Running News Daily

When thousands of runners line up in the heart of Sapporo on Sunday, August 30, 2026, they will be taking part in one of Japan’s most distinctive marathon traditions — a race where the battle is not only against the clock and the 42.195-kilometre distance, but also against the summer heat.

The Hokkaido Marathon traces its roots to 1987, when the inaugural race attracted just 439 entrants. Over nearly four decades, it has grown into a major international marathon, welcoming runners from Japan and around the world while maintaining its unique identity as one of the country’s few major summer marathons.

That summer setting is precisely what makes heat management such an important part of the Hokkaido Marathon experience.

The 2026 edition will begin at 8:30 a.m. from Odori Nishi 4-chome, with the course winding through some of Sapporo’s most recognisable landmarks, including Susukino and Hokkaido University. But while the atmosphere will be festive and competitive, organisers are urging athletes to treat heat-related illness with the utmost seriousness.

As one of Japan’s few marathons held during the summer, Hokkaido Marathon carries a heightened risk of heatstroke. Mild heat illness may improve with rest, cooling and appropriate hydration, but severe heatstroke can become life-threatening and demands rapid action to lower body temperature.

The organisers have therefore placed medical preparedness at the centre of the 2026 event. Since the 2022 Hokkaido Marathon, an ice-bath system has been available for emergency cooling — an approach also used during the marathon and race-walking competitions at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

If medical staff suspect severe heatstroke accompanied by impaired consciousness, a doctor may assess the athlete, including measuring rectal temperature when necessary. Where appropriate, the runner can be rapidly cooled using an ice bath before being transported to a medical facility.

For competitors, recognising the warning signs early could make all the difference.

Feeling dazed, unusually confused, mentally foggy or unable to remain fully alert during the race should never be dismissed as ordinary fatigue. Runners experiencing such symptoms are being urged not to force themselves forward. They should stop, rest and seek medical assistance.

The same responsibility applies to fellow runners and spectators. Anyone who notices a competitor appearing confused, disoriented or seriously unwell should immediately alert the nearest medical or first-aid team.

Hydration is another critical part of the organisers’ message — but the advice is not simply to drink as much water as possible.

Both insufficient sodium intake and excessive fluid consumption can contribute to hyponatremia, a potentially dangerous drop in blood sodium levels. Runners should therefore pay attention to both fluid and sodium replacement during the marathon rather than relying solely on water.

The race is also expanding its cooling measures in 2026. An ice distribution point will be available at approximately 13.2 kilometres, while new water-dousing points will be introduced at the end of selected aid stations. These facilities are designed to give runners additional opportunities to cool their bodies as the race progresses.

A cooling spray may also be carried and used as another practical measure against the heat.

Such precautions are particularly significant given the Hokkaido Marathon’s history. From its modest beginning in 1987, the event gradually established itself as an important testing ground for athletes preparing to compete in hot-weather conditions. Japanese and international elites have repeatedly used the race to test their endurance and heat tolerance, while the event has also welcomed some of the world's leading distance runners.

Today, the marathon combines that elite tradition with a huge mass-participation atmosphere. What started with fewer than 500 entrants has evolved into an event capable of attracting around 20,000 runners, turning Sapporo into a celebration of distance running each summer.

But the message for 2026 is clear: finishing the marathon is never more important than protecting your health.

For runners chasing personal bests, international athletes seeking victory and recreational participants simply hoping to complete the distance, knowing when to slow down, stop or seek help is part of racing intelligently.

On August 30, the streets of Sapporo will once again provide a spectacular stage for 42.195 kilometres of running. Yet beneath the excitement, the Hokkaido Marathon is sending an equally important message: run hard when your body allows it, cool down when necessary, stay alert to the heat and never ignore the warning signs.

After nearly four decades of history, the Hokkaido Marathon continues to evolve — and in 2026, protecting the runners who make that history possible is firmly at the heart of the race.

The former Vienna and Sapporo Marathon winner was attacked by thugs at his home in one of Eldoret’s exclusive estates.

Former Kenyan marathoner Samson Kandie has reportedly passed away following an armed attack at his home in Eldoret on Thursday.

Reports claim, Kandie, who represented Kenya at the 2001 World Championships, succumbed to his injuries following an attack by thugs at his Elgon View house in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu county.

The motive of the attack is yet to be known but police in Eldoret are pursuing the matter with a view to nabbing those responsible.

The former Vienna and Sapporo Marathon winner was attacked by thugs at his home in one of Eldoret’s exclusive estates.

Former Kenyan marathoner Samson Kandie has reportedly passed away following an armed attack at his home in Eldoret on Thursday.

Reports claim, Kandie, who represented Kenya at the 2001 World Championships, succumbed to his injuries following an attack by thugs at his Elgon View house in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu county.

The motive of the attack is yet to be known but police in Eldoret are pursuing the matter with a view to nabbing those responsible.

It was his second third place finish in successive years after doing the same at the 1998 edition of the event, when he clocked 2:09:11.

Kandie also recorded third place at the Xiamen Marathon in China in 2000 and at the 2003 Prague Marathon after clocking 2:11:48 and 2:14:02 respectively.

His other marathon win came in San Sebastian Spain in 2001 after clocking 2:10:21.

On Thursday, the organizers announced the signing of the best German marathon runner of recent years, Melat Kejeta, for the anniversary edition of the 50th BMW Berlin Marathon. In the men's race, Hendrik Pfeiffer will lead a group of strong German top runners.

Melat Kejeta will start at the BMW Berlin Marathon on September 29. It will be the first appearance for the then 32-year-old at the biggest German marathon spectacle since her impressive debut race in 2019. At that time, Melat Kejeta had surprised in Berlin in sixth place with 2:23:57 hours and made the fastest marathon debut of a German woman.

She then ran an excellent race in her second marathon at the 2021 Olympic Games. In Sapporo (Japan) she reached sixth place. In January 2024, Melat Kejeta improved to 2:21:47 in Dubai and finished in an excellent fourth place. However, she was unlucky at the Olympics in Paris in August. Due to stomach problems, she had to give up the race early. In Berlin, Melat Kejeta now wants to rehabilitate himself.

Hendrik Pfeiffer leads German top runners

Hendrik Pfeiffer (TK zu Hannover) had improved to 2:07:14 hours in a brilliant race in Houston (USA) in January in third place and thus became the fourth fastest German marathon runner in history. After he had set the pace almost entirely on his own, he was ten seconds short in the end to secure the third German Olympic starting place. In April, Hendrik Pfeiffer surprised with a seventh place at the marathon classic in London (Great Britain).

After he was unable to run a marathon for about one and a half years due to injury, Filimon Abraham (LG Telis Finanz Regensburg; PB: 2:08:22 h) in Berlin. Haftom Welday (TB Hamburg Eilbeck), who improved to 2:08:24 hours last year in Valencia (Spain), is in an identical performance range. While Sebastian Hendel (LG Braunschweig; 2:08:51 h) ran under 2:10 hours for the first time in Hamburg in April, Johannes Motschmann (Marathon Team Berlin) now wants to beat this mark for the first time in Berlin. He had surprised at the London Marathon in April with ninth place and improved to 2:10:39 hours.

Tom Gröschel (TC Fiko Rostock; 2:11:03 h), who finished eleventh as the best German marathon runner at the European Championships in Berlin in 2018, will be competing in what may be his last race as an elite athlete.

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!”

2018 World Half Marathon Championships bronze medalist Pauline Kamulu Kaveke and Tokyo Olympics marathon trials winner Shogo Nakamura survived tough conditions, 22˚C at the start with 82% humidity, sunny skies and almost no wind, to take the 2024 Hokkaido Marathon Sunday in Sapporo.

Both running their debuts, Kamulu and Shiho Tachizako ran steadily around 2:28-flat pace surrounded by a group of amateur men, staying together until just before 30 km when Tachizako started to fade. Kamulu struggled with the hot conditions late in the race and could only watch the clock as sub-2:30 slipped away, looking very tired as she crossed the finish line in 2:31:04.

Tachizako faded to 2:33:47 for 2nd, but even that was good enough to easily beat the rest of the field, with last year's 2nd-placer Ayano Ikeuchi 3rd in 2:35:26 in her third marathon so far this year.

Nakamura had said pre-race that he didn't care about time and was only focused on getting in the win, and that was exactly how he ran, ignoring the early action and staying near the front of the main pack until he made his initial move at 30 km.

That got rid of the pretenders, with only 2:08~2:10 men Takeshi Soma, Atsumi Ashiwa and Masaru Aoki, and 2:18 amateur Ryuichi Yoshioka getting back on board. Soma countered with an attack after 34 km, but Nakamura quickly reeled him back in and made his real move with 5 km to go.

Yoshioka was the only one to try to follow, but it was all Nakamura the rest of the way, scoring his first win since his Olympic trials victory in 2019 with a 2:15:36 for 1st. Yoshioka was elated in the home stretch with a 2:16:28 for 2nd, a 2-minute PB and the only runner male or female in the top 10 to PB. Nakamura's toughest competition still standing when he dropped his big move, Ashiwa out kicked Soma and Aoki for 3rd in 2:16:40.

Osaka Marathon winner Kiyoto Hirabayashi ran Hokkaido as a training run, jogging in to a 70th-place finish in 2:41:19. The next-fastest man on paper after Hirabayashi with a 2:07:58 win in Beppu-Oita in February, Japan-based Ethiopian Derese Workneh was a DNF near 30 km.

Kenyans Leonard Langat and Vibian Chepkirui will return to defend their Vienna Marathon titles, while there are three men on the start list who have broken 2:06 and five women featuring personal bests of sub 2:25.

With regard to these personal records it will be strongest line-up in the history of the Vienna City Marathon which will see its 39th edition next week. Including races at shorter distances more than 31,000 runners have registered for Austria’s biggest running event, a World Athletics Marathon Label Road Race.

Kifle had a fine year in 2021: He was third in Enschede, 14th in the Olympic marathon in Sapporo and then 6th in Valencia, where he ran his PB. With his personal record the Eritrean is a little faster than Vienna’s course record of 2:05:41 by Ethiopia’s Getu Feluke in 2014. 

Abdi Fufa of Ethiopia is the third athlete in Vienna’s line-up who has run sub 2:06. A year ago he was second in Siena’s elite only race with 2:05:57.

It looks a tough task for Leonard Langat to defend his title in the Austrian capital. The Kenyan improved to 2:09:25 in Vienna last September. But with this PB he is only the eighth fastest athlete on the start list.  

Unfortunately there were a number of cancellations from elite runners recently. Among them are Mekuant Ayenew and fellow-Ethiopian Derara Hurisa, who had originally crossed the line first in last year’s Vienna City Marathon. However he then had to be disqualified for wearing illegal racing shoes and Leonard Langat became the winner. 

The fastest runner on the women’s start list is Caroline Kilel, who ran 2:22:34 when she took the Frankfurt Marathon back in 2013. While the Kenyan did not reach these sort of times recently there are other athletes who showed promising last year.

Defending champion Vibian Chepkirui may only be number five on the list with her PB of 2:24:29. However she did run this time last September in Vienna in very warm conditions.

Afterwards the Kenyan said that she could have been at least two minutes faster in more suitable conditions. Chepkirui could be capable of attacking the course record of fellow-Kenyan Nancy Kiprop who was the winner in 2019 with 2:22:12. 

Kenya’s Ruth Chebitok and Ethiopia’s Sifan Melaku are number two and three on Vienna’s start list with PBs of 2:23:29 and 2:23:49 respectively.

Sheila Jerotich of Kenya is a contender for victory as well. She took the Istanbul Marathon in November, improving to 2:24:15.

“We are very happy that we were able to surpass the mark of 30,000 entries. Compared to our comeback race in September 2021 this is a nice step forward. We feel the enthusiasm of the runners,“  said Kathrin Widu, the General Manager of the Vienna City Marathon.

There has never been an Eritrean winner in the history of the Vienna City Marathon which had its first edition back in 1984. This may change next week though since the two fastest entrants are from this country: Goitom Kifle and Oqbe Kibrom feature personal bests of 2:05:28 and 2:05:53 respectively.

The Nagoya Women's Marathon will be coming up on Sunday offering the highest prize money with the winner set to walk away with Ksh 35 million ($241,500US).

The 2024 Nagoya Women’s Marathon is certainly one of the marathons in the world that offers the highest prize money.

The winner of the race will walk away with more than Ksh 35 million with every finisher also being awarded a beautiful, specially designed pendant from a global luxury jeweller, Tiffany & Co., as a memento of their achievement.

As per the race organisers, the prize money for the subsequent places will be determined separately based on the competition results.

Meanwhile, this year’s field has attracted Gotytom Gebreslase who will have the course record in her sights when she races in the marathon, a World Athletics Platinum Label road race.

The 2022 world champion set her Personal Best time of 2:18:11 when winning that title in Oregon and she went on to secure silver at last year’s World Championships in Budapest.

This will be the Ethiopian’s first marathon since then and she goes into it targeting at least a lifetime best, if not the course record of 2:17:18 set by Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich in 2022 – that time being the second-fastest-ever women-only marathon behind the 2:17:01 run by Mary Keitany in London in 2017.

“My goal for Sunday is to run under 2 hours and 18 minutes, and if the weather and pacemakers are good, I will try to break the course record of 2:17:18,” she said at the pre-event press conference.

She will face a stern test from Bahrain’s Eunice Chebichii Chumba, who finished seventh in the Olympic Games marathon in Sapporo, and Romania’s Delvine Relin Meringor who ran her national record of 2:20:49 when finishing third in Barcelona a year ago and she went on to place 12th in the Berlin Marathon in 2:23:25.

Violah Cheptoo will be Kenya’s sole representative in the race, hoping to retain the title that was won by Chepng’etich during last year’s edition of the race.

Kenyan marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge has arrived in Tokyo ready for Sunday’s marathon where he is seeking a third victory in Japan.

Eliud Kipchoge has arrived in Tokyo ahead of Sunday’s race where he will be seeking to claim a second win in three years in the Japanese capital.

Kipchoge is hot favourite to win the Tokyo Marathon in what is part of his build up towards the Paris Olympics and will lined up against a stellar cast that includes compatriots Vincent Ngetich and Timothy Kiplagat.

The Kenyan marathon great holds the fastest time in Tokyo after clocking 2:02:40 to win the 2021 race and there are hopes that he can lower it on Sunday.

Tokyo also holds good memories for Kipchoge as he struck his second Olympics gold in Japan at the delayed 2020 Olympics, although the marathon was run in Sapporo, and he also claimed a 5000m silver medal on the track at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka.

“Japanese people love running, their culture is instilled in running, and they love marathons. It’s a good city, I can say it is a marathon city. I am looking to running fast again and enjoy,” Kipchoge said during his preparations.

Kipchoge has enjoyed a good preparation and is excited by the prospect of pursuing what will be the 12th Marathon Major of his extraordinary career that includes five wins in Berlin, four in London and victories in Chicago, Hamburg and Rotterdam.

A fast, flat course, the field of 37,500 marathon runners will start their quest at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building before heading gently downhill for the first 5km.

The course then flattens out for the remainder with no major hills to overcome as the runners make their way to the finish at Tokyo Station.

Kipchoge’s 2:02:40 is the men’s course record while the women’s mark of 2:16:02 is held by Kenyan Brigid Kosgei, recorded the same year.

Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel announced she is withdrawing from Saturday’s U.S. marathon trials for the Paris Games due to a knee injury.

Seidel, 29, said in a video posted Thursday that she suffered a knee injury a month ago, couldn’t run on it and got an MRI that revealed a broken patella and a partially torn patella tendon.

“I have done everything in my power over this last month to try and get myself to the (starting) line,” she said. “I’ve had just the most incredible physios and doctors doing everything in their power to help me. I’ve been cross-training my (butt) off, but ultimately I got to this week, and my knee had not healed up enough, and I knew that I could not race a marathon hard on it in its current state without really, really injuring myself.”

The trials are Saturday at 10 a.m. ET from Orlando, airing live on Peacock with coverage on NBC, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app at noon.

Four years ago, Seidel placed second in the trials in her marathon debut to make the three-woman Olympic team.

After the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the Tokyo Games by one year, Seidel finished third in the Olympic marathon held in Sapporo.

She became the third U.S. woman to win a marathon medal after Joan Benoit Samuelson, who won the first Olympic women’s marathon in 1984, and Deena Kastor, the 2004 bronze medalist.

After Tokyo, Seidel dealt with a hip injury and anemia, plus took time to focus on mental health after an eating disorder relapse.

Then last Oct. 8, Seidel finished a 26.2-mile race for the first time in two years. She was the second-fastest American woman at the Chicago Marathon, running a personal best and re-establishing herself as a prime candidate to make the Paris team of three at trials.

Seidel is the second contender to withdraw in the lead-up to trials.

Emma Bates, the third-fastest U.S. female marathoner of 2023, bowed out Jan. 7, saying then, “There’s just not enough time to be where I need to be.”

The field still includes three of the four fastest American women in history — American record holder Emily Sisson, former American record holder Keira D’Amato and Sara Hall, No. 4 on the all-time list.

Plus, former Iowa State teammates Betsy Saina (the fastest American in 2023) and Aliphine Tuliamuk (Tokyo Olympic Trials winner).

With four successive victories to her name in the annual 10km Road Race, golden girl Gerda Steyn will be red-hot favorite to make it five-in-a-row when the Dubai Marathon gets underway on Sunday.

Held under the auspices of the Dubai Sports Council, the Dubai Marathon’s 10km event is always the most popular race in terms of athlete number. But if any woman is to wrestle the crown from Steyn, they will need to be in the form of their lives.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have enjoyed a wonderful year in 2023 with the three most memorable days being when I won the Two Oceans Marathon and the Comrades Marathon in South Africa, followed by running a new marathon national record in Spain in December,” said the modest 33-year-old Dubai-based South African.

At the Valencia Marathon less than a month ago, Steyn finished 11th in a time of 2:24:03 to set a new South African national record at the distance. Although she will kick off the 2024 season with the shorter 10km distance in Dubai, it’s hardly a surprise considering her near ownership of the event.“I’ve run the Dubai 10km race every year since 2018 and have won it four times, so I can’t think of a better way to start the new year than to be a part of it once again,” she added.

“My aim is to win the 10km again in 2024 and even though I won’t be running the full marathon itself, I still get to be part of the iconic event.”

The Dubai Marathon launches what will be a busy year for the adidas runner.

As well as committing to the defense of her Comrades Marathon and Two Oceans Marathon titles in Durban and Cape Town respectively, South Africa’s fastest ever female marathon runner will also represent her country at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

It will be her second Olympics having finished 15th in the Marathon in Sapporo in 2021.But before all that, there is the small matter of the defence of her Dubai Marathon 10km title on Sunday. Last year, Steyn won in a time of 33:47 over an unfamiliar route at EXPO City Dubai.

But with the 23rd edition of the Dubai Marathon taking place over the fast and flat roads of Umm Suqeim, the quicksilver South African may well have her eyes on the personal best of 32:24 she set over the same surface the last time it was staged there in 2020.

Meanwhile, The Dubai Sports Council has discussed the latest preparations for organizing the 23rd edition of the Dubai Marathon, the oldest long-distance running race in the Middle East.

The latest preparations were discussed during a meeting held by Saeed Hareb, Secretary-General of the Dubai Sports Council, Nasser Aman Al Rahma, Assistant Secretary-General, Peter Connerton, Event Director, and Alan Ewens, Media Director of the race.

Hareb expressed his confidence in the staging of the Dubai Marathon, especially since it features cooperation between a number of government agencies and the organizing committee to ensure its success and provide the best atmosphere for thousands of international participants coming to run a race they look forward to every year.

The 2024 Dubai Marathon is supported by the Dubai Sports Council, adidas, Dubai Duty Free, EXEED by Al Ghurair, the Channel 4 Radio Network, the ITP Media Group, Bisleri Water, Biofreeze, Dubai RTA, Dubai Police, Al Ameen Service, Dubai Municipality and SIRO One Za’abeel, the first fully integrated Fitness + Recovery hotel in Dubai.

Belfast man Stephen Scullion finished third in the men's race at the Dublin Marathon as Ethiopian winner Kemal Husen set a new course record of two hours six minutes and 52 seconds.

Husen went to halfway in 1:02.56 and eventually bettered Othmane El Goumri's 2019 mark by one minute and 14 seconds.

Uganda's Geofrey Kusuro was second in 2:10.45 with Scullion clocking 2:11.51.

Scullion won the concurrently run Irish Championship with Ann-Marie McGlynn taking the national women's title.

Ethiopia's Amente Negash won the overall women's race in a personal best of 2:26.22 as she was 42 seconds ahead of Kenya's Joan Kipyatich with another Ethiopian Genet Abdurkadir a further 45 seconds back in third.

Kenya's Peninah Jerop was fourth in 2:29.06 with 43-year-old Strabane-based McGlynn, who set her personal best of 2:29.34 in 2021, thrilled with her performance in fifth as she clinched the Irish national marathon title for the first time with a 2:34.13 time.

North Belfast athlete Gladys Ganiel, 46, was second in the Irish Championship as she took eighth overall in 2:37.08 - 26 seconds outside her personal best set in Dublin four years ago - while Donore's Sorcha Loughnane was the next woman over the line as she completed the podium positions in the national event.

'I needed to believe in myself again'

After finishing overall Dublin runner-up in a time of 2:12.01 in 2019, Scullion secured another podium spot as he produced his second fastest marathon and his quickest run over the 42km distance since his Irish record performance of 2:09.49 in London three years ago.

The 34-year-old Belfast man went to halfway in 1:05.37 and maintained his form impressively in the damp conditions to hold off Kenya's Kimal Kipruto for the final overall podium position by four seconds.

'I needed to believe in myself again'

After finishing overall Dublin runner-up in a time of 2:12.01 in 2019, Scullion secured another podium spot as he produced his second fastest marathon and his quickest run over the 42km distance since his Irish record performance of 2:09.49 in London three years ago.

The 34-year-old Belfast man went to halfway in 1:05.37 and maintained his form impressively in the damp conditions to hold off Kenya's Kimal Kipruto for the final overall podium position by four seconds.

Scullion qualified for the Tokyo Olympics only to drop out amid the searing heat in Sapporo but the Dublin performance should give him renewed belief that next year's Paris Games is an achievable target for him even though the qualifying mark is a penal 2:08.10.

As was the case before Tokyo, there is another route to Paris which will enable athletes who secure top-five finishes in one of the globe's 14 platinum marathons, which include the likes of London, New York, Chicago and Berlin, to earn qualification.

Another Ethiopian, Asefa Bekele, was also under 2:12 as he clocked 2:11.57 to take fifth.

Leevale's Ryan Creech was second in the Irish Championship as he ran 2:14.08 - a minute and five seconds outside his personal best - for seventh overall with Newcastle AC's Ryan Forsyth completing the national event podium spots as he was eighth overall in an impressive 2:14.43 on his marathon debut.

Husen's course-record winning men's time also took one minute and 17 seconds off his previous personal best set when he placed sixth at the Dubai marathon in February.

The Ethiopian's task was made easier after last year's winner Morocco's Taoufik Allam dropped out early on with an apparent hamstring injury.

Kildare man Patrick Monahan earned his seventh wheelchair race victory in Dublin as he clocked 1:41.04.

Monahan will be back in action at next Sunday's New York Marathon where he has previously achieved a top-five finish.

The German roads are much to Matea Parlov Kostro’s liking. Within little more than six months she has celebrated both the biggest success of her career to date and her greatest win. In August 2022 she won the silver medal at the European Championships in Munich which turned her at a stroke into a Croatian Sports Star.

This was the first medal won by a Croatan woman in a running event in almost a century of the European Championships. Then in May this year she enjoyed her biggest victory so far. The athlete from Zagreb won the Hanover Marathon, breaking both the course record and her personal best with 2:25:45. This performance placed the 31-year-old firmly among the very best of the European marathon running elite. Now she will run Sunday’s Mainova Frankfurt Marathon. 

“I decided to run the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon because it’s a fast race with a high-quality field. I always feel good when I run in Germany, that was another factor in Frankfurt’s favour. Another reason was that I am so looking forward to the spectacular run to the finish line in the Festhalle,” explained Matea Parlov Kostro before Sunday’sMainova Frankfurt Marathon. “My form is better than ever, the performances in training are better than before the European Championships. I have had a slight cold but feel good now.”

"I’m happy that I no longer have to worry about making the Olympic qualifying time, I’ve made sure of my ticket to Paris. But I want to run a personal best so, of course, there’s always some form of pressure to perform.”

Her first sport wasn’t running but handball. “Then one day a sports teacher asked if I wanted to run a 600m race on the track for the school. It meant I didn’t have to go to school that day, so I did it, not that I was bad at my studies, on the contrary.” She finished third off no specific training and her talent was immediately evident. The Croatian’s career was off and running.

At first she ran middle distance but did not have enough speed over 800 and 1500m to make an impression internationally. Her performances over the longer distances were better, however. She ran 9:08.49 for a Croatian record over 3,000m. Road racing offered still more potential and she has concentrated on this more since 2018, making her marathon debut in Berlin in that year with 2:38:05. She had made great strides since then, literally. At the Valencia Marathon in 2020 she emerged from the lockdown of the Corona pandemic to break 2:30 for the first time, running 2:28:52. This ensured Olympic qualification. Competing in the 2021 Olympic, held in Sapporo, she achieved a highly creditable 21st place in extreme heat.

She made big improvement on her shorter distance speed as well in 2022, running a personal best for 10km of 31:54 in Berlin, which stood her in good stead for her eventual silver medal in the marathon at the European Championships later that year. 

This race transformed her life. “Without a medal, you’re a nobody in Croatia, but when you win one, you’re a star overnight,” explained Matea Parlov Kostro. “I don’t earn much more money but am regularly invited to appear on TV programmes and people speak to me on the street and want to take a photo of me, especially after a training run when they’ve seen me.”

What does she think of the stupendous women’s world record by the Ethiopian Tigst Assefa, running 2:11:53 in Berlin? “When I saw the time, I was shocked. I wouldn’t have thought it possible that a woman could run so fast. And she didn’t show any weakness during the race after 30 kilometres, it was astonishing.”

The best Europeans have in the past consistently achieved high finishing places and even won medals at the Olympic Games. Asked if she dreamed of winning an Olympic medal in Paris, Matea Parlov Kostro replied: “Of course, an Olympic medal is the dream. But that’s not realistic, the African women are simply too strong.”

After Kenya women marathoners failed to finish in the medal bracket, Kenya’s Timothy Kiplagat, Joshua Belet and Titus Kipruto are under pressure to make amends as they parade in the men’s race Sunday morning at the Heroes Square in Budapest.

The top Kenyan in the women’s race was Rosemary Wajiru in sixth place in 2:26:42 with Selly Cheyego finishing behind her in 2:27:09.

Kiplagat stands third on the world list with the 2:03:50 he posted as runner-up to Belgium’s Bashir Abdi in Rotterdam last April.

Belet was runner-up at the Hamburg Marathon in April in 2:04:33 while  Kipruto was fourth at this year’s Tokyo Marathon in 2:05:32.

Kipruto set his personal best of 2:04:54 as runner-up in Amsterdam last year.

In an interview, Kiplagat said it would have been nice if the race started at 6 am in the morning.

All the same, he noted that if it doesn’t start early, he will still take it in his stride and give it his best shot.

He said they have been told to take a lot of water to remain hydrated and he hopes to do exactly that. He said he has prepared well and his target is to finish on the podium.

According o the organisers, Sunday is forecast to be the hottest day of the year in Hungary.

Last year, Tamirat Tola made World Championships history by running the fastest-ever winning time (2:05:36) in the men’s marathon.

The 31-year-old Ethiopian will be defending his title and has a chance to add his name to the list of a few marathoners who have succeeded in defending their title.

They include Spain’s Abel Anton (1997, 1999), Jaouad Gharib of Morocco (2003, 2005) and the Kenyan whose championship record Tola broke in Oregon, Abel Kirui (2009, 2011).

Tola, who was the marathon runner-up at the 2017 World Championships, has maintained his form this year, finishing third at the London Marathon in April in 2:04:59, behind Kelvin Kiptum (2:01:25) and Geoffrey Kamworor (2:04:23).

Neither of those two Kenyans will be on the start line in Budapest, leaving the defending champion to face two rivals from Kenya who have run faster than him this year.

Ethiopians have finished first and second at the last two World Championships and Tola will no doubt start as favourite.

Apart from Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands, who was runner-up to Eliud Kipchoge in the 2021 Olympic marathon in Sapporo, the race looks much more like an East Africa affair.  The 34-year-old also finished third in New York last November and in Rotterdam in April.

Tanzania’s Alphonce Felix Simbu is a seasoned major championship marathon campaigner. The 31-year-old earned world bronze in London in 2017 and Commonwealth silver in Birmingham last year.

He also finished fifth and seventh in the last two Olympic marathons. Commonwealth champion Victor Kaplangat is joined on the Ugandan team by Stephen Kissa, who set a national record of 2:04:48 in Hamburg last year.

There are a host of other sub-2:06 performers in the field including Israel’s European bronze medallist Gashu Ayale, Kaan Kigen Ozbilen of Turkey, Eritreans Goitom Kifle and Oqbe Kibrom, plus the Japanese duo Kenya Sonota and Ichitaka Yamashita.

In Oregon last year, Tamirat Tola ran his way into the World Championships history books with the fastest ever winning time in the men’s marathon: 2:05:36. Thirteen months on, the 31-year-old Ethiopian has the chance to add his name to the select band of marathon men to manage a successful title defence.

Only three have achieved the feat thus far: Spain’s Abel Anton (1997, 1999), Jaouad Gharib of Morocco (2003, 2005) and the Kenyan whose championship record Tola broke in Oregon, Abel Kirui (2009, 2011).

Tola was a class apart in 2022, the 2016 Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist showing his track pedigree as he blitzed the final 10km circuit in 28:31 to finish a decisive 1:08 clear of compatriot Mosinet Gerenew, also the silver medallist in Doha in 2019.

Tola, who was the marathon runner-up at the 2017 World Championships, has maintained his form this year, finishing third at the London Marathon in April in 2:04:59, behind Kelvin Kuptum (2:01:25) and Geoffrey Kamworor (2:04:23).

Neither of those two Kenyans will be on the start line in Budapest, but the defending champion will face two rivals from Kenya who have run faster than him in 2023. Timothy Kiplagat stands third on the world list with the 2:03:50 he clocked as runner-up to Belgium’s Bashir Abdi in Rotterdam in April. Abdi, the bronze medallist in Eugene, will be absent in Budapest but Kiplagat will be joined on the Kenyan team by Joshua Belet, runner-up at the Hamburg Marathon in April in 2:04:33. The third Kenyan in the field is Titus Kipruto, fourth at this year’s Tokyo Marathon in 2:05:32, who set a PB of 2:04:54 as runner-up in Amsterdam last year.

Ethiopians have finished first and second at the last two World Championships and Tola will have notable support in Budapest. Milkesa Mengesha, the 2019 world U20 cross-country champion, won the Daegu Marathon in April and clocked a best of 2:05:29 in Valencia last December. Chalu Deso won in Tokyo in March in 2:05:22. Leul Gebresilasie finished second and fourth at the last two London Marathons and has a best of 2:05:12. Tsegaye Getachew placed third in Tokyo in April in 2:05:25.

Not that the race looks like being an exclusive battle between the two established East African giants of distance running.

Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands was runner-up to Eliud Kipchoge in the 2021 Olympic marathon in Sapporo. The 34-year-old finished third in New York last November and in Rotterdam in April.

Tanzania’s Alphonce Felix Simbu is a seasoned major championship marathon campaigner. The 31-year-old earned world bronze in London in 2017 and Commonwealth silver in Birmingham last year. He also finished fifth and seventh in the last two Olympic marathons.

Commonwealth champion Victor Kaplangat is joined on the Ugandan team by Stephen Kissa, who set a national record of 2:04:48 in Hamburg last year. Morocco’s Mohamed Reda El Aarby placed second in New York in 2021 and fourth last year.

There are a host of other sub-2:06 performers in the field: Israel’s European bronze medallist Gashu Ayale, Kaan Kigen Ozbilen of Turkey, Eritreans Goitom Kifle and Oqbe Kibrom, plus the Japanese duo Kenya Sonota and Ichitaka Yamashita.

Ayale’s Israeli teammate Marum Terifi is the second-highest placed runner from last year’s race on the entry list. He finished 11th in Oregon and then took silver at the European Championships in Munich.

Veteran Spaniard Ayam Lamdassem was sixth in Munich but fifth at global level in the Olympic marathon in 2021. Another 41-year-old on the start line will be the remarkable Ser-od Bat-Ochir. The Mongolian is unlikely to be troubling the medal contenders but will be contesting his 11th successive World Championships marathon – his 16th successive global championship marathon, having also contested the past five Olympic marathons.

Women's marathon

In Oregon last year Gotytom Gebreslase won in the fastest ever time in a women’s championship marathon, 2:18:11, but the Ethiopian will have to beat two of the six fastest women of all time if she is to successfully defend her title in Budapest.

The 2011 world U18 3000m champion was unable to keep up with one of them on the rolling hills of Boston in April, finishing 10th in her only marathon of the year in 2:24:34 – eight places and 2:44 behind compatriot Amane Beriso Shankule, who was runner-up to two-time world champion Hellen Obiri.

At 31, the formerly injury-plagued Beriso produced a stunning performance in Valencia in December last year, upsetting world 10,000m champion Letesenbet Gidey’s world record attempt with a victory in 2:14:58, putting her third on the world all-time list behind Kenyans Brigid Kosgei (2:14:04) and Ruth Chepngetich (2:14:18).

Gebreslase will also have to contend with Rosemary Wanjiru, who moved above Gidey to sixth on the world all-time list with a winning time of 2:16:28 in Tokyo in March. The 28-year-old Kenyan, fourth in the world 10,000m final in Doha in 2019, clocked one of the fastest marathon debuts in history, 2:18:00, as runner-up to Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa in Berlin last year.

In addition to Gebreslase, five other finishers from the top 10 in Oregon last year will be on the start line: bronze medallist Lonah Salpeter from Israel and fourth-placed Nazret Weldu of Eritrea, plus Keira D’Amato of the US (eighth), Japan’s Mizuki Matsuda (ninth) and Mexico’s Citiali Moscote (10th).

The loaded field also includes the second-fastest woman of 2023, Ethiopia’s Tsehay Gemechu, the runner-up to Wanjiru in Tokyo in 2:16:56, who finished fourth in the 5000m in Doha in 2019, and Bahrain’s 2017 marathon world champion Rose Chelimo.

The Ethiopian challenge will be strengthened by world 10km record-holder Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who ran 2:17:23 on her marathon debut last year then won in London later in 2022 before finishing fifth at this year’s edition of the race. Wanjiru, meanwhile, is joined on the Kenyan team by 2014 world half marathon bronze medallist Selly Kaptich, who was third in Berlin in 2019, and Shyline Jepkorir, a winner in Enschede in April in 2:22:45.

At 36, the veteran Kaptich is four years younger than Australia’s two-time Commonwealth medallist Lisa Weightman, who showed her enduring class with 2:23:15 for fourth place in Osaka in February.

Another notable entrant is Poland’s Aleksandra Lisowska, who broke away in the final 2km to win the European title in Munich 12 months ago.

Bat-Ochir made his world debut in Paris back in 2003 and boasts a highest placing of 19th in Daegu in 2011. He finished 26th in Oregon last year, his second-best global performance. His appearance in Budapest will match Portuguese race walker Joao Viera’s tally of 11 – two shy of Spanish race walker Jesus Angel Garcia’s record.

Finishing a marathon is hard enough, but one Japanese runner pushed his limits at the 2023 Osaka Marathon, clocking a three-hour and 28-minute marathon while wearing traditional wooden Japanese geta sandals.

Takanobu Minoshima, a 47-year-old runner from Sapporo, averaged a pace of 4:56/km over 42.195 kilometres while wearing the wooden shoes and even had the word “Geta” as his name on his Osaka Marathon bib.

His final finishing time was 3:28:11 for 2,896th place (out of 10,000+ runners), which is only eight minutes shy of the 2023 Boston Marathon qualifying time of 3:20:00 for his M45 to 49 age group.

Geta are traditional Japanese sandals that are often paired with the yukata (robe) for informal occasions, such as summer festivals. The geta has a slab of wood attached to the foot with strings or ribbons and rests on a sturdy piece of wood (that’s a little higher than the maximum stack height allowed by World Athletics!). We have to hand it to him for being able to stay on his feet for an entire marathon while wearing these.

This isn’t the first time Minoshima has raced wearing geta. In 2019, he ran a 100K ultra race in 13 hours and 45 minutes at the Kamalai Shrine 100 in Taiwan. He has a marathon best of 2:59:20 from the Hokkaido Marathon in 2014, when he wore regular running shoes.

Canada’s Cameron Levins is racing the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday, he will be looking to improve his own national record of 2:07:09, which he set last summer during the Eugene World Athletics Championships.

Asked if he will be going after the 2024 Paris Olympic entry standard of 2:08:10 or the 2023 Budapest World Athletics Championships standard of 2:09:40, he told Athletics Illustrated, “I think we’re waiting to see what the pace options are before making that decision, but certainly looking for a personal best and not just standard.”

Levins set a new Canadian half-marathon record on February 12 at the First Half Half Marathon clocking a 60:18. He finished 4:03 ahead of his nearest competitor. Although that time, according to World Athletics’ points performance scale is almost, but not quite, as good as his marathon best, it was run in less than ideal conditions. For example, in Eugene, there was a highly competitive field to race with — to bring the best out of him. Additionally, in Vancouver, although not overly challenging, the weather was cool and windy. The general consensus is he could have run the First Half Half Marathon a little faster, yet. Perhaps right at the level of his national marathon record. So, we know from that performance he is in great shape.

Looking at his options in Tokyo, Levins has a fast course and runners looking for a fast time and prize money.

The field is led by Ethiopian Lemma Sisay who has run as fast as 2:03:36 back in 2019 at the Berlin Marathon. He has also run at least three other sub-2:07-marathons. As it has been four years since Sisay set his best, anyone of Kenyans Bernard Koech (2:04:09), CyBrian Kotut (2:04:47), Titus Kipruto (2:04:54), Ugandan Stehen Kissa (2:04:48), Ethiopian Deso Gelmisa (2:04:53) could challenge for the win. There are also several fast Japanese runners led by Kengo Suzuki with his 2:04:56. He holds the national record from Otsu, Japan two years ago. There are six others who have run 2:05 to 2:07 — right in Levins’ range.

The 24-year-old Kipruto finished second in the Amsterdam Marathon last October — less than five months ago. He was beaten only by Ethiopian Tsegaye Getachew by five seconds. Gelmiso, just 25 and Kipruto won the 2022 Valencia and Milano Marathons respectively. If the weather is ideal expect a couple of 2:03 marathons in Tokyo. Currently the forecast is trending in the right direction with projected highs of 13-16 degrees.

Prior to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Levins ran several marathons that ended in disappointment. These included the London Marathon in poor weather as well as Chandler, AZ, where he looked fresh at 32 kilometers into the race, running with the lead pack, only to fade to a 2:12:15 clocking. At the 11th hour, he boarded a plane for Fürstenfeld, Austria and ran a small marathon event just fast enough to qualify for the Olympics at 2:10:14. However, by the time he go to Sapporo, where the event was held, some 800 kilometers north of Tokyo, it was hot at 34 degrees celsius, and perhaps he had run too many marathons leading up. The standard was 2:11:30 at the time.

The 33-year-old Vancouver Island native has had big highs with breaking the Canadian marathon record three times, competing in two Olympic Games and at one time holding the national 10,000m record. Anything can and often does happen in a marathon event. Expect Levins to improve his own national marathon record and perhaps run 2:06 plus or minus a few seconds if all works out for him.

It was not long ago that the 43-year-old Canadian record was stuck at a modest 2:10:09 by Jerome Drayton from his run in Fukuoka, Japan in 1975. Excellent Canadian marathon runners Reid Coolsaet, Dylan Wykes, and Eric Gillis among others had led the Canadian Marathon resurgence. Levins has taken the mantle from there and has run with it to repeat records. The standard he has set and will likely continue to, will be a benchmark for up and coming Canadians to follow. Perhaps to put Canada back on the global marathon map.Levins recently signed with Asics as his new shoe sponsor. Until 2021, he was with HOKA and prior to that Nike with the now defunct Nike Oregon Project that was led by the now banned Alberto Salazar. Levins is now coached by fellow Vancouver Island runner Jim Finlayson.

It is official–Canada’s fastest marathoner, Cam Levins, has signed a sponsorship deal with the Japanese sporting brand Asics.

The 2:07 marathoner spent the entire 2022 season unsponsored, after leaving Hoka in late-2021. His fourth-place finish in the men’s marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships was the highest finish by a Canadian in the men’s marathon at a major championship in the IAAF/World Athletics era.

Levins’s time of 2:07:09 shattered his previous Canadian marathon record of 2:09:25 from the 2018 Toronto Waterfront Marathon. 

The 33-year-old continued his string of solid performances earlier this month when he smashed the Canadian half marathon record by 42 seconds at the Vancouver First Half, running 60:18. This was the first time a Canadian runner has gone under the 61-minute mark over 21.1 kilometers.

Levins is on the elite list for the 2023 Tokyo Marathon on March 5, and indicated to Kate Van Buskirk on Canadian Running’s The Shakeout Podcast that he’s “ready for something really special there.” 

“I am excited to head back to Japan for another opportunity to compete in a major marathon,” Levins said on Instagram.

The last time Levins was in Japan, it was for the 2020 Olympic marathon in Sapporo, where he ended up finishing a disappointing 72nd. “The Olympics were a low point for me,” Levins said in an August 2022 interview. “I felt I was right there, but I realized I was so far behind the best in the world.”

The men’s field for Tokyo features nine sub-2:05 runners, including 2022 Amsterdam champion Tsegay Getachew; London 2021 champion Sisay Lemma and his former training partner and Japanese 5,000m (and formerly, marathon) record holder, Suguru Osako.

Levins currently lives and trains in the Portland, Ore. area, and is coached by Victoria’s Jim Finlayson.

We are just over a month away from the first Abbott World Marathon Major of the calendar year, the 2023 Tokyo Marathon on March 5, and headlining the list of elites is none other than Canadian record-holder Cam Levins. 

Last year, Levins had a season to remember, setting personal bests in the half-marathon and the marathon. His record-setting 2:07:09 performance came at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, where he shattered his own record by two minutes to finish fourth overall—the highest-ever finish by a Canadian male in the marathon at a major championship.

He followed that up with a half-marathon personal best at the 2022 Valencia Half Marathon, where he finished 19th in 61:04.

“I am excited to head back to Japan for another opportunity to compete in a major marathon,” Levins said on Instagram.

The last time Levins was in Japan, it was for the 2020 Olympic marathon in Sapporo, where he ended up finishing 72nd place. “The Olympics were a low point for me,” Levins said in an August 2022 interview. “I felt I was right there, but I realized I was so far behind the best in the world.”

With his time of 2:07 at Worlds, Levins ended the year as the top North American marathoner in the world, according to World Athletics. 

Levins will need another magical performance to contend with some of the world’s best marathoners in Tokyo. The men’s field features nine sub-2:05 runners, including 2022 Amsterdam champion Tsegay Getachew, London 2021 champion Sisay Lemma and his former training partner and Japanese 5,000m (and formerly, the marathon) record holder, Suguru Osako.

The 2023 Tokyo Marathon is scheduled for Sunday, March 5. On Feb. 12, Levins will compete in the Vancouver First Half in the lead-up to his marathon. 

On Tuesday, World Athletics announced the automatic qualifying standards for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The standards are the toughest ever for a global championship as World Athletics is aiming for just 50% of entrants to come via the standard, with the remaining 50% to be determined by world ranking.

This is similar to the system in place for the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, and in most events, the standards are similar to those for next year’s Worlds. The big difference comes in the marathon.

For the 2020 Olympics, World Athletics had set entry limits of 80 athletes for the men’s and women’s marathons, but a combination of supershoes and a COVID-extended qualifying window saw far more athletes hit the entry standards than expected. In the end, 106 men and 88 women started the last Olympic marathon in Sapporo.

Seeking to avoid a repeat, World Athletics dramatically lowered the marathon entry standards. On the men’s side, the 2024 standard is 2:08:10 (compared to 2:11:30 in 2020). On the women’s side, the 2024 standard is 2:26:50 (compared to 2:29:30 in 2020). Athletes can also earn the standard by finishing top-5 in a Platinum Label Marathon between November 1, 2022, and April 30, 2024. In 2023, the following races are Platinum Label Marathons: Xiamen, Osaka (women), Tokyo, Nagoya (women), Seoul, Boston, London, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago, Amsterdam, New York, Shanghai, Valencia.

The standards are listed below. We’ve also listed the standards for the 2020 Olympics and 2023 Worlds for comparison.

Men’s standards

Event

100m.- 10.05 (2020 Olympics), 10.00 (2023 Worlds), 10.00 (2024 Olympics).

200m.- 20.24 (2020 Olympics), 20.16 (2023 Worlds), 20.16 (2024 Olympics).

400m.- 44.90 (2020 Olympics), 45.00 (2023 Worlds), 45.00 (2024 Olympics).

800m.- 1:45.20 (2020 Olympics), 1:44.70 (2023 Worlds), 1:44.70 (2024 Olympics).

1500m.-  3:35.00 (2020 Olympics),  3:34.20 (3:51.00) (2023 Worlds), 3:33.50 (3:50.40) (2024 Olympics).

5000m.- 13:13.50 (2020 Olympics), 13:07.00 (13:07 road)(2023 Worlds), 13:05.00 (2024 Olympics).

10,000m.- 27:28.00 (2020 Olympics), 27:10.00 (27:10 road) (2023 Worlds), 27:00.00 (2024 Olympics).

Marathon.- 2:11:30 (2020 Olympics), 2:09:40 (2023 Worlds), 2:08:10 (2024 Olympics).

3000m SC.- 8:22.00 (2020 Olympics), 8:15.00 (2023 Worlds), 8:15.00 (2024 Olympics).

110m H.- 13.32 (2020 Olympics), 13.28 (2023 Worlds), 13.27 (2024 Olympics).

400m H.- 48.90  (2020 Olympics), 48.70 (2023 Worlds), 48.70 (2024 Olympics).

High jump.- 2.33m (2020 Olympics), 2.32m (2023 Worlds), 2.33m (2024 Olympics).

Pole vault.- 5.80m (2020 Olympics), 5.81m (2023 Worlds), 5.82m (2024 Olympics).

Long jump.- 8.22m (2020 Olympics), 8.25m  (2023 Worlds), 8.27m (2024 Olympics).

Triple jump.- 17.14m (2020 Olympics), 17.20m (2023 Worlds), 17.22m (2024 Olympics).

Shot put.- 21.10m (2020 Olympics), 21.40m (2023 Worlds), 21.50m (2024 Olympics).

Discus.- 66.00m (2020 Olympics), 67.00m (2023 Worlds), 67.20m  (2024 Olympics).

Hammer.-  77.50m (2020 Olympics), 78.00m (2023 Worlds), 78.20m (2024 Olympics).

Javelin.- 85.00m (2020 Olympics), 85.20m (2023 Worlds), 85.50m (2024 Olympics).

Decathlon.- 8350 pts (2020 Olympics), 8460 pts (2023 Worlds), 8460 pts (2024 Olympics).

20k RW.-  1:21:00 (2020 Olympics), 1:20:10 (2023 Worlds), 1:20:10 (2024 Olympics).

Women’s standards 

Event.- 100.-  11.15 (2020 Olympics), 11.08 (2023 Worlds), 11.07 (2024 Olympics).

200.-  22.80 (2020 Olympics), 22.60 (2023 Worlds), 22.57 (2024 Olympics).

400.-  51.35 (2020 Olympics), 51.00 (2023 Worlds), 50.95 (2024 Olympics).

800.- 1:59.50 (2020 Olympics), 1:59.80 (2023 Worlds), 1:59.30 (2024 Olympics).

1500 (Mile).- 4:04.20 (2020 Olympics), 4:03.50 (4:22.00) (2023 Worlds), 4:02.50 (4:20.90) (2024 Olympics).

5k.- 15:10.00 (2020 Olympics), 14:57.00 (14:57 road) (2023 Worlds), 14:52.00  (2024 Olympics).

10k.- 31:25.00  (2020 Olympics), 30:40.00 (30:40 road) (2023 Worlds), 30:40.00 (2024 Olympics).

Marathon.- 2:29:30 (2020 Olympics), 2:28:00 (2023 Worlds), 2:26:50 (2024 Olympics).

3k steeple.- 9:30.00  (2020 Olympics), 9:23.00 (2023 Worlds), 9:23.00 (2024 Olympics).

100 hurdles.- 12.84 (2020 Olympics), 12.78 (2023 Worlds),

12.77 (2024 Olympics).

400 hurdles.-  55.40 (2020 Olympics), 54.90 (2023 Worlds),

54.85 (2024 Olympics).

HJ.- 1.96m (2020 Olympics), 1.97m (2023 Worlds), 1.97m (2024 Olympics).

PV.- 4.70m (2020 Olympics), 4.71m (2023 Worlds), 4.73m (2024 Olympics).

LJ.- 6.82m (2020 Olympics), 6.85m (2023 Worlds), 6.86m  (2024 Olympics).

TJ.- 14.32m (2020 Olympics), 14.52m (2023 Worlds), 14.55m (2024 Olympics).

SP.- 18.50m (2020 Olympics), 18.80m (2023 Worlds), 18.80m  (2024 Olympics).

Discus.- 63.50m (2020 Olympics), 64.20m (2023 Worlds), 64.50m  (2024 Olympics).

Hammer.- 72.50m (2020 Olympics), 73.60m (2023 Worlds), 74.00m  (2024 Olympics).

Javelin.- 64.00m (2020 Olympics), 63.80m (2023 Worlds), 64.00m (2024 Olympics).

Heptathlon.- 6420 pts (2020 Olympics), 6480 pts (2023 Worlds), 6480 pts (2024 Olympics).

20k race walk.- 1:31:00 (2020 Olympics), 1:29:20 (2023 Worlds), 1:29:20 (2024 Olympics).

Richard Ringer will run next marathon in Hamburg.

Organizers announced during a press conference with the runner, who became Germany’s first male marathon gold medal winner in the long history of the continental championships.

The Haspa Marathon Hamburg is Germany’s major spring marathon. Online entry for the event is possible at: www.haspa-marathon-hamburg.de

“To have Germany’s first ever male European Marathon Champion on the start line next spring is something really special and makes us feel proud. We hope Richard’s commitment to our event will give the Haspa Marathon Hamburg another boost after the fantastic race we had this year,“ said chief organiser Frank Thaleiser. In April this year both course records were smashed in Hamburg. Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw clocked 2:17:23 which at that time was an unofficial world debut record while Kenya’s Cybrian Kotut won with 2:04:47.

“I made up my mind quickly after the European Championships and decided to go for a spring marathon in 2023. Hamburg and its organiser MHV are a perfect fit for me,” said Richard Ringer, who travelled from the very southwest of Germany to the north to attend the press conference in Hamburg on Wednesday.

It was just two years ago when Richard Ringer ran his marathon debut in Valencia. Since then he has established himself as a strong championship runner. In the Olympic marathon in Sapporo in 2021 he achieved a fine 26th place and this summer he stormed to the European gold medal in sensational style in Munich. However when he will come back to Hamburg in April Richard Ringer will have a different goal. This one will be about a fast time on a flat course. The 33-year-old currently has a personal best of 2:08:49. He should be able to run considerably faster than that if weather conditions are favourable.

Additionally Richard Ringer plans further ahead: “I am already looking towards the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024. So it is important to me to run a good marathon time next spring.” With a fast time in Hamburg he could make an early and decisive step towards Olympic selection for Paris.

The 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo will be held on Sept. 13 to 21, the athletics world governing body said Wednesday.

World Athletics initially wanted the meet at the National Stadium to be held in late August, but organizers in Japan said mid-September would be better given the intense summer heat.

The Sept. 13 start date will be the second closest to the end of a year in the history of the championships, behind 2019’s meet in Doha that began on Sept. 27.

All of the championships events will be in Tokyo, including marathon and race walk, which were relocated to Sapporo at last year’s Tokyo Olympics amid heat concerns.

“We will try to gain the understanding and support from Tokyo residents and Japanese citizens as we prepare to stage the meet,” said Mitsugi Ogata, president of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations.

The 57th San Silvestre Vallecana, a World Athletics Elite Label Road Race and possibly the most prestigious of the myriad of New Year's Eve races around the world, will return to its usual circuit (December 31) after a change last year because of the pandemic.

The women’s race on the slightly downhill 10km point-to-point course – which starts alongside the famous Santiago Bernabeu stadium of Real Madrid and finishes on the pitch of another Spanish first division club, Rayo Vallecano, in the Madrid suburbs – has Kenya’s distance ace Hellen Obiri as the athlete to beat.

The two-time world 5000m champion and Olympic silver medalist finished second in Madrid in 2018 after a thrilling battle with her fellow Kenyan and current world marathon record-holder Brigid Kosgei. Obiri’s outstanding 29:59 time then proved not enough to take the victory, but the 32-year-old will be eager to claim victory in Madrid for the first time on her opening appearance this winter.

Yet the reigning world cross country champion Obiri will face tough opposition provided by Ethiopia’s Degitu Azimeraw, 10 years her junior. Azimeraw is an accomplished road specialist, having recorded the second quickest ever marathon debut when she won in Amsterdam in 2:19:26 in 2019 to also break the course record in the Dutch city.

After another fine performance over the classic distance of 2:19:56 for sixth in Valencia in 2020, the Ethiopian moved to 11th on the world all-time list last October following her runner-up spot in London in a big lifetime best of 2:17:58. Azemiraw boasts a relatively modest 31:03.32 10,000m clocking set in Hengelo a couple of years ago. The NN Running Team athlete will be joined by her teammates Lonah Salpeter of Israel and Haven Hailu from Ethiopia.

The 33-year-old Salpeter holds the European 10km record with a 30:05 time to her credit set in Tilburg in 2019, one year after she won the European 10,000m title in Berlin. She attempted to land an Olympic marathon medal in Sapporo, remaining in a four-unit leading pack until the 36th kilometer, but some stomach problems ultimately hampered her aspirations. After that disappointment, Salpeter bounced back eight weeks later to place fifth at the London Marathon in her second quickest time of 2:18:54, not particularly far from her career best of 2:17:45 run in Tokyo in 2020 which makes her the eighth fastest woman in history.

Watch out too for the 23-year-old Hailu, as she was an unheralded distance runner until this year but clocked 2:20:19 for third in Amsterdam in October. She will compete in the company of her fellow Ethiopian Likina Amebaw Ayel, a 32:20 performer.

The men’s contest is also shaping up well as the classy cast includes the in-form Burundian Rodrigue Kwizera. The 22-year-old is enjoying a fantastic cross country season on Spanish soil, having taken victories at several prestigious events such as Soria, San Sebastian, Atapuerca, Italica and Venta de Banos. While the race record of 26:41 set by Jacob Kiplimo in 2018 seems unreachable, Kwizera should run well under the 28-minute barrier for the first time in his career.

Trying to deny Kwizera top spot will be Spain’s 2021 sensation Mohamed Katir, who broke three long-standing national records in the short space of 33 days. The rising Spaniard began his tally by clocking 12:50.79 for 5000m in Florence on 10 June, continued with a 3:28.76 1500m performance in Monaco on 9 July and concluded in style by taking the win over 3000m in Gateshead four days later, timed at 7:27.64.

In his first appearance at a major championships, Katir finished eighth at the Tokyo Olympics over 5000m. He more recently took the spoils at the Jean Bouin, a 10km road race held in Barcelona on 28 November, when he outsprinted Eritrea’s Merhawi Mebrahtu after a one-month stint at the altitude of Font Romeu. The 23-year-old’s next primary goal is the indoors, where he will try to excel over 3000m.

Kenya’s Shadrack Koech and Uganda’s Boniface Abel Sikowo should also be in the hunt for a podium place on Friday. The former holds a 27:21 10km lifetime best, while Sikowo is an 8:25.91 3000m steeplechase athlete who is tackling the road events and ran a 1:01:44 half marathon debut in Barcelona in October.

Not to be discounted is Kenya’s Emmanuel Kiplagat, as the 19-year-old clocked 28:28.02 for 10,000m last summer at the altitude of Nairobi.

In addition to Katir, Spanish hopes rest on Nassim Hassaous and Abdessamad Oukhelfen as they finished seventh and 12th respectively at the European Cross Country Championships in Dublin to lead Spain to team silver, while marathon runners Ayad Lamdassem (2:06:35) and Yago Rojo (2:08:56) will be aiming for a top 10 spot. The Tokyo Olympics 1500m 13th-placed Ignacio Fontes will also be in contention.

Weather forecasters predict perfect conditions for the race, with a mild and windless night, and temperatures between 12 and 14ºC by the time of the event.

The race will take place on February 3, 2024.

USA Track & Field (USATF) has named a host city for the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials, and it’s Orlando, Florida. 

The Trials will take place on February 3, 2024, giving the local organizing committee on the ground only 15 months to prepare for the high-profile event. 

The top three finishers in the men’s and women’s races will represent Team USA at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris (provided they have met the ever-evolving standards set by World Athletics, the sport’s worldwide governing body, to run at the Games). 

USATF was slow in naming a host city for the event. By contrast, when the Atlanta Track Club hosted the 2020 Olympic Trials, those organizers had 22 months to put together a race for about 700 men and women. 

The fields for the race in Orlando will likely be smaller, however, because the qualifying standards to get into the Trials are tougher than they were to get into the 2020 race. In December 2021, USATF announced that women had to run a marathon faster than 2:37 in order to qualify. (For the 2020 Trials, that time was 2:45.) Or, they need to run a half marathon faster than 1:12. 

Following Sunday’s NYC Marathon, only 60 women have run a marathon qualifying time. The window for half marathon qualifying opens on January 1, 2023. Men wanting to qualify for the 2024 Trials have to run 2:18 or faster (last time, the standard was 2:19) or 1:03 in the half marathon. As of mid-October, which was the last time USATF updated its list, 68 men had qualified for the Trials.

The California International Marathon, to be run this year on December 4, typically yields several Trials qualifiers. 

Orlando is the first Florida city to be awarded the event.

The 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials were one of the last elite races held before the COVID pandemic shut down the world for more than a year and postponed the Olympics. At the 2021 Olympic marathon, held in Sapporo, Japan, American Molly Seidel won a bronze medal. The 2024 Olympic marathons in Paris will be held in August of that year.

Since winning the 2019 Canadian Olympic trials, Dayna Pidhoresky has encountered mixed fortunes. It is not surprising that the 35-year-old Vancouver resident is seeking a perfect race at this year’s TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, the site of her greatest triumph.

“I definitely want to run a personal best,” she says of her return to this World Athletics Elite Label race scheduled for October 16th. “I just want to get the most out of myself on the day. I felt this past spring gave me a lot of confidence, my training went really well.

“I feel like this is the year [in Toronto]. I can just take a little bit more risk and try to empty the tank and hopefully that is something I will have the opportunity to do on the day. I just want to race well, execute well, and leave it all out there.”

In April 2022, she won the BMO Vancouver Marathon in 2:34:30. Then just four weeks later, finished 6th at the Tamarack Ottawa Marathon. Both races yielded times well off her Olympic qualifying mark from 2019. On that day, three years ago, with the Canadian champion guaranteed an Olympic berth — provided they had made the standard — she came through with a stunning result. Pidhoresky, who is originally from Tecumseh, Ontario, ran a huge personal best time of 2:29:03 which cemented her place in the Tokyo Olympics.

While other athletes chased standards through the remaining qualifying period, Pidhoresky had the luxury of knowing she could train specifically for her dream race. It was not to be, however. In Sapporo, where the marathons and race walks were held, she struggled home 73rd nursing an injury after what she describes as a ‘nightmare.’

At Team Canada’s pre-Olympic training camp in Gifu, she and her coach and husband, Josh Seifarth, received word that someone on their Vancouver to Tokyo flight had tested positive for Covid.

“We got a call from one of the Athletics Canada guys and he told us we were ‘close contacts’ [of fellow passengers] and that we would have to basically stay in our room the whole time,” she explains. “We weren’t able to leave the room at any point of time, at all. That was about a week. Then I flew to Sapporo where the race was taking place.”

Canadian officials brought a stationary bike to her room during the quarantine, for which she was grateful. When the time came to fly on to Sapporo though, Seifarth was informed he would not be permitted to accompany Pidhoresky. Instead, he flew home to Vancouver.

“We thought it would be normal again and I would be able to interact with the team but I was still considered a ‘close contact’ even when we were in Sapporo,” she continues. “It was mentally draining to be in that situation.

“I was also battling a tendon injury. I was relying on being around my teammates to feel like I was having an Olympic experience. I felt that wasn’t even possible. I was robbed of having an Olympics experience outside of the race itself.”

Currently, her training is going better than in her buildup to the Olympic trials. The anticipation of a great performance is clearly visible in her facial expressions.

“We are definitely ahead of the game right now,” she says with a smile. “At the moment, we are in the 175-185km [weekly volume] range, which for me is more than I have generally averaged. In the past, I would do ten weeks of 160km a week and have maybe a 170km in there. It doesn’t actually feel that different.”

During the spring, she and Josh bought a house near the University of British Columbia which provides immediate access to running trails. Occasionally she meets up with Canadian international Catherine Watkins but most of her long runs are done alone while she listens to running podcasts. One of her favourites, she reveals, is that hosted by triathlete Paula Findlay.

She fills her days with a little photography when time permits, and with some part time work for Seifarth’s company, Visifii.

The addition of Pidhoresky means race director Alan Brookes has been successful in bringing back both Canadian champions, Trevor Hofbauer — who earned his Olympic berth in 2019 as well — and the two overall champions from 2019, as Kenya’s Magdalyne Masai and Philemon Rono will also return. But Pidhoresky is looking for more than defending her 2019 title.

“I am less concerned with placing,” she reveals. “I hope that I can sort of look around and find a good group and we can work together to run fast times together. I would rather run a big PB than feel I am running tactically. Maybe those are one and the same on the day. I just hope I can run to the best of my ability on the day.”

About the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

One of only two World Athletics Elite Label races in Canada, the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon is Canada’s premier running event and the grand finale of the Canada Running Series (CRS). Since 2017, the race has served as the Athletics Canada Canadian Marathon Championship and has doubled as the Olympic trials. During the 2021 event, participants raised over $3.08 million for 151 community charities. Using innovation and organization as guiding principles, Canada Running Series stages great experiences for runners of all levels, from Canadian Olympians to recreational and charity runners. With a mission of “building community through the sport of running,” CRS is committed to making sport part of sustainable communities and the city-building process.

Olympic marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir will make her return from injury when she debuts at the Great North Run Half Marathon on September 11 in England.

Jepchirchir, who resumed training three weeks ago, said the pain from the hip injury that locked her out of the World Athletics Championships in July in Oregon, United States, had eased.

“I feel much better now with the pain having subsided. My doctor advised me to return to training gradually and all is well as for now,” said Jepchirchir, ahead of the race that will start at Newcastle upon Tyne before ending at South Shields.

Jepchirchir was a late inclusion in the women’s marathon team for the World Athletics Championships, but withdrew days before the start of the event on July 15 with the advice from Team Kenya physician Victor Bargoria.

“It was disappointing, but I would rather not aggravate the injury since we still have another world event next year before my Olympic title defence at the 2024 Paris Summer Games,” said Jepchirchir, who hopes to use the Great North Run as part of her preparations for her New York City Marathon title defense on November 6 this year.

Judith Jeptum went on to claim silver for Kenya in Oregon, clocking a personal best of two hours, 18 minutes and 20 seconds, as Ethiopian Gotytom Gebreslase won the race in a Championship Record time of 2:18:11.

Another Kenyan Angela Tanui settled sixth in 2:22:15 as defending champion Ruth Chepngétich pulled out during the race with stomach problems.

Jepchirchir became the second Kenyan woman to win the Olympic title when she swept to victory in the streets of Sapporo, Japan in 2:27:20 seconds on August 7, 2021.

Kenyan women have won the last eight editions of the Great North Run with Hellen Obiri claiming victory last year in one hour, 07 minutes and 42 seconds.

Women’s world marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei holds the Great North Run course record with her victory of 1:04:28 in 2019.

The 2020 event was canceled due to Covid-19.

The fastest Canadian female marathoner in history will be racing on Canadian soil this fall. Malindi Elmore has announced that she will be running the 2022 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Oct. 16. 

Enticed by the opportunity to lower her Canadian record, she is attracted to the fast and flat course on home soil. Elmore set the Canadian record with her 2:24:50 clocking at the 2020 Houston Marathon in what was only her second marathon.

“I definitely feel I haven’t had my best race yet,” Elmore said in a press release. “I think it’s going to line up with the perfect conditions to put together a fantastic build. That’s why I am excited to do Toronto.”

Although she lives and trains 5,000 kilometres away in Kelowna, Elmore knows that Toronto always attracts a high-calibre field. The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon has earned the distinguished World Athletics Elite Label, which puts the race alongside some of the world’s top marathons.

Elmore will not only have her eyes on achieving a personal best but also the Canadian women’s all-comers record of 2:22:16, held by Kenya’s Magdalyne Masai from the last time the marathon took place in 2019.

A year ago, Elmore finished ninth in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Only Canada’s Sylvia Ruegger has finished higher in an Olympic marathon. She was eighth at the boycotted 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

“It was really special to finish in the top ten in the Olympics,” she said about her marathon achievement. She followed up her Olympic performance with an 11th place finish at the 2022 Boston Marathon in 2:27:58, which is the fastest time at Boston by a Canadian woman. 

“I do want to put together a really good buildup for Toronto,” said Elmore. “I would like to be able to get to the fitness level I had leading into Boston and Tokyo (Sapporo), and I hope that would put me below my Canadian record and PB.”

“Another goal, absolutely, I want to get on the podium. I would love to win a race. It’s fun to be the first person across the line.”

Elmore has currently been training at 150 kilometres a week alone, although Canadian Olympic triathlete, Joanna Brown, has jumped in for long runs. Another training partner of Elmore’s is the 2019 Canadian marathon champion and Tokyo Olympian Trevor Hofbauer, who lives two kilometres away from Elmore, and runs with her on easy days. 

Since 2017, the Toronto Waterfront Marathon has served as the Athletics Canada Marathon Championship and has doubled as the Olympic trials. During the 2021 event, participants raised over $3.08 million for 151 community charities.

It was a morning to remember for Canadian distance running at Alton Baker Park in Eugene on Sunday July 17.  Cam Levins shattered his own Canadian record in the marathon at the World Championships, running 2:07:10 for fourth overall behind winner Tamirat Tola in 2:05:35 and Mosinet Geremew (2:06:43), both of Ethiopia, and Bashir Abdi of Belgium (2:06:48). Levins beat his previous record of 2:09.25, which he set at the 2018 Toronto Waterfront Marathon.

Cam Levins outkicked Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor for fourth in the men’s marathon in a new national record time of 2:07:10. 

After the race, an elated Levins said he realized after the Olympics that he “needed to be better in every way, across the board,” and that he had worked hard to improve his training in every way–and we all witnessed the results on the course. (In Sapporo last year, Levins faded in the extreme humidity, finishing 72nd in 2:28:43).

After a very sedate first 30 km, with runners still in a large pack, Levins could be seen near the front, though never leading. When Tola, the eventual winner, kicked hard after an hour and 40 minutes, no one went with him–but Levins continued to look comfortable in the chase pack of five or six runners, only becoming separated from Geremew and Abdi in the last few kilometres.

This is the best-ever performance in a world championship marathon by a Canadian male; Peter Maher’s 10th-place finish at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany was the previous best.

Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor, whose career was traumatized in June 2020 when he was hit by a motorbike during a training run and required surgery on a broken tibia, is due to contest his first major championship marathon in Eugene on July 17.

The 29-year-old from Nyen was named on the Kenyan team for the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 along with 33-year-old Lawrence Cherono – who missed a medal by one place in the marathon at last year’s Olympics – and 35-year-old Barnabas Kiptum.

Kamworor, confident and outgoing, was flying high when he had his accident.

Although he had performed to high levels on the track, where he earned 10,000m silver at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, it was on grass and roads that he had excelled, winning the world cross-country senior titles in 2015 and 2017, and world half marathon titles in 2014, 2016 and 2018.

In his first competitive marathon in 2012 he finished third in Berlin in 2:06:12, and he was a consistent presence on the podium at World Majors Marathons thereafter, particularly in New York, where he finished second in 2015, first in 2017, third in 2018 and first again in 2019.

Kamworor ran his first race since the accident in January 2021, winning the Kenyan Police Cross Country Championships before going on to secure a place on Kenya’s Olympic 10,000m team after winning the national trials, only to have to pull out with an ankle injury.

But at the Valencia Marathon last December he was able to perform to the peak of his ability once more as he set a personal best of 2:05:23 in finishing fourth.

At the previous year’s running in Valencia, Cherono was second in a personal best of 2:03:04, putting him eighth on the world all-time list, having made his World Marathon Majors breakthrough in 2019 when he won in Boston in 2:07:57 and then Chicago in 2:05:45.

Like Kamworor, Kiptum also set a personal best last year as he clocked 2:04:17 in placing third at the Milan Marathon and he has a solid top-three record in virtually every race he has contested.

Such is the depth of Kenyan talent that they can name 2017 world champion Geoffrey Kirui as a reserve.

Meanwhile Kenya’s perennial rivals Ethiopia will be looking to their current world champion Lelisa Desisa, who found the way to win in the steamy heat of Doha three years ago, to make the most of his wild card entry to this year’s competition.

Desisa had early track success, winning the African U20 10,000m title in 2009, and he has since become a highly consistent performer at the highest level, achieving podium finishes four times in New York, including victory in 2018, and four times in Boston, where he won in 2013 and 2015.

He also has championship pedigree, having earned world silver in 2013 six years before his Doha gold, and has a personal best from 2013 of 2:04:45.

The formidable talent Ethiopia can call upon was made clear when it was confirmed that Desisa will have as teammates Tamirat Tola, Mosinet Geremew and Seifa Tura.

Tola earned Olympic 10,000m bronze in 2016 and world marathon silver in 2017. He set his personal best of 2:03:38 last year.

Geremew took silver behind Desisa at the 2019 World Championships, having finished second at that year’s London Marathon in 2:02:55, the third-fastest time in history.

Tura set his personal best of 2:04:29 last year in Milan before going on to win the Chicago Marathon in 2:06:12.

Uganda, the rising nation in distance running, earned this title in 2013 thanks to their 2012 Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich. But the 33-year-old hasn’t been selected for Oregon, nor have Stephen Kissa, who ran a national record of 2:04:48 in Hamburg earlier this year, and Victor Kiplangat who was third in the second-fastest time ever by a Ugandan, 2:05:09.

Instead, Filex Chemonges, Fred Musobo and Jackson Kiprop will run the World Championships marathon, according to the Uganda Athletics Federation. So Kiprop, who helped Kiprotich to win the 2013 world title, is back at the World Championships for the first time since 2015.

Kissa, meanwhile, is due to be in Oregon in the 10,000m, where he will run with fellow Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei, the world 5000m and 10,000m record-holder, while Kiplangat is reported to be running the Commonwealth Games marathon.

Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands and Belgium’s Bashir Abdi earned surprise silver and bronze medals respectively at the Olympics last year, but went on to confirm that their performance in Sapporo was anything but a fluke. Abdi set a European record of 2:03:36 to win the Rotterdam Marathon just two months later, while Nageeye was victorious at the Rotterdam Marathon earlier this year in a Dutch record of 2:04:56, finishing ahead of Abdi.

Both men will line up for the marathon in Oregon, only this time it will be less of a surprise if they reach the podium.

The United States will be looking to the highly consistent figure of Galen Rupp. After taking Olympic 10,000m silver in 2012, Rupp moved to the roads and earned Olympic bronze in 2016.

In 2017 he became the first US man to win the Chicago Marathon since 2002 and finished second at the Boston Marathon. He qualified for Oregon by finishing eighth at last year’s Olympics.

The championships will be in Rupp’s home state, in the same city where he made his first Olympic team in 2008 while he was a student at the University of Oregon.

The other US selections are Elkanah Kibet and Colin Mickow. Kibet, who is with the US military, finished 16th at the 2017 World Championships and set a personal best of 2:11:15 in finishing fourth at last year’s New York marathon.

Mickow is a 32-year-old full-time financial analyst for an organic and natural foods distributor who took up road running six years after finishing his college track career. He qualified for his first international vest after being the top US man home at last year’s Chicago Marathon, where he was sixth in 2:13:31.

Japan’s trio of male runners will be headed by Kengo Suzuki, who set a national record of 2:04:56 in February 2021 at the Lake Biwa marathon in Otsu. Daniel Do Nascimento of Brazil has run a 2:04:51 personal best this year and is another one to watch.

The three-loop World Athletics Championships marathon course only varies by about seven meters between its high and low points and the weather is likely to be considerably cooler than it was in Sapporo or Doha, where the men's marathon had to be held at midnight and the start time temperature was 29C/84F with 51% humidity.

Women's marathon

Ruth Chepngetich will defend her marathon title at the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 on July 18 by virtue of a wild card.

Chepngetich claimed the first gold medal of the 2019 World Championships, clocking 2:32:43 in the steamy heat to gain her first major gold.

She went on to finish third at the 2020 London Marathon before a roller coaster 2021, when she set a world record of 1:04:02 at the Istanbul Half Marathon, failed to finish the Tokyo 2020 Marathon in Sapporo but then won the Chicago Marathon.

At this year’s Nagoya Women's Marathon she won in 2:17:18, just 10 seconds off her personal best and the second-fastest ever women-only marathon.

She will be joined on the Kenyan team in Oregon by Judith Jeptum and Angela Tanui. Jeptum set a French all-comers’ record of 2:19:48 to win the Paris Marathon this year, while Tanui won the 2021 Amsterdam Marathon in 2:17:57.

Ethiopia will be represented by Gotytom Gebreslase, who won the 2021 Berlin Marathon on her debut and finished third in this year’s Tokyo Marathon in 2:18:18, Ababel Yeshaneh, second at the 2019 Chicago Marathon in a personal best of 2:20:51, and Ashete Bekere, third in last year’s London Marathon in 2:18:18, who has run 2:17:58 this year.

USA’s Keira D’Amato, who broke the North American record when winning January’s Houston Marathon in 2:19:12 – taking 24 seconds off the mark set by Deena Kastor in 2006 – has answered a late call to join the host nation’s team following the withdrawal of Olympic bronze medalist Molly Seidel.

Seidel has been suffering from a hip injury that forced her to drop out of the Boston Marathon in April and withdrew from the team after being unable to resolve her issue, giving the 37-year-old D’Amato, who only began serious marathon running in 2017, three weeks to prepare, but she is reported to be in “great shape”.

Her teammates will be Emma Bates, runner-up at last year’s Chicago Marathon, and Sara Hall, who finished second at the 2020 London Marathon and third at last year’s Chicago Marathon.

Japan has named Mizuki Matsuda, who has a personal best of 2:20:52, Mao Ichiyama, who has run 2:21:02, and Hitomi Niiya, who has a best of 2:21:17.

Britain will be represented by Rose Harvey, Olympian Jess Piasecki and Charlotte Purdue, who ran a personal best of 2:23:26 in finishing 10th at last year’s London Marathon.

Other names to watch out for are Bahrain’s Eunice Chumba, who ran 2:20:02 in Seoul in April this year, and Israel’s European 10,000m champion Lonah Salpeter, who won the 2020 Tokyo Marathon in 2:17:45 and was going well in the lead group at last year’s Olympic marathon before dropping down to 66th place in the closing stages.

After also dropping out of the 2019 World Championships marathon, Salpeter will be seeking to make the global impact her talent warrants.

Meanwhile Eritrea’s Nazret Weldu, who has run a personal best of 2:21:56 this year, is another one to watch.

Seidel said last month she had sought a therapeutic use exemption for Adderall, which is banned in competition. 

Keira D’Amato, the American record holder in the marathon, was named to Team USA for the World Championships today, replacing Molly Seidel, according to multiple sources. 

The women’s marathon at the World Championships, to be held in Eugene, Oregon, is on July 18. 

Seidel, who won Olympic bronze last year in Sapporo, Japan, was named to the U.S. squad for the marathon based on that performance. But a hip impingement caused her to drop out of the Boston Marathon in April. 

On June 8, Seidel, 27, posted to her Instagram account that she had been taking Adderall for ADHD since Boston. Adderall is banned for in-competition use by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Seidel wrote that taking the medication was “life changing,” and she was able to “get the quiet, functioning brain in my day-to-day life that I could previously only achieve with intense physical activity.” 

Seidel had applied to WADA for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) to be able to take the medication when she was competing, but it had not been granted before the New York Mini 10K—and it wasn’t clear if it would be granted—so she withdrew. 

The reason why her spot is going to D’Amato is not clear, and Runner’s World sought clarification from Seidel, her coach, and her agent. 

D’Amato, 37, has less than three weeks to prepare for a marathon, but she “is in great shape,” according to her agent, Ray Flynn. She ran 2:19:12 in setting the American marathon record in January in Houston. 

She won the BAA 10K last Sunday on a hot day in 31:17. Her Strava training shows she did an 18-miler on June 27 and has been averaging 73 miles per week for the last four weeks. She’s also been racing frequently, finishing third at the New York Mini on June 11. 

On June 21, Runner’s World asked D’Amato if, in light of Seidel’s post, she was doing marathon training and was told she was an alternate for the Worlds team. “No one has contacted me,” she said at that time. 

Emma Bates and Sara Hall are the other two American women in the World Championships marathon. Galen Rupp, Elkanah Kibet, and Colin Mickow are the men. 

USA Track & Field usually names its World Championships marathoners based on a descending order time list. But given many marathons were canceled or postponed in 2021, it announced it would pick top 10 finishers from the Games (Seidel and Rupp) and then top finishers from the Chicago, Boston, and New York City marathons last fall. That decision was controversial because the selection criteria were announced in October after the Chicago and Boston marathons had already taken place. 

Tachlowini Gabriyesos, 24, made waves one year ago when he finished 16th in the Olympic marathon in Sapporo, beating some of the world's best marathoners.

“It makes me so proud to once again wear the Athlete Refugee Team vest at the World Championships,” said Gabriyesos, a native of Eritrea who made his Athlete Refugee Team debut at the 2019 World Championships in Doha where he competed in the 5000m.

“I don’t represent a country, but millions of people without one. I want to be a role model for refugee youth around the world and wish to show the world once again that refugees can be strong, that we are hungry for success and that we deserve equal opportunities.”

Gabriyesos fled conflict and bloodshed in Eritrea at age 12 and journeyed through Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt before crossing the Sinai desert on foot to Israel where he's been living since 2010. He began running soon after and eventually found that he was best suited for athletics' longest running event.

At the Hahula Galilee Marathon in Israel in March 2021, Gabriyesos clocked 2:10:55 to become the first refugee athlete to meet an Olympic qualifying standard. He later served as the co-flag bearer for the Olympic Refugee Team at Tokyo’s Opening Ceremonies. After his solid performance in Sapporo's hot and muggy conditions, Gabriyesos improved to 2:10:09 at the Seville Marathon in February.

After its involvement with the inaugural Refugee Olympic Team that competed at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, World Athletics established the Athlete Refugee Team in 2017 to provide refugees with high level training and competitive opportunities.

It is the world’s only year-round team composed solely of refugee athletes. The team has been represented at almost every World Championship event since, in addition to a growing number of continental and regional events, most recently the European 10,000m Cup in May and the African Championships earlier this month.

"On this World Refugee Day, our Athlete Refugee Team brings a powerful and inspirational message of hope and solidarity to the world, at a time when it's truly needed," said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. "They're also showing, through their rapid development and world class performances, that they do belong among the world's best athletes."

Representing a community of 89 million

When the refugee team was introduced at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, that squad of 10 – six competing in athletics – represented 65 million people around the world who had been forcibly displaced from their homes.

That figure soared to more than 82 million by 2020 and, propelled by conflict, the climate crisis and skyrocketing inequality, has grown to 89.3 million at the end of 2021. The six athletes who are set to compete in Eugene next month will represent a community that collectively would be the 17th most populous country on the planet.

Similarly, the number of athletes involved in the World Athletics Athlete Refugee Team project continues to grow. More than 40 athletes are now involved in the programme, training at their respective bases in Kenya, Israel, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Canada and Portugal.

Gabriyesos will be joined by Jamal Abdalmajid Eisa-Mohammed, a native of Sudan, who will make his second consecutive World Championships appearance in the 5000m. The 28-year-old improved his lifetime best over the distance to 13:42.98 at the Olympic Games last year.

Dorian Keletela, 23, will be making his third ART appearance after outings at the 2021 European Indoor Championships and last summer's Olympic Games in Tokyo. In the Japanese capital, he clocked 10.33 to win his 100m heat in the preliminary round, smashing his previous career best by 0.13. He improved to 10.27 last year and at the moment has a 10.47 season's best.

Fouad Idbafdil, a refugee from Morocco who is based in France, rounds out the men's squad. The 34-year-old steeplechase specialist improved his lifetime best to 8:37.94 nine days ago. He too competed on the ART squad in Doha in 2019.

The women’s team is led by Anjelina Nadai Lohalith, who will bring plenty of experience to the start line of the 1500m. The 27-year-old native of South Sudan, who is based at the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation training camp in Ngong, Kenya, will be making her second World Championships appearance after her debut in 2017.

Nadai is a two-time Olympian and most recently competed at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade in March and the African Championships in Mauritius 11 days ago. She set her 4:31.65 lifetime best in Tokyo last year.

She'll be joined by Atalena Napule Gaspore, another South Sudanese athlete from the Loroupe camp, who will be making her Athlete Refugee Team debut competing in the 800m.

Athlete refugee team for WCH Oregon22

Women 800m: Atalena Napule Gaspore 1500m: Anjelina Nadai Lohalith

Men 100m: Dorian Keletela 5000m: Jamal Abdalmajid Eisa-Mohammed marathon: Tachlowini Gabriyesos 3000m steeplechase: Fouad Idbafdil

Molly Seidel hit her first racing setback as a marathoner when she dropped out of the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 18. In her Boston debut, the Olympic bronze medalist walked off the course between 25K and 30K. 

Seidel was running with the lead pack of elite women until the 9-mile mark, where 2020 Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir dropped the pace with a 4:59 split. The aggressive move broke up the front pack significantly, and Seidel was among the group of competitors who fell behind. 

At halfway, Seidel was in 11th place and running as the top American ahead of Nell Rojas. But in the following miles, she started to slow down. Her final split was 1:25:29 at 25K. She didn’t record a split at 30K. 

Boston is Seidel’s fifth marathon in about two years, which have been highlighted by incredible performances over 26.2. The 27-year-old made her debut with a runner-up finish at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta. She finished sixth in London (2:25:13) in 2020. On a blistering day in Sapporo, Seidel claimed the Olympic bronze medal at the Tokyo Games last summer. 

Thirteen weeks later, she followed up her historic Olympic run at the 2021 New York City Marathon, where she finished fourth in 2:24:42, the fastest time by an American on the course. The personal best was especially impressive given that Seidel broke two ribs about a month before the race. In the postrace press conference, she didn’t share what caused the injury, but said it was so painful that she considered not lining up at all. 

“It was hard coming off the Olympics and hard mentally getting back into that build,” she said after the race on November 7, 2021. “I’ve invested too much in this, I really want to do it. It means a lot to me to do it, regardless of what it turns out to be.”

Heading into the Boston Marathon, Seidel was considered a heavy favorite to make the podium. In addition to her accolades on the world stage, she came in with more experience than most on the prestigious course. 

Before moving to Flagstaff, Arizona, last April, she lived in Boston for almost five years. During the elite athlete press conference on April 15, Seidel said she’s done a lot of training on the Boston course after living in the Fenway neighborhood and running the route regularly. She also babysat for a family in Wellesley and trained near the halfway point, running to Heartbreak Hill and back for about 14 miles. 

Before the race, Seidel told Runner’s World that after a few “hiccups” in her training early on, including a hip impingement that curtailed her training for a few days, the last five weeks of her Boston buildup were “about as good as I could have hoped.” 

“You almost have to reconcile the marathon buildup you want with the one that you get,” Seidel said. “But I think we’re in a really good place now, not only for Boston, but for world champs in the summer, focusing on a lot of strength as we build for the rest of the year.”

Both course records could become a target at the Vienna City Marathon, which features strong elite races on April 24. Kenyans Leonard Langat and Vibian Chepkirui will return to defend their Vienna titles while there are three men on the start list who have broken 2:06 and five women featuring personal bests of sub 2:25.

With regard to these personal records it will be strongest line-up in the history of the Vienna City Marathon which will see its 39th edition next week. Including races at shorter distances more than 31,000 runners have registered for Austria’s biggest running event, a World Athletics Marathon Label Road Race.

“We are very happy that we were able to surpass the mark of 30,000 entries. Compared to our comeback race in September 2021 this is a nice step forward. We feel the enthusiasm of the runners,“ said Kathrin Widu, the General Manager of the Vienna City Marathon.

There has never been an Eritrean winner in the history of the Vienna City Marathon which had its first edition back in 1984. This may change next week though since the two fastest entrants are from this country: Goitom Kifle and Oqbe Kibrom feature personal bests of 2:05:28 and 2:05:53 respectively. Kifle had a fine year in 2021: He was third in Enschede, 14th in the Olympic marathon in Sapporo and then 6th in Valencia, where he ran his PB. With his personal record the Eritrean is a little faster than Vienna’s course record of 2:05:41 by Ethiopia’s Getu Feluke in 2014.

Abdi Fufa of Ethiopia is the third athlete in Vienna’s line-up who has run sub 2:06. A year ago he was second in Siena’s elite only race with 2:05:57. It looks a tough task for Leonard Langat to defend his title in the Austrian capital. The Kenyan improved to 2:09:25 in Vienna last September. But with this PB he is only the eighth fastest athlete on the start list.

Unfortunately there were a number of cancellations from elite runners recently. Among them are Mekuant Ayenew and fellow-Ethiopian Derara Hurisa, who had originally crossed the line first in last year’s Vienna City Marathon. However he then had to be disqualified for wearing illegal racing shoes and Leonard Langat became the winner.

The fastest runner on the women’s start list is Caroline Kilel, who ran 2:22:34 when she took the Frankfurt Marathon back in 2013. While the Kenyan did not reach these sort of times recently there are other athletes who showed promising last year. Defending champion Vibian Chepkirui may only be number five on the list with her PB of 2:24:29.

However she did run this time last September in Vienna in very warm conditions. Afterwards the Kenyan said that she could have been at least two minutes faster in more suitable conditions. 

Vibian Chepkirui could be capable of attacking the course record of fellow-Kenyan Nancy Kiprop who was the winner in 2019 with 2:22:12.

Kenya’s Ruth Chebitok and Ethiopia’s Sifan Melaku are number two and three on Vienna’s start list with PBs of 2:23:29 and 2:23:49 respectively. Sheila Jerotich of Kenya is a contender for victory as well. She took the Istanbul Marathon in November, improving to 2:24:15.

Elite fields with personal bests

Men:

Goitom Kifle ERI 2:05:28

Oqbe Kibrom ERI 2:05:53

Abdi Fufa ETH 2:05:57

Raymond Choge KEN 2:08:11

Cosmas Muteti KEN 2:08:45

Weldu Gebretsadik NOR 2:09:14

Edwin Soi KEN 2:09:16

Leonard Langat KEN 2:09:25

Charles Ndiema KEN 2:10:43

Lemawork Ketema AUT 2:10:44

Jeison Suarez COL 2:10:51

Iraitz Arrospide ESP 2:10.59

Noah Kipkemboi KEN 2:11:09

Ebba Chala ETH 2:11:27

Abraham Kipyatich KEN Debut

Timon Theuer AUT Debut

Women:

Caroline Kilel KEN 2:22:34

Ruth Chebitok KEN 2:23:29

Sifan Melaku ETH 2:23:49

Sheila Jerotich KEN 2:24:15

Vibian Chepkirui KEN 2:24:29

Esther Kakuri KEN 2:26:11

Urge Soboka ETH 2:28:10

Marcela Joglova CZE 2:28:16

Nataliya Lehonkova UKR 2:28:58

Kellys Arias COL 2:29:36

Viola Yator KEN 2:30:03

Teresiah Omosa KEN 2:30:12

Nataliya Lehonkova UKR 2:30:28

The 27-year-old battled with an eating disorder to qualify for the USA Olympic team in her first ever marathon. Despite winning bronze at Tokyo 2020 and being a favorite for the 2022 Boston Marathon, she still struggles with confidence.

Molly Seidel is a rare kind of marathon talent.

The Wisconsin native first made athletics headlines when she qualified in second place for the U.S. Olympic team for Tokyo 2020, in her first ever marathon.

Despite this, many onlookers thought that her inexperience would show at the Olympic race in Sapporo. And how wrong they turned out to be.

In what was just her third career marathon, she finished on the podium with an Olympic bronze medal around her neck. The only runners to beat her were a triple world half marathon record holder in Peres Jepchirchir, and marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei.

Using that momentum, Seidel finished fourth at the New York City Marathon in November 2021. Her time of 2:24:42 made her the fastest American woman ever.

On April 18, 2022, she goes to the 2022 Boston Marathon as one of the favorites, seeking the host nation's first win since Desiree Linden in 2018.

But despite her recent successes the American star still struggles with 'imposter syndrome'.

"I struggle with confidence and I struggle with wondering whether or not I belong at this level, whether I belong as a competitor on the world stage," Seidel told CNN.

The making of a front runner

Growing up in Wisconsin, Seidel was always a front runner in school sport. She broke course records and won several state track titles.

The first time her school's cross-country coach Mike Dolan first saw her attack an uphill run, he knew she was special.

“She would be a minute ahead of all the guys and all the girls," Dolan told Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"I knew at that time she would be a heck of a runner."

Seidel proved her coach right as she went on to win an NCAA cross country title in 2015, two NCAA indoors (3,000m & 5000m) and an outdoor 10,000m title to become the most decorated distance runner in state history.

Some onlookers even thought she could be a potential U.S. Track Olympic Team athlete for Rio 2016.

Mental health struggles

From the outside, Seidel seemed to be in the best shape of her life, but underneath she was experiencing a deep inner turmoil.

She first went public on her struggles with depression, OCD, crippling anxiety and bulimia in a podcast ran by her close friend Julia Hanlon called "Running On Om", just two months before the 2020 Olympic Trials.

“People who are close to me knew what I was going through during my time at Notre Dame (University), from 2012 to 2016. They knew my OCD had manifested itself into disordered eating,” she revealed in a follow-up interview with ESPN.

“When I was in the NCAA, it was obvious I was battling an eating disorder. It was so obvious that people would write on track and field message boards that I looked sick." - Molly Seidel to ESPN.

“They knew I struggled to eat anything I deemed unhealthy They knew I thought I had to be super lean and super fit all the time, never even allowing myself to eat a bowl of mac and cheese or go out to eat with friends without worrying about what I would order. I've never tried to hide what I went through with my family and friends.”

In 2016 she went into a treatment program for her eating disorder, which she’s still dealing with alongside the anxiety and depression.

When Seidel returned to training, she decided to stop running 5k and 10k and stepped up to the marathon.

“I always kind of dreamed of doing the marathon," Seidel told CNN.

"I think there's just this kind of like glamor and mystery around it, and especially for a younger runner who enjoys doing the distance events in high school, that's kind of the ultimate goal. Everybody wants to do the marathon."

From first marathon to Olympic medal

Her debut 42km race at the USA Trials in Atlanta landed her a place on her nation's Olympic team with race winner Aliphine Tuliamuk and third placed Sally Kipyego.

"I struggled with this kind of imposter syndrome after the trials, specifically as probably the person no one expected to make the team and the person that got probably the most criticism like: Hey, why is this girl on the team?" she continued.

"I think I really struggled with that, and I struggled going into the Games and feeling like I belonged there and trying to prove that I wasn't a mistake on that team."- Molly Seidel to CNN.

Her second marathon effort was the daunting 2020 London Marathon, where she finished sixth .

Then, just 18 months after her first marathon Seidel, who is affectionately known as “Golly Molly” earned bronze and became the third American woman ever to medal in the Olympic marathon.

In November 2021, a broken Seidel returned for her fourth marathon in New York, where she placed fourth with a personal best time despite fracturing two ribs as she prepared for the event.

It was an absolute disaster of a build up,” she recalled.

"It was really hard, not only with the mental stress that we had going on after the Games of just feeling, frankly, no motivation. And just trying to find that drive to re-up for another hard race right after an enormous race that I'd been training effectively two years for.”

Those injuries are now behind the 27-year-old, who has been training in Flagstaff.

Though she dropped out of the New York Half in March due 'setbacks in training', Seidel heads back to Boston where she lived for four years with high hopes for something special.

“Boston was like the place that made me a pro-runner. It was the first place I moved after I finished college.It was the place that kind of like rebuilt me as a runner after going through a lot of challenges through college,” she said to CBS Boston.

“Just getting to do the race in the place that made me the runner that I am and with the people that helped me become the runner that I am, it’s just enormously meaningful to me. That what makes it a lot more special than any other race.”

Abdi Nageeye is the 2021 Olympic marathon silver medalist from Tokyo Marathon. In the hot and humid conditions that the marathoners battled in Sapporo, Japan, Abdi Nageeye cajoled his training partner, Bashir Abde to sprint hard, moving past Lawrence Cherono, to take the bronze medal. Abdi was both exhausted and overjoyed.

Nageeye targeting 2:04

Olympic marathon silver medalist Abdi Nageeye is targeting a 2:04 performance at the Rotterdam Marathon on 10 April. The Dutchman believes the race is the perfect location for him to challenge his own national record of 2:06:17 set there three years ago.

The European record is 2:03:36, held by Bashir Abdi. "Rotterdam was the race that offered the best experience for me," he said, quoted by his team, NN Running. "It is very welcoming, it is in my home country, NN is based in Rotterdam and as I have a big desire to improve my PB, it makes sense to run Rotterdam because it is such a fast course.

It is such a special race because it gives you the belief that you can run fast times and the crowd is really amazing. From about 33 kilometers through to around 36 kilometers you run in the forest and because it is such a nice environment even when the race is at this really tough stage, you don't feel the pain.

I think that is one of the reasons you see the fast times because people leave the forest section of the race not crazy tired."

Two defending champions will both be returning to the Vienna City Marathon on April 24th: Kenyans Leonard Langat and Vibian Chepkirui.

While some elite women’s contenders were released earlier, organisers now confirmed a number of male competitors.

There will be unprecedented depth in Vienna’s men’s elite field with five athletes featuring personal bests of sub 2:06. This group is led by Ethiopia’s Mekuant Ayenew who has a PB of 2:04:46. Additionally the Vienna City Marathon will feature a rematch between Derara Hurisa of Ethiopia, who had crossed the line first last year but was then disqualified for inadvertently wearing an illegal racing shoe, and Leonard Langat.

Well over 27,000 runners have so far registered for Austria’s leading road race, including entries for shorter running events. Online entry for the 39th Vienna City Marathon, which is a World Athletics Marathon Label Road Race, is still possible at: www.vienna-marathon.com

“Elite racing forms a thrilling part of our event. These runners bring high quality performances and often emotional stories to our race,” said Race Director Wolfgang Konrad. “We are very happy to welcome back both winners from last year to Vienna. And we keep our fingers crossed for Derara Hurisa, who will also return.”

In unusually warm conditions Derara Hurisa became the first athlete being disqualified for wearing an illegal shoe in a major city marathon last September in Vienna. The Ethiopian, who has a personal best of 2:08:09, crossed the line first in 2:09:22. However it appeared the he wore shoes that have a sole thickness of five centimeters while a maximum of four is allowed. Derara Hurisa had chosen the shoes for the race because he used them in training and thought they were within the rules. The athlete looked upset and distraught when he learnt about the disqualification and will be eager to take his second chance when he returns to Vienna. Though he was happy to become the winner it was not the ideal scenario for Leonard Langat as well. “Of course I would have preferred to have broken the tape,” said the Kenyan, who improved his PB to 2:09:25 in Vienna last year.

Such is the strength of the elite field this time that both runners might have to improve their personal bests quite significantly if they want to be in contention for victory on 24th April. With a personal record of 2:04:46 Mekuant Ayenew is the second fastest runner ever entered into a Vienna City Marathon behind former world record holder Dennis Kimetto (2:02:57). The Kenyan did not finish the 2018 race. Mekuant Ayenew, who won the Sevilla Marathon 2020 when he clocked his PB, heads the start list.

The other four athletes with personal bests of sub 2:06 are Goitom Kifle of Eritrea (2:05:28), Bahrain’s Marius Kimutai (2:05:47), Oqbe Kibrom from Eritrea (2:05:53) and Ethiopian Abdi Fufa (2:05:57). While Kimutai was the winner of the Rotterdam Marathon in 2017 Kifle achieved a notable 14th place in the Olympic marathon in Sapporo last summer.

The group of leading runners look to be in a perfect position to target the course record of the Vienna City Marathon. Ethiopia’s Getu Feleke established this mark when he won the race with 2:05:41 back in 2014.

World record-holders Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei recorded another two of the fastest marathons of all time in Tokyo on Sunday (6), running 2:02:40 and 2:16:02 respectively on their return to Japan.

Back in the country where they claimed their respective Olympic gold and silver medals seven months ago, they both used their great experience to leave their rivals behind in the closing kilometres and break the Japanese all-comers' records in the Tokyo Marathon, the first World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race of the 2022 calendar.

Kipchoge’s performance is the fourth-best ever behind his own world record of 2:01:39 set in Berlin in 2018, while Kosgei’s is a time that only she with her world record of 2:14:04 from Chicago in 2019 and Paula Radcliffe with her 2:15:25 from London in 2003 have ever beaten.

Kenya’s world bronze medallist Amos Kipruto had remained with Kipchoge until 36km and continued running solo to a PB of 2:03:13 in second, while Ethiopia’s Olympic and world medallist Tamirat Tola was third in the men's race in 2:04:14.

In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s 2019 Berlin Marathon winner Ashete Bekere was runner-up this time in a PB of 2:17:58, while another winner in Berlin – 2021 champion Gotytom Gebreslase – was third, 20 seconds behind her compatriot, in a PB of 2:18:18.

Although missing his targeted own Japanese record, Kengo Suzuki had another strong performance, running 2:05:28 to finish fourth as 22 athletes went sub-2:09. A total of 50 runners, including 43 Japanese athletes, dipped under 2:15, while in the women’s race the top five went sub-2:20, 13 went under 2:30 and Mao Ichiyama with 2:21:02 in sixth led the list of 13 Japanese athletes to go sub-2:40 on a sunny and cool morning.

Despite all he has achieved in the sport so far, marathon great Kipchoge has set himself another aim of winning each of the six Abbott World Marathon Majors. After four London wins, three Berlin victories and one Chicago triumph, he added Tokyo to the list on Sunday and will now aim for Boston and New York City at some point in the future to compete the set.

With his winning time in Tokyo, Kipchoge also extended his list of all-comers’ records, having now run the fastest ever marathons on German, British and Japanese soil with some of those majors wins. Only he with his world record and 2:02:37 run in London in 2019, plus Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele with 2:01:41 in Berlin in 2019, have ever gone faster than the Kenyan’s winning time in Japan’s capital.

The race had been fast from the start and the leaders – with Kipchoge in control at the front of the pack behind the pacemakers – were well under world record pace as they passed 5km in 14:17. That pointed to a predicted 2:00:13 finishing time, but one based on a first 5km featuring a substantial downhill. At 10km the clock showed 28:37, with Ethiopia’s Shura Kitata dropped by that point, the 2020 London Marathon winner having struggled to keep in touch from 8km. A course mishap that saw runners go slightly off track just after 10km gave Kitata the chance to close the gap but he was soon dropped again from a lead group that featured Kipchoge, Kipruto and Tola, together with Ethiopia’s world silver medallist Mosinet Geremew and Kenya’s Jonathan Korir.

That five-strong pack remained together through 15km in 43:16, 20km in 57:53 and half way in 1:01:03, with the world record looking less of a target.

Geremew had been right on Kipchoge’s shoulder up to that point but he dropped back slightly at around 23km and one kilometre later the world silver medallist – who sits fourth on the world marathon all-time list with the 2:02:55 he ran in London in 2019 – pulled up and started to walk, with his hands on his head.

When the final pacemaker stopped at 27km, Kipchoge continued to push ahead and the race was down to three: Kipchoge, Kipruto and Tola, who started to lose touch 2km later. Kipchoge led through 30km in 2:02:09 and at this point a determined Suzuki had caught Kitata and was a couple of minutes behind the leaders.

Kipchoge and Kipruto were side-by-side through 35km in 1:41:30 and then Kipchoge began to make his move. He was a stride ahead at 36km and that increased to around five seconds over the next kilometre as the athletes made a turn and began running into a headwind. But he hung on to record the fastest marathon ever run in Japan by over a minute and claim a 33-second victory.

“I am really happy,” said two-time Olympic marathon winner Kipchoge. “I am excited to be here in Japan, especially after winning the Olympic Games in Sapporo. I really appreciated the crowd.”

Before the race Kipchoge had written 'ST:RO:NG' instead of numbers on his finish time prediction card and the 37-year-old felt he had achieved his aim.

“I said I wanted to run strong in Japan and I did, I ran a course record,” he said. “I am really happy I won another major marathon.”

Kosgei, too, has multiple major marathon wins to her name, having triumphed twice in London and twice in Chicago. After securing silver at the Olympics behind her compatriot Peres Jepchirchir, she finished fourth in London just two months later but was back on top in Tokyo.

The women's race record had been held by Lonah Chemtai Salpeter with the 2:17:45 she set on a slightly different course in 2020 and that time always looked under threat. The leaders were on 2:15:44 pace for the first downhill 5km and then passed 10km in 32:14.

By that point, Kosgei was running as part of a larger mixed group along with fellow women’s race leaders Gebreslase and Bekere, plus Kenya’s Angela Tanui and Ethiopia’s Hiwot Gebrekidan. A chase group featuring Ichiyama and her compatriot Hitomi Niiya, who won the first Tokyo Marathon in 2007, plus Ethiopia’s Helen Bekele and the USA’s 2020 London Marathon runner-up Sara Hall was 30 seconds back.

The same group of five led through 15km in 48:21 and reached half way in 1:08:06. At 25km, passed by the leaders in 1:20:48, chase group athletes Ichiyama and Hall remained on national record pace but those aims began to move out of reach a short while later.

Kosgei was still in control with Gebreslase tracking her, and the pair had broken away by 35km, with 1:53:08 on the clock. Kosgei missed her drink at that point but she didn’t seem to mind as she forged ahead while Gebreslase dropped off the pace. Kosgei had broken away by 37km and went on unchallenged to record another magnificent mark.

Bekere – who ran 2:18:18 when finishing third at last year’s London Marathon – came through to claim the runner’s up spot and improve her PB by 20 seconds while Gebreslase also had the run of her life to match her compatriot’s former PB of 2:18:18, building on her 2:20:09 debut performance in Berlin.

Tanui was fourth in 2:18:42 and Gebrekidan fifth in 2:19:10, while Ichiyama secured sixth in 2:21:02, Niiya seventh in 2:21:17 and Hall eighth in 2:22:56.

With their respective 2:05:28 and 2:21:02 performances, Suzuki and Ichiyama achieved a combined time of 4:26:30 – the fastest recorded combined result for a married couple running in the same race.

Before the race, Kosgei had said her target time was “a secret” and although she went on to record the third-fastest ever women's marathon, she later explained how she felt the wind in the latter stages of the race had prevented her from again attacking 2:14.

Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who has smashed the world 10 k record just a few days ago, now sets her sights on her marathon debut. The 22 year-old Ethiopian has chosen the Haspa Marathon Hamburg on 24th April for her first race at the classic distance.

This was announced by organizers during a press conference in Hamburg today. Germany’s biggest spring marathon returns to its traditional date for the first time since 2019 and looks likely to come back with a bang. Yalemzerf Yehualaw clearly has the potential to run a very good first marathon. Organizers of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg expect a total of 20,000 runners including races at shorter distances on 24th April. Online entry is still possible at: www.haspa-marathon-hamburg.de

“We are thrilled to have Yalemzerf Yehualaw, one of the most exciting marathon talents of the world, on the start line of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg,“ said chief organizer Frank Thaleiser.

Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who improved the world 10 k record by a huge margin of 24 seconds to 29:14 last Sunday in Castello, Spain, is also the world’s second fastest half marathon runner. She clocked 63:51 in Valencia last October. Additionally at the World Half Marathon Championships in 2020 she won the bronze medal. Her half marathon PB suggests that she has the potential to run spectacular marathon times as well in the future.

“I am really happy to be able to run my marathon debut in Hamburg. My coach Tessema suggested to me to go to Hamburg for my debut since he ran here himself,“ said Yalemzerf Yehualaw. Tessema Abshero ran his lifetime best in Hamburg back in 2008 when he was fourth with 2:08:26. It was the only time he clocked a sub 2:10 time during his career.

Organizers showed Yalemzerf Yehualaw the Hamburg course and she then said during the press conference: „I am looking forward to this race and want to break the course record.“ Fellow-Ethiopian Meselech Melkamu holds the current Hamburg course best with a time of 2:21:54 from 2016.

The fastest woman runner on Hamburg’s start list is Priscah Jeptoo. The Olympic silver medalist from London 2012 has a PB of 2:20:14. While this personal record is ten years old more recently the Kenyan ran 2:24:16 in Valencia in 2019.

Two former winners of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg are returning to the race. Gadise Mulu will start as the defending champion. The Ethiopian took first place last September when the race was held in a much smaller format and with only a few elite runners due to the pandemic. Gadise Mulu improved significantly in Hamburg when she broke 2:30 for the first time and clocked 2:26:20.

Dibabe Kuma is the other Hamburg winner who comes back to the race. The Ethiopian was the winner in 2019, when she ran 2:24:41. She has a PB of 2:23:24.

Deborah Schöneborn heads the national elite entries of the Haspa Marathon Hamburg. The 27 year-old ran surprisingly well in the Olympic marathon in Sapporo last summer, where she finished 18th. She was the fifth fastest European athlete in this race. Deborah Schöneborn has a personal best of 2:26:55 and aims to qualify for the European Championships this summer.

Eliud Kipchoge's addition to the elite list for the Tokyo Marathon has made it one of the key athletics races of the year.

The Kenyan heads back to Japan where, last August, he became the third man to retain the Olympic marathon title after Ethiopia’s Abebe Bikila and Waldemar Cierpinski of Germany.

After being postponed in 2021 due to the global pandemic, Tokyo Marathon 2021 returns on March 6, with Kipchoge and fellow marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei part of a stellar field.

Here’s your guide to the top athletes to watch out for in the newest of six the World Marathon Majors, plus the route course and schedule.

After winning back-to-back Olympic golds with the largest victory margin since the 1972 Munich Games, Kipchoge cemented his reputation as the greatest marathon runner in history.

But the Kenyan, who ran the first sub-two-hour marathon in October 2019, says he wants to compete at Paris 2024 and become the first athlete to win three Olympic marathon titles.

“I still have something boiling in my stomach, that’s why I am looking forward to it… I want to be the first human to run and (win) three consecutive Olympics,” the 37-year-old star said on his plan for his fifth Olympics.

Kipchoge, a 5000m bronze and silver medalist on the track at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 respectively, has previously won the Marathon Majors in Chicago, Berlin (three times) and London (four times).

Tokyo will be his fourth stop, and he plans to complete the majors by running in Boston and New York City before he rounds off his marathon career that began in 2013.

With Tokyo boasting a fairly flat course, Kipchoge could go close to his world record of 2:01:39 although Wilson Kipsang's course record of 2:03:58 may be a more realistic target.

But it certainly will not be just a race against the clock.

Up against him will be the third-fastest marathon runner in history, Ethiopia's Birhanu Legese, who is a two-time Tokyo Marathon winner. His compatriot Mosinet Geremew, fourth on the all-time list, will also be in action. Geremew’s PB of 2:02:55 was from the 2019 London Marathon where he finished behind Kipchoge.

Shura Kitata, who ended Kipchoge's seven-year unbeaten run in the marathon at London in 2020, another high-class Ethiopian in the field along with Olympic bronze medalist Tamirat Tola and Kenya’s Amos Kipruto, a world bronze medalist.

Kosgei aiming for Tokyo Marathon after Olympic silver

After her silver behind Peres Jepchirchir, which earned Kenya a historic 1-2 at the Olympic marathon held in Sapporo, Kosgei returns to Japan seeking her first Marathon Major win in two years.

The 27-year-old set a world record of 2:14:04 in the 2019 Chicago Marathon.

Her four-race winning streak came to an end in the Olympic marathon and, two months later, she was only fourth in her unsuccessful bid for a third consecutive London title.

With Jepchirchir not competing, Kosgei will be expected to win although she faces significant opposition from her fellow Kenyan, Angela Tanui, who won last year's Amsterdam Marathon.

There are also two strong Ethiopians in 2021 Berlin Marathon winner Gotytom Gebreslase and Ashete Bekere who was third - one place ahead of Kosgei - in London last year.

USA's Sara Hall, who took a surprise second place behind Kosgei in the 2020 London Marathon is in the line-up, as is home favourite Niiya Hitomi who won the first Tokyo Marathon back in 2007 and was 21st at last year's Olympics.

There is plenty at stake for the home runners as the race serves as a trial for July's World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Tokyo Marathon 2021 course

The Tokyo Marathon runs on a flat course through the city’s famous tourist spots. What prevents it from being a super-fast course are at least a handful of 180-degree turns.

The runners will start outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office and then go downhill by about 30m in the first 5km.

They take on a winding route through the streets of the Japanese capital, crossing the Sumida River, going back through Nihombashi and then Minato City before the finish in between the Imperial Palace and Tokyo Station.

Concerned by the state of changing environment that is already affecting the sport, Athletics Kenya has joined environmentalists and policy makers in addressing the problem of air pollution.

Athletics Kenya President Lieutenant General (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei says AK has already drawn a strategy to address pollution and climate change.

One of the critical issues to be addressed is how climate change and air pollution have affected the sporting environment.

The athletics umbrella body is doing it in conformity with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which has come up with the Sports for Climate Action Framework as the strategy to address sporting activities and climate effects.

“Over the last few decades, the athletics world has been experiencing side effects of global warming which in turn is affecting the weather patterns in different parts of the country as well as the world. The increasing hot temperatures affect the sport because athletes biologically perform optimally within a certain environment,” said Tuwei.

“If there is a rise in temperatures, it can only mean, either to postpone until the right temperatures recommended for a given sport is realised or to move it to another location. Any above decisions will mean re-strategising, and if that were to be done every time there was a world sporting event, then you can read where the mark is going about sports budgets in future.”

Besides rising temperatures, athletes are prone to lung infections if they happen to be racing within an area whose ambient air (open ground-air) is polluted.

This lowers their mobility (kinesis) as they are not able to breathe freely, something that affects their end performance.

To a great extent, air quality is interlinked with environmental and forestry destruction, alongside changing weather patterns within highlands where athletes have long been known to practise to optimise their stardom internationally.

“Some of you who followed the 2021 Olympics Games in Tokyo may recall that even as we celebrated the endurance and resilience of our athletes Peres Jepchirchir and Brigid Kosgei, who dominated the women’s marathon and brought glory and honour to Kenya by bagging gold and silver medals, they had to endure unusually high temperatures in Sapporo that even forced the organisers to change the start time of the race. Other adverse weather conditions were witnessed during the World Championships in 2019 and Beijing Olympics in 2008,” explains Tuwei.  

It is due to this concern that different players drawn from environmental, health and policy sectors have been meeting to deliberate on the way forward.

“Clean air is very important to a runner. As you run, you need to exhale used air and for the lungs to get in fresher air so as to facilitate the running activity. It comes as no surprise that all around us we are witnessing deteriorating air quality due to an increase in air pollution, which is made worse by the impacts of climate change,” added Tuwei.

During a meeting held in Nairobi to address air pollution and its effect on athletics, that brought together UNEP, WHO, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) – Africa Centre and the Nairobi Metropolitan Services, a concern was raised on the risk that morning joggers could be exposing themselves to during heavy traffic as people rush to work.

“The carbon emission cumulatively by heavy traffic in the morning as people rush to work gets to be concentrated within one area and particularly along the roads where people jog. This happens because, in the morning, the air is usually still with little or no breeze to whirl it,” explains Dr Njogu Mbarua, an expert on climate and environment with Joint Environment and Climate Action, a non-governmental organisation.  

“Precipitation is not enough to keep our ambient air clean and going. We must devise actionable ways, policy and regulatory, of ensuring that the air we are breathing and our children are going to be breathing is well within the international safety standards. As we get concerned with protecting children who are already born, we must bear similar concern for the unborn children as research is indicating of a possibility of mother-to-foetus air pollution transmission,” said Dr Andriannah Mbandi, an air quality researcher and UNEP Technical Coordinator, Regional Office for Africa.  

The meeting recommended more studies to be conducted to ascertain the level of pollution in various parts of cities and towns.

Recently crowned Valencia Marathon champion Lawrence Cherono has urged young athletes to work hard and be patient, and success will come their way.

Speaking in Kabarnet, Baringo County while receiving his Head of State Commendation through the County Commissioner Henry Wafula, the 2020 Tokyo Games Olympiad, said he trained for many years before breaking into the limelight.

“I want to thank President Uhuru Kenyatta for the award I have received. I also want to encourage upcoming athletes to continue training hard because in athletics, one might take long before excelling," said Cherono.

“In my case, it took me five years to get on the podium and 10 years to be in the national team,” the 33-year-old runner said.

Cherono donned the Kenyan colours for the first time at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games where he finished fourth in the men’s marathon race in Sapporo.

He was one of the athletes honoured by President Kenyatta on Mashujaa Day.

Cherono, who trains under the Rosa Associati Management, is currently ranked as the eighth fastest marathoner of all time in the world.

He has won a couple of major marathons including Chicago and Boston and was recently crowned the Valencia Marathon champion.

The Kaptagat-based athlete on Sunday timed 2 hours, 05 minutes and 12 seconds ahead of Ethiopia’s Chalu Deso who was second in 2:05:16 while Kenya’s Philemon Kacheran finished third place in 2:05:19.

The women category saw Nancy Jelagat cross the line in 2:19:31 ahead of Ethiopians Woldu Etagegne (2:20:16) and Degefa Beyenu (2:23:04) who came in second and third respectively.

Cherono, who won the 2019 Boston and Chicago marathons, said that he will be taking the Christmas break as he waits for his manager to decide on which races he will feature in next year.

Wafula asked upcoming athletes to emulate Cherono by working hard and focusing on their careers for better results.

“Cherono is a good example to youth who are training in this region and they should follow his example because nothing comes easy,” said Wafula.

A major caveat: The Trials might not be held if World Athletics won’t accept the top three finishers as Olympians.

Qualifying standards for the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials were announced today at the USA Track & Field (USATF) annual meeting, and they’re faster than the times needed to get into the 2020 race—especially for women.

Women who want to enter the race must have qualified with a 2:37 marathon or faster, or a 1:12 half marathon or faster. The marathon time is 8 minutes faster than the 2:45 required to get into the 2020 Trials. (The half marathon time in 2020 was 1:13.)

For men, the times are 2:18 and 1:03, one minute faster at both distances than the 2020 times (2:19 and 1:04).

The qualifying window for marathon times opens on January 1, 2022 and for half marathon times, January 1, 2023.

The 2020 Trials, held in Atlanta, had a historically large field, with 511 women and 260 men qualified to run. Improved shoe technology made it easier for many sub-elite runners to hit the times they needed to qualify for the race.

The top three made the Olympic team—for the women, it was Aliphine Tuliamuk, Molly Seidel, and Sally Kipyego. On the men’s side Galen Rupp won, Jake Riley was second, and Abdi Abdirahman was third.

Behind them, the race turned into a celebration of the strength of distance running in the U.S., with hundreds of runners who had no realistic shot of making the Olympic team soaking up the crowd support along the course and celebrating their achievements.

Leaders at USATF apparently decided the field was too big. Based on the women’s qualifying list from 2020, only 83 women had a marathon time faster than 2:37. Only eight women qualified with a half marathon faster than 1:12.

Conceivably, with the stricter standards, the women’s field could go from 511 in 2020 to 91 runners in 2024.

By the same measure, the men’s field from 2020 would have been 76 people smaller in the marathon, 15 smaller in the half marathon. The men’s field would shrink from 260 to 169.

Much of this discussion may be moot. World Athletics, which governs track and field and the marathon at the Olympics, has encouraged national governing bodies to rely on world rankings to choose their national teams, rather than a one-day Trials format from which the top three make the team.

The Olympic standards are also expected to be stricter, too. In 2021, for the marathons in Sapporo, Japan, the Olympic standards were 2:11:30 for the men and 2:29:30 for the women—in other words, it wasn’t enough for Americans to have finished in the top 3 at the Trials in the marathon. They also had to have run a marathon faster than the Olympic standard to get to go to the race.

World Athletics has not yet announced what the 2024 Olympic standards will be.

USATF has not yet sent out a request for proposal (RFP) for cities to host the Trials, which puts the process well behind its typical cycle. (Atlanta was announced as the host of the 2020 Trials by April 2018, meaning bids were in to USATF months before that.) Races are not thought to be clamoring to host, after a year in which most major marathons were canceled due to the pandemic and finances are stretched in the road racing industry.

Although the Trials in Atlanta were seen as a huge success, the local organizing committees usually lose money on the race because of restrictions on which companies can sponsor the event.

It’s no secret that extreme temperatures impact performance in distance running, and anyone who’s gone for a run on a hot summer day can attest to that. We saw the effects of high temperatures very clearly this year, as dozens of athletes dropped out of the Olympic marathon in the extreme heat of Sapporo. You could also see the effects of temperature this fall at both the Chicago and Berlin marathons, which turned out to be much warmer than in previous years. But just how much does temperature affect marathon performance? Researchers in Europe recently analyzed thousands of race results to determine which temperature is best to run a fast marathon, and at what point the temperature starts to slow you down.

The best marathon temperature is…

According to the researchers, if you want to run a fast marathon, you should do it on a day that’s between 50 F and 62 F (10-17.5 C). Any hotter than that, and things start to go south. They determined this number from analyzing 1,258 races held between 1936 and 2019 (including the marathon, 50 km race-walk, 20 km race-walk, 10,000 m, 5,000 m and 3,000 m steeplechase) and comparing the results with the meteorological data from nearby weather stations.

For every degree outside the ideal temperature range, performance declined by about 0.3 to 0.4 per cent. The researchers pointed out that more than one-quarter of the races they analyzed were held in moderate, high or extreme heat, and this number increased to half when you removed marathons from the analysis.

Of course, you can’t control what the weather does on race day, and even a fall marathon has the potential to be hotter than expected, as we saw during this year’s racing season. A warmer day doesn’t mean you can’t perform well, but it’s important to understand how the heat affects performance and health, and adjust your race day expectations when the temperature spikes.

New York City Marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir on Thursday received a rapturous reception at Eldoret International Airport as she jetted back home following Sunday victory which marked an end to a successful season.

Jepchirchir won the New York Marathon in 2 hours, 22 minutes, 39 seconds barely three months after winning the Olympic Marathon tittle in Sapporo, Japan in 2 hours, 27 minutes, 20 seconds.

At the airport the mood was exuberant as Jepchirchir's family members, athletics Kenya officials, relatives and friends together with students of Moi Girls Kapsowar joined in welcoming her.

Jepchirchir is Moi Girls Kapsowar patron, and recently helped the school organise charity race for conservation.

Jepchirchir said she was not thinking of winning but was hopeful she would do her best New York.

“When I was at the 27 kilometre mark, I saw Violah (Lagat) and I slowed the pace to wait for her. When she caught up she told me the race was getting tougher but I encouraged her we soldier on because when we are done with 35 kilometres, no one would catch up with us,” she said.

“We kept on encouraging each other and I am happy for Violah because it was her marathon debut and she fought well.”

She said she was grateful to all who prayed for her and for the best wishes extended to her as she prepared for the race and even while in New York.

“For now I am going to relax and wait for next season. I commit all to God and look upon Him on what He has prepared for me next year,” she said.

Her father Paul Kipkoech Chepkwony was lost for words following his daughter's exploits.

“I am grateful to God and all those who have been supporting my daughter’s talent which manifested itself while she was still a student. She used to run to and from school each day and this shaped her athletics prowess,” said Chepkwony.

Moi Girls Kapsowar head teacher Hellen Mabese Luhangala hailed Jepchirchir for the exemplary performance noting it has been a motivation to the young people.

“She has demonstrated resilience and determination by winning two marathons. At our school she is a champion of environmental conservation and motivating young people that the sky is no limit by surmounting all challenges,” she said.

Athletics Kenya President Rd. Gen Jack Tuwei said the season has been good for Kenyan athletes.

“She has kept the Kenyan spirit high. I was worried when she going for the New York Marathon because she had not recovered well from the Olympics but she assured us she was determined ahead of the race. I am happy for her because she kept our hopes alive,” he said.

Concerning the ongoing athletes workshops, Tuwei said he was impressed by the turnout.

“So far marital, relationship and investments are some of the issues athletes have revealed are affecting them. At the end of the forums, I am sure we will have known the real issues ailing them and how best to address them,” said Tuwei.

Kenyan-born American athlete Sally Kipyego is thrilled at the prospect of competing in a World Marathon Majors race after a long period when she lines up for New York City Marathon on Sunday.

She last competed in a World Marathon Majors race when she represented Kenya during the 2016 New York Marathon and finished second. Kipyegon has since changed her nationality when she was granted US citizenship in January 2017. 

New Marathon is being held for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The competitors will mainly be elite runners in a much reduced field.

Kipyego told Nation Sport that it feels great to compete in a major marathon once again, and she looks forward to a good performance.

Kipyego hopes to banish the demons of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games marathon in which she performed dismally, finishing a distant 17th. Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir won the race, compatriot and women’s world record holder Brigid Kosgei was second.

Kipyego said that the heat in Sapporo, Japan, where the Olympics marathon race was held, overwhelmed her and it took her a long time to recover from the race.

“I was strong when we started the race at the Olympics, but after a few kilometers, my body couldn’t react. My whole body was affected by the rising temperatures, and it was so disappointing because we had really waited for the Games to take place,” said Kipyego, adding that she had little time to prepare for the next assignment.

“The duration for training has been short, but I have done everything that an athlete is supposed to do before a race. I have been juggling my training between Eldoret in Uasin Gishu County and Iten in Elgeyo Marakwet which was really good,” she said before boarding a plane to New York at Eldoret International Airport in Uasin Gishu on Monday.

Kipyego also said that the field will be competitive since the Olympics champion, Jepchirchir, will be present. All in all, she believes that she will be among the top performers.

Competing on Sunday with fans cheering us along the streets is something good and supporters always motivate an athlete.

A high school in Japan came up with a creative solution for dealing with their winter weather. Instead of building an indoor track, they built a greenhouse around a 330m outdoor track where their athletes can escape the cold and snow.

The track was built for Asahikawa Ryukoku High School in Japan’s Hokkaido Prefecture, whose athletes are currently training for the Hokkaido Prefecture High School Girls Ekiden on October 23. The team is hoping for their sixth straight win, and their coach is hoping this new track will help get them there.

The Hokkaido Prefecture is known for heavy snowfall and temperatures that can drop as low as -20 C. In years past, the school’s Ekiden team has continued to train outside in the winter or had to travel to Sapporo to train on inside domed stadiums, a four-hour round trip from the school.

The special track was built on a 1,650 metre campus where the high school is being relocated next summer. The greenhouse structure is coated in durable vinyl, ranges from 5.4 m to 7.2 m in width and stands four metres high at its maximum point. Currently, the four-lane track is made of dirt, but in the future, two lanes will be covered with artificial turf and one lane will have a 100 m segment coated with standard all-weather track surface material. The facility is heated so it can be used throughout the year.

A few of the athletes have already tested out the new track and given it good reviews, including senior captain Sakura Ishibashi. “This will be a great place to train without having to worry about wind or snow,” Ishibashi told Japan Running News. “We’re all super grateful and want to show our thanks by succeeding.”

The track will also be available to the community and will be a great sports facility for the masses during the cold, snowy winter months.

Organizers of the Nagoya Women’s Marathon have announced they will increase the prize money for the 2022 race, scheduled for March 13, 2022, to US$250,000, making the World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race the highest prize paying marathon in the world.

Being the world’s largest women’s marathon, one of the world’s top-level races, and the only women’s race with a World Athletics Platinum Label, the Nagoya Women’s Marathon continues to be a global leader in women’s running.

This year’s edition went ahead on 14 March as a domestic race, and it was won by Japan’s Mizuki Matsuda in 2:21:51. Compatriot Mao Ichiyama won the 2020 edition in a course record of 2:20:29 and she went on to place eighth in the Olympic marathon, making her the top Japanese finisher in Sapporo.

Other past winners of the race include 2000 Olympic champion Naoko Takahashi, 2004 Olympic champion Mizuki Noguchi and world bronze medalist Helalia Johannes.

Nagoya’s increase in prize money is welcome news to the world of road running. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, many road races have been forced to be cancelled or postponed and athletes’ competing opportunities have been lost. But thanks to the dedication of organizing committees and medical professionals around the world, large-scale road races are slowly returning to the international calendar.

World record-holder feels fit and ready for a tilt at the hat-trick on Sunday despite tight turnaround since the Olympics

Eight weeks after winning a silver medal in the Olympic marathon, Brigid Kosgei will attempt to win her third successive women’s title at the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday.

From the heat and humidity of Sapporo in Japan in early August, the 27-year-old from Kenya is likely to face considerably cooler and damper conditions in the British capital. More of a worry, though, is whether she has recovered and rediscovered sufficient fitness given the short turnaround since the Games, where she finished runner-up to fellow Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.

“My body was very tired after the Olympics but I did a lot of preparation to correct this and now I have come to London to do my best,” said Kosgei, who took only a couple of days off after her marathon at the Games before getting back into training.

On claiming a hat-trick of titles in London this weekend, Kosgei added: “I love London so I would really like to do that here. I am ready as I have prepared well as I want to defend my title.”

Mary Keitany, who retired a few days ago, won London three times in recent years – the latter with a women-only world record of 2:17:01. This is a natural target for Kosgei, who holds the outright women’s world record with 2:14:04 from Chicago in 2019.

Paula Radcliffe also won three London Marathon titles, but the last woman to win three consecutive crowns is Katrin Dörre of Germany, who took victories from 1992 to 1994.

Kosgei won her first London crown two years ago in 2:18:20 but then returned last year during to win an elite- only race in St James’s Park in cool and damp conditions in 2:18:58. 

Which course does Kosgei prefer? The traditional one that skirts around the entire city or the looped course from last year?

“I do not really like running lots of laps,” she smiled. “It made me feel dizzy.”

And the weather? “Better London than Tokyo,” she said. “I did not run my best in the Olympics.”

Jepkosgei is the reigning New York City Marathon champion while Dibaba is a two-time winner in the Tokyo Marathon and they all looked confident of cracking the 2:20 barrier on Sunday – the kind of time which will almost certainly be required to win.

“I wish my best to my colleagues and let the best athlete win,” said Kosgei. “Everyone wants to be in the top three and I just hope to do my best.”

Shura Kitata has been suffering from hamstring problems; the Ethiopian won a sprint finish last year to de-throne Eliud Kipchoge, who finished eighth; he pulled out of the Tokyo Olympic marathon due to the conditions; Kipchoge will not be running London.

Kitata could not follow up a maiden London Marathon title with success at the Olympics this summer and pulled out in hot and humid conditions in Sapporo.

"I have some slight problems but still I am preparing to win and looking forward to it," the 25-year-old said via a translator during Wednesday's press conference.

"I was prepared very well before the Olympics and just two weeks before I had a hamstring injury, that was a big pressure for me. Otherwise I have prepared well and I am feeling confident to run on Sunday in London.

"The hamstring and the pain is not really easy and when it is a very fast speed, there might be some problem but I am looking forward to doing what I did before."

Another sprint finish this year would raise doubts over the Ethiopian's ability to clinch the event for a second time but he reflected on the life-changing experience of triumphing over Kipchoge, who bounced back to defend his Olympic title in August.

"I was very happy with the win last year and it had great meaning because Eliud is a very famous runner and a very strong runner so winning meant a lot," Kitata added.

While Kipchoge will not be in London to try and regain his crown as he recovers following his exploits in Japan, the 36-year-old will no doubt be watching on from afar and backing countryman Evans Chebet.

The Kenyan will run the 26.2-mile course for the first time and hope to play his part in a long-standing rivalry with the Ethiopian runners, with only athletes from the two countries winning the event since 2002.

Chebet admitted: "The rivalry is there and I know the Ethiopians are used to staying behind a bit and kicking on for the last 200 or 300 metres. It will be a challenging race and I know I will need a lot of strength at the end to win.

"If Eliud is watching on Sunday, it will give me more to run faster but I have my times already and the goal is just to go for a personal best.

"For 2:02 or 2:03 maybe depending on condition but I am looking forward to the race. Eliud gives morale but I have my own interest and motivation to win."

Kipchoge's last win in London in 2019 saw the Kenyan break the course record to post a time of 2:02:37.

Birhanu Legese will be the fastest man in the field following his winning run of 2:02:48 at the 2019 Berlin Marathon and he hopes the return of a crowd this year will help him make history.

"It depends on the weather on the day. If the weather is good, I plan to break the record and that is my target now. This is what I am preparing for," the Ethiopian and third fastest man in the world warned.

"We are pleased now everything is returning back to normal and we look forward to see the cheering of the crowd on the straight end. It will make us very happy."

Strong Ethiopians will feature world-class personal bests of 2:05:28 and 2:20:45 respectively.

The 38th edition of Austria’s biggest road running event is the first major international marathon featuring a strong international elite field and a mass race since the start of the Corona pandemic. Including races at shorter distances a total of 25,000 athletes have registered for the event. 6,000 of them will run the marathon. The Vienna City Marathon is a World Athletics Marathon Label Road Race.

Betesfa Getahun heads the elite start list which includes ten runners who have personal bests of sub 2:10. The Ethiopian ran 2:05:28 in his debut marathon in Amsterdam two years ago. Returning to the Vienna City Marathon will be Switzerland’s record holder Tadesse Abraham, who was the runner-up here in 2019 with 2:07:24.

With a personal best of 2:06:40 Tadesse Abraham is among the fastest European marathon runners. Due to breathing problems he dropped out of the Olympic marathon in Sapporo (Japan) a month ago. While this was of course a major disappointment he then quickly decided to go for the Vienna City Marathon. “I am in form and I want to show it. I am really looking forward to Vienna as I have such great memories of this race,” he said.

The women’s field includes six runners with personal bests of sub 2:28. Gelete Burka is the fastest on the start list with 2:20:45. She achieved this time in Dubai in 2018 and then won the marathons in Ottawa (2018) and in Paris (2019). The women’s race will also feature the Swiss marathon record holder: Fabienne Schlumpf ran 2:26:14 in her debut in Bern earlier this year and then finished in a very strong 12th position at the Olympic marathon.

Whether you are running your first or 50th race, there is no better feeling than crossing the finish line. We appreciate all finish lines in life no matter your goals, but we take a look at some of our favourite finish lines in races across the running world.

Boston Marathon (U.S.)

It would be hard to leave the finish line of the prestigious Boston Marathon off the list. Right on Hereford, left on Bolyston and you can see the finish line, with 500m to go. It’s a memory Boston marathoners remember forever. To hear fans, family members and Bostonians screaming at you as you run toward the line certainly gives you a final push to the finish.

Ultra de Trail Mont-Blanc (France)

This UTMB finish line sits right in the heart of Chamonix, surrounded by picturesque views of the French Alps. Ultrarunners descend from the mountain into the village after 171 km of racing, and hear the roar of the crowd as they run through narrow cobblestone streets toward the finish.

Olympic Marathon (Various)

The Olympic marathons always take place on the final two days of athletic events at the Games. Although fans were not allowed in the stadium in Tokyo, there were people lining the marathon course in Sapporo, which was one of the advantages of it being moved to that city. The raw emotion of athletes celebrating as they complete the Olympic marathon is a moment like no other.

Around the Bay 30 km (Canada)

Canada’s Around the Bay 30 km road race has a unique finish line, in which runners finish go through the lower level of a hockey arena to finish at centre ice of Hamilton’s FirstOntario Centre. Friends and families sit inside the arena to watch runners cross the line. Spectators will also sit inside to avoid the freezing temperatures of the March race.

Melbourne Marathon (Australia)

Similar to Canada’s Around the Bay race, the Melbourne Marathon finishes inside one of the world’s top 10 largest stadiums: the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The MCG has a seating capacity of 100,000 people and is home to the AFL Grand Final and Australia’s cricket team. Runners enter the MCG after completing 41 kilometres around the streets of Melbourne, to finish the marathon at midfield.

Great Wall Marathon (China)

The Great Wall of China Marathon starts and finishes inside the village of Huanyaguang’s Yin & Yang Square. Despite the steep climbs on the iconic Great Wall of China, runners are rewarded by the breathtaking views along the course. In the last two kilometres, as you reach the village from the wall, spectators will be cheering as they have a traditional festival for runners.

Comrades Ultra Marathon (South Africa)

The Comrades Marathon is a point-to-point 90 km ultramarathon in South Africa, starting at City Hall in Pietermaritzburg and finishing at the Sahara Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in Durban. Race spectators wait at the finish in Durban in front of a big screen, waiting for entrants to cross the line. The race has a challenging time limit, as runners must complete the distance in less than 12 hours.