Running News Daily

A deep field is targeting the men’s course record at the Lanzhou International Marathon this weekend

Eight runners toeing the line have career bests faster than the 2:10:10 course record set by Abayneh Ayele of Ethiopia in 2015, with Ethiopia’s Limenih Getachew the fastest thanks to his personal best of 2:06:49 set at the 2014 Paris Marathon.

The 29-year-old came close to that mark last October when he registered a winning mark of 2:07:34 to break the Portuguese all-comers’ record at the Lisbon Marathon. He achieved his second career best time of 2:07:30 in March with a fifth finish in Barcelona.

It will be Getachew’s second race in China following his fourth place finish at the Hengshui Lake Marathon in 2016.

Bahrain’s Benson Seurei is another man to watch. The 35-year-old, who used to compete mainly in middle distance events and grabbed a 1500m silver medal at the Asian Indoor Championships in 2016, only debuted over the classic distance in 2017 but progressed rapidly with his PB of 2:07:37 set last December in Valencia.

Seurei clocked 2:08:08 to finish fourth at the Lake Biwa Marathon in March and is yet to gain his first title after five marathon races.

Shumet Akalnew of Ethiopia is also chasing his first marathon title in Lanzhou. The 31-year-old clocked a life-time best of 2:08:50 to finish third in Kosice last year and achieved another third place finish in Mumbai four months ago with a 2:10:24 clocking.

The Ethiopian contingent also include Bira Seboka, a 2:08:51 performer, and Afewerk Mesfin, who improved his PB to 2:09:28 in Xiamen this year. The other sub-2:10 runners in the field are Bahraini Zelalem Bacha with a PB of 2:09:16, Kenya’s Mike Kiprotich Mutai, whose PB of 2:09:18 dates back to 2012, and Motlokoa Nkhabutlane of Lesotho.

Sondre Nordstad Moen of Norway easily won the Gdynia Half Marathon

Sondre Nordstad Moen of Norway and Genet Gashie of Ethiopia turned in dominant victories at the Gdynia Half Marathon, an IAAF Bronze Label road race, on Sunday March 17. 

After running alone for much of the race, Moen  clocked 1:01:18 more than a minute clear of his closest competitor while Gashie took the women’s race in 1:12:05, 37 seconds ahead of compatriot Shegae Maeregu who clocked 1:12:42.

The race served as a test event for next year’s IAAF World Half Marathon Championships which will be hosted by this Baltic Sea coast city of 250,000 on March 29 ,2020. Runners competed on a new course whose finish is situated on the city’s main municipal beach, the same course that will be used for next year’s championships.

Despite the presence of some strong names -- most notably two-time winner Hilary Kimaiyo of Kenya -- the competition quickly evolved into a one-man show with Moen upping the pace when the pacemaker began to struggle after 7 kilometres. He reached the 10 kilometre mark in 29:14 but didn’t look back. Behind him, the only race that was developing was the battle waged for second between Ethiopian Shumet Akalnew and Pole Krystian Zalewski.

When Moen finished a long climb between kilometres 9 and 12, he still appeared fresh and ready to maintain that tempo. He was already more than a minute ahead at 15 km (44:00) and used the downhill section to further cushion his lead in the race’s waning stages. He clocked 58:13 at the 20 km checkpoint and sprinted along the seaside boulevards in Gdynia en route to his 1:01:18 race record, a solid peformance given the windy conditions.

“I had to run alone since the pacemaker struggled,” Moen said. “It was hard to keep the pace on the uphill section but the last six kilometres were very strong for me although the wind was not making it easy.

Surprisingly, Zalewski finished second clocking 1:02:36 in his half marathon debut. Akalnew completed the podium in 1:02:54. Kimaiyo finished a distant sevent in 1:05:28.

In the women’s race, Christine Oigo was looking to repeat her victory from last year. She initially formed part of the leading group of three, together with the Ethiopians Gashie and Maeregu, who covered the first five kilometres in 17:06.

But it was Gashie who then took command, passing ten kilometres in 34:11, four seconds ahead of Maeregu. She continued to pad her advantage to the finish line, her 1:12:04 run a race record as well.

Maeregu held on to finish second in 1:12:42. Poland’s Anna Gosk passed Oigo by the 15th kilometre and held on to claim the final podium spot, clocking 1:13.07.