested race in October with Sisay Lemma also in the race.

Also on the starting line will be Kenya's Evans Chebet, the current Valencia Marathon champion and fastest man in the world last year (2:03:00), and the two-time Tokyo Marathon champion Birhanu Legese who is the third-fastest marathoner of all time (2:02:48).

Ethiopians Mosinet Geremew (2:02:55) and Mule Wasihun (2:03:16), who both finished on the podium at the 2019 race, also return.

Titus Ekiru, who clocked the fastest time during the Milano Marathon of 2:02:57, will make his debut.

The 2021 London Marathon returns to its traditional and iconic course from Blackheath to The Mall after last year's elite-only race on a multiple closed-loop circuit around St James's Park.

Up to 50,000 runners are expected in the mass race and another 50,000 around the world will take on the virtual event, completing the 26.2 miles on the route of their choice any time between 00:00 and 23:59:59 BST October 3.

(08/14/2021) Views: 1,482 ⚡AMP
by Bernard Rotich

Molly Seidel Shocks the World With Bronze Medal, as Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir and Brigid Kogei Go 1-2 in 2020 Olympic Marathon

In one of the most remarkable and unlikely runs ever by an American distance runner, Wisconsin native Molly Seidel earned a bronze medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic marathon, running 2:27:46 in the heat of Sapporo on Saturday morning. Seidel established herself near the front of the race early, and remained there throughout. Late in the race, Seidel was in a battle for bronze with Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter, but with three miles to go, Salpeter stopped running, leaving Seidel in bronze-medal position, which she protected to the finish line.

Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir, the world record holder in the women’s-only half marathon, pulled away from teammate Brigid Kosgei, the marathon world record holder, in the final two kilometers to take the gold in 2:27:20. Kosgei settled for the silver in 2:27:36, her first loss in her her last five marathons.

The story for American distance running fans was Seidel, running in only her third marathon of her life (her first was the Olympic Trials marathon in 2020 to get here). Seidel beat five sub-2:20 women. She entered the race with a 2:25:13 personal best and yet was in the conversation for the gold until the final 2k. She joined American running legends Joan Benoit Samuelson (gold in 1984) and Deena Kastor (silver in 2004), as the only American women to medal in the Olympic marathon.

The race

At race time, it was sunny and 76 degrees with 87% humidity, despite the race being moved up an hour because of the heat to start at 6 a.m. local.

As a result, the race went out slow, with 5K and 10K splits of 18:02 and 36:16 for the leaders (2:32:50 marathon pace at 10K). The lead pack remained about 40 or 50 women strong at the 10-kilometer split, but the effect of the heat was unmistakable, with women applying ice bags on themselves and running wide to get into the shade. By this point, US champion Aliphine Tuliamuk had fallen off the pace (she would eventually drop out).

From there, as the race advanced north on a slight downhill, it picked up. Honami Maeda of Japan took a few turns at the front, as did Americans Seidel and Sally Kipyego, but it was mostly shared. The next two 5K splits (17:31 and 17:41) were quicker and reduced the lead pack to less than 20 women by 20K. Zeineba Yimer, a 2:19 woman from Ethiopia, dropped out at the 17K mark.

The lead group went through halfway in 1:15:14, and the lead group was whittled down to 11 with Ethiopian contender Birhane Dibaba falling off the back.

Americans Seidel and Kipyego remained in the lead pack of 12 at 25K (Volha Mazuronak of Belarus rejoined the lead pack between halfway and 25k), which the women went through in 1:28:51 (2:29:47 pace). Ethiopian Roza Dereje Bekele (2:18:30 pb) and Salpeter (2:17:45 pb), along with the three Kenyans, were pushing the tempo slightly.

After that split, as the women continued to weave through the north Sapporo suburbs and Hokkaido University, racers started dropping off the lead pack like flies: first Kipyego, then Mazuronak and then a big casualty — Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya, the reigning world champ, falling back around the 29K mark.

Meanwhile at the front, Seidel led the entire 18th mile in around 5:26. The lead group of nine went through 30K in 1:46:03 (17:12 previous 5K, quickest of the race). The Japanese spectators pulled for their countrywoman Mao Ichiyama, who was still there.

The 30-35K split was the quickest of the race (16:54) and those five kilometers caused the biggest carnage: four women, including Ichiyama and Dereje, the final Ethiopian, dropped off the lead pack.

Now with the group down to five and less than five miles remaining, and Seidel continuing to run with confidence and share the lead with the two remaining Kenyans, the curiosity surrounding Seidel turned into a real possibility…could she snag a medal?

Bahrain’s Eunice Chumba dropped off just after the 35K mark, making it a four-woman race for three medals: Kosgei, Jepchirchir, Salpeter, and Seidel. Women with personal bests of 2:14, 2:17, 2:17, and 2:25. But in the summer Japan heat, the strongest women would win, not the fastest.

In the 24th mile, the Kenyans finally struck, Jepchirchir throwing in a surge and Kosgei covering it. They opened up a small gap on Salpeter and Seidel immediately, and Salpeter had a few meters on Seidel.Before one even had time to process whether Seidel’s fairytale quest for a medal was coming to an end, her fortunes changed drastically. At the 38-kilometer mark, Seidel caught Salpeter, who was still less than five seconds behind the leaders, but slowing slightly. Salpeter, however, was broken. Within a span of seconds she slowed to a walk and Seidel was into the bronze position, with the leaders still in her sights, Jepchirchir in front and Kosgei sitting on her.

At 40k, Jepchirchir and Kosgei were still together with Seidel only six seconds back, 31 seconds ahead of fourth place, comfortably in bronze position, barring a blowup. Seidel appeared to be closing on the leaders. Could she even get the silver or the gold?

Not quite. Jepchirchir had one final gold-medal move, dropping Kosgei just after the 40K split and quickly opening a 10-second gap. She would extend her winning margin to 16 seconds by running the final 2.195 kilometers at 5:23 pace.

Kosgei was fading slightly but so was Seidel. Both held their positions through the line, as Seidel could not quite summon the finish to get back to Kosgei and finished 10 seconds behind her in the bronze medal position.

Seidel yelled in delight as she crossed the finish line, while Kosgei looked slightly disappointed with the silver. The third American, Sally Kipyego, finished 17th in 2:32:53.

The temperature at the finish was 84 degrees with 67% humidity.

 

 

 

(08/07/2021) Views: 1,402 ⚡AMP

Here's everything you need to know about the Tokyo Olympics marathon

The men's Olympics marathon is traditionally held on the very last day of competition, with the women's race staged a day earlier. 

Both events will be starting early in the morning to avoid the heat, with the women running on Saturday, August 7 and the men racing on Sunday, August 8. 

Here's everything you need to know about the Tokyo Olympics marathon.

WHEN IS THE TOKYO OLYMPICS MARATHON? 

The women's race will be held on Saturday, August 7.

The men's race will be run on Sunday, August 8.

WHO IS RUNNING THE OLYMPIC MARATHON? 

There are a number of high-profile runners who won't feature in Tokyo, with Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele topping that list. 

It is still a packed field though, with defending Olympic champion and current world record holder Eliud Kipchoge set to run. 

Kipchoge will be joined on a formidable Kenyan team by Lawrence Cherono and Amos Kipruto.

Ethiopia will be represented by Lelisa Desisa, Shura Kitata and Sisay Lemma, while Rio 2016 bronze medalist Galen Rupp is back representing America. 

In the women's race, it's hard to go past world record-holder Brigid Kosgei of Kenya. 

Kosgei will be joined by 2019 marathon world champion Ruth Chepngetich and two-time world half-marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir in Kenyan colours. 

The Ethiopian trio of Birhane Dibaba, Roza Dereje and Zeineba Yimer will also be in the mix and are all capable of comfortably running under 2:20. 

RIO 2016 OLYMPICS MARATHON WINNER

Eliud Kipchoge stormed to a memorable victory in the rain in Rio, finishing ahead of Ethiopia's Feyisa Lelisa and American Galen Rupp. 

In the women's race, Kenyan Jemima Sumgong won gold in front of Eunice Kirwa and Mare Dibaba. 

(08/02/2021) Views: 1,623 ⚡AMP
by Brendand Brandford

Tokyo Olympics preview: marathon-Women's marathon

World record-holder Brigid Kosgei will start as the woman to beat in the marathon when she hits the road on the Games' penultimate day. But she won’t be lacking for formidable opposition.

The 27-year-old Kenyan has been among the best marathon runners on the planet since 2017 when she first threatened the 2:20 barrier at that year's Chicago Marathon, finishing second in 2:20:22. She returned the following year to take the title in 2:18:35 and then returned again in 2019 to smash the world record with a jaw-dropping 2:14:04 performance.

She followed up well with a successful title defence at the London Marathon last October in 2:18:58, winning by more than three minutes to secure her fourth consecutive marathon victory.

Kosgei hasn't contested the distance since and has only raced twice in 2021, so her current form will be somewhat of a mystery. This will also be the first time she has competed at a major championship. Given her marathon pedigree, though, you can expect her to arrive in Sapporo well prepared.

But she'll have plenty of fast company, beginning with her teammates.

Peres Jepchirchir, the two-time world half marathon champion, heads to her first Olympics courtesy of her 2:17:16 victory at the Valencia Marathon last December, the fastest in the world last year. Just over a month earlier, she broke the half marathon world record for a women-only race, clocking 1:05:16 at the World Half Marathon Championships.

They'll also have Ruth Chepngetich, the world champion, for company. Chepngetich clocked 2:17:08 in Dubai in 2019 that currently places her fourth on the world all-time list. After a third-place finish at the London Marathon last October in 2:22:05, Chepngetich returned to action at the Istanbul Half Marathon earlier this year when she broke the world record in a mixed race, clocking 1:04:02.

That Kenyan trio is about as good as they come. But the Ethiopian team isn't too far off that mark.

Birhane Dibaba clocked 2:18:35 to finish second in Tokyo last year, one of the fastest performances of 2020. Teammate Roza Dereje was even faster a few months earlier, clocking 2:18:30 in Valencia in December 2019. Zeineba Yimer, 23, is another rising star, clocking 2:19:28 and 2:19:54 at the 2019 and 2020 editions of the Valencia Marathon.

Expect Israeli record-holder Lonah Salpeter to be in the hunt. The 32-year-old broke into the all-time top-10 after a sensational 2:17:45 run to win the 2020 Tokyo Marathon and has tuned up with a solid but pressure-free 2:22:37 run at home in March.

Helalia Johannes of Namibia, the surprise bronze medallist at the 2019 World Championships, also made a notable jump last year into the sub-2:20 club, finishing third in Valencia in 2:19:52. She'll turn 41 the week after the Olympics ends and is showing few signs of slowing down. Winner of the Commonwealth title in 2018, Johannes excels in championship races held in hot conditions.

Japan will be well represented by a pair of consistent runners who could be ready to challenge for the podium. Mao Ichiyama has a 2:20:29 lifetime best from her victory at the 2020 Nagoya Marathon and was nearly as fast the following year when winning in Osaka in 2:21:11. Meanwhile, Mizuki Matsuda clocked 2:21:47 to win the Osaka Marathon in 2020 and 2:21:51 to win Nagoya earlier this year.

(07/24/2021) Views: 1,053 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

World record-holders Letesenbet Gidey and Gudaf Tsegay are among the 34 athletes named on Ethiopia’s team for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Gidey and Tsegay – like all other members of the team – will focus on just one event each. Gidey will contest the 10,000m, the event at which she set a world record of 29:01.03 last month, while Tsegay will line up for the 5000m, having clocked a world-leading 14:13.32 in Hengelo on 8 June.

The team also includes world indoor 1500m champion Samuel Tefera and world silver medallists Selemon Barega and Yomif Kejelcha.

Ethiopian team for Tokyo

WOMEN 800m: 

Habitam Alemu, Workwuha Getachew, Worknesh Mesele1500m: Freweyni Hailu, Lemlem Hailu, Diribe Welteji5000m: Ejigayehu Taye, Senbere Teferi, Gudaf Tsegay10,000m: Tsigie Gebreselama, Tsehay Gemechu, Letesenbet GideyMarathon: Roza Dereje, Birhane Dibaba, Tigist Girma3000m steeplechase: Mekides Abebe, Lomi Muleta, Zerfe Wondimagegn

MEN 800m: 

Melese Nibret1500m: Samuel Abate, Tadesse Lemi, Samuel Tefera5000m: Milkesa Mengesha, Nibret Melak, Getnet Wale10,000m: Berihu Aregawi, Selemon Barega, Yomif KejelchaMarathon: Leslisa Desisa, Shura Kitata, Sisay Lema3000m steeplechase: Hailemariam Amare, Abrham Sime, Tadesse Takele

(07/02/2021) Views: 1,460 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

Shura Kitata and Tigist Girma Win Ethiopian Olympic Marathon Trials

The much-discussed 35k Ethiopian Olympic marathon trial race was held today in Ethiopia without Kenenisa Bekele. Unless the Ethiopian Athletics Federation changes course, your Ethiopian Olympic marathon team will consist of the top three finishers from each race.

Here are the top five results from each race along with the credentials of the finishers. Race results and photos are courtesy of the Ethiopian Athletics Federation Facebook page with translation via Teferi Debebe.

The times of the men have been updated based on an update to the facebook page. The first results had Kitata winning by 20 seconds which made no sense given the photo of the finish shows it was close.

Shura Kitata 1:46:15 – 24-year-old was winner of 2020 London Marathon last October, runner-up in NYC and London in 2018, winner of Frankfurt and Rome in 2017. 2:04:49 pb (2018).2. Lelisa Desisa – 1:46:16 – 31-year-old is past winner of Dubai (2013), Boston (2013, 2015), NYC (2018), and Worlds (2019). Only 35th in Valencia last December. 2:04:45 pb (2013).3. Sisay Lemma – 1:46:19 – 30-year-old has never won a major. 3rd is his best major finish (Tokyo and London 2020, Berlin 2019, Dubai 2017). Past winner of Frankfurt, Vienna, Warsaw and Ljubljana. 2:03:36 pb (2019).4. Chalu Deso – 1:46:34  – Age not listed.  9th in Dubai (2:06:29) and 6th in Valencia (2:04:53). Past winner of Porto (2019 – 2:09:08).5. Kinde Atanaw – 1:47:03 – 28-year-old won Valencia in 2019 (2:03:51 pb), DNF Valencia in 2020. No other marathon results.

*The Ethiopian site now lists the times as 1:46:14.53, 1:46:15.10, 1:46:18.21, 1:46:33.67, 1:47:02.53 so we rounded them all up to the next second per rules protocol but we imagine most outlets will list the lower time.

Women’s Results

1. Tigist Girma – 1:59:23 – 27-year-old has never won a major (best finish is 5th and that’s the only major she ever ran — Tokyo 2020) but has twice run 2:19. 2:19:52 pb from Amsterdam 2019. Has won 2 of her career 13 marathons.2. Birhane Dibaba – 1:59:45 – 27-year-old was runner-up in Tokyo last year (2:18:35 pb) and 9th in Valencia (2:23:07). Also ran 2:18:46 for 3rd in Valencia in 2019. 2015 and 2018 Tokyo champ.3. Roza Dereje Bekele 2:00:16  – 23-year-old won Valencia (2:18:30) and was 3rd in London in 2019. Won Dubai and was 2nd in Chicago in 2018. No results in 2020. 2:18:30 pb (2019 Valencia).4. Zeineba Yimer – 2:03:41 –  22-year-old has two carer marathon finishers, a 2:19:27 for 5th in Valencia in 2019 and a 2:19:54 that got her 4th in 2020.5. Ruti Aga – 2:04:28 – 27-year-old was 2019 Tokyo champ. Has finished in the top 3 five other times (runner-up in Berlin in 2017 and 2018 and Tokyo 2018 and 3rd in Berlin 2016 and New York 2019). 2:18:34 pb from 2018 Berlin.

(05/02/2021) Views: 1,049 ⚡AMP
by Let’s Run

Roza Dereje’s dream of bringing marathon glory to Ethiopia

When Roza Dereje broke the tape at the Valencia Marathon in December 2019, smashing the course record in a time of 2:18:30, and becoming the then-eighth fastest marathon runner of all time, she beamed, elatedly.

When she returned home from Valencia, she hosted coaches, Haji Adilo, Kasim Adilo, and Moges Taye, her physiotherapist, Jeroen Deen, and a few others in her inner circle at her home in Sululta as a show of appreciation for their support. Dereje is not one to forget who helps her along each step of the way.

One of the figures in her life that features prominently when she speaks of supporters is her late father, who was an avid running fan. Many women from the countryside in Ethiopia who begin running do so at the behest of their parents, who see the slim rates of success and enormous devotion as a precarious life path. But Dereje’s father, along with her mother and four brothers, encouraged her from the start.

“Before my father died, he would take me to the regional competitions,” recounts Dereje. “My family was always happy and encouraging. They just told me to finish my 10th grade education and continue running as I wanted.”

In her native district of Selale, in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, Dereje took inspiration from Derartu Tulu and Tirunesh Dibaba, whom she would see on television. With the support of her family, and after fulfilling her promise to complete the 10th grade, she moved to Bekoji to train with a project – a type of training group for junior athletes in Ethiopia that usually does not receive government support, unlike the extensive network of funded clubs. There, she focused on the 800m and 1500m.

However, Dereje always had interest in eventually running the marathon, and when she won a local half marathon, she caught the eyes of two key figures in her life – her future coach, Haji Adilo, and her future husband, Dereje Abera Ali.

Dereje credits her husband for a lot of her success. Not only did he teach her a lot about training, and take on doing most of the housework – a dramatic gender role reversal in Ethiopia – but he gave her the confidence to succeed in the longer distances.

Her first competition outside of Ethiopia was a marathon in Algeria in 2015 where she finished fourth in 2:34:02. She won the Shanghai Marathon in 2016 and successfully defended her title in 2017. In 2018, an early win at the highly competitive Dubai Marathon in 2:19:17 proved Dereje had what it took to be one of the best ever.

“Roza listens, respects, and trusts in her coaches,” said Adilo, her coach, who has overseen the training of several Olympic and world champions. He thinks she is one of the most talented athletes he has worked with to date. “These are the types of athletes that go far. From the beginning she has improved steadily, year to year, and I think she will become of the best, ever.”

Dereje’s agent, Hussein Makke of Elite Sports Marketing and Management, echoed similar sentiments about Dereje’s character beyond sport. “Roza is a really different and special athlete. She has confidence in both herself and those around her and this reflects in the way she conducts business with her coach and the management so professionally. She’s easy to work with and really one of the best athletes I’ve ever managed.”

In 2019, Dereje finished third at the London Marathon before winning what was her last full marathon in Valencia. She was prepared to race the London Marathon in early 2020, but that race, along with most others, was postponed due to Covid-19. A small set-back led to her sitting out the rescheduled edition of the London Marathon late last year, opting to focus solely on the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games.

There’s a very common saying in Amharic – kas be kas inculal be egeru yiheal – that translates roughly to, ‘Slowly by slowly, the egg grows legs’. Essentially, it means that this kind of incremental improvement will lead to a sustained success, without any severe fall back. Dereje’s attention to detail, trust in her husband, coaches, and agents, and commitment to her training programme is based on this proverbial advancement.

More than winning any major marathons and breaking course records, representing Ethiopia, and bringing home the gold at the Olympics, drives her steady training.

(04/23/2021) Views: 1,235 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

London Marathon releases race day schedule

A series of elite events will take place in St James’s Park on October 4

The race schedule for the elite-only Virgin Money London Marathon has been announced, with a series of events taking place throughout the day on Sunday October 4.

The action will kick off with the elite women’s race at 07:15 before the elite men’s race at 10:15 and the wheelchair races at 13:10.

As announced earlier this month, the 2020 London Marathon will not feature a mass race and the elite racing will take place within a “secure biosphere” in St James’s Park.

As recently confirmed by World Athletics, the times recorded in London will be eligible for Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualification.

ELITE RACE SCHEDULE

07:15 – Elite women’s race

10:15 – Elite men’s race

13:10 – Wheelchair races

The elite men’s field features distance running greats Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele in a highly-anticipated clash, together with Mosinet Geremew and Mule Wasihun, who placed second and third in 2019.

Britain’s Mo Farah will be a pacemaker to athletes looking to achieve the Olympic marathon qualifying standard of 2:11:30, with his compatriots Jonny Mellor, Chris Thompson and debutants Ross Millington and Ben Connor all set to run.

World record-holder and defending London Marathon champion Brigid Kosgei leads the women’s field and is joined by five other women who have run inside 2:20: Ruth Chepngetich, Roza Dereje, Vivian Cheruiyot, Valary Jemeli and Degitu Azimeraw.

Among the leading British women confirmed to race are Steph Twell and Lily Partridge.

In the wheelchair races, both Daniel Romanchuk and Manuela Schär will defend their titles.

Athletes will cross the same traditional finish line on The Mall after each completing 19.8 laps of the St James’s Park course, while mass runners will take on their 26.2 miles from home or anywhere in the world as part of the event’s first virtual edition.

(08/28/2020) Views: 1,469 ⚡AMP

London Marathon Elite Fields Released, 2020 elite field will be the best in years

Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele face battle from six more sub-2:05 runners in elite men’s race.

World record holder Brigid Kosgei among six sub-2:20 athletes in elite women’s race.

The Virgin Money London Marathon today confirmed the full fields for the historic elite men’s and women’s races on Sunday 4 October.

The elite men’s race – headlined by the greatest marathon runners in history, Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) and Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) – will include eight athletes who have run sub 2:05 marathons, including Mosinet Geremew (ETH) and Mule Wasihun (ETH) who were second and third respectively at the 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon.

Sisay Lemma (ETH), Tamirat Tola (ETH), Marius Kipserem (KEN) and Shura Kitata (ETH) are the other men to have run inside 2:05 while Sondre Nordstad Moen (NOR), who broke the European hour record in Norway earlier this month by running 21.132km, is also included.

The news that World Athletics will lift its suspension of the Olympic qualification system for marathon races from 1 September means there will also be a clutch of athletes racing with the ambition to achieve the Olympic standard of 2:11:30.

Adding yet further superstar quality to the event, the Virgin Money London Marathon can also announce that Sir Mo Farah will be a pacemaker for this group of Olympic hopefuls.

Farah, the four-time Olympic champion, said: “The London Marathon has been so important to me since I was a schoolboy and when they asked me to do this I thought it would be great to help. I am in good shape, I’ll be in London that week and it fits in with my training.

“I’ve been training here in Font Romeu with some of the British guys who are going for that Olympic qualifying time and they are good lads. I know just how special it is just to compete for your country at an Olympic Games and it would be great to help other athletes achieve this. With the current global situation and lack of races, the Virgin Money London Marathon in October is the best chance for athletes to run the Olympic qualifying time.”

Hugh Brasher, Event Director of the Virgin Money London Marathon, said: “This is the greatest Olympian in British track and field history coming to run as a pacemaker to help others achieve their dreams of making the Tokyo Olympic Games. It is a wonderful gesture of togetherness from Sir Mo and I’m sure his presence and support will inspire the athletes chasing that qualifying time on Sunday 4 October.”

At present only two British athletes other than Farah have run inside this time: Callum Hawkins, who has been pre-selected for the Olympic Games marathon, and Jonny Mellor who ran 2:10:03 in Seville in January. Farah himself has opted to run on the track at the Olympic Games.

Mellor is one of a number of British athletes running the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon – The 40th Race – on Sunday 4 October. Other British men joining Mellor on the Start Line are Chris Thompson and debutants Ross Millington and Ben Connor.

Among the leading domestic women confirmed to race are Steph Twell, who ran a personal best (PB) of 2:26:40 in Frankfurt last year to go sixth on the British all-time rankings, and 2018 British marathon champion Lily Partridge.

The elite women’s field is headlined by world record holder Brigid Kosgei (KEN). Confirmed today are five other women who have run inside 2:20: current world champion Ruth Chepngetich (KEN), 2019 Valencia Marathon champion Roza Dereje (ETH), 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon champion Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN), 2019 Frankfurt Marathon winner Valary Jemeli (KEN) and 2019 Amsterdam Marathon champion Degitu Azimeraw (ETH).

Ashete Bekere (ETH), the winner of last year’s BMW Berlin Marathon, Alemu Megertu (ETH), the 2019 Rome Marathon champion, plus Sarah Hall (USA) and Sinead Diver (AUS) are also included in a star-studded race.

(08/21/2020) Views: 2,218 ⚡AMP

Mo Farah will be the pacemaker for the elite men's race at October's rescheduled London Marathon

Briton Mo Farah, 37, is among the competitors to have achieved the Olympic-qualifying time of two hours 11 minutes 30 seconds.

Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, who won last year's event, leads the men's field with Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia.

Reduced fields of 30-40 athletes will also compete for the elite women's and wheelchair titles on 4 October.

The races will take place on a bio-secure closed course amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"The London Marathon has been so important to me since I was a schoolboy and when they asked me to do this I thought it would be great to help," said Farah, who finished third in 2018 and fifth last year.

"I am in good shape. I'll be in London that week and it fits in with my training."

Ethiopians Mosinet Geremew and Mule Wasihun, who finished runner-up and third respectively in 2019, are among eight athletes who have run marathons in under two hours five minutes.

Brigid Kosgei of Kenya heads up the women's elite field alongside compatriot and world champion Ruth Chepngetich.

Ethiopia's Roza Dereje and Kenyans Vivian Cheruiyot, Valary Jemeli and Degitu Azimeraw are the other picks of the line-up.

The full elite wheelchair fields will be released next week.

The route will consist of laps of about 1.5 miles, taking in The Mall, Horse Guards Parade, Birdcage Walk and Buckingham Palace.

(08/21/2020) Views: 1,442 ⚡AMP

Chumo and Bekere take Barcelona half marathon wins

Kenya’s Victor Chumo and Ethiopia’s Ashete Bekere took their respective titles at the eDreams Mitja Marato Barcelona, a World Athletics Gold Label road race, on Sunday (16). On a perfect day for running, the 33-year-old Chumo succeeded after a thrilling sprint finish in 59:58 while Bekere was an overwhelming victor to smash her career best by exactly four minutes to 1:06:37.

Paced by the Kenyan pair of Cornelius Kiplangat and Boniface Kibiwot, the men’s race kicked off at a moderate tempo as the large main group went through the opening 5km in 14:18. The rhythm then heated up over the following kilometres, with the lead pack reaching 10km in 28:04, well on schedule to attack the course record of 59:44 set in 2018. Six men remained in contention: Kenyans Chimo and Moses Koech, Uganda’s Stephen Kissa and Mande Bushendich, and Eritrea’s Abrar Osman and Ethiopia’s Tesfahun Alkanew.

Once the pacesetters dropped out the six athletes took turns with the pacing duties. First Chumo took command, then Osman, the only athlete with sub-60 minute credentials, pushed hard. Even Kissa moved to the front on his first ever try over the distance.

By 15km, the clock was reading a promising 42:24 with six men still battling it out. But the speed decreased a bit over the following kilometres with a 54:14 19km split eliminating any chance of a course record. Over the closing kilometre, Chumo, Koech and Kissa proved to be the strongest and pulled away targeting a sub-one hour run.

Chumo prevailed at the tape in 59:58, clipping five seconds from his previous best with Kissa and Koech next in 1:00:00, an interesting debut for the Ugandan and a career best for the 22-year-old Kenyan by 11 seconds.

“I have been looking for an under 60 minute time for so long so I’m very satisfied with my win and my clocking today,” Chumo said.

Bekere dominates women’s race, Dereje falters

Held simultaneously with the men’s race, the women’s contest began conservatively as the four-woman leading group went through the opening five kilometres in 15:51. That pack included pre-race favourite Roza Dereje, her fellow Ethiopians Ashete Bekere and Asnakech Awoke plus Kenya’s Dorcas Kimeli. Always paced by Daniel Feyisa, the quartet passed 10km in 31:32 for a 15:41 5km split, but not fast enough to threaten either the world record or the course record set by Florence Kiplagat in a then world record of 1:05:09. By then, Britain’s Charlotte Arter travelled in fifth (32:390 alongside Ugandan Rachael Chebet while Germany’s Alina Reh ran 22 seconds behind that duo.

After another 15:51 5km section for an overall 47:23 15km split, the big surprise came when Dereje simply could not live with the pace and began to struggle leaving behind any chance of a podium finish. Simultaneously, Bekere, the winner at the last Berlin marathon in a PB of 2:20:14, began to push hard and Kimeli soon lost ground. Awoke managed to keep up with her compatriot for some 1200m, Bekere’s relentless pace proved too fast. She broke from Awoke with three kilometres remaining and finished unchallenged in 1:06:37 for a massive PB. Awoke’s 1:07:04 was also a lifetime best by over three minutes. Kimeli completed the podium six seconds behind Awoke in 1:07:10 also a career best for the Kenyan. As for Dereje, she finished two minutes behind the winner in 1:08:38.

Arter managed to hold off the late challenge by fast-finishing Reh to finish fifth in 1:10:01, seven seconds ahead of the German.

(02/16/2020) Views: 1,587 ⚡AMP

Ethiopia’s rising star Roza Dereje is the one to beat at the Barcelona half Marathon

The 22-year-old Roza Dereje won last year with a 1:06:01 lifetime best and seems ready to improve on that performance. She also bettered her marathon career best thanks on  December 1 to 2:18:30 to win the Valencia Marathon. That time placed her among the top-ten on the all-time world list.

“I want to run as fast as possible on Sunday,” Dereje said. “I have my own dream and a clear goal in terms of clocking but I need to see how I feel on the race day. If the weather is fine I hope you all can enjoy something special.”

The world record is 1:04:51 set by Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei in Valencia in 2017. Dereje will be paced by her compatriot Daniel Feyisa.

Her stiffest opponent should be fellow Ethiopian Zeineba Yimer who holds the quickest time among the entrants, 1:05:46 for third at Ras Al Khaimah exactly one year ago. The 21-year-old made a remarkable marathon debut in Valencia last December clocking 2:19:28 for fifth, the same place she managed at the last World Half Marathon Championships also held in Valencia. Yimer enjoyed a fine 2019, clocking a 10,000m career best of 30:46:24 in Hengelo and a winning 46:52 time at the Valencia 15km in June.

Kenya’s Dorcas Kimeli should also be a factor. The 22-year-old belongs to the exclusive sub-30 minute 10km club, breaking that barrier in Prague last September when she ran an impressive 29:57 to finish second. More recently, Kimeli finished second in a cross country race in Thika where she beat world half marathon record holder Joyciline Jepkosgei by a couple of seconds.

Germany’s Melat Kejeta will try to give a scare to the theoretical podium placers. The 28-year-old Ethiopian-born runner boasts a 1:08:41 best for the distance and made a solid marathon debut in Berlin last September clocking 2:23:57.

Two other women have dipped under 70 minutes, Germany’s Alina Reh and Britain’s Charlotte Arter. Reh, a multiple European U20 and U23 champion with a 1:09:31 best, will contest her third race over the distance while Arter, 28, returns to the setting of her 1:09:41 best.

(02/14/2020) Views: 1,978 ⚡AMP
by World Athletics

The London marathon has announced a strong women´s field that includes six women who've run under 2:20

The 2020 London Marathon will see one of the most competitive women’s lineups in history. With five of the 10 fastest women of all time and six women with personal bests under 2:20, the race could see the fastest women’s finish ever.

The headliner is Brigid Kosgei, the world record-holder and reigning Chicago champion. The Kenyan ran the women’s marathon world record of 2:14:04 in Chicago last year. Other than her pacers, the runner was completely alone for almost the entire marathon. She shattered Paula Radcliffe’s 16-year-old world record of 2:15:25, which many considered to be nearly unbeatable and one of the toughest records in the books.

Joyciline Jepkosgei, the half-marathon world record-holder, is also in the field. Her 1:04:51 half-marathon record from 2017 was challenged by Kosgei in 2019, but wasn’t ratified due to the point-to-point Great North Run course.

Another runner to watch is masters marathoner Sinead Diver. The Irish-born runner now competes for Australia, where she lives and trains. She’s a member of the Melbourne Track Club and training partner to Canadian World Championship 5,000m finalist Andrea Seccafien.

The advantage to choosing London as a spring marathon for elite runners is the 13 week timeline to the Olympics. Because there are over three months between the two events (late April to early August), runners have time to build again and perform well at the Games.

Those are the women who have run under 2:20:  Brigid Kosgei – 2:14.04, Ruth Chepngetich – 2:17.08, Gladys Cherono – 2:18.11, Roza Dereje – 2:18.30, Vivian Cheruiyot – 2:18.31, Degitu Azimeraw – 2:19.26.

(01/14/2020) Views: 1,758 ⚡AMP
by Madeleine Kelly

World record holder Brigid Kosgei will defend her title at the Virgin Money London Marathon

The 25-year-old Kenyan broke Paula Radcliffe’s 16-year-old marathon world record at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon last October clocking an incredible time of 2:14:04. The record-breaking run came six months after Kosgei won the London Marathon for the first time.

“I am very much looking forward to returning to the Virgin Money London Marathon," Kosgei said. "Last year was an incredible year for me and it started by winning in London. Coming back will be very special and I hope it can be the start of another memorable year.”

Brigid Kosgei is joined in the elite women’s field by a stellar list of rivals, four of whom have also run sub-2:19 marathons.

The list includes 2018 London Marathon winner Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya, three-time BMW Berlin Marathon champion Gladys Cherono of Kenya, 2019 Valencia Marathon champion Roza Dereje of Ethiopia and the reigning world champion Ruth Chepngetich, also from Kenya.

Also on the start line will be the world half marathon record holder and 2019 TCS New York City Marathon champion Joyciline Jepkosgei who is joint top of the Abbott World Marathon Majors (AWMM) Series XIII leaderboard alongside Kosgei and Chepngetich.

The London elite men's field will be announced on Tuesday 14 January and the complete fields announced on Friday 17 January.

(01/13/2020) Views: 1,797 ⚡AMP

Newcomer Kinde Atanaw Alayew wins the Trinidad Alfonso Valencia Marathon and shatters the record

Ethiopians Roza Dereje and Kinde Atanaw Alayew produced impressive victories at the Maraton Valencia Trinidad Alfonso, a World Athletics Gold Label road race, in the eastern Spanish city on Sunday (1).

In the women’s race Dereje clocked 2:18:30 to move up to No. 8 on the all-time world list while pulling the next three finishers under 2:19, the first time four women have broken that barrier in the same race.

In the men’s contest the 26-year-old Alayew clocked 2:03:53 in his debut over the distance to finish 38 seconds inside the previous Spanish all-comers record set at this race last year.

Extraordinary depth - women’s race

The early pace in the women’s race was ambitious with Kenya’s Purity Rionoripo plus the Ethiopian pair of Workenesh Edesa and Dereje going through 10 kilometres in 32:33. Meanwhile, pre-race favourite Vivian Cheruiyot proved to be a bit more conservative but even so the Kenyan ace clocked 32:47 running with Ethiopia’s Birhane Dibaba.

Cheruiyot and Dibaba caught the leading pack at 15 kilometres (49:12) before reaching the half in 1:09:18, well inside the race record schedule with Ethiopia’s Azmera Abreha, a 2:21:51 performer, running alone another 22 seconds behind.

The leading quintet covered 30 kilometres in 1:38:36 while behind them Abreha cut their lead to nine seconds. Shortly afterwards, first Rionoripo and then Edesa began to drift back and were easily overtaken by Abreha.

At 40 kilometres, Dereje lead in 1:55:04 alongside Dibaba, with Cheruiyot one second adrift and Abreha, who finally joined the trio, for company. From there, Dereje began to step up her pace to open a sizeable margin on Cheruiyot and Dibaba. But Abreha kept up the pressure.

Dereje, who was third in this year’s London Marathon, kept her compatriot at bay to finish in 2:18:30, improving her lifetime best by 47 seconds to break into the all-time top-10. Abreha was next in 2:18:33, a massive 3:18 improvement for the 21-year-old.

Dereje, who managed her second victory on Spanish soil this year following her 1:06:01 career best to win the Barcelona half marathon in February, said, "I love the city of Valencia and its course. I'm doubly happy as I broke the race record and also improved my career best."

In a race of astounding depth, Dibaba was third in 2:18:46 and Cheruiyot fourth in 2:18:51 also personal bests. Zeineba Yimer was fifth in 2:19:27 - only five women had run faster this year prior to this race.

First time lucky for Alayew

The men’s race was nearly as impressive, with the top-four all dipping under 2:05.

Boosted by a triumvirate of pacemakers in the guise of Kenyans Bernard Ngeno, Victor Chumo and William Wanjiru, the men’s opening splits were fast as well with the large leading group going through the five and 10-kilometre points in 14:36 and 29:15 respectively. All the main favourites – Kenya’s Emmanuel Saina and Philemon Kacheran plus Ethiopia’s Leul Gebrselassie and Gude Ayola among others – were running together in almost ideal conditions, 15C and very slight winds.

A large group of ten – pacesetters aside – led by Saina, Kacheran and Adola reached the half in a promising 1:01:58, well on schedule to break the race record of 2:04:31 set last year by Gebrselassie. By then Turkey’s Kaan Ozbilen and Norway’s Sondre Moen were still in the leading pack, targeting the 2:05:11 European record. Surprisingly, Ethiopia’s Alayew was in the pack as well in first appearance over the 42.195km distance, likely boosted by his 1:00:13 half marathon career best set in Copenhagen in September.

But that demanding rhythm soon whittled down the pack. Saina and Ethiopia’s Tsegaye Kebede were the first to fall, and shortly after the 30-kilometre point (1:28:20) defending champion Gebrselassie dropped out of contention. By 35 kilometres, the lead pack was composed of Ethiopians Abebe Negewo Degefa, Alayew, Guye Adola, Kenya’s Kacheran and Turkey’s Ozbilen.

The key move came in the 37th kilometre when Alayew injected successive splits of 2:48, 2:46 and 2:40 to reach 40km in 1:57:33, on pace to break 2:04. Behind him, Ozbilen dropped Adola and Degefa to secure the runner-up spot.

The 26-year-old Alayew broke the tape in 2:03:53 while Ozbilen clocked 2:04:16 to clip nearly a full minute from Mo Farah’s European record and lower his previous best by 1:11. Adola completed a quality podium at 2:04:42 with Degefa next in 2:04:5, improving his career best by two minutes.

"I knew that my time to make the marathon debut has already come," Alayew said. "I had a lot of confidence on my chances as the training sessions had gone really well."

(12/01/2019) Views: 2,064 ⚡AMP

Olympic champion Vivian Cheruiyot believes a good performance in Valencia on Sunday will almost guarantee her a slot in the Kenya team for the Tokyo Olympic Games

Vivian Cheruiyot has finally shaken off a recurrent tendon injury, which ruled her out of the Berlin marathon in September. She will lead Kenya's legion to the Valencia marathon, her sixth race on the road, as she intends to push for a faster time.

"I will be running my sixth marathon on December 1 in Valencia. My training has gone on very well and I can feel my body is back in shape. It is not long to go now," Cheruiyot said on Friday in Nairobi.

With victories in London and Frankfurt, Cheruiyot will be pushing for her third win to supplement her collection so far.

"I know next year we have the Olympics and everyone is talking about it. I feel it is good to prove my fitness in Valencia and then see what will happen in 2020 in London or any other race I will run," she said. "The Olympics in August is still way ahead and I want to do my part and let the selectors do theirs."

Cheruiyot will face strong opposition from Ethiopians Roza Dereje and Birhane Dibaba, both of whom have broken the two-hour-20-minute barrier for the distance. Ethiopian Zeineba Yimer, who has clocked 65 minutes 46 seconds for the half marathon, makes her full marathon debut with Ethiopians Roza Dereje (2:19:17) and Birhane Dibaba (2:19:51) also jostling for the title.

(11/29/2019) Views: 2,045 ⚡AMP
by Shi Yinglun

Olympic champion Vivian Cheruiyot is back in training after shaking off a recurrent tendon injury that has kept her off competition for over three months, but now is set for Valencia marathon

Cheruiyot, 36, has only run two races this year, as she finished second at the London Marathon behind compatriot and World marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei and won the Lisbon half marathon back in March.

She was due to a challenge for the Berlin marathon in September, but the injury stopped her. Now Cheruiyot believes she is back in form and will seek a good performance on her sixth marathon career in the Spanish city in Valencia on Dec. 1.

"I am back in training," said Cheruiyot on Friday. "The focus is to gauge the body and see good performance. The injury denied me a big opportunity in Berlin. It was frustrating after a lot of training, the injury flared up again."

The diminutive athlete has been seeking medication in Germany and Kenya and hopes her injury worries are over for the time being.

Cheruiyot will face strong opposition from Ethiopians Roza Dereje and Birhane Dibaba, both of whom have broken the two-hour-20-minute barrier for the distance.

Fellow Ethiopian Zeineba Yimer, who has clocked 65 minutes 46 seconds for the half marathon, makes her full marathon debut.

"At this stage of competition, there are no simple challenges. Everyone enters a race with the hope of winning. However, for me, I run my own race and my strength and inspiration is drawn from what I want to attain," she added.

Cheruiyot remains one of the top marathon women runners in the country and in contention to make the Kenya team to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

However, that will be dependent on her performance in Valencia and then next year in London.

Organizers of the Valencia marathon have also confirmed that the men's race will have former World Indoor bronze medalist Augustine Choge, who will be making his debut in the marathon. Choge had a false start in Chicago last year and pulled out after just 10km.

In Valencia, he hopes to make a new start in his quest to emulate his mentor and training mate World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge. Choge will battle it out with Ethiopians Getaneh Molla (2:03:34), Herpasa Negasa (2:03:40) and reigning champion Leul Gebrselassie (2:04:02).

In total, the men's race features 12 runners, who have run 2:06.00 personal best time and another 22 with a best time of two hours and 10 minutes.

(11/16/2019) Views: 1,793 ⚡AMP
by Mu Xuequan

It was very hot even at midnight for the women’s marathon at the IAAF world championships in Doha

A first midnight marathon at a world championship saw Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich earn her first major gold on the floodlit Corniche tonight, clocking 2:32:43 in testing heat and humidity.

It was also the first gold to be won at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.

The 25-year-old became the third fastest ever in the women’s lists in winning the Dubai Marathon in January in 2:17:08, but on this occasion the challenge was about endurance rather than speed as the race began in temperatures officially estimated at between 30 and 32.7 Centigrade, and humidity of 73 per cent.

Bahrain's defending champion Rose Chelimo took silver on the seven-lap circuit in 2:33:46, 63 seconds back, and bronze went to Namibia's Commonwealth champion Helalia Johannes in 2:34:15.

At the age of 39 - she turns 40 on November 15 – Kenya’s 2011 and 2013 world champion, and 2017 silver medallist Edna Kiplagat missed out on another medal by one agonising place having tracked the lead for the bulk of the race.

Her time in a race where the top 10 finishers qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Games was 2:35:36.

Volha Mazuronak of Belarus, the European champion who survived a massive nosebleed to win in Berlin, hung onto fourth place after a long solo run, clocking 2:36:21.

Forty-one-year old Roberta Groner of the United States claimed sixth place in 2:38:44, one place ahead of Japan's Mizuki Tanimoto.

North Korea's Ji Hyang Kim earned eighth place in 2:41:24, Lyndsay Tessier of Canada claimed ninth place in 2:42:03, and tenth place went to Un Ok Jo of North Korea in 2:42.23.

On an unpredictable occasion which saw 23 of the 68 starters fail to finish, the biggest surprise was the fact that all three Ethiopian runners dropped out before the race got past halfway.

Ethiopia were represented by the runners who stood third and fourth on the entry list behind Chepngetich – Ruti Aga, who has run 2:20:40 this year and has a best of 2:18:34, and Roza Dereje, who has run 2:20:51 this year and has a best of 2:19:17.

And the third Ethiopian selected, Shure Demise, has run 2:21:05 this season.

Israel’s sole entrant was also a runner to be noted – 30-year-old Lonah Salpeter, who won the European 10,000m title in Berlin last summer and has a best of 2:19:46.

She ran gallantly in fifth place for much of the race, closing a minute’s gap on the lead group, only to see them accelerate away. She pulled out between the 31st and 32nd kilometres.

Chelimo’s silver was a surprise given her relatively poor record this year.

Amidst good numbers of spectators lining the barriers, Chepngetich made an early effort to break away but was hauled back into the main group.

Any thought that she might have misjudged her effort was dismissed, however, she made a second, decisive break as she entered the last of the seven scheduled laps and was never headed.

“I am feeling good,” she said. “I am very happy and I thank God for my win.”

Asked about the conditions, she responded: “It was not bad for me!”

And on the subject of whether she could win at next year’s Tokyo Olympics, she added: “I will try my best.”

(09/27/2019) Views: 1,913 ⚡AMP
by IAAF

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: 2,278 ⚡AMP

Kipchoge wins London Marathon for record 4th time while Brigid Kosgei wins the women’s race as American women finish 6th and 12th

Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya ran the second-fastest time ever to win the London Marathon for a record fourth time Sunday, and compatriot Brigid Kosgei swept to victory by almost two minutes in the women's race.

The 34-year-old Kipchoge pulled clear of Ethiopian runners Mosinet Geremew and Mule Wasihun in the final 10 minutes to complete the course in 2 hours, 2 minutes, 37 seconds on a blustery day in the British capital.

Only Kipchoge has run a marathon quicker than that, when breaking the world record in Berlin in September in a time of 2:01:39. With more twists and turns, London is typically a slower course than Berlin - making Kipchoge's display even more exceptional.

"I'm happy to win on the streets of London for the fourth time and to make history on a day that the event has raised 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion)," said Kipchoge, who won in London in 2015, '16 and '18.

Geremew finished 18 seconds behind, and Wasihun a further 21 seconds back. Nobody has run quicker to finish a marathon in second or third place.

Home favorite Mo Farah - a four-time Olympic champion on the track - could not live with the pace, dropping away at the 14-mile mark and finishing a distant fifth at the end of a week when he was involved in an extraordinary public feud with retired distance-running great Haile Gebrselassie.

Kosgei bettered her second-place finish in last year's race by winning in 2:18:20 for her second victory in the World Marathon Majors, after Chicago last year. She ran the quickest-ever second half of a women's marathon.

Compatriot and defending champion Vivian Cheruiyot finished in a time of 2:20:14 and Roza Dereje of Ethiopia was third, 37 seconds further back.

Dan Romanchuk, a 20-year-old American, won the men's wheelchair race ahead of Switzerland's Marcel Hug. The women's wheelchair race was won comfortably by Switzerland's Manuela Schar, the 2017 champion.

In her debut at the distance, American Emily Sisson (photo) ran 2:23:08 to finish sixth at the London Marathon this morning. This is the fastest American woman time in a woman only race.  Her training partner, (photo) Molly Huddle, finished 12th in a personal best of 2:26:33.

Sisson’s time makes her the sixth-fastest American in history on a record-eligible course.

(04/28/2019) Views: 2,236 ⚡AMP

This year London Marathon will have the deepest women’s field in marathon history

This Sunday is the Virgin Money London Marathon, and the women’s field is so strong it feels too good to be true. It feels like winning an all-inclusive trip for two by calling into a radio show–things this good just don’t happen.

But this field is real, and very much happening. Getting underway on Sunday morning at 4:25 a.m. EDT is a women’s event that could make history.

The only piece of bad news is that one of the fastest marathoners in history, Tirunesh Dibaba, has announced that she and her husband are expecting their second child and that she won’t be racing for the remainder of the year.

The top women coming in are defending champion Vivian Cheruiyot and women’s-only world record-holder Mary Keitany. These are just two of the six women with incoming personal bests under 2:20:00.

The others are Birhane Dibaba, who was the winner of the 2018 Tokyo Marathon in 2:19:51, Gladys Cherono (a three-time Berlin champion with a personal best of 2:18:11), Brigid Kosgei (the 2018 Chicago champion in 2:18:35) and Roza Dereje at 2:19:17 (from the Dubai Marathon in 2018).

The wild thing about this group of women is that each of them (except for Dereje) have a world major title and a recent personal best. Keitany has the oldest PB (which is the women’s-only world record) and it’s only from 2017. In terms of who will take the title, it’s a genuinely tight race between these women.

Depending on the day, the order could change, but Kosgei’s Chicago performance was truly dominant, as was Cherono’s in Berlin in 2018. But Keitany has had luck in London before, setting the world record there, so she knows how to run the course well.

The other women’s story to watch is the American battle. The Molly Huddle and Emily Sisson battle could make history for American women. Both women have had impressive 2019 seasons. Sisson ran within seconds of Huddle’s American half-marathon record in Houston.

Then the two women competed against each other three weeks ago at the Stanford Invitational 10,000m, where Sisson came out on top in 30:49 and the third-fastest American woman of all time.

Huddle is going in with an extremely impressive personal best of 2:26:44, and London will be Sisson’s debut. Both women are clearly in incredible shape, and the women’s field is top-notch, so they are sure to push each other to some of the fastest American women’s times in history. Deena Kastor’s American record of 2:19:36 may not be within reach just yet, but it likely will be one day soon for these women.

(04/24/2019) Views: 2,205 ⚡AMP
by Madeleine Kelly

Reigning London Marathon champion Vivian Cheruiyot is focusing on defending her title at 2019 London Marathon

Reigning London Marathon champion Vivian Cheruiyot is not focusing on breaking the world record when she returns to the 2019 London course on April 28.

Cheruiyot, popularly known as ‘Pocket Rocket’, will be lining up in the streets of London for a third consecutive year but this time round she will be defending the title she clinched in 2018.

The Olympic Champion clocked 2:18:31 beating the three-time London Marathon champion and her close ally Mary Keitany en route to clinching the title and the duo are set to face off again in this year’s event.

The 35-year-old however says that focus is on retaining the crown but not setting a record and would not be focussing on her competitors.

“I will be running against anybody. I will be competing as Vivian and so I don’t know what my competitors are planning, maybe they want to break the world record but for me I hope to run good race,” Cheruiyot, known for her trade mark infectious smile told Citizen Digital.

Having beaten Keitany to the title last year, Cheruiyot said they might be rivals on the road but enjoys a warm relationship with the New York Marathon champion.

“In athletics we are also friends, only that if I win then that is my time and if Mary wins it’s her time because this is sports,” explained Cheruiyot.

This year’s race is set to be as competitive as ever with the winners of the last four Abbott World Marathon Majors set to line up in London on Sunday.

The duo is set to face off against Chicago Marathon champion Brigid Kosgei and the Berlin Marathon champion Gladys Cherono.

Also, in the mix is another Kenyan, Linet Masai, who will be making her debut.

Cherono, Kosgei and Keitany top the current Abbott World Marathon Majors Series XII rankings with 25 points apiece from their wins in Berlin, Chicago and New York.

Meanwhile, three-time Olympic champion who finished second in London and won Chicago in 2017, Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba, has pulled out of the Sunday’s race as she is expecting her second- born child thus leaving her compatriots Tadelech Bekele, who finished third in London last year and the 21-year- old Roza Dereje, second in Chicago, and winner of the Dubai Marathon in 2018 to lead the assault for Ethiopia.

(04/22/2019) Views: 2,153 ⚡AMP
by Gilbert Kiprotich

Eric Kiptanui of Kenya and Ethiopia’s Roza Dereje take the crown in Barcelona Half-Marathon

Eric Kiptanui and Roza Dereje raced to victories at the Dreams Mitja Marato Barcelona,  road race, on Sunday.

While the 21-year-old Dereje was an overwhelming winner ahead of her fellow Ethiopian Dibabe Kuma in the women’s race, Kiptanui took the top spot over Ethiopia’s Abebe Degefa after a thrilling sprint in the men’s.

The women’s race had been billed as a serious attack on the world record by the rising star Dereje. She came up short, but still clocked 1:06:01 to clip a full minute from her previous lifetime best. The Ethiopian came within 16 seconds off the national record set by Senbere Teferi in Ras Al Khaimah.

Paced throughout by her fellow Ethiopian Fekele Darsema, Dereje’s early rhythm proved too slow for the record assault, with the opening five kilometres covered in 15:37, some 15 seconds behind world record pace. By then only Kuma and Kenyan Lucy Cheruiyot remained with Dereje, with Kenya’s Sally Chepyego another 12 seconds back and her compatriot Celestine Chepchirchir a distant fifth, 48 seconds behind the leaders.

The following five kilometres section was covered slightly faster, with the leaders reaching the 10-kilometre point in 31:10 with Dereje at the front and Kuma, last year’s runner-up, tucked in behind. Chepyego travelled 24 seconds adrift.

Dereje found the required world-record pace (3:04/3:05/km) over the following kilometres to pass 15 kilometres in 46:51. Kuma couldn’t respond to that turn of speed, dropping some 30 metres behind with Chepyego now 1:16 behind Dereje.

Another 15:52 five kilometres split led the leader through 20 kilometres in 1:02:43, keeping prospects alive for a sub-1:06 performance. Dereje stepped up the pace in the waning stages but nonetheless just missed the barrier, clocking 1:06:01.

(02/11/2019) Views: 2,478 ⚡AMP

Mary Keitany, Vivian Cheruiyot And Tirunesh Dibaba will battle at the London Marathon

The defending champion Vivian Cheruiyot and the current TCS New York City Marathon champion Mary Keitany return to the Virgin Money London Marathon in 2019.

They join their compatriots Gladys Cherono (2018 BMW Berlin Marathon champion) and Brigid Kosgei (2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon champion) meaning the winners of the last four Abbott World Marathon Majors will be on the Start Line in London on Sunday 28 April.

Cheruiyot, who is also the reigning Olympic 5000m champion and the runner-up behind Keitany at last November’s TCS New York City Marathon, said: “It was a great moment for me winning last year’s Virgin Money London Marathon and I am very much looking forward to returning in April.

“The line-up for this year’s race is, once again, incredibly strong so I know I will need to be at my very best to repeat last year’s victory but it is a challenge that I’m really looking forward to. I will be ready.”

Also confirmed to run are the Ethiopian trio of Tirunesh Dibaba,  the three-time Olympic champion on the track and third fastest woman of all time, who finished second in London and won Chicago in 2017, Tadelech Bekele, who finished third in London last year, and 21-year-old Roza Dereje, second in Chicago and winner of the Dubai Marathon in 2018.

Cherono, Kosgei and Keitany top the current Abbott World Marathon Majors Series XII rankings with 25 points apiece from their wins in Berlin, Chicago and New York. Dereje and Cheruiyot are on 16 points apiece following their second places in Chicago and New York respectively. The Series XII title could be decided in London.

The Abbott World Marathon Majors series adds up points for the best finishes in the world’s six best marathons. Series XII started at the 2018 BMW Berlin Marathon and will finish at the same race in 2019, taking in the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, 2018 TCS New York City Marathon, 2019 Tokyo Marathon, 2019 Boston Marathon and the 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon.

Hugh Brasher, Event Director, said: “This is a truly amazing women’s field which features the five best women marathon runners in the world last year. The stage is set for a fascinating race on Sunday 28 April.

(02/06/2019) Views: 2,696 ⚡AMP

Ethiopian runner Roza Dereje Bekele will attack the world record at the Mitja Marato de Barcelona 2019

Roza Dereje Bekele from Ethiopia announced her participation in the Barcelona Half Marathon, which will be held in Barcelona on February 10, with the aim of breaking the world record.

The current record is held by the Kenyan Joyciline Jepkosgei, with a time of 1:04:51, achieved in Valencia on October 22, 2017.

The young Ethiopian runner, only 21 years old, has run 1:07:00, achieved April 2018 in Istanbul. She had surprised most everyone clocking 2:19:17 for the marathon in Dubai on January 26, 2018.

The Ethiopian runner who is training very well has decided to try to beat the half marathon world record and then run the Marathon in London.

"I have chosen Barcelona because it is one of the fastest races in the world and has an excellent organization," Bekele explained through a statement from the organizers of the Barcelona event.

(01/29/2019) Views: 2,536 ⚡AMP

Ethiopian Getaneh Molla runs 2:03:34 and Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich 2:17:08 at Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon

Dubai Marathon winners shattered records at this year’s race, beating tens of thousands who donned their running shoes early Friday morning to participate in the iconic sporting event.

Ethiopian Getaneh Molla and Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich broke the course records in the 19th edition of the marathon, with Molla clocking 2:03:34 or about roughly half minute faster than Mosinet Geremew’s 2:04:00 set last year.

Chepngetich emerged as the winner for the female division, finishing the race with a time of 2:17:08 shattering the course record of Roza Dereje at 2:19:17 at last year’s race.

Getaneh Molla produced the fastest marathon debut in history to win the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, while Ruth Chepngetich moved up to third on the women’s world all-time list at the IAAF Gold Label road race on Friday (25).

Molla’s winning time of 2:03:34 took 26 seconds off the course record that was set last year and puts him sixth on the world all-time list.

Chepngetich, meanwhile, took 87 seconds off the PB she set in Istanbul just two months ago to win in 2:17:08, an improvement of two minutes and nine seconds on the previous course record. It moves her from eighth to third on the world all-time list behind world record-holder Paula Radcliffe (2:15:25) and Mary Keitany (2:17:01).

(01/25/2019) Views: 2,622 ⚡AMP

Mo Farah sets European Record to Win The Chicago Marathon

This was Great Britian's Sir Mo Farah's first marathon win in three attempts today October 7.  He looked smooth the whole way and took control of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon over the last few miles when he stepped up the pace to 4:35 per K.

The lead group had passed the half way mark in 1:03:03.  At the finish Mo Farah clocked 2:05:11 winning his first US marathon and setting a new European record.  (Breaking Sondre Nordstad Moen record of 2:05:48 set in Japan Dec 3, 2017.)   

24-year-old Brigid Kosgei from Kenya running her ninth marathon and second place finisher last year ran the last miles by herself to clock an outstanding 2:18:35, making her the 10th fastest women's marathon time ever. 

"I like the rain," Brigid said after winning. "I enjoy the rain and I swallowed the pain, no struggling," she said. Roza Dereje (Eth) was second cocking 2:21:18.  First American was Sarah Crouch finished sixth with 2:32:37.  

"Amazing to come across the finish first," Mo said after he finished.  Ethiopia's Mosinet Geremew Bayih finished second clocking 2:05:24.  Suguru Osako from Japan finished third in 2:05:50 setting a national Japan record winning 100 million yen (almost one million US dollars) in doing so. 

In fourth was Kenneth Kipkemoi from Kenya clocking 2:05:57.  Galen Rupp who fell off the pack at around 22 miles came back strong and finished fifth with 2:06:21 just 14 seconds off his PR.  Boston Marathon winner Yuki Kawauchi (Japan) finished 19th clocking 2:16:26, his 82nd sub 2:20 marathon. Mo, a  two-time Olympic champion in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters, native of Great Britain finished third in the London Marathon earlier this year. 

The men’s field include three former champions and 11 racers who have registered times faster than 2:08.  In the end 11 men ran faster than 2:10, nine under 2:08.  The temperature was 58 degrees at the start with light to heavy rain most of the way. Of more impact were the north-northeast winds coming off Lake Michigan as runners headed north from the start.  

Mo is the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history, he was the 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medalist in both the 5000m and 10,000m. Farah is the second athlete in modern Olympic Games history, after Lasse Virén, to win both the 5000m and 10,000m titles at successive Olympic Games. 

Mo moved from the track to the roads after the 2017 World Athletics Championships.  61-year-old Joan Samuelson clocked 3:12:13 not reaching her sub three hour goal. 

(10/07/2018) Views: 6,054 ⚡AMP

Everything you need to know about the 2018 Chicago Marathon

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is happening this Sunday October 8...Galen Rupp who lives in Oregon won the 2017 race clocking 2:09:20, will return to battle four-time Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah of Great Britain.

The two have raced against each other 22 times, with Farah winning 21 times...Mo Farah has been training over 120 miles per week and has only one thing on his mind, to win...There are five men in the field with faster personal records than Rupp, who clocked his 2:06:07 PR winning the Prague Marathon on May 6... among the other elite men in the field include two-time world champion Abel Kirui, Geoffrey Kirui, reigning world champion and 2017 Boston Marathon winner, and four-time Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah, Rupp's former training partner...Plus Mosinet Geremew (2:04:00 personal best) and Birhanu Legese (2:04:15), both of Ethiopia, also lead the international field...

In the field of approximately 45,000 runners Sunday, 47 percent will be women...The top American women include Laura Thweatt, Sarah Crouch, Taylor Ward, Katie Matthews and Gwen Jorgensen leading the pack.

Joan Benoit Samuelson, 61, who won the 1984 Olympics gold medal and Chicago in 1985, also will be running, and her goal is to break three hours.  No woman over 60 has ever run that fast...

Top elite women include Roza Dereje and Birhane Dibaba of Ethiopia; Brigid Kosgei of Kenya; and fellow Kenyan and two-time champion Florence Kiplagat...

Chicago is one of the flattest and fastest marathons in the world. The only thing that gets in the way of more fast times is sometimes hot weather...The weather forecast for this year is 60 degrees with humidity at 75%.  Not ideal but it has been worse...

Four world marathon records have been set in Chicago. Dennis Kimetto of Kenya holds the Chicago Marathon men’s record with a time of 2:03:45 set in 2013. Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain set the women’s record in 2002 with a time of 2:17:18...

Yuki Kawauchi, from Japan, holds a record for running 79 marathons in less than 2:20. In April, he won the Boston Marathon in 2:15:58. He has won 30 marathons in his career with a personal best of 2:08:14. He has competed in 20 marathons so far in 2018 and is running...

The female and male Chicago winners each get $100,000. The total purse distributed among all the money winners is $803,500. There are bonuses for course records: $75,000 for men and women...

Twenty-three percent of the field are from outside the US. The largest group is from Mexico, with 2,225 runners. Then: Canada (1,777), United Kingdom (1,741), China (1,347), Brazil (1,209), Germany (566), Hong Kong (481), Costa Rica (471) and Italy (453)...

Rupp's 2017 victory was his first in a marathon major. He said it compares to his two Olympic medals, silver in the 10,000 meters in 2012, and marathon bronze in 2016. "Nothing can really replace the Olympics," he told Oregon Live. "But winning a major in Chicago, a city I love, was right up there."...

Rupp said he is fully recovered from nagging Achilles and ankle problems that complicated his buildup. "I'm feeling good," he said. "I've been healthy the last five or six weeks."...Rupp's father grew up in Maywood, Illinois and Galen spent a lot of time in the Chicago area during his childhood. 

"I'm so excited to be returning to Chicago to defend my title," Rupp said. "I couldn't be more thrilled to be heading back to the Windy City."  First wave start time is 7:30am Central Time on Sunday.

(10/04/2018) Views: 3,840 ⚡AMP
by Bob Anderson

Strong elite women´s field is set to run the Chicago Marathon this weekend

American elite’s Gwen Jorgensen and Alexis Pappas will both run this year’s Chicago Marathon.  While Jorgensen has run a marathon before (after deciding to retire as a triathlete), this will be her first marathon since committing to professional running full-time. Jorgensen is the 2016 Olympic triathlon gold medallist. Pappas is a former track runner who competed at the 2016 Olympics in the 10,000m, running for Greece. She’s a Dartmouth and Oregon alumna with a creative side. The runner directed the film Tracktown with her husband Jeremy Teicher, and helped cover the 2018 winter Olympics with comedian Nick Kroll. Pappas is reportedly hoping to run the marathon at the 2020 Olympics for Greece. Roza Dereje of Ethiopia has the fastest incoming women’s seed time, having run a 2:19:17 in Dubai this January. At only 21 years old, Dereje has already made a strong mark on the road running scene. The second-fastest entry is Florence Kiplagat of Kenya. Kiplagat’s personal best is from the 2011 Berlin marathon, and she hasn’t come close to it since the 2014 London marathon. The veteran’s most recent time in the event is a 2:26:25 from the 2017 London marathon. Birhane Dibaba, who comes in third, broke the 2:20 barrier at the 2018 Tokyo marathon, running 2:19:51 to take the win. Dibaba will surely challenge Dejere this weekend. Dayna Pidhoresky and Melanie Myrand are the only two Canadians on the Chicago elite women’s list. Pidhoresky, the Vancouver native has run several half-marathons this summer, along with a 10K. She broke the tape at the Scotiabank Vancouver half-marathon in June, running 1:13:04. Her marathon personal best is 2:36:08. Myrand of Lachine, Que. is a nurse practitioner in primary care who decided to give this running thing a chance after a breakthrough in 2016. Her personal best is 2:39:07 from the 2017 Scotiabank Waterfront marathon in Toronto. (10/02/2018) Views: 1,882 ⚡AMP

At Dubai Marathon Seven Men Break 2:05 and four Women Break 2:20! Best Ever!

Ethiopia's Mosinet Geremew set a new Dubai Marathon record when he sprinted clear from a large group of his compatriots to claim victory in the 10th fastest marathon time ever on Friday. The 25-year-old crossed the line in 2:04:00, two seconds ahead of Leul Gebresilase with last year's winner Tamirat Tola four seconds back. Ethiopians filled the first 10 places. Roza Dereje won the women's race in 2:19:17, also a new record and personal best for the Ethiopian, ahead of compatriots Feyse Tadese, Yebrgual Melese and last year's winner Worknesh Degefa. (01/25/2018) Views: 1,756 ⚡AMP