Running News Daily

By Toni Reavis 

There have been many historic firsts in the long history of the Boston Marathon. This coming Monday, 21 April, 2025, 28-year-old John Korir of Kitale, Kenya, will attempt to become the first brother of a Boston champion to match his sibling on the Boylston Street winner‘s platform. Older brother Wesley won Boston in the notoriously hot year of 2012. 

History To Write 

The Korir brothers have already written their first chapter of running history when John won the BofA Chicago Marathon last fall in 2:02:44. That gave each brother one World Marathon Major on their ledger. And both have won twice the Los Angeles Marathon, too, Wesley in 2009 & 2010, John in 2021 & 2022. Now John looks to join Wesley as a Boston champion.

STRONG FIELD

But it won’t be easy as John will have, among others, two former Boston champions to contend with, defender Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia and 2022-2023 champ, Evans Chebet of Kenya.

All three competed last year, so there won’t be any surprises like we saw in 2024 when Lemma struck out early, opened a commanding lead—posting the fastest first half in Boston history, 60:19—and then hung on to win.

BOSTON TACTICS

So accustomed are today’s runners to pacesetters, that a tactic like hard early front running can catch competitors off guard. Remember Meb Keflezighi in 2014? It worked again ten years later. 

Despite Lemma slowing to a near 66-minute second half, his cushion was substantial enough for a relatively easy win in 2:06:17. Chebet finished third, Korir fourth. 

1. Sisay Lemma: 2:06:17 (Ethiopia)

2. Mohamed Esa: 2:06:58 (Ethiopia)

3. Evans Chebet: 2:07:22 (Kenya)

4. John Korir: 2:07:40 (Kenya)

Odds are that Lemma won’t employ the same strategy this Patriots’ Day. And if he does, the others won’t be caught on their back foot.

FAITH IN & FROM COACH MANN

I spoke with John Korir‘s coach, Ron Mann, two days ago after he finished nine holes of golf at his home course in Louisville, Kentucky. We discussed both John and brother Wesley, who Ron also coached at the University of Louisville and then throughout his professional running career.

I pointed out to Coach Mann that Boston 2025 will be the 12th marathon of John’s career. He began with two late race falters in his first three marathon attempts, Ottawa 2018 and Los Angeles in 2019. On both occasions, he moved hard at 20 miles and opened what looked to be winning margins. 

EARLY HARD LESSONS

But in Ottawa, course record holder Yemane Tsegay of Ethiopia caught him at 40k, and won by 22 seconds. In Los Angeles, it was even more cruel, as John faded significantly on Ocean Avenue in sight of the finish line in Santa Monica. With less than 30 seconds of running left, Elisha Barno flew by the exhausted Korir to snatch the win by 7 seconds. 

“Early in his career, when he was running well, but not great, he was only running about 70 miles a week,” explained Coach Mann. “He didn’t have a bottom under him. Gradually, over a period of four years, we are now at the point where he is running big mileage. He first did it before Chicago last fall and now even a little bit more for Boston. I don’t know how well the others are prepared, but John is all ready to go.”

This will be John‘s third attempt at Boston. In 2023 he finished ninth in 2:10:04. Last year he was fourth in 2:07:40.

“So he knows the course,” confirmed Coach Mann. “And if we go back to Geoffrey Mutai’s record in 2011 (2:03:02), everything happens at Heartbreak Hill. Two years ago, John charged up Heartbreak Hill with Eliud Kipchoge. They ended up eighth and ninth. So you gotta ask if that’s the wise thing to do.”

BOSTON SPECIFIC PREP

John has prepared on a variety of terrains back home for Boston’s tricky route. 

“Like golf, you try to look at the course you’re playing,” explained Mann, who visited John in Kenya in January. “If the last hole is over water, then you practice that. So the last 4 miles in Boston are downgrade with big crowds.  So you have to be ready for that.

“I told him, ‘you have as much speed as anyone. You’ve run a 58:50 for the half-marathon. So if you feel like you wanna go, go. But if you feel like you wanna wait, then wait.”

There is a 14-year gap between Wesley and John. And their attributes as runners are different as well.

2012 Boston Marathon champion Wesley Korir (third photo) 

“John has more speed,” said their coach. “But Wesley had more endurance. He was able to withstand more early on in his career. But we needed to put speed on to his endurance. But when he decided to campaign for and won his seat for parliament in 2013 (as he simultaneously prepared to defend his Boston title), we never got a chance to do that. So we never saw the end of his career where he could’ve maximized his speed. John already has the speed. We just needed to put endurance beneath it.”

LEARNING HOW TO WIN

Another of Korir’s opponents will be American Olympian, Connor Mantz. Like John, Connor is 28-years-old, and just entering his prime. While still dangerous, Sisay Lemma (34) and Evans Chebet (35) are on the back nine of their careers. 

Though Connor Mantz has a half marathon PR close to Korir’s—59:15 to 58:50—he has yet to finish on the podium of a major marathon, much less tasted victory.

“John has learned how to win,” said Coach Mann. “That’s why the wins in the Boilermaker 15k (Utica, N.Y.), Falmouth Road Race, and Chicago Marathon in 2024 were so important. Now he is expecting to win. 

“He already has two marathon victories in Los Angeles and one in Chicago. He also has a world class personal best (2:02:44). Now it’s consistency over a long period of time. Boston is one step along that route. Will he win this year? I don’t know. But he will win Boston in his career. I tell him, you’re as prepared as you can be, and I’ve never trained an athlete to your level before. So, it’s yours to take now.”

CONSTRUCTING YOUR FITNESS

Runners know that reaching peak form is a slow building process. People refer to building your aerobic house. I liken it to constructing a house of cards. You can build a very strong house, but you must build it assiduously, and gradually, or the whole thing will come tumbling down.

“Between Boston last spring and Chicago last fall, John’s stride tempo went up by five per minute,” explained Coach Mann. “And his average heart rate went from 184bpm in Boston to 173 in Chicago. That tells me he’s even fitter that he was.”

HOME IN THE CHERANGANY HILLS

John lives and trains in the Cherangany Hills about 40 minutes northwest of Eldoret, Kenya in the famed Central Highlands. It’s 15 minutes from Kitale, where the Transcend Academy is located. 

Transcend Academy is a non-profit school sponsored by the Kenyan Kids Foundation USA that provides full scholarships to talented students from needy backgrounds. Its mission is to leverage running to develop holistic individuals for the progress of Kenya. It’s an offshoot of Wesley Korir’s political sensibilities.

The school was founded by Wesley and his wife, Tarah, who met while both were students at the University of Louisville. John also contributes financially to Transcend. 

While John lives and trains in Kitale, his wife and three girls moved to Eldoret because that’s where his kids go to school. But John built a second home in Kitale with his Chicago winnings, so his family can come stay with him on weekends. John and Wesley’s mom and dad live about 600m from the school, too. 

“We have a very close-knit, well-oiled family around him,” said Coach Mann, “to make sure that he gets it right.”

The field for Monday’s marathon is very strong and experienced. The weather forecast suggests benign conditions, so it will be the athletes, alone, who decide the outcome. 

IN THE HANDS OF GOD

“I tell John, ‘the gift is your responsibility to use," said Coach Mann. "So use it well and give the glory to God’. He did that in Chicago. He crossed himself after he crossed the line.”

Maybe another cross in Hopkinton might not be a bad idea come Monday morning. Brother Wesley will be waiting with Coach Mann at the finish line on Boylston Street, praying like mad, one would assume. 

Believing the Boston!

 

 

Two-time former world champion Abel Kirui leads a strong contingent of Kenyan elite runners to next month's Fukuoka Marathon.

Kirui, 40, with a personal best of 2:05:05, faces stiff opposition to win the event set for December 4.

This will be Kirui's first marathon of the year having last participated in the 2021 Milan Marathon, where he finished 11th in 2:06:52.

Kirui said he has what it takes to win the race despite the competition. "Marathon running is never easy but I have had good preparations and I am looking forward to having a good outing,” added Kirui. 

Kirui will have fellow Kenyans Kenneth Keter and Silas Too for the company. Keter has a personal best of 2:06:05 set at the 2021 Amsterdam Marathon, where he finished eighth while Too has a PB of 2:06:32 posted in the Eindhoven Marathon last year.

James Gitahi, who finished third last year in a time of 2:08:25, will be aiming to go two places better this time around. Last year's winner Michael Githae will be aiming to defend the crown he won last year when he clocked 2:07:51.

Githae is upbeat about his prospects despite placing 11th at the Tokyo Marathon in March this year at 2:07:55. Githae also won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last August.

“I did not do well in Tokyo but I have trained hard for Fukuoka for the past three months. It's a very good field, especially the Kenyans and Ethiopians but I'm up to the task and ready to defend my title,” he said. 

Vincent Raimoi will be making his debut in the full marathon at the event having clocked 59:51 at the 2020 Ras El Khaimah Marathon in UAE, where he finished fifth. The Ethiopian athletes in the event will be led by Teshager Yegzaw and Yemane Tsegaye. 

On a sunny Sunday morning in the nation’s capital, Andualem Shiferaw of Ethiopia ran a new course record time of 2:06:03 to win the 2022 Ottawa Marathon. Shiferaw smashed the previous record held by Ethiopia’s Yemane Tsegay of 2:06:54.

Shiferaw, who had the fastest personal best heading into the race of 2:05:52, went out with the lead group of six runners. The group went through half in 1:03:53, which faired to be a bit slow for the 30-year-old Ethiopian. At the 25K mark, Shiferaw put on a surge and developed a bit of a gap on the field.

Once he hit the 30 km mark, race organizers knew they would be witnessing a course record performance from Shiferaw. Once he crossed the finish line, Shiferaw did not stop running– doing a victory lap and high-fiving patrons who were on hand to witness his performance. Abdi Ali Gelchu of Bahrain was the second runner to finish in 2:09:23, while Yuta Shimoda from Japan was third in 2:09:49.

Shiferaw earned himself $24,000 for winning the race and an additional $10,000 for breaking the course record. His win in Ottawa was his fifth win in his last seven marathons. Shiferaw sported the 2021 Nike pro kit for the marathon, despite being dropped for 2022.

Justin Kent of Vancouver was the first Canadian to finish in a new personal best time of 2:13:33. Kent shook almost four minutes off his previous best of 2:17:22 from the Marathon Project, which he ran in 2020. “I am over the moon about my performance,” Kent says. “I haven’t even come to terms with what I have accomplished yet.”

“Being the first Canadian was the big goal,” Kent says. “I owe my training partner (Ben Preisner) a few beverages for helping me out on the course.” Preisner paced Kent through 30K in an hour and 35 minutes.

“I got a taste of Ottawa Race Weekend in 2019 when I competed in the 10K championships,” Kent says. “I knew I had to return to experience the atmosphere for the marathon.”

Kent mentioned he will be taking a down week before ramping up again with his coach Richard Lee for a few summer and fall races.

Ethiopia will again be favored to win when the Ottawa International Marathon returns to an in-person event on Sunday, May 29th.

Indeed, the Ethiopian women are expected to extend their 10-year winning streak as they vye to break the course record (CR) of 2:22:17, set in 2018 by returning champion Geleta Burka. Burka will be challenged by the 2019 defending champion, Tigist Girma, who has since run twice under 2:20

These blistering fast women will be challenged by countrywoman Bruktayit Eshetu who finished 2nd in the 2019 Toronto Waterfront Marathon with a personal best of 2:22:40 and Juliet Chekwel of Uganda, who recorded a national record of 2:23:13 in her marathon debut two years ago.

Returning to Ottawa will be Lanni Marchant who broke the 28-year-old national record in 2013 by running it in exactly 2:28:00. Marchant will be heading off against Dayna Pidhoreski, the 2019 Canadian marathon champion with a personal best of 2:29:03.

Unprecedented depth of field in the men’s event

On the men’s side, Ottawa’s new Elite Athlete Coordinator Dylan Wykes, a 2012 Canadian Olympian, has assembled an unprecedented depth of field on Canadian soil. No fewer than eight of the men lining up on the start line will be boasting personal bests under 2:08, with three of them having recently run 2:06 or faster. The course record, set by fellow Ethiopian Yemane Tsegaye in 2014 is 2:06:54.

Wykes will be looking for return competitor Adugna Takele (2:05:57) and his fellow Ethiopian competitors Tsegaye Getachew Kebede (2:05:11) and Andualem Belay Shiferaw (2:05:52) to compete for that CR. The Ethiopians could see a fight from Kenyan Alex Kibet who recently won the Berlin Half Marathon with a personal best of 58:55, indicating his preparations are going well.

“It’s been an interesting challenge to build this start list with so little in-person competition over the past two years,” said Dylan Wykes, the Elite Athlete Coordinator. “Based on what we’ve seen recently with these athletes, and with how fast road races have been generally, I think we are quite likely to see some very fast times on May 29th. I can’t wait.”

The top Canadian in the men’s field is Tristan Woodfine, who was 10th in the 2018 Ottawa Marathon and will be seeking a top 10 finish.

The elite women are given 3:40 head start over the elite men and the first across the line earns an extra CDN$2,000 in addition to the CDN$5,000 winner’s purse. It was Jepchirchir who held off Ziani in 2016.

Jepchirchir, who held off Ziani in 2016, is making her comeback since giving birth to a baby boy at the tail end of 2017. Whether she can find the form that carried her to a PB of 30:55 for the distance in 2015 as well as capture the 2016 world half marathon title is intriguing, but she started 2019 strongly with a 1:07:36 clocking at the Ras Al-Khaimah Half Marathon.

The expected competition will likely come from her compatriot Paskalia Kipkoech, the 2012 world half marathon bronze medallist who has a 10km PB of 30:57, and 20-year-old Ethiopian Gete Alemayehu, who ran 31:12 to win the Corrida Pédestre Internationale de Houilles in France last December.

The heat and humidity at the 2016 Ottawa 10k left Jepchirchir shattered at the finish and requiring brief medical attention. But the forecast calls for rain this year, possibly even a thunderstorm.

Ziani, who finished fourth last year, will be joined by compatriot Mohamed El Aaraby who ran 27:58 at the Valencia 10k earlier this year.

Kenya’s Moses Kibet, a former steeplechaser, will challenge the two Moroccans no doubt. Last June he won the La Corrida de Langueux in a personal best of 28:26, while more recently he finished second at the Jianzhen International Half Marathon in China in a PB of 59:58.

Major flooding in recent weeks along the Ottawa River has meant that the Ottawa Marathon course has undergone substantial changes. Still, the incoming international athletes are aware that the women’s (Gelete Burka 2:22:13 2018) and men’s race records (Yemane Tsegay 2:06:54 2014) are going to be tough to beat.

Pre-race favorite Tirfi Tsegaye was forced to withdraw earlier this week after picking up a hamstring injury, but her absence leaves an evenly matched group tasked with extending Ethiopia’s winning streak to 10 women’s marathon titles in Ottawa.

Shuko Gemeno, Abeba Gebremeskel, Bethelhem Moges and Tigist Girma are all capable of victory. The latter keeps improving in leaps and bounds though her personal best is still ‘just’ 2:26:44. The winner will earn CDN$30,000.

The 28-year-old has twice bettered 2:06 in his career, most recently when finishing second at the 2018 Rotterdam Marathon in a PB of 2:05:50. The other occasion was at the 2014 Berlin Marathon where Kuma finished third in 2:05:56 in the race in which Kenya’s Dennis Kimetto set a world record of 2:02:57, which has since been broken by Eliud Kipchoge.

In between those two races, Kuma has made his mark across the globe. Now he sets his sights on racing in the Canadian capital.

“I want to win and I want to run fast,” he said. “I hope the conditions will be kind to me. Yes, (the course record is a target) though it all depends on the conditions.”

Compatriot Yemane Tsegay set that record (2:06:54) in 2014.

Kuma’s performance in Rotterdam was all the more startling since he had run, and finished, Japan’s Lake Biwa Marathon (2:09:31) just 35 days earlier – hardly the ideal preparation for a world-class marathon.

“At Lake Biwa I did not feel well and had a bad day at the office,” he explains. “I felt like I ran at 95% without being able to give more than that. After finishing I still felt strong and very disappointed about the race. I needed to take revenge quickly and the gamble paid off.”

Kuma has a level of confidence matching his ability. Unlike many of today’s marathon runners, he took up road racing after a successful career on the track. Twice he represented Ethiopia at the IAAF World Championships, finishing fifth in the 5000m in 2011 and fifth in the 10,000m in 2013. With 5000m and 10,000m personal bests of 13:00.15 and 26:52.85, he has basic speed matched by very few road racers.

“I had a short track career but always wanted to go to the road fairly quickly,” he says. “Track has helped me to be a stronger road runner, though.

“I like the endurance that belongs to road running and marathons. Running is fun to do and I enjoy it, but it is also my job. In marathon running the financial aspect is important.”

The lucrative prize money in road racing, coupled with the fact there is a limited number of track races with decent prize money, has seen many young East African athletes go straight to the roads. First place in Ottawa is worth CDN$30,000 with another CDN$10,000 on offer for a course record.

As Kuma says, running is his job. And, he is happy to share his experience with younger up-and-coming Ethiopian runners, many of whom are part of the training group under coach Tessema Abshero, who himself was a 2:08 marathon runner.

“I would advise others to run track but I also know that it is not easy to do that as the track races are scarce these days,” Kuma says.

Training is going well currently he says, despite a mediocre performance at the Mumbai Marathon in January when he finished seventh in 2:13:10.

“I am preparing really well and my last test (a half marathon in Spain where he ran 1:00:41) was good,” he says. “Now I am finalising the endurance part to bounce back strongly after a disappointing race in Mumbai. The conditions in Mumbai were very difficult (heat, air quality) and the course was tough. I was with the lead group for a long part of the way but suffered a lot in the last seven kilometres.

Kuma has a marathon personal best of 2:04:24. There are others of similar quality among Kuma’s training partners. Most significantly, all of this training is done at altitudes of at least 2600m. It’s hard work but with a group sharing the load and the drudgery it is normal. Down time is used to relax and recover and wait for the next workout.

The 26-year-old Kenyan set his lifetime best of 2:06:10 when winning in the French capital two years ago. He came close to that mark last year when he retained his title in 2:06:25, the second-fastest time of his career.

He hasn’t raced since then, however, and he picked up a slight injury last week when he slipped and fell in training, but he insisted that it shouldn’t affect his ability to compete on Sunday.

Lonyangata faces a tough challenge, though, as he will line up against fellow Kenyans Augustine Choge, Hillary Kipsambu, Ishmael Bushendich and Barselius Kipyego, plus a duo of Ethiopian men with sub-2:05 PRs: Asefa Mengistu and Yemane Tsegay.

Choge, one of the most versatile distance runners in the world over the past decade, has won global medals indoors, outdoors and at cross country. The 32-year-old has moved to the roads in recent years and clocked 59:26 for the half marathon in 2017. His marathon debut in Chicago last year ended with a DNF but he is aiming for a better result in Paris.

With a best of 2:04:06, Mengistu is the fastest man in the field. A past winner in Seoul, Cape Town and Bloemfontein, he set his PR when placing fourth in Dubai in 2018. He finished third in Dubai this year and came close to his best with 2:04:24.

Tsegay’s PR of 2:04:48 dates back to 2012, but the 34-year-old is still highly competitive and won in Ottawa last year. More recently he finished runner-up in Fukuoka four months ago.

Nicolas Navarro, the second-fastest marathon runner in France last year, leads the domestic charge and will aim to improve on his PR of 2:12:39.

Almost all of the leading contenders in the women’s race set their PRs in 2018, so will be heading to the French capital in good form.

Gelete Burka – who, like Choge, has won global medals across a range of distances – is the most decorated athlete in the field. Winner of the 2006 world cross-country short course title and 2008 world indoor 1500m title, the 33-year-old Ethiopian finally conquered the marathon distance in 2018, clocking a PR of 2:20:45 in Dubai and then going on to win in Ottawa in 2:22:17, the first marathon victory of her career.

Kenyan athletes have won the past three women’s races at the Paris Marathon and 2014 world half marathon bronze medallist Sally Chepyego leads their charge this year. The experienced 33-year-old set her marathon PR of 2:23:15 when finishing second in Ljubljana last year.

25-year-old Yuma Hattori from Japan PR for the marathon before today was 2:09:46.  On the other hand the favorite,Yemane Tsegay from Ethiopia had run much faster.  But it was Yuma’s race today has he won by over a minute clocking 2:07:27 at the 72nd annual Fukuoka Marathon held today Dec 2 in Japan.  Yemane finished second clocking 2:08:54. Yuma is the fifth Japanese runner to break 2:08 this year.  2018 Boston Marathon winner Yuki Kawauchi finished tenth clocking 2:12:03 adding another sub 2:20 performance to his list of many.  Breaking away from Yemane Tsegay and Amanuel Mesel at 36 kilometers, Yuma Hattori cruised to victory. “It is close to the time I had hoped for,” said Hattori, whose performance elevated him to eighth on the Japanese all-time list. Mesel finished third with 2:09:45. The race progressed on an even pace with 15:00 five-kilometer segments through 25 kilometers.  The first casualty of the relatively fast even pace, considering the unseasonably warm weather was Vincent Kipruto, former World Championships silver medallist who fell behind before 5km. Yuki Kawauchi began to drift back after 11km and Kentaro Nakamoto after 15km and Ghebreslassie at 17. Both Kipruto and Ghebrselassie dropped out before reaching the midway point. Bedan Karoki finished his pacing duties at 25km; the two remaining pacesetters forged on but the tempo slowed to 15:36 over the next five kilometers, by far the slowest of the day. The leading pack of nine was reduced to three by 35 kilometers, with Hattori, Mesel and Tsegay reaching the mark in 1:46:12. But at the water station one kilometer later, Hattori broke away. “I did not feel like I made a move,” Hattori said. “It was more like my competitions dropped off, so I decided to go.”                  

Two years ago, Tsegay stopped Patrick Makau from winning a third straight title at this race. Last year he finished a distant 26th in 2:18:05, slowed by a sudden back problem that hit him after five kilometres. In May he won the Ottawa Marathon with 2:08:52, has a personal best of 2:04:48 set in Rotterdam in 2012 and took silver at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing. He trains with this year’s Chicago Marathon runner-up Mosinet Geremew and Shanghai winner Seifu Tura, boding well. The man who beat Tsegay in Beijing, Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, is also in the race. Ghebreslassie was fourth at the 2016 Olympic Games and won the New York City Marathon later that year. He set his personal best of 2:07:46 earlier that year, at the London Marathon. However, he’s failed to finish the last three marathons he started: New York, Dubai and London. He said he was hampered by injury in 2017 and early 2018, but is back on track now. “My training after London is going well,” he said. Vincent Kipruto, the runner-up at the 2011 World Championships, is also in the field. His best of 2:05:13 dates back to the 2010 Rotterdam Marathon, but more recently clocked 2:06:14 at the 2017 Berlin Marathon. Amanuel Mesel of Eritrea has run well here in the past, finishing fifth at both the 2016 and 2017 editions of the race. Although not an invited runner, Brett Robinson of Australia, a pace maker last year, is said to be in strong shape and ready for a fast performance in his debut over the distance.  2018 Boston Marathon winner Yuki Kawauchi is also running and posted this on FB.  "I will run Fukuoka international open marathon Sunday. I ran this race 8 times( include 3 times of sub 2:10). I love this race and this city and people of Fukuoka. I believe I can end my bad flow of marathon since this summer," Yuki posted a few hours ago. 

Hawkins has been named in the elite men’s field that includes Ethiopia’s Yemane Tsegay, who has a 2:04:48 personal best, Kenya’s Vincent Kipruto (2:05:13 PB), and Eritrean duo Ghirmay Ghebreslassie (2:07:46 PB) and Amanuel Mesel (2:08:17 PB). In April, the Scottish athlete was on course for victory at the Commonwealth Games marathon on the Gold Coast, Australia, when, overcome by the heat, he lost control of his body and fell over in the closing stages. The 26 year-old has bounced back as expected and most recently clocked a 61:00 half marathon in Valencia, where he finished first European. “Things are on the up. 61:00 today in the Valencia half,” said Hawkins post-race on Instagram. “Not exactly what I wanted from the race but the legs are almost back.” At the 2017 edition of the Fukuoka Marathon, Norway’s Sondre Nordstad Moen took victory in a European record time of 2:05:48.

The best year in Japanese men’s marathon history is drawing to a close, and with it the chances for them to qualify for the new MGC Race 2020 Olympic trials are running out. The Dec. 2nd Fukuoka International Marathon features one of the best Japanese fields ever assembled, with ten Japanese men under 2:10 since 2016. Half marathon national record holder Yuta Shitara, 2018 Boston Marathon winner Yuki Kawauchi, 2017 Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon winner Kentaro Nakamoto, Hayato Sonoda and Yoshiki Takenouchi, make up the list of those already qualified for the MGC Race, Shitara running a marathon for the first time since his now-former national record 2:06:11 in Tokyo in February and Kawauchi hoping to turn things back around after a string of bad races since Boston. Those with a realistic chance of qualifying off the two-race average include 2017 Gold Coast Marathon winner Takuya Noguchi, who missed it by seconds at this year’s Gold Coast, recent sub-2:10 men Kohei Ogino, Yuma Hattori and Jo Fukuda, and a trio who finished together just over the 2:10 mark in Tokyo this year, Asuka Tanaka, Hiroki Yamagishi and Daichi Kamino. There’s a good number of others on the list who ran well in 2015 and 2016 and will be hoping to get back on board in Fukuoka, including sub-2:10 teammates Takuya Fukatsu, Fumihiro Maruyama and Satoru Sasaki , and given the depth of Japanese men’s marathoning and the tendency for dark horses to post seemingly out-of-nowhere breakthroughs like Taku Fujimoto, earlier this month in Chicago there’s almost no limit to who else could have their day. Twins Hiroshi and Takashi Ichida would make a lot of people happy if they finally broke through in Fukuoka. Both 100 km world record holder Nao Kazami, and 100 km silver medalist Takehiko Gyoba, are also in the race. It being a nominally international marathon, Fukuoka also has its usual small contingent of overseas runners perfectly positioned to pace the Japanese men to times in the 2:07 to 2:08 range and to lend a little shine to the race with their medals. 2011 world championships silver medalist Vincent Kipruto tops the list with a 2:06:14 in Berlin last year, with 2015 world champion Ghirmay Ghebreslassie and past Fukuoka champ Yemane Tsegay.

John Korir, 22, has announced he will join the elite roster at Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 27. John is the younger brother of Wesley Korir, who won the Boston Marathon in 2012, and who represented Kenya at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Wesley is also a former Member of Parliament in Kenya. younger Korir debuted the marathon at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend this spring, where he was way out in front just a few kilometres from the finish line. Ultimately Korir was overtaken by Yemane Tsegay of Ethiopia, the course record-holder, and finished in second place with a time of 2:09:14. The two brothers have trained together in Louisville, Kentucky. Korir will be welcomed by the family of his sister-in-law, Tarah McKay-Korir, who live in southern Ontario. Tarah and Wesley are the founders of the Kenyan Kids Foundation, one of STWM’s charity partners. Korir joins two-time defending champion Philemon Rono, New Zealand’s Jake Robertson, and our very own Reid Coolsaet on the start line at Scotia on October 21.

Canada's largest running event is the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon and Half Marathon is coming up May 27 in Ottawa, Canada.  Yemane Tsegay, the Ethiopian star who set the Ottawa course record with a blistering time of 2:06:54 in 2014, heads the list of marathon speedsters. Tsegay will be challenged by Eliud Kiptanui, the Kenya native who claimed last year’s title with a 2:10:14 clocking. Don’t be surprised to see three other Ethiopians joining them in the lead group, either. Haile Lemi Berhanu, who won the 2016 Boston Marathon, owns a personal best time of 2:04:33. Deriba Robi has completed the marathon in 2:05.58 and Adugna Takele Bikila owns an all-time best of 2:08.51. On the women’s side, course record holder Tigist Tufa is also returning, hoping to challenge her 2014 time of 2:24:31. Tufa also won the 2015 London Marathon. Tufa will have her hands – and feet – full with Gelete Burka, who ran a 2:20:45 marathon earlier this year. Joining Tufa in the women’s field is U.S. Marathon champion Sara Hall. Hall has improved in nearly every marathon she has run over the past year, placing sixth at Tokyo in 2017 before winning the U.S. Championships later that year. 

Yemane Tsegaye of Ethiopia returns to defend his title at the 71st Fukuoka International Marathon on Sunday. Tsegaye recorded his personal best of 2:04:48 at the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon, and has a silver medal from the IAAF World Championships Beijing 2015 to his credit. Last December, the 32-year-old prevented Patrick Makau from winning a third successive Fukuoka title.

Ugandan Stephen Kiprotich, the 2012 Olympic and 2013 world champion, will take on Bidan Karoki and defending champion Yemane Tsegaye at the 71st annual Fukuoka Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, on December 3 in Fukuoka, Japan.