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Valencia Marathon has a solid elite field in its quest to become one of the World’s Top five fastest marathon circuits

The Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso EDP 2019 will feature the best elite field never seen before in a Spanish trial. The aim is to put the Valencia Marathon among the world’s Top 5 fastest circuits. To achieve this, a minute needs to be shaved off the Men’s current world record of 2 hours 04:31, which will once more make the race the fastest marathon in Spain.

To achieve this, there are three key male contenders: the man who set the circuit record in 2018, the Ethiopian athlete Leul Gebresilase (2 hours 04:02) and especially his fellow-countrymen Getaneh Molla (2 hours 03:34) and Herpesa Negasa (2 hours 03:40). The time set by Molla in Dubai in January established that marathon as the world’s third fastest circuit.

One should also keep an eye on the Kenyan runner Emmanuel Saina (2 hours 05:02), who in seven months between 2018 and April 2019 ran the distance in under 2 hours 06:00 on no fewer than three occasions.

Furthermore, the line-up features twelve runners with times of under 2 hours 06:00, and 22 runners with times of under 2 hours 10, including Tsegaye Kebede (2 hours 04:38), Norbert Kigen (2 hours 05:13), and Felix Kiprotich (2 hours 05:33).

Among them will be the Kenyan runner Gideon Kipketer (2:05:51), an athlete who regularly runs in under 2 hours 06, and who was the pace-setter for Geoffrey Kamworor in Copenhagen in the INEOS 1 hour 59 Challenge; and the Eritrean Ghirmay Gebreselassie, winner in the marathon world championship, and who came first in the New York Marathon in 2016.

The duel for the European Marathon Record between the Turk Kaan Kigen Ozbilen (2:05:27) (who is just 16 seconds off the record time) and the Norwegian Sondre Moen (2:05:48) (just 37 seconds short of the mark) promises to be especially thrilling. Moen knows the circuit well given that he has run in earlier editions of the Valencia Half-Marathon.

How Kenyan athletes are paid millions in the Richest Marathons in the World

For most elite marathoners, there is more at stake than just the glory of winning the race.

For these professional athletes, for instance, Eliud Kipchoge, there is a huge prize for crossing the finish line ahead of everyone in marathons such as Berlin, Boston, Bank of America Chicago marathons among many others. (The current exchange rate is 102 Kenya shillings to one US dollar.) 

Here we take a look at some of the top few marathons over the world that offer the highest prize money to athletes.

1. Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon.- The Dubai Marathon is the world’s richest marathon with the most expensive prize money of Sh.20 ($196,000US) million for first place winners and an additional Sh.10 ($98,000US) million for marathon world record bonus.

In January of 2008, the Dubai Marathon was the richest long-distance running event in history.

The winners received Sh.25 ($245,000US) million (more than double any prize money to that date) and a million-dollar offer from Dubai Holding if they set a world best according to the Standard Chartered Dubai marathon website

Getaneh Molla of Ethiopia and Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich won the 20th edition of the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon.

2. Boston Marathon.- The Boston Marathon is the oldest marathon in the world established in 1887 by a non-profit organization with a mission of promoting a healthy lifestyle through sports, especially running. The top male and female finishers each receive Sh.15 ($145,000US) million with second place earning Sh.7.5 million and third takes home Sh.4 million according to Boston Marathon official website.

According to Forbes, there is a bonus prize of Sh.5 million for breaking the world's best time and Sh.2.5 for breaking the course record.

The most rewarded Boston runner of all time was four times champion Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot, a Kenyan runner who has earned a total of Sh.46.9 ($450,000US) million from the Boston race alone.

3. TCS New York City Marathon.- The first NYC Marathon was held in 1970, entirely in Central Park, with only 127 entrants, 55 finishers and a lone female racer, who dropped out because of an illness, according to TCS New York City Marathon website.

Today the TCS New York City Marathon prize purse totals a guaranteed Sh.70.5 ($670,000US) million. The men’s and women’s champion receive Sh.10million each, with an extra Sh.5 million for a time of sub-2:05:30 (men) and sub-2:22:30 (women).

4. London Marathon.- The first London Marathon, held on 29 March 1981, finished on Constitution Hill between Green Park and Buckingham Palace.

According to World Marathon majors today, the race winner earns Sh.5.5 million with second place taking home Sh.3 million

There are also financial rewards for finishing under certain times, with these differing for men and women.

 5. Bank of America Chicago Marathon.- This coveted race is a showcase of some of the top marathoners.

The prize money for winning the 2015 race was Sh.10 million, plus Sh.7.5 million if you set a course record and time bonuses (non-cumulative) of Sh.5.5 and below according to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon official website

6. The Berlin Marathon.- The race was founded in 1974 by a Berlin baker, Horst Milde, who combined his passion for running with a family bread and cake business

According to the Berlin Marathon official website, the prize money is as follows;

26.45 million-plus bonuses in 2018. Expected to be similar in 2019.

First place male: 4.6 million (10 deep) in 2018

First place female: 4.6 million (10 deep) in 2018

Bonuses of Sh.5million. Time bonuses available for 1st and 2nd places only Sh.3 million for first place sub-2:04:00 men, sub-2:19:00 women.

7. Seoul International Marathon.- Celebrating its 85th year running, the Seoul Marathon in South Korea is one of the most prestigious races.

The champion male and female finishers get to bring home Sh.8 million provided that they finish under 2:10:00 and 2:24:00 respectively Sh.4 million if they do not meet the target time) according to World Marathons.

According to the Seoul International Marathon, the world record bonuses are Sh.5million for men and Sh.3 million for women.

There is also a time bonus of Sh. million for sub-2:04:00 (male) and sub-2:18:00 (female); and other time bonuses amounting down to Sh. 500000

8. Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon.- Since the launch of the Marathon in 2003, only one winner has successfully defended their title. Every year the marathon produces new winners.

This year, the organizers increased the cash award for the 42km race prize money from Sh.1.5 million to Sh2million, according to the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon official website.

The half marathon price has also been increased to Sh300, 000 while the 10km race will see a cash award of Sh200, 000.

Gidey smashes 15km world best at Zevenheuvelenloop (Seven Hills Run)

Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey smashed the world best for 15km at the Zevenheuvelenloop (Seven Hills Run) in Nijmegen, Netherlands, on Sunday (17).

Gidey, this year's World Championships 10,000m silver medallist, clocked 44:21, more than a minute better than the previous world best of 45:37 Joyciline Jepkosgei set in Prague two years ago en route to her first world record in the half marathon.

Covering the first five kilometres in a quick 15:09, the 21-year-old upped the pace over the next five kilometres, closing that stretch with a stunning 2:44 10th kilometre, to reach the 10km point in a remarkable 29:44. She slowed over the next two kilometres but shifted gears again in the waning stages, closing with kilometre splits of 2:49, 2:52 and 2:50. Her covered the last 10km in a stunning 29:12, the fastest 10-kilometre stretch ever produced under any conditions.

"I felt I was in good form in preparation for the (race) and my legs felt good all through the race," said Gidey, who rose to prominence in the U20 ranks after taking back-to-back world U20 cross country titles in 2015 and 2017. "I was quite surprised to see how much time I was able to get off the previous world (best) to be honest but I had great legs and it was a really nice race."

Stephen Kissa of Uganda won the men's race in 41:49 to become the seventh fastest ever over the distance.

Lonyangata and Melese regain Shanghai Marathon titles in the heat

Thirty-eight thousand runners from 85 countries and regions beat the heat to challenge their physical limits as the 2019 Shanghai International Marathon began at 7am on Sunday from the Bund.

About 25,000 took part in the marathon, while 6,000 were featured in the 10km race and another 7,000 in the 5.5km run. Kenya’s Paul Lonyangata and Yebrgual Melese of Ethiopia took the men’s and women’s title at the Shanghai International Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label road race, on Sunday (17).

The 26-year-old Lonyangata broke clear before 35km and led alone the rest of the way to hit home with a clocking of 2:28:11, 57 seconds shy of the 2:07:14 course record he set in the Chinese city in 2015.

“It has been five years since I run here last time,” Lonyangata said. “I noticed nobody had broke my course record so I came back to break it myself. But the weather was much hotter than five years ago.” 

The temperature was around 15c degrees when the race started but rose quickly. When the men’s leaders reached 20km 1:00:12, it was already near 20c (69F) degrees.

A group of 12 runners led the race to a fast pace in the early stages, reaching 5km in 14:57 and 10km in 29:58. When the leaders passed the 15km mark in 45:01 they were already 47 seconds ahead of the course record, and by 20km they were still six seconds ahead. 

But the pace slowed after 20km and when the last pace maker left the seven-runner leading pack, the leaders were 43 seconds behind the record time.

“I think the pacers stopped too early. One of the two pacers stopped after 11 kilometres and the other left by 25km. Because of the weather and the pace maker, I did not break the course record,” said Lonyangata, who decided to control the race with his own pace after 30km and pulled clear by 35 km before breaking the tape in style to celebrate his first marathon victory of the year.

Hassan El Abbassi of Bahrain, who set the Asian record of 2:04:43 last year in Valencia, finished second in 2:08:58, followed by Lmenih Getachew of Ethiopia with a clocking of 2:09:14.

Defending champion Yebrgual Melese also managed to confirm her favourite status in the women’s race although the wining time of 2:23:19 is more than two minutes slower than the 2:20:36 course record she achieved 12 months ago.

As the fastest entrant in the field with a personal best of 2:19:36 set last year in Dubai, the 29-year-old Melese was among a six-athlete leading group in the first half of the race. When she arrived at the 25km water stations in 1:24:12, only countrywoman Waganesh Mekasha managed to keep up with the chasers trailing 16 seconds behind.

After another four kilometres, the 27-year-old Mekasha began to fade gradually. Melese was leading by 14 seconds at 30km and kept widening the gap until wrapping up her fourth title over the classic distance.

Mekasha, a 2:22:45 performer, finish second in 2:25:37 while Ethiopia’s Obse Abdeta, 19, finished third in 2:27:47 in her marathon debut. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

At least US$2.5million in extra revenue will be made available for a comprehensive integrity programme for road running in 2020, under a new funding scheme announced by World Athletics and the Athletics Integrity Unit

World Athletics has today announced a schedule of more than 165 Label road events that will be held in 2020, including the first Platinum Label races.

Each race will contribute to the system approved by the World Athletics Council this year, by which the financial burden for out-of-competition drug testing is shared by all road race stakeholders – organisers, athlete managers and athletes.

Races will contribute according to their status: Platinum marathons $66,667, Gold marathons $15,000, Silver marathons $10,000 and Bronze marathons $5,000; Platinum road races $20,000, Gold road races $10,000, Silver road races $5,000 and bronze road races $2,500.

The list of Label events that will take place from January to September 2020 was released today. More races will be added when their race dates are confirmed. 

Their contributions, together with the fees managers pay for their athletes included in the testing pool – $500 for Gold status athletes and $1000 for Platinum – and the 1.5% levy on prize money that athletes agreed to contribute, make up the bulk of the fund. In all, that means some US$2.6 to 3.2 million in funding will be available in 2020. The programme, which includes out-of-competition testing, investigation and education, will be carried out by the Athletics Integrity Unit.

The list of Gold and Platinum status athletes for 2020, determined by their position in the world rankings, was also released today.

“This is a brilliant example of our key stakeholders coming together to protect the integrity of our sport,’’ World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon said. “I would like to thank our athletes, race directors and athlete managers for supporting this important scheme, which will greatly enhance the Athletics Integrity Unit’s efforts to ensure that all leading road runners are subject to a comprehensive anti-doping programme.’’

Under the previous system, the AIU and IAAF had funding to test just the first 50 athletes (the marathon and half marathon athletes) in the testing pool, which left an alarming shortfall in out-of-competition testing of athletes who compete on the rapidly expanding and increasingly lucrative road running circuit. World Athletics granted 103 races label status in 2017. That number grew to 114 in 2018 and 136 in 2019.

David Howman, Chairman of the Athletics Integrity Unit, said: “This is a great reflection on the commitment to integrity of the road running industry. It is encouraging that so many races, athletes and managers have signed up to make tangible financial contribution to address the challenges in a proactive manner. 

“With this new funding we will be able to put together a comprehensive integrity programme that will ensure that a level playing field can be enjoyed by all road runners. We are in advance stage of planning its implementation and this will begin with extensive education sessions this December in Ethiopia and Kenya, where a vast majority of the Platinum and Gold Label athletes are based.”

Platinum Label to debut in 2020.- The new Platinum Label races, first announced in 2018, will be introduced in 2020. Nine races have been granted Platinum status thus far, with up to three more late season races to be confirmed early next year.

Platinum Label races are required to have at least three athletes with Platinum Status, per gender, and at least four athletes with Gold Status (or higher) start the race and compete with a bonafide effort. (2020 Label Road Race regulations).

The number of Platinum Status athletes for 2020 will be fixed at 30 per gender and determined in a two-phase process. The first, based on positions in the world rankings on 15 October 2019, will include the top 19 ranked athletes in the 'marathon' event group, the top three ranked athletes in the 'road running' event group (excluding any athletes who acquired Platinum Status in the 'marathon' group) and the top ranked athlete in the '10,000m' event group (excluding any athletes who acquired Platinum Status in the 'marathon' and 'road running' event groups).

The second phase will add seven more athletes, per gender, based on positions in the world rankings on 28 January 2020: the top four ranked athletes in the 'marathon' group, the top two in the 'road running' group and the top one in the 10,000m event group who had not yet achieved Platinum Status.

World Athletics Platinum Label events, Tokyo Marathon, Nagoya Women’s Marathon, Seoul Marathon, BAA Boston Marathon, Virgin Money London Marathon, Media Maratón de Bogotá, BMW Berlin MarathonBank of America Chicago MarathonTCS New York City Marathon

Course record-holders Yebrgual Melese and Paul Lonyangata, will return to the Shangai Marathon this weekend

Ethiopia’s Melese won comfortably last year, taking more than a minute off the course record with 2:20:36.

A past winner of the Houston and Prague marathons, Melese set a PB of 2:19:36 when finishing third in Dubai last year, but her form in 2019 hasn’t been quite so good. The 29-year-old finished 11th in Tokyo in March in 2:31:40 but last month clocked a promising 1:09:02 at the Lisbon Half Marathon.

Fellow Ethiopian Waganesh Mekasha is another title contender. The 27-year-old reduced her PB by more than three minutes to finish fourth in Dubai in January in 2:22:45 and went on to clock 2:23:19 at the Yellow River Estuary International Marathon in Dongying seven months ago.

The Ethiopian contingent also includes Fantu Jimma, a 32-year-old with a PB of 2:26:14 set four years ago in Xiamen. It will be Jimma’s fourth marathon of the year, having won in Wuhan in 2:28:25 and finished third in Xiamen and Lanzhou. She was also victorious at the Changzhou West Taihu Lake Half Marathon last month.

Lonyangata is among the main favorites in the men’s race. The 26-year-old Kenyan set his PB of 2:06:10 when winning the 2017 Paris Marathon, the first of two victories in the French capital. He set the Shanghai course record of 2:07:14 in 2015 and has a season’s best of 2:07:29, set when finishing third in Paris.

Bahrain’s Hassan El Abbassi is another top contender. The 35-year-old, who set his marathon PB of 2:04:43 in Valencia last year, is the 2014 Asian Games 10,000m champion and 2018 Asian Games marathon silver medalist. More recently he finished seventh in the marathon at the World Championships in Doha in 2:11:44 but is still in pursuit of his first international marathon title.

Kipsang Kipkemoi will compete in China for the first time in his career. The 29-year-old Kenyan clocked his PB of 2:08:26 in Seville in 2017 and came close to that in April when he finished second in Madrid with 2:08:58. Sunday’s race will be his fourth marathon of the year as he has also competed in Mumbai and Cape Town but didn’t better 2:10 on either occasion.

Other sub-2:10 runners in the field include Kenya’s 2011 world silver medalist Vincent Kipruto and Ernest Ngeno, a 2:06:41 performer who finished second in Shanghai two years ago.

All eyes will turn to the Following crowning of Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon winners Lelisa Desisa and Ruth Chepngetich as Marathon Runners of the Year

The 2019 ‘Best Marathon Runner’ award was made to both Desisa and Chepngetich by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) at the end of a year that saw them both add Marathon World Championship titles to their already impressive CVs.

But it was on the flat and fast streets of Dubai that Desisa of Ethiopia and Kenya’s rising star Chepngetich first made their marks in the record books - just two of a growing number of world-class distance runners to launch their careers in the emirate.

Making his marathon debut in Dubai in 2013, Desisa won in 2.04.45, while in January 2019 the diminutive Chepngetich produced one of the best women’s performances of all time as she stormed to victory in 2:17:08, now the fourth fastest in history.

"Over the past ten years or so, the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon has consistently produced race winning times that rival and often exceed the Marathon Majors," said Event Director Peter Connerton.

"The city is now firmly recognised as hosting one of the fastest routes in world athletics. Established elite athletes as well as up-and-coming runners are always keen to take part in what is the first major event of the new year. With the benign weather conditions, excellent road surfaces and a flat course, the athletes know they can target a personal best and even a new course record in Dubai."

While the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon has been held in various parts of the city - with race routes that have included both the Sheikh Zayed Road and Downtown Dubai - in recent years the race has settled on a home stretching out along the city’s Jumeirah Beach Road in the west with a finish in the shadow of the seven-star Burj Al Arab Hotel.

Held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, the 2020 event is expected to see more than 30,000 runners sign up to take part.

The race - the 21st in the event’s history - will again see the runners compete in the same location with competitors spread across three races, namely a 4km Fun Run, the hugely-popular 10km and the traditional Marathon distance itself.

KURGAT AND BAYARTSOGT VICTORIOUS AT NANJING MARATHON

Kenya’s Joseph Moses Kiptoo Kurgat and Munkhzaya Bayartsogt of Mongolia took the top honours at the fifth edition of Nanjing Marathon, an IAAF Bronze Label road race, on Sunday (10).

The 28-year-old Kurgat emerged victorious from a two-man duel in the last 10 kilometres to set a personal best of 2:13:04, stretching Kenya’s win streak in the men’s race to three years.

It is the first win of the year taken for the China-based Kurgat, who collected three marathon titles last year in the Chinese cities of Heyuan, Youyu, and Wuyuan respectively.

Fellow Kenyan David Kipkoech finished second once again, following his runner-up finish in Liupanshui four months ago. His 2:13:53 clocking is nearly two minutes faster than his previous PB of 2:15:47 achieved last year in Nairobi.

Alphonce Kibiwott took third in 2:15:30. The 26-year-old was also from Kenya with a clocking of 2:09:49 set at Rennes Marathon in 2016.

In the women’s race, Bayartsogt was even more dominant.

The 26-year-old grabbed the lead soon after the start and never encountered a serious threat throughout the race.

Although the Mongolian’s pace slowed in the final stages, the past winner at the Taipei, Gunsan and Ulaanbaatar marathons reached the finish in 2:35:40 for a 32-second victory.

Roman Mengistu of Ethiopia, winner of 2017 Agadir Marathon in 2:28:20, clocked 2:36:12 to finish second, while her countrywoman Tesfaw Etalem clocked 2:47:46 to settle for the third place, the first podium finish for the 24-year-old.

DEBUTANTE ZERAY TAKES SURPRISE VICTORY IN HEFEI

Debutante Ftaw Zeray of Ethiopia took a surprise win in the women’s race at the Hefei International Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, on Sunday (10).

The 22-year-old Zeray, who set a half marathon career best of 1:10:31 in Marugame, Japan last February, broke clear after 35km and surprised a field that included eight sub-2:30 runners to cross the line in 2:29:15.

It was her second victory in China after her win at the Anhui Dangshan Half Marathon in 2016.

Running under sunny skies with temperature ranging from 15 to 20 degrees, Zeray was in the lead group of six that covered the first 10 kilometres in 34:59. The leaders were trimmed to five after 15km and later cut to just three runners after 30km.

Zeray and her compatriot Gebeyanesh Ayele along with Kenya’s Agnes Kiprop, a 39-year-old veteran who boasted the fastest personal best in the field with a 2:23:54 clocking from 2011, stayed together for another two kilometres when the seasoned Kenyan could no longer keep with the pace of the younger legs.

Zeray and the 24-year-old Ayele, a 2:26:54 performer, then ran side-by-side until Zeray pulled clear after 35km and never looked back.

Ayele clocked 2:31:08 to finish second, her third podium finish to date, while Kiprop settled for third in 2:32:08.

In the men’s race, Ethiopian Yihunilign Adane celebrated his first marathon title since debuting over the classic distance in 2016, as the 23-year-old scored a 2:10:06 victory in the capital city of China’s Anhui Province.

The rising Ethiopian, who set a PB of 2:09:11 from a third finish in Beppu nine months ago, gained a hard-fought sole lead after 38km en route to a 52-second victory.

Mohamed Reda El Aaraby of Morocco, who will turn 30 on Tuesday, finished second in 2:10:58. Kenya’s Julius Tuwei, the fastest entrant with a 2:08:06 PB, trailed two seconds further behind to finish third.

The race saw a crowded leading group soon after the gun, before Chinese runner Liu Hongliang took the lead after 5km. The 2:15:22 performer was 13 seconds ahead at 10km in 30:25 but was gradually reeled in by the chasers and finally swallowed up by the pack near the 15km mark.

Ethiopia’s Abdela Godana then tried to push ahead in the next few kilometres, cutting the lead group to just four runners by 21km.

Tuwei seemed to lose his energy and began to drift back at 30km (1:32:19). But the Kenyan managed to fight back and caught the leaders before 35km, while the charges earlier seemed to cost too much from Godana as the 27-year-old faded away and out of the hunt.

After a series of unsuccessful mini-breaks from the leading trio, Adane finally pulled clear after 38km and went on to wrap-up the victory comfortably.

El Aaraby, the 10,000m gold medalist at the World Military Games in Wuhan two weeks ago, surpassed Tuwei in the home stretch to finish second.

World Champions Lelisa Desisa and Ruth Chepngetich named Marathon Runners of the Year by the AIMS

This year’s World Marathon Champions Lelisa Desisa and Ruth Chepngetich are the Marathon Runners of the Year. The runners from Ethiopia and Kenya respectively were honored at the AIMS Best Marathon Runner (BMR) Gala in Athens tonight. The Gala, which was shown live on Greek TV, was staged by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) and the Hellenic Athletics Federation, SEGAS. On Sunday the 37th edition of the "The Athens Marathon. The Authentic" will take place on the original course with a record field of 20,000 runners.

Three further distinctions were awarded by AIMS on Friday evening in Athens: the French journalist Alain Lunzenfichter, for a long time a reporter with the sports newspaper L’Équipe, received the AIMS Lifetime Achievement Award. The AIMS Green Award went to the Xiamen Marathon in China and the Harmony Geneva Marathon for UNICEF received the AIMS Social Award.

Two outstanding personalities in the sport of marathon running were also honored at the Gala on Friday evening: Britain’s Ron Hill and Stefano Baldini of Italy. Hill won the 1969 European title on the Athens course and Baldini took the Olympic title here in 2004. 15 years after his Olympic triumph, the Italian will be running the Athens Marathon once again. “I hope I can enjoy the race since Athens is a very special place for me,” said Stefano Baldini.

“We are honored to have the best marathon runners in the world here in Athens, where the marathon as well as the Olympic Games of the modern era began, and honor them at the Gala,” explained the president of the Hellenic Athletics Federation (SEGAS) Kostas Panagopoulos. The AIMS president, Paco Borao from Spain, spoke in referring to both winners: “No-one will be in any doubt that these two World champions, who won in extreme weather conditions in Doha, deserve to be the Best Marathon Runners.”

Lelisa Desisa is the first Ethiopian to have received this award which was first made in 2013. The most recent recipient was Kenya’s Olympic champion and world record holder Eliud Kipchoge who was awarded the prize for the last four years in succession. During the relevant period for the AIMS Best Marathon Runner, Lelisa Desisa won the New York Marathon in November 2018, running an impressive 2:05:59 on the difficult course. After a second place in Boston in April the 29-year-old Ethiopian won the World Championships marathon gold in Doha, Qatar a month ago. “The Olympic marathon in 2020 is my dream,” said Lelisa Desisa. “I want to follow in the footsteps of Abebe Bikila and win the gold. I hope I can inspire a new generation of young athletes by my success.”

Ruth Chepngetich established herself among the world’s best marathon runners with two outstanding victories: First she took the Istanbul Marathon in November 2018 with 2:18:35 then became the third fastest woman ever at that time when she won in Dubai in January with 2:17:08. At the end of September the 25 year-old took the World Championship title in Doha in extreme weather conditions. “It is a great honor to receive this award in Athens, where the marathon was born. This is a lifetime event in my career,” said Ruth Chepngetich. Asked about the world record, which was recently lowered to 2:14:04 by fellow-Kenyan Brigid Kosgei the BMR winner said: "I believe it is possible for me too to break the world record if I train accordingly.”

Among the distinguished international guests from Sport, Politics and Culture at the Gala on Friday evening in Athens was Greece’s Minister for Development and Investment, Adonis Georgiadis. “I ran the marathon myself last year and have to say, it was a once in a lifetime experience. I recommend everyone to run this race. The Athens Marathon stands for fun, happiness and energy,” added the Minister.

Beijing marathon champion Mathew Kisorio to defend title in 2020, has no Olympics plans

With no hope of making the Kenyan team to the Tokyo Olympic Games, Beijing marathon champion Mathew Kisorio has already planned his new season.

The 30-year-old says he will certainly be returning to the Chinese capital to defend his title in 2020 after his debut show on Nov. 3 saw him clinch the gold. He also has no intention to throw his hat in the ring to make the elusive Kenyan marathon team for the Olympics.

Kisorio says he was humbled by the Chinese reception and running culture and will not think twice if invited to fend off new pretenders seeking his treasured trophy. "Of course I loved the weather in China and I expect to come to Beijing again next year," said Kisorio on Tuesday. "The Olympics are not on my plans, but defending my crown in Beijing is something that I am dreaming of already."

It was the third road race for Kisorio in China after his debut at the Yangzhou Half Marathon in 2015, where he finished tenth clocking 60:58. He made the full marathon distance a year later in 2016 at the Dongying marathon, where he finished ninth clocking 2:14:13.

Beijing marathon remains the only race Kisorio has won in 2019 after an injury prevented him from finishing the Mexico City marathon back in August.

With a 2:04:53 personal best time from Valencia last year, Kisorio clocked a new course record in Beijing cutting off ten seconds off Ethiopia's Tadese Tola 2:07:06 mark, which he had set in 2003.

Last year, Kisorio was second at Paris marathon, third in Mexico City and Valencia before a foot injury slowed him down early this season. His other marathon victory was in Daegu, South Korea back in 2017.

Unknown Ethiopian Girma Bekele Gebre did not start with the elite runners at NYC Marathon on Sunday, but took third place

An unsponsored Ethiopian from the open field took third place. Girma Bekele Gebre did not start with the elite runners, but still placed. 

After the race, Gebre looked somewhat bewildered standing there next to two of the most decorated distance runners in the world. He has no agent, flew to New York from Ethiopia a few days before the race and stayed with a friend in the Bronx. He won $40,000. 

“I started back in the second group, and just ran really fast to catch up,” he said through an interpreter. “I love running in New York. When the crowds were cheering for me, I felt really special joy.” 

Gebre had been living in New York, but returned to Ethiopia in the spring when one of his brothers died while working on their farm.

First time marathoner Debeko Dakamo Dasa won the very tough Soweto Marathon

Debeko Dakamo Dasa, from Ethiopian won the Soweto Marathon as a debutant.  

The marathon is very tough and many local runners are advised to never make it their first marathon lest they get dissuaded from pursuing the event.

That advice does not apply to east Africans though, and Dasa proved this yesterday by cantering to victory.

His victory ensured that Ethiopia’s dominance of the Soweto Marathon continued unabated as he followed in the footsteps of three-time champion Sintayeho Legese, who did not run this year.

Dasa clocked two hours, 18 minutes and 35 seconds to beat Kenya’s David Maru (2:18.48), who had run him close for most of the race as they ensured that South Africa continues to search for that elusive success in the race last won by a local back in 2011.

“I am happy with my first win in the marathon. I would like to come back next year to defend my title. I had no idea about the race. It was very hot and it had too many hills,” Dasa said.

The best South African man in the marathon was Ntshindiso Mphakathi who came home in eighth place in 2:19.45.

It was the third time Mphakathi finished as the best local in the race as he also did so back in 2015 and 2017.

The day, however, belonged to Ethiopian marathon debutant Dasa and there can be no denying this victory in the tough Soweto Marathon will set him up for success in the more renowned but much easier marathons in the world.

Kenyan Daniel Kipkore Kibet on Sunday won the 41st Istanbul Marathon men's title breaking the course record

Ethiopian athlete Hirut Tibebu bagged the women's title in the run.

Kibet finished the transcontinental race in 2:9:44. Ethiopian athlete Yitayal Atnafu Zerihun came second at 2:9:57 and Kenyan Peter Kwemoi Ndorobo third at 2:10:9.

Tibebu won the women's title finishing at 2:23:40 with Ethiopian athlete Tigist Abayechew trailing at 2:24:15. Kenyan Maurine Chepkemoi came third at 2:24:16.

Turkish athletes Polat Kemboi Arikan came sixth at 2:12:57 in the men’s title and Busra Nur Koku came eighth in the women’s title.

A total of 63 elite athletes joined the Vodafone 41st Istanbul Marathon, which started at 06:00GMT from Istanbul's Asian side and ended in the European part of the city. The motto of the 2019 marathon is "Istanbul is yours. Don’t stop, run!"

The sports event has three categories, 42.2-kilometer (26.2-mile) marathon, 15-km run (9.3-mi), 8-km (4.9-mi) FunRun,  as well as a wheelchair competition.

In the 15-km run, Kenyan athlete Mathew Kimeli won the men’s title, while the women's title was bagged by Ethiopia's Tsigie Gebreselama.

Some 37,000 runners from 106 countries competed in the marathon, with 100,000 people attending the 8-km FunRun.

Wife of Paraguay's ambassador to Turkey Ceferino Adrian Valdez Peralta also joined the 15-km race.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency after the run, Celestina Diaz de Valdez said that it was her first time at the Istanbul Marathon and it was a "wonderful" feeling to cross to Europe from Asia.

She recalled that she previously joined the races in many countries such as Paraguay, Korea, US and South Africa, adding that she also plans to take part in next year's Istanbul marathon.

Valdez was the first woman who competed in Istanbul's race from Paraguay.

Kiprotich Kirui and Mamitu Daska Molisa from Kenya, were the winners at the Guadalajara Marathon

In the men's race first place went to the Kenyan Kiprotich Kirui, with a time of 2 hours 14 minutes and 08 seconds, surpassing the mark of 2:18:42 registered by Silas Cheboit, in 2018.

"The marathon race in Guadalajara is very beautiful, the weather was very good and we had a good time, I felt good," he shared as he crossed the finish line. Kiprotich Kirui was distancing himself from the elite group of athletes from kilometer 37, breaking a group that led the competition from the beginning, to finally contest the race hand in hand with his compatriot Benard Cheruiyot Sang, the latter was precisely who took the second place when stopping the stopwatch at 2:14:42.  While third place was Rodgers Ondati Gesabwa, who finished with a time of 2:14:57.

In the women's branch there was a very close race between the Ethiopian Mamitu Daska Molisa and the Kenyan Rebbeca Jepchichir Korir from the middle of the competition, it was finally Daska Molisa who was crowned at the end in an official time of 2:33:09, shattering the mark of the 2018 edition of 2:41:47 registered by fellow Zewdnesh Ayele Belachew.

“The race was very good, I liked it a lot, I feel happy for the first place. Guadalajara is a good place to run the marathon, it is my first time running in this city and although I had difficulties, I was able to overcome them," said Daska Molisa.

Sinead Diver proved again that age is no barrier as the 42-year-old finished fifth at the New York City Marathon

Proving again that age is no barrier to the distance or pace of elite marathon running, Sinead Diver finished a superb fifth best woman in the New York Marathon, her time of 2:26:23 equally rewarding over what is one of the toughest of all the big city courses.

Improving on her seventh place finish in the London Marathon back in April, Diver was also closing fast on the fourth-placed Nancy Kiprop from Kenya, finishing just two seconds behind, the top four women all from the East African nations that typically dominate the long distances. 

Although quietly insistent about not making a big deal about her age, now just four months shy of her 43rd birthday, Diver’s performance is among the most impressive in the now 49 years of the New York Marathon, especially given the mother of two, who still works full-time as a software developer, only took up running at 33.

Her best time remains the 2:24:11 she clocked in London just six months ago, although New York is rarely a place to run records of any sort. Still very much the Irish woman running for Australia - as Diver is happy and proud to put it - it’s also the best Irish performance in the race after Mark Carroll took sixth place in the men’s race in 2002.

With outright victory and the $100,000 top prize going to Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei in 2:22:38, just seven seconds shy of the course record and the second fastest women’s time ever run in New York, this was also one of the most competitive races in those 49 years.

Kenya’s four-time previous winner Mary Keitany was broken by Jepkosgei in the closing miles and ended up second in 2:23:33, with the top Ethiopian Ruti Aga, who won the Tokyo Marathon back in March, third in 2:25:51.

Unlike the other Marathon Majors, New York also doesn’t employ pacemakers, male or female, which also makes it a true run race. Diver actually put herself at the very front from just after the starting canon, setting the pace from the start on Staten Island and over the Verrazzano Bridge into Brooklyn.

Diver then endured a slight detour around the three-mile when directed to the wrong side of a course crash barrier, forcing her to duck under some race tap to escape, but she quickly regained her composure.

After the East African women pressed ahead before halfway, Diver held her own pace, passing halfway in 1:12:02, average out at 5:35-mile pace: the American Desiree Linden, former winner of the Boston Marathon, who also set the pace early on, was reeled in over the final miles and ended up sixth 2:26:46, still one of the fastest times by any American run in New York.

With around 52,500 starters, the biggest of the big city marathons, the testing course, winds through the Five Boroughs, before finishing up through the rolling hills of Central Park, rarely lets up and neither did Diver. 

“New York will be hilly and I prefer flat courses, but the experience of just racing for placing will be great practice leading into Tokyo,” she said beforehand, her 2:24:11 from London almost certain to get her on the start line for that Olympic marathon next summer, where she be will representing Australia, and the clearly now not unrealistic medal contender. 

New York will likely be her last marathon before the Olympics. Having missed out on Rio 2016 due to a knee injury caused by the cuboid bone in her foot, competing in Tokyo will be extra special for Diver.

Recently taking a small leave of absence from here full-time work as a software developer in order to prepare of for New York, she said: “If you feel good enough to do it then give it a go,” she says about racing so competitively at age 42. “Nobody else can tell you what your body is capable of. There is nothing to suggest that when you turn 40 you need to fall apart. It hasn’t happened for me and I feel fitter than I was ten years ago. If I can do it then I can’t see why other people can’t do it too.”

She’s come a long way from her native Belmullet in Mayo, then Limerick and now Melbourne, where she moved in 2002 with her Limerick-born husband Colin, now also home to their two sons young Eddie (nine) and Dara (six).

Just over a month ago she clocked an excellent 31:25:49 to finish 14th in the World Championships 10,000m in the searing heat of Doha, a world record for a woman over the age of 40. Her 2:24:11 in London improved by over a minute the 2:25:19 she ran to win the Melbourne Marathon in October 2018, that already the second fastest ever by an Irish woman, her London time now the third fastest by Australian standards.

Her remarkable running story (and unfortunate “switch” to Australia, after Athletics Ireland refused to select her for the 2015 World Championship marathon in Beijing) has been told before: within six months of winning Melbourne last year, Diver also improved her track times over 5,000m (15:23.65) and 10,000m (31:50.98), before running 1:08:55 for the half marathon in Japan in February, also the fastest ever time for a woman over the age of the 40. 

Geoffrey Kamworor made it a Kenyan double by winner the men’s race in 2:08:13, the best non-African finisher there being the American Jared Ward in sixth, in 2:10:45, making Diver the outright best non-African finisher on the day. Superb running by any standards.

KIMUTAI BREAKS COURSE RECORD IN HANGZHOU

Pre-race favourite Marius Kimutai lived up to expectations at the Hangzhou Marathon as he improved the course record by nearly half a minute at the IAAF Gold Label road race on Sunday (3).

The 26-year-old outraced Kenya’s Stanley Bett in the last kilometre of the race to become the first Bahraini winner in the 33-year history of the event, clocking 2:10:05.

It was Kimutai’s second victory in China this year, having won in Taiyuan in September with 2:09:43. It was also the sixth career marathon title for the 2:05:47 performer, following victories in Rotterdam, Danzhou, Ljubljana and Rennes since debuting over the distance in 2013.

The patient Kimutai bided his time in a crowded leading group in the early stages, passing 10km in 30:52 and 20km in 1:02:31.

The lead pack was cut to just five runners after the 30km mark and Bett waited for another five kilometres to make a move. Only Kimutai managed to keep up with Bett at 38km and the duo stayed together for three more kilometres before the in-form Bahraini pulled away at about 41km.

The 32-year-old Bett finish second with a personal best of 2:10:12, also finishing inside the course record of 2:10:33 set two years ago by Azmeraw Bekele of Ethiopia. Fellow Kenyan Douglas Kimeli, the runner-up in Hangzhou last year, finished third in 2:11:01, improving his PB by five seconds.

Agnes Jeruto Barsosio of Kenya also confirmed her favourite status in the women’s race, but in a more overwhelming way compared with Kimutai.

The 37-year-old, who owns a PB of 2:20:59 from the 2017 Paris Marathon, built up a comfortable lead soon after the gun and never met any real threat all the way to the finish.

Her winning mark of 2:25:20 was 10 seconds shy of the course record set by Ethiopia’s Hirut Tibebu last year.

Alice Jepkemboi Kimutai, winner of the 2018 Taiyuan Marathon and the 12th-place finisher in Hangzhou last year, clocked a lifetime best of 2:28:14 to take second place. Priscilla Chepatiy, winner of last year’s Wuxi Marathon, clocked 2:36:55 to complete a Kenyan podium sweep.

Course record broken at the Beijing Marathon

Kenya’s Mathew Kipkoech Kisorio broke away in the final 10 kilometres of the Beijing Marathon to rewrite the men’s course record at the IAAF Gold Label road race on Sunday (3).

The 30-year-old clocked 2:07:06 to earn his second victory over the classic distance, knocking 10 seconds off the course record set six years ago by Ethiopia’s 2013 world bronze medallist Tadese Tola.

“It is my first time to run in Beijing and I am very happy to win and to break the course record,” said Kisorio, who set his PB of 2:04:53 last year in Valencia. “The weather was fantastic. I expect to come to Beijing again next year.”

Starting under cloudy and drizzling skies with the temperature ranging from 7-10C, the race was fast from the outset. Four runners – Bazu Worku of Ethiopia, Kisorio and his compatriots Emmanuel Rutto and Solomon Kirwa Yego – led the race to 25km.

Worku, a three-time winner of the Houston Marathon, was the first to fade away after 28km, while 36-year-old Rutto quit the title contest after 30km. After another two kilometres, Kisorio broke away from Yego to move into a sole lead.

The 2017 Daegu Marathon winner was well on track to break the course record at 35km, reached in 1:45:10, and kept pushing ahead before hit the line in 2:07:06. Yego trailed by more than two minutes to finish second in 2:09:45. Rutto clocked 2:10:15 to finish third.

Ethiopia’s Sutume Asefa, 24, ran alone for most of the women’s race and scored her first marathon title in 2:23:31, trimming 29 seconds off her PB set in Dubai three years ago.

China’s Li Zhixuan, the sixth-place finisher in Beijing last year, took second place in 2:29:06. Pre-race favourite Mulu Seboka, the fastest entrant in the field with a PB of 2:21:56, finished third in 2:29:09.

“I am satisfied with second place but the time is kind of slower than I expected,” said the 25-year-old Li, who set a PB of 2:26:15 in Nagoya eight months ago.

The last time a Chinese runner managed to earn a podium finish in the country’s most prestigious road race was in 2014, when Gong Lihua finished third in the women’s race.

Peter Kmeli Some of Kenya and Bahrain’s Marius Kimutai will start as favorites at the Hangzhou Marathon on Sunday

Peter Kmeli Some of Kenya and Bahrain’s Marius Kimutai will start as favorites at the Hangzhou Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label road race, on Sunday.

The 29-year-old Some is the fastest entrant with a personal best of 2:05:38 set when winning the 2013 Paris Marathon. He came close to that mark last year when clocking 2:06:49 to finish third in Daegu. It will be Some’s second race in China following his 2:14:49 victory in Shenzhen two years ago.

Kimutai, 26, has also been triumphant in China. The 2:05:47 performer claimed the 2014 Danzhou Marathon title and more recently took the top honors at the Taiyuan International Marathon two months ago with a clocking of 2:09:43.

It will be Kimutai’s third race in China this year and his eyes may not be only set on the top podium but also on the course record of 2:10:33 achieved by Azmeraw Bekele of Ethiopia two years ago.

Kenya’s Sylvester Kimeli Teimet will be running his third straight race in Hangzhou after finishing fourth and fifth in the past two years. The 35-year-old set his lifetime best of 2:06:49 when winning in Seoul back in 2010 and has threatened the 2:10 barrier this season with a sixth-place finish at the Wuxi Marathon where he clocked 2:10:44.

The field also includes Evans Sambu of Kenya, who set his PB of 2:09:05 in 2017 and finished fourth last year in Hangzhou with 2:11:17, and Abraham Kiprotich of France.

Agnes Jeruto Barsosio of Kenya is the star attraction in the women’s race. The 37-year-old has earned podium finishes in eight consecutive marathons since October 2014, including recording a PB of 2:20:59 to finish second in Paris two years ago.

It will be Barsosio’s first race in Hangzhou but she has experience of running in China, including winning at the Guangzhou Marathon in 2014.

Barsosio’s compatriot Rael Kiyara Nguriatukei, 35, is another title contender. She set her PB of 2:25:23 when finishing fourth in Eindhoven in 2011 and has previously won marathons in Shanghai, Lanzhou, Chongqing, Luxembourg and, most recently, the Taipei Wan Jin Shi Marathon in last March.

Nastassia Ivanova of Belarus also has the credentials to make an impact, bringing a 2:27:24 lifetime best to the start line. The 36-year-old came close to her PB when clocking 2:27:49 to finish fifth at the European Championships in Berlin last year.

Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa is back in the Big Apple to chase more glory at the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday

The men’s race looks a wide-open affair, with Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa trying to complete a swift double over the distance, having taken gold in the marathon at the World Championships in Doha just four weeks ago.

The 29-year-old has a PB of 2:04:45 that dates back to 2013, and while that may not be world-beating in the current marathon climate, in races like this – with a hilly course and no pacemakers – Desisa is a formidable player. He clocked 2:05:59 to win here last year and in April he finished a close second at the Boston Marathon, just two seconds behind winner Lawrence Cherono.

“After Doha I tried to take recovery training,” said Desisa. “The marathon is not easy but I said I would see [how] my body [was] and if it’s okay. Winning New York before changed my life, changed my future. I don’t know what will happen but I will try my best.”

Geoffrey Kamworor (second photo), the 2017 champion, is also back and the Kenyan will be keen to go one better than his runner-up finish last year. He arrives off the back of a stunning preparation, having set the half marathon world record at 58:01 in Copenhagen back in September.

On Thursday he confirmed preparations went well at his base in Kaptagat, where he has been training alongside his close friend and mentor Eliud Kipchoge. “I did what I normally do to run a marathon,” he said. “I think I’m ready.”

Ethiopia’s Shura Kitata looks primed to eventually take victory at a Marathon Major, and this may present an ideal opportunity for the 23-year-old, who has a best of 2:04:49. Tamirat Tola is another who can’t be discounted, a fourth-place finisher here last year who finished sixth in London back in May, clocking 2:06:57. He clocked 59:13 for the half marathon to finish second behind Mo Farah at the Great North Run in September.

US athletes Abdi Abdirahman and Jared Ward lead the home contenders, while Germany’s Arne Gabius and Dutch athlete Michel Butter will lead the European charge. Training partners Brett Robinson and Jack Rayner will fly the flag for Australia.

Kenyan Felix Kimutai set a course record of 2:09:57 at the Istanbul Marathon last year, and this year he aims to retain Instanbul Marathon title

The 30-year-old won the Dongying Marathon earlier this year in 2:09:23, taking more than half a minute off his previous PB set when winning in Istanbul 12 months ago. But he may need to produce another lifetime best if he is to become the first back-to-back men’s winner since 2011.

Former track specialist Yitayal Atnafu of Ethiopia is the fastest in the field, having clocking 2:07:00 in Paris last year. The 26-year-old returned to the French capital earlier this year and recorded a season’s best of 2:08:31.

Based on this year’s times, Turkey’s Polat Kemboi Arikan leads the field. The two-time European 10,000m champion set a PB of 2:08:14 in Paris back in April, finishing just ahead of Atnafu, but earlier this month he withdrew from the marathon at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.

Aside from Kimutai, two other men in the field know what it’s like to triumph in Istanbul. 2016 winner Evans Kiplagat of Azerbaijan and 2015 champion Elias Chelimo – both sub-2:08 performers at their best – return to the Turkish city. Kiplagat also recently withdrew from the World Championships marathon, while Chelimo has a season’s best of 2:11:41, set in Hong Kong.

Fellow Kenyans Cosmas Birech, Joseph Aperumoi and Hillary Kipchumba all have PBs inside 2:09 and so have the ability to contend for a podium finish. And watch out for Bahrain’s Abdi Ali Gelchu and Ethiopia’s Musa Babo, who have been in PB form this year, clocking 2:09:44 and 2:09:55 respectively.

Three pacemakers will lead the field through 30km on schedule for a 2:09 finish, so it’s possible that Kimutai’s course record could fall on Sunday.

Visiline Jepkesho has the strongest credentials of the entrants in the women’s race. The 29-year-old has the fastest PB (2:21:37) and season’s best (2:22:58) and outside of major championships has finished in the top four in all of her marathons to date.

Former track specialist Yitayal Atnafu of Ethiopia is the fastest in the field, having clocking 2:07:00 in Paris last year. The 26-year-old returned to the French capital earlier this year and recorded a season’s best of 2:08:31.

Based on this year’s times, Turkey’s Polat Kemboi Arikan leads the field. The two-time European 10,000m champion set a PB of 2:08:14 in Paris back in April, finishing just ahead of Atnafu, but earlier this month he withdrew from the marathon at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.

Aside from Kimutai, two other men in the field know what it’s like to triumph in Istanbul. 2016 winner Evans Kiplagat of Azerbaijan and 2015 champion Elias Chelimo – both sub-2:08 performers at their best – return to the Turkish city. Kiplagat also recently withdrew from the World Championships marathon, while Chelimo has a season’s best of 2:11:41, set in Hong Kong.

Fellow Kenyans Cosmas Birech, Joseph Aperumoi and Hillary Kipchumba all have PBs inside 2:09 and so have the ability to contend for a podium finish. And watch out for Bahrain’s Abdi Ali Gelchu and Ethiopia’s Musa Babo, who have been in PB form this year, clocking 2:09:44 and 2:09:55 respectively.

Three pacemakers will lead the field through 30km on schedule for a 2:09 finish, so it’s possible that Kimutai’s course record could fall on Sunday.

Visiline Jepkesho has the strongest credentials of the entrants in the women’s race. The 29-year-old has the fastest PB (2:21:37) and season’s best (2:22:58) and outside of major championships has finished in the top four in all of her marathons to date.

But Jepkesho, who represented Kenya at the 2016 Olympics, contested the marathon at the World Championships just five weeks ago, finishing a respectable 15th in 2:46:38, so she may not be at her freshest on Sunday.

Merima Mohammed’s PB of 2:23:06 was set back in 2010, but the Bahraini runner is still highly competitive. She has a season’s best of 2:27:34 and won the Jilin Marathon in June.

Ethiopian duo Hirut Tibebu and Fatuma Sado are also expected to challenge. Tibebu finished second in Seoul in March, beating Mohammed and coming within 30 seconds of her PB with 2:24:05. Sado, meanwhile, is a 2:24:16 performer at her best and will be keen to improve on her third-place finish from Istanbul last year.

Three other women in the field head to Istanbul off the back of recent lifetime bests. Kenya’s Angela Tanui and Maurine Chepkemoi clocked respective PBs of 2:25:37 and 2:26:16 in Vienna seven months ago, while Ethiopia’s Sifan Melaku ran a PB of 2:26:46 in Seville in February.

The pacemaker in the women’s race will aim to put the leading athletes on schedule for a 2:21 finish.

Ethiopia’s Mekuant Ayenew returns to the Chinese capital aiming to regain the title he took three years ago at the Beijing Marathon

The 28-year-old Ayenew, who set his 2:09:00 PB at the 2017 Prague Marathon, clocked 2:11:09 to earn his first international marathon victory in 2016 at the most prestigious road running race in China, which was first launched in 1981.

It will be Ayenew’s third appearance in Beijing as he also finished seventh with 2:15:16 two years ago. His familiarity of the course, which starts at the landmark Ti’anmen Square and ends outside the Olympic Stadium, will be a big advantage for Ayenew. But retaining the title will not be an easy task as Ayenew will face a quality field that includes several sub 2:05 runners.

Fellow Ethiopian Endeshaw Negesse is the fastest man on paper with a personal best of 2:04:52 set in Dubai back in 2013. Negesse came close to that mark two years later when he won in Tokyo with 2:06:00, but his only race since then was a 17th-place finish in Dubai in 2:26:27.

Kenya’s Mathew Kipkoech Kisorio, meanwhile, is a serious title contender in Beijing. The 30-year-old improved his PB to 2:04:53 last year when he finished third in Valencia and clocked 2:06:36 to finish second at the Paris Marathon last April.

The men’s field also includes Bazu Worku of Ethiopia, a three-time winner of the Houston Marathon with a PB of 2:05:25, as well as Kenyan duo Evans Korir and Solomon Kirwa Yego, who both have sub-2:07 career-best times and both have broken 2:08 in 2019.

Mulu Seboka of Ethiopia is the fastest entrant in the women’s field. The 35-year-old owns a PB of 2:21:56, set in Dubai in 2015, and has won three straight races in China since 2018 with two victories in Dalian and one in Shenzhen. She clocked 2:27:19 in May to retain her title in Dalian.

Compatriots Sutume Asefa and Letebrhan Haylay are also among the favourites. With a best of 2:24:00, Asefa is the slightly quicker of the two women but is yet to win a marathon, while Haylay set a PB of 2:24:47 to break the course record at the Dongying Yellow River Marathon last year.

Kenya’s 2018 Daegu Marathon champion Janet Jelagat Rono, a 2:26:03 performer at her best, is another woman to watch.

Li Zhixuan is China’s best hope for the title on Sunday. The 25-year-old is the fastest Chinese woman this year as she clocked 2:26:15 in Nagoya in March, improving her PB by more than four minutes. She will be hoping to improve on her sixth-place finish from last year.

The last time Chinese runners took the top honours at Beijing Marathon dates back to 2013, when Zhang Yingying clocked 2:31:19 to extend China’s winning streak in the women’s race to 22 years.

Frankfurt Marathon champion Valary Aiyabei is targeting the women's only world record held by Mary Keitany of 2:17:01 during the 2020 season

Aiyabei, who is a former Beijing Marathon champion, has thrown her hat in the ring and is seeking to conquer any of the six World Marathon Majors (WMM) course in 2020 alongside making it to the Kenya team for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The 28-year-old ran the fifth-fastest women's marathon time in Frankfurt last Sunday after recording 2:19:10 to break the previous course record of 2:20:36 set by Ethiopia's Meskerem Assefa in 2018.

"I know I can run faster. I now target the women's record of Keitany, which was set two years ago in London. Then maybe I can start dreaming of challenging Brigid Kosgei's women's marathon record," Aiyabei said on Thursday in Nairobi after arriving from Frankfurt.

It has taken over a decade for Kosgei to break the women's all-time world record of 2:15:25 set by Paula Radcliffe in London back in 2003. Kosgei clocked 2:14:01 to break the 16-year-old mark.

"My plan is to break the record in any of the World Marathon Majors. I will plan with my coaches to see which race is convenient for me and my mission," Aiyabei added.

New York, Berlin, Tokyo, Chicago, Boston, and London races form the WRR series with the Olympics and World Championships being part of the circuit.

But Aiyabei hopes her performance in Frankfurt will open doors for her to secure a call to run in either Tokyo, Boston or London in April.

"That record can be broken. But it's rather safe to start with the women's only record and then push for Kosgei's mark later. It all depends on one's mental strength, psyche and how you train. I have a dream to lower Kosgei's record and I believe with God's blessings, it will come to pass," added Aiyabei.

Already Kosgei has called out on sponsors to fund her training to try and make history, similar way Olympic Champion Eliud Kipchoge did in Vienna with the INEOS 1:59 Challenge.

"I believe women can run below two hours and ten minutes," said Kosgei. "I can run faster than the time I set in Chicago."

That spirit has also given Aiyabei the belief she can control her own destiny and push herself to break the world record.

"Kosgei's feat was very inspiring and I have decided to emulate her and make another step in my career," she said.

Haji Adilo is the coach behind many of the world´s greatest runners

“This is very difficult work,” coach Haji Adilo says as we drive past an elderly woman toting a bundle of sticks on her back down Entoto Mountain in northern Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on a Thursday morning. “She’ll probably only get a few hundred birr for this.” Then he pulls out a 100 birr note (a little more than $3) from his pocket and hands it to her through the window of his black Toyota.

Four-and-a-half hours earlier, as the sun was just beginning to rise, we were driving up the same mountain for a training session. Adilo, 44, was monitoring a different kind of difficult work — often glorified in Ethiopia: marathon running. Entoto Mountain stands around 10,000 feet and overlooks Ethiopia’s burgeoning capital city. It’s the highest nearby reachable point to push athletes to their peak endurance and part of the schematic planning that Adilo oversees as coach of Ethiopia’s preeminent marathon training group.

When we arrive, Adilo greets his two brothers and assistant coaches, Kassim and Moges, and his 100-plus athletes, taking the time to shake everyone’s hand individually and kiss each of them on the cheek. He then orders a one-hour-and-40-minute endurance run for most athletes and an easy 45-minute jog for those about to head out to the Berlin Marathon. Among the latter group is Kenenisa Bekele, who would win that week, two seconds shy of world-record time. Lelisa Desisa leads another pack, and two weeks later, he’d become the world champion in Doha, Qatar. Now Desisa is looking to defend his New York City Marathon title this weekend — requiring quick-turnaround training arguably more innovative than Eliud Kipchoge’s recent feat of finishing a marathon in under two hours.

As the athletes head off in single-file lines, zigzagging their way through the eucalyptus forest, Haji, Kassim and Moges jog next to each other, looking to spot their athletes, observe their form, talk strategy and share a few jokes.

Countless stars from Ethiopia throughout the last few decades have trained under the tutelage of the Adilo family, who, as former athletes, understand the slog. Thus, the brothers are constantly talking to their athletes and consulting with each other to see how each individual is feeling physically and emotionally.

“Our philosophy is structured around the athletes maintaining interest and excitement in the training,” Adilo says. “So one day we might go to Entoto for endurance training, but then we may drop down to [lower-altitude] Sebeta for speed work.”

At the end of some training sessions, the coaches host an open forum, where the athletes and supporters — partners, siblings, etc. — can voice concerns and express feedback. The coaching magic occurs by taking each individual’s training progression, race date and mental, physical and emotional health into consideration, then producing workouts that upward of 90 people can do together: collectivism in an individual, often solitary, sport.

But extensive familial ties are more than a coaching style for the brothers — it is a way of life. Adilo was raised in an agrarian family with 13 siblings near Mount Chilalo in the Arsi province, famed for being the birthplace of many Ethiopian icons. He went on to win several international marathons, but his career was cut short due to injury. Now, at any given time, up to 17 extended family members reside in his sizable Addis Ababa home. And Moges lives five houses down.

Adilo has always incorporated attention to athletes’ entire well-being, from advising them about financial investments to sharing personal experiences. In 2006, he and Hussein Makke, of Elite Sports Marketing & Management, met through a mutual Ethiopian friend. From there, they began working together to develop the next great crop of Ethiopian distance runners. 

“What makes Haji such a good coach is his ability to read each athlete individually,” Makke says. “He’s very understanding and genuine.”

Steph Twell has set a new Scottish record for the marathon, eclipsing Liz McColgan's 1997 mark in Frankfurt

Steph Twell ran a PB of 2:26:40 to break the Scottish marathon record and achieve an Olympic qualifying mark at the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon on Sunday.

The women’s race was won by Kenya’s Valary Jemeli Aiyabei in a course record of 2:19:10, a time which moves her to 12th on the world all-time list, while the men’s title was claimed by Ethiopia’s Fikre Tefera in a close finish.

For Twell, her time to finish eighth puts her fifth on the UK all-time rankings in only her second ever marathon, behind Paula Radcliffe, Mara Yamauchi, Charlie Purdue and Veronique Marot.

It improves on the 2:30:11 she ran on her debut in Valencia last December and betters Liz McColgan’s 22-year-old Scottish record by 12 seconds.

Her fellow Briton Jenny Spink of Bristol & West took almost four minutes off her PB with 2:31:14, while Spink’s England team-mate Hayley Carruthers dropped out after 30km after suffering sickness and fainting.

Morocco's Othmane El Goumri wins the 40th Dublin Marathon

The 40th Dublin Marathon has been won by EI Goumri of Morocco.

He took the title in a new course record of 2:08:04 on Sunday. This compares to last year's win - set by Asefa Bekele from Ethiopia - of 2:13:23.

El Goumri ran a personal best of 2:08:20 at the 2019 Rabat Marathon, where he finished second.

Ireland's Stephen Scullion took second place, with a time of 2:12:01.

Patrick Monahan claimed the wheelchair title in 1:39:50. And Moth Gedefa took home the women's title in a time of 2:27:48.

A record 22,500 runners took part in the cross-city event. International elite runners competed against Ireland's top endurance athletes. Irish athletes also battled it out for national titles.

Meanwhile, 13 runners who have taken part in all 39 Dublin Marathons since the race began in 1979 completed their 40th this year.

This group included Mary Nolan Hickey from Wicklow - the only woman to have finished all of the marathons.

There were also rolling road closures around the city as a result, as well as some public transport diversions. Transport for Ireland (TFI) said its real-time information would not be in operation during the race.

Aidan Power is director of customer, brand and marketing at KBC. He said: "This year, the KBC Dublin Marathon is celebrating 40 years and we are honoured to be part of history in the making.

"Yes, a marathon is about running 26.2 miles, however, the Dublin Marathon represents so much more than that.

"It is about community spirit, bringing together runners, supporters, family members, volunteers and of course, fans, every October.

"In 1980, 2,100 took part in the first ever Dublin Marathon, this year, a record 22,500 runners will be at the startling line.

"As sponsor, we are immensely proud to be associated with such a special event and we would like to wish all of those running, the very best of luck."

Valary Jemeli Aiyabei smashed the 2:20 barrier at the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon on Sunday clocking 2:19:10

In a thrilling men’s race, Ethiopia’s Fikre Tefera broke clear from his compatriot Dawit Wolde to win by just two seconds in 2:07:08.

Just one week after Brigid Kosgei clocked a world record of 2:14:04 at the Chicago Marathon, spectators in Frankfurt wondered if another record was about to happen in the German city after Aiyabei went through 10km in 31:44, on schedule for a 2:13:54 finish.

The 28-year-old Kenyan was paced by her husband Kenneth Tarus until he had to drop out at 15km because of stomach problems, but Aiyabei continued in imposing style, going through halfway in 1:07:42.

Aiyabei’s pace slowed in the second half, but she continued to operate inside the required schedule to finish inside the course record of 2:20:36 set 12 months ago by one of her distant pursuers, Meskerem Assefa. Aiyabei eventually crossed the line in 2:19:10, improving the course record by 86 seconds.

“My aim was to break my personal best,” said Aiyabei, whose previous PB was 2:20:53. Despite her tremendously fast early pace, she hadn’t planned an attack on the world record. “Running alone isn’t easy. I had to struggle and grind it out.”

The chasing group, some way behind, comprised high class talent who were themselves on course for sub-2:20 much of the time. Ethiopia’s Megertu Kebede emerged to take second place in a PB of 2:21:10. Defending champion Meskerem Assefa finished third in 2:22:14 ahead of European 10,000m champion Lonah Salpeter of Israel, who came home in 2:23:11.

The leading group in the men’s field set off slower than intended and the prospect of a finishing time inside of 2:05 soon drifted out of reach. The 14-strong leading group went through halfway in 1:03:29 and were without pacemakers from 25km onwards. The fastest man in the field, Ethiopia’s Tsegaye Mekonnen, dropped out before 30km.

It was only at about 35km that the group started to break up. Mark Kiptoo, the Kenyan who set a world M40 best of 2:07:50 on this course last year, dropped off the pace and eventually finished sixth in 2:08:09. Four men pulled away: Kenya’s Martin Kosgey, Ethiopia’s Fikre Tefera and Dawit Wolde and Bahrain’s Aweke Yimer, the latter making his marathon debut.

The outcome was decided with fewer than 300 metres to run before they reached the red carpet in Frankfurt’s Festhalle. At that point the 21-year-old Fikre Tefera went clear and won in 2:07:08.

“I had hoped for a faster time but the pacemaker wasn’t fast enough, although the conditions were good,” said Fikre, who has a PB of 2:06:27. Wolde finished two seconds behind Fikre and two seconds ahead of Yimer in what was the closest finish ever in Frankfurt.

Adugna and Kipkoech were first across the finish line at the Marseille Cassis 20k in France

Olika Adugna of Ethiopia became the first runner in more than a decade to retain a Marseille Cassis 20km title, while Brillian Jepkorir Kipkoech prevailed for the first time in the challenging French race on Sunday (27).

A group of eight runners – Shadrack Korir Kipyegon, who entered the race at last minute, Joseph Koech, Gilbert Korir, Gerald Vincent, Dennis Rutoh, Josphat Kiprono Menjo, Adugna and his compatriot Yasin Haji – went through 5km in 15:09.

The leading pack then tackled the first slopes of the tough 327-metre climb up to the Col de la Gineste. Adugna changed gears on the steepest slopes of the Col de la Gineste, breaking the field and building a small lead from the first chasers to hit the summit 10km into the race in 32:15, 11 seconds ahead of Kipyegon and 12 seconds ahead of Haji.

Adugna covered the next five kilometres – mainly downhill – in 14:26 to reach the 15km checkpoint in 46:41, nine seconds ahead of Haji. Kipyegon started to fade and was now 23 seconds adrift the leader.

Adugna held on to capture his second win at this race in 1:01:10, 41 seconds slower than last year.

Haji was eventually forced to withdraw in the waning stages. Menjo, who was fourth at 10km, finished strongly to place second in 1:01:50 as Korir Kipyegon rounded the podium in 1:02:13.

In the women’s race, a trio of Kenyans –Brillian Jepkorir Kipkoech, Lucy Macharia and Lydia Nialaka Simiyu – separated themselves from the gun and hit 5km in 16:49, 37 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

As expected, pre-race favourite Jepkorir ratcheted up the pace in the Col de la Gineste and reached the summit and the 10km mark in 35:52, almost one minute ahead of Simiyu and 1:04 ahead of Macharia. The gap continued to grow over the next kilometres.

Jepkorir Kipkoech, who improved her half marathon PB to 1:07:12 one month ago, didn’t fade in the closing stages to seal the win in 1:07:54, 2:23 ahead of Simiyu and 2:42 ahead of Macharia.

Senbere Teferi breaks Ethiopian half marathon record in Valencia clocking 1:05:32

Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi and world indoor 3000m champion Yomif Kejelcha were victorious at the Medio Maratón Valencia Trinidad Alfonso EDP on Sunday (27), winning in 1:05:32 and 59:05 respectively at the IAAF Gold Label road race.

At yesterday’s technical meeting, pre-race favourite Sifan Hassan was cautious on her chances of breaking the world record. “I don’t know how my body has recovered from the Doha efforts,” said Hassan, who won the 1500m and 10,000m at the recent World Championships.

But right from the start, perfectly paced by compatriot Roy Hoornweg and Morocco’s Yakoub Labquira, Hassan seemed determined to chase the record as she went through the opening 5km in 15:19 with only Teferi and Kenya’s Joan Chelimo for company as the women-only record holder and world half marathon champion Netsanet Gudeta ran eight seconds in arrears.

With exactly 22:15 on the clock, Hassan tripped and fell hard, losing ground on the leaders. Even though the pacemakers didn’t seem to notice her fall, the European record-holder soon re-joined the lead group.

The lead trio reached 10km in 30:43 – still inside world record pace – with Teferi and Chelimo heading the race while Hassan trailed by four seconds, likely hampered by her fall.

Although Hoornweg remained pacing Hassan throughout, Teferi and Chelimo’s leading margin increased to 16 seconds by the 15km checkpoint, which the lead duo reached in 46:16.

Chelimo began to fade shortly afterwards and Teferi went on to win by a clear margin. The 24-year-old reached the finish in 1:05:32, taking 13 seconds off the Ethiopian record she had set in Ras Al Khaimah earlier this year. Hassan, who overtook Chelimo just before 20km, finished second in 1:05:53 with Chelimo finishing third in 1:06:09.

“I’m really satisfied with my performance,” said Teferi, the 2015 world 5000m silver medallist. “In addition to winning the race, I managed to improve my PB so I can’t ask for more.”

On a perfect day for road running (a slight wind and 12C), the men’s race opened according to plan with the main pack passing the opening 5km in 13:55. By the 10th kilometre, the pace had dropped slightly as the leading pack went through that checkpoint in 27:56. By then, only the Ethiopian duo of Jemal Yimer and Kejelcha plus the Kenyan quartet of Benard Ngeno, Albert Kangogo, Leonard Barsoton and Geoffrey Koech remained with winning chances.

Once the pacemakers had dropped out, the leading quintet of Ngeno, Kejelcha, Yimer, Barsoton and Koech passed 15km in 42:09, indicating the course record of 58:18 would remain intact.

Once Koech lost ground, Kejelcha, Yimer, Ngeno and Barsoton fought hard for the victory in the closing stages after passing 20km in 56:15. Kejelcha unleashed a significant change of pace with about 700 metres to go and went on to cross the finish line in 59:05.

Ngeno was runner-up in a lifetime best of 59:07 while Yimer completed the podium after a thrilling sprint finish with Barsoton, both being credited in 59:09, a PB for the Kenyan.

Kenyans Andrew Ben Kimutai and Cynthia Cherop are the favorites in Venice

Kenyan Andrew Ben Kimutai starts as the fastest runner in the men’s field at the 34th edition of the Hauwei Venice Marathon, an IAAF Bronze Label road race on Sunday (27). The 30-year-old, who set his 2:08:32 personal best at the Seville Marathon in 2018, won this year's Wuhan Marathon in China in 2:10:06.

Kimutai will take on compatriot Geoffrey Yegon, who finished second at the Rome Ostia Half Marathon in 1:00:23 and has four sub-one hour half marathon runs to his credit. He clocked 59:56 at the Prague Half Marathon in 2018 and has a career best of 59:44 from 2016.

The men’s line-up also features Moses Mengich of Kenya, who was second at the Treviso Marathon in 2019 and Ethiopians Asefa Habtamu (2:08:32 in Dubai 2013) and Tsegaye Hiluf (PB 2:12:30 in Barcelona 2018).

The top Italian runner is Ahmed Nasef, who won the national marathon titles in 2016 and 2017.

The favorite in the women’s race is Kenya’s Cynthia Cherop, who clocked 2:25:55 on a slightly downhill course at the Los Angeles Marathon in March and finished runner-up at the Gothenburg Half Marathon setting her PB with 1:08:26 in May.

She'll face compatriots Judith Korir, winner at the Belgrade Marathon this year, and Jackline Autonyang, who will make her debut over the distance.

More than 13,000 runners are expected to take part in the Venice Marathon and the popular 10km mass race.

Olika Adugna of Ethiopia will be aiming to defend his title at the 41st edition of Marseille Cassis 20km

It’s been 12 years since Wilson Chebet retained his title in the race, the last runner to do so. Last year the 20-year-old Adugna defeated Amera Kuma following a fierce sprint. But Adugna, who clocked a half marathon PB of 1:01:43 one year ago, has a season’s best of just 1:04:23 from August, so doesn’t seem to his in his best shape.

One of Adugna’s rivals will be Vincent Gerald of Kenya, who also knows the challenging course along the French Mediterranean coastline. He rounded out the podium last year in 1:00:33, just four seconds behind Adugna.

Yasin Haji, who’ll be making his debut in this event, will be another strong contender. The Ethiopian, 23, is the fastest man on the field courtesy of a 1:01:19 half marathon career best, a time he ran just two weeks ago.

Josphat Kiproo Menjo should also be a threat, on paper, as he is the fastest man in the field over 10km, although his 27:04 came nine years ago.

The Kenyan, who turned 40 in August, set his half marathon best in March 2018 when running 1:01:36. In 2019 he clocked season’s best of 28:37 and 1:06:23.

Dennis Rutoh will have a role to play following his victory at the Montbéliard half marathon last September in a new lifetime best of 1:01:44. He also set his 10 km best in July with 28:21. 

French hopes will rest on Mohammed Serghini and Julien Devanne. The latter won within a month both half marathon and marathon national titles.

On the women’s side, Brillian Jepkorir Kipkoech looks to be the favourite to succeed to Gete Alemayehu. 

The Kenyan, 24, improved her half marathon best one month ago with a 1:07:12 run. She also bettered her 10km best to 31:04 in July. She seems to have a big margin over the rest of the field.

Compatriots Susan Kipsang Jeptoo and Lucy Macharia should be her main rivals. The former improved her 10km, half marathon and marathon bests in 2019 while the latter finished fourth at last year’s event.

French hopes will rest on the shoulders of Elodie Normand and Leonie Periault.

The start takes place near Marseille’s well-known Velodrome Stadium and then follows the Mediterranean coast before a tough 327-metre climb up to the Col de la Gineste halfway through the race. Runners then wind down a long descent towards the finish line in the port town of Cassis.

Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso EDP announces that Sifan Hassan, Fancy Chemutai and Gudeta Kebede are focused to set a new women’s world record

The Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso EDP announces that two international athletes are joining those already on the quest to set a new women’s world record on the 27th of October in Valencia Ciudad del Running. The city has had this lofty goal since 2017.

This injection of new blood comes from one outstanding athlete: Sifan Hassan, joining others who have already confirmed their participation in the trial — Fancy Chemutai and Sembere Teferi. 

Their quest is none other than to break the world record set by Joyciline Jepkosgei (1:04:51).

The Dutch athlete of Ethiopian origin, Sifan Hassan, comes to Valencia with a best time of 1 hour 05:15 (Copenhagen 2018) and is one of the favorites to win a place on the podium. She holds various European records, including those for the Half-Marathon, and for the mile world record (the latter won this year). Sifa is undoubtedly one of the star attractions in the Valencia race.

Gudeta Kebede, who won the gold in the past IAAF / Valencia World Marathon Media Championship held in 2018 (1h06: 11), with world registration for races of only women included, will also fight for the victory next 27th October Kebede has a better personal mark of 1h05:45, held in Ras Al-Khaimah in 2019. 

Another athlete competing with them will be the Ethiopian runner Sembere Teferi (1 hour 05:45, who will also run in Doha four weeks before the trial in Valencia), as will her fellow-countrywoman and last year’s winner Gelete Burka (1 hour 06:11), and the Kenyan athletes Fancy Chemutai (1 hour 04:52) and Joan Chelimo (1 hour 05:04). This bevy of elite athletes make up a women’s ‘Dream Team’.

The Organizers will offer a special €70,000 prize (which is in addition to the rewards set out in the Regulations) for those athletes who set a new men’s or women’s world record, and award a bonus of €30,000 if the winner sets a time of under 58:00 for men or of under 1 hour 04:30 for women.

Israeli Lonah Salpeter is the latest addition to the elite field at the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon

The addition of Lonah Salpeter completes the elite field for the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon which takes place next Sunday. The Kenyan-born runner who competes for Israel has a personal best of 2:19:46 which makes her the fastest woman ever to be on the start list of the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon.

Given the extraordinary strength in depth of the women’s race, the course record could well fall after just one year in existence – and the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon might record the first sub-2:20 women’s time in its history.

Four women who have run under 2:22 will be on the start line: alongside Salpeter (2:19:46) will be the title holder Meskerem Assefa of Ethiopia, who set the course record of 2:20:36 last year, the Kenyan Valary Aiyabei with a best of 2:20:53 and the Ethiopian Bedatu Hirpa (2:21:32).

The latter finished third in Frankfurt last year. Another expected to produce a strong performance is the Ethiopian Megertu Kebede whose best is 2:22:52.

The men’s race on Sunday features a rare, perhaps unique contest over the marathon distance: junior against veteran or masters world record holder – Tsegaye Mekonnen against Mark Kiptoo.

Mekonnen of Ethiopia has a best of 2:04:32 which means he is the fastest man in the field, while the Kenyan Kiptoo’s personal best is 2:06:00.

Many athletes competing in Frankfurt will have their eyes on the qualifying times for the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year. The target for the men is 2:11:30 and 2:29:30 for the women.

Eight men with best times under 2:08 will be on the start line which suggests yet another high quality and exciting race for top honors in Frankfurt with finishing times to match. Tsegaye Mekonnen is looking to re-establish himself with a fast time after injury problems on a Mainova Frankfurt Marathon course renowned for speedy performances.

The world masters record holder Mark Kiptoo, who set an age group record here last year, should also have a say in the outcome this time. If he can match his younger rivals, his own masters world record will be under pressure.

Two Europeans seeking both big improvements on their personal bests and the Olympic qualifying times will be Britain’s Stephanie Twell (2:30:14) and the local runner Katharina Steinruck (2:28:34).

Does the International Association of Athletics Federations need a more stringent rule to define legal running shoes?

It appears that running, the original and most elemental of sports, now faces the same tradition vs. scientific innovation challenge that other sports have encountered. Think: tennis rackets, baseball bats and, perhaps most similar, competition swimwear — those polyurethane-based suits that were banned starting in 2010. The outcome of the current running-shoe debate could affect everything from stock prices of global footwear companies to who wins the Olympic marathon in Japan next summer.

Kipchoge, who became the first person to run the 26.2-mile distance in under two hours, and Kosgei, who set a women’s world record, raced in a revolutionary and bizarrely tall Nike shoe that has taken the marathon world by storm since 2016. In the last 13 months alone, male runners in the Nike shoes have recorded the five fastest marathon times ever. Other running-shoe companies are struggling to catch up, and may face patent hurdles.

The current I.A.A.F. rules state only that shoes may not confer an “unfair advantage” and must be “reasonably available” to all. The rule does not explain how these two values can be measured.

This week, the British Journal of Sports Medicine published a commentary that is likely to guide the debate. In it, Geoffrey Burns, a 2:24 marathoner and University of Michigan doctoral candidate in biomechanics, argued for “a single standard in competition running shoes: regulate the shoe midsole thickness.”

With the right material, a thicker sole produces more spring. Without clear restrictions, it is likely only a matter of time before someone comes up with a way to make a shoe with more powerful springs.

Burns called for an upper limit of 31 millimeters — about 1.2 inches — of midsole. Nike’s current Vaporfly 4% and Vaporfly Next% shoes have a 36-millimeter midsole, or about 1.4 inches. Why 31 millimeters? That’s a fairly common midsole height for previous models.

Until 2016, marathon racing shoes were constructed from thin slabs of rubber. In 1960, an Ethiopian runner named Abebe Bikila even managed to win the Olympic Marathon in his bare feet. Everyone understood that less was more; you ran more efficiently when you carried minimal weight on your feet.

In 1968, when shopping for the shoes that carried me to victory in that year’s Boston Marathon, I had only two criteria. They had to be light and thin, and they had to be cheap. I was still in college. I paid $9.95 for my lucky shoes — a pair of Onitsuka Tiger TG-4 Marathons.

Little changed in the footwear for elite marathoners in the next five decades, until Nike introduced its Vaporfly 4% shoes in 2016. These shoes contained a new midsole foam, Pebax, so lightweight that it is almost like running barefoot. Pebax also delivers 30 percent more energy return than the foams used in most running shoes since the 1970s. This allows Pebax to function almost like leg muscles, but without the fatigue that can debilitate the legs after 20 miles.

The Nike shoes also include a carbon fiber plate in the midsole. This plate might increase energy return, or it might improve foot function during the running stride. Either way, the plate is prominently mentioned in Nike’s patent application.

A 2018 New York Times data analysis based on public race results uploaded to Strava, the athlete-tracking and networking company, found that runners in Vaporflys ran 3 to 4 percent faster than similar runners wearing other shoes.

To be fair, Kipchoge, 34, is an otherworldly talent who has beaten the best in the world in last-generation shoes. There probably isn’t another marathoner who could break two hours in the shoes he wore last weekend.

Course Records were broken in Lisbon on Sunday

Perfect weather conditions resulted in three course records from the two IAAF Label road races in the Portuguese capital on Sunday with Andualem Shiferaw winning the EDP Lisbon Marathon in 2:06:00 while Titus Ekiru and Peres Jepchirchir won the Luso Lisbon Half Marathon in 1:00:10 and 1:06:54 respectively.

Pacemakers ensured the elite men were on course record schedule from the early stages. Five men – Stephen Chemlany, Samuel Wanjiku, Barnabas Kiptum, Birhan Nebebew and Andualem Shiferaw – were still in contention as the lead pack approached the final five kilometers.

It was only in the last two kilometers that Shiferaw and Wanjiku, the 2014 winner and former course record-holder, made a break. With a strong sprint, Shiferaw managed to edge ahead of Wanjiku to win in 2:06.00, taking 94 seconds off the course record and more than two minutes from his PB.

“I didn’t expect or plan to win today, especially after the rain fall on Saturday – that worried me,” said Shiferaw. “But today I felt very good and after the half-way point I felt I could contend for the win. The personal best is a bonus.”

Wanjiku finished just one second behind Shiferaw and was extremely happy with his personal best, while Chelmany finished third in 2:06:22, also a PB. Kiptum (2:06:32) and Nebebew (2:06:49) also finished inside 2:07 with PB performances and were well inside the previous course record of 2:07:34.

In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Sechale Dalasa win in 2:29:51, a few minutes outside her PB but enough to finish six seconds ahead of Kenya’s Helen Jepkurgat. Ethiopia’s Sule Utura was third (2:32:16).

Two more records came in the half marathon, held in a different part of the city.

Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir and Vivian Kiplagat were involved in a great sprint to the finish line in the women’s race. Jepchirchir, the 2016 world half marathon champion, got there first in 1:06.54, taking 24 seconds off the course record set last year.

“This was a good day,” said Jepchirchir. “I expected to produce a good time, and I’m happy with this win.”

Kiplagat finished just one second adrift in 1:06:55 with Dorcas Kimeli further back in third, clocking 1:07:43. Yebrgual Melese, who held the course record up until today, was fourth in 1:09:02. Catarina Ribeiro was the first Portuguese athlete to finish, placing seventh in 1:11:36, just outside her PB.

Kenya’s Titus Ekiru ran alone for the final few kilometers of the men’s race and took one second off the course record to win in 1:00:12.

“I intended to run faster, but without more opposition it was impossible,” said Ekiru after taking 50 seconds off his PB. “Of course I’m happy with this spectacular race, with my win and the good weather.”

Philemon Rono won the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon for the third time on Sunday

The Kenyan, nicknamed ‘Baby Police’ for his role as a policeman, smashed his own Canadian all-comers’ record with a time of 2:05:00 at the IAAF Gold Label road race.

Behind him, Lemi Bernahu of Ethiopia, who had been leading until the final kilometer, took second in 2:05:09, Uganda’s Felix Chemonges third in 2:05:12 and defending champion Benson Kipruto of Kenya fourth in 2:05:13.

“It was important to win three times, because Toronto is like my home,” said Rono. “When I come here, I enjoy myself. I have a lot of friends from Kenya here. I am really, really happy to win today.”

While Rono achieved an incredible record, earning CDN$30,000 for the victory along with CDN$50,000 for the all-comers’ record, it was his compatriot Magdalyne Masai-Robertson who claimed the women’s victory with an enormous personal best of 2:22:16. That beat the course record set by Mimi Belete last year by 13 seconds and improved the Canadian all-comers' record by one second.

For the first time in its 30-year history, conditions were near perfect (8C and 5km/hr wind at the start).

A trio of pacemakers took a pack of six men through the halfway point in 1:03:08 and 30 kilometers in 1:29:24 before Lemi Berhanu hinted that the tightness in his legs, which had bothered him in the days immediately preceding the race, had vanished. By 38 kilometres he had surged to a lead of more than 15 seconds. But incredibly Rono closed the gap in the final two kilometres to snatch victory.

“I was running at my own pace,” Rono explained. “The pace at the front was really moving so I maintained my own pace. At 38km when he ran away I said ‘let me maintain my pace’. And I knew I could catch him.”

For his part, Berhanu, who was the 2016 Boston champion, complained of a stitch in his right side and was in distress. Disappointment registered on his face at the finish where he sat alone on the ground for 10 minutes before his coach Gemedu Dedefo collected him for the awards ceremony.

“I was thinking when I made the break I could run sub 2:05 and keep pushing, but after 40km I could not really move because of a stitch,” he explained.

Felix Chemonges took four minutes off his personal best to break 2012 Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich’s Ugandan record with his 2:05:12.

The women’s race was equally compelling as eight women ran together through 30km. Five survived Birktuyat Eshetu’s surges up until 35km including Kenya’s Betsy Saina, Rachel Mutgaa and Masai-Robertson and then the race blew up. The latter took off, fearful of being caught. At 40km she spared a look over her shoulder and realised her nearest pursuer was Eshetu and quite a distance separated them.

Course records smashed in Amsterdam

Ethiopia’s Degitu Azmeraw smashed the women’s course record at the TCS Amsterdam Marathon with 2:19:26, the second-fastest debut in history for the distance, while Kenya’s Vincent Kipchumba won a close men’s contest in 2:05:09 at the IAAF Gold Label road race on Sunday (20).

On a morning with perfect windless conditions and temperatures between 10-12C, the pace in the women’s race was swift from the outset. Azimeraw was one of six athletes in the lead pack and passed through 5km in 16:26 and 10km in 32:49. The six women were still together through the half-way point, reached in 1:10:00 exactly, and 30km, covered in 1:39:40.

It was only after then that the real racing began and the group was whittled down to five at 35km (1:56:14) with Azimeraw, Tigist Girma, Azmera Gebru, Besu Sado and Mimi Belete still in contention.

The quintet eventually dispersed over the final few kilometres with Azimeraw – who had clocked 1:06:07 for the half marathon this year – forging ahead to win in 2:19:26, taking almost two minutes from Meseret Hailu Debele’s 2:21:09 course record set in 2012. Former world record-holder Paula Radcliffe is the only woman to record a faster marathon debut, having clocked 2:18:56 in 2002.

“I wanted to see what it was like to run a marathon,” said Azimeraw. “I was expecting a time of about 2:20 so this result is definitely a success.”

Girma was second in 2:19:52, taking almost seven minutes off the PB she set when winning in Ottawa earlier this year. Gebru finished third, replicating her position from last year, but was rewarded with a PB of 2:20:48, while Sado – a former 1500m specialist making her marathon debut – was fourth in 2:21:03, also inside the previous course record.

Bo Ummels, another debutante, was the top Dutch finisher and so became the national champion, clocking 2:32:34.

As was the case in the women’s contest, the men’s race really got going after 35km. Up until that point, a large pack of nine men were still in contention, having gone through 10km in 29:27 and the half-way point in 1:03:00.

Kenya’s Elisha Rotich and Vincent Kipchumba and Ethiopia’s Solomon Deksisa and debutant Betesfa Getahun took the initiative after going through 35km in 1:44:07. Just before entering Vondelpark at 39km, Rotich and Deksisa accelerated and built up a small lead. Both pursuers, however, came back under the leadership of Kipchumba.

After leaving the park at the 41-kilometre point, Kipchumba ran away from the others to finally finish in Amsterdam’s Olympic Stadium in 2:05:09. Deksisa was second in 2:05:16, just holding off Rotich (2:05:18). Getahun also finished well below 2:06 on his debut with 2:05:28.

Kipchumba improved his personal record of 2:06.56 from April this year and was happy:

“We had a very strong group and the pace at the entrance to Vondelpark was very fast,” said Kipchumba, who improved on his PB of 2:06:56. “I started to close the gap with the two front runners. I was hoping for a time of 2:05:50, so I’m very satisfied with 2:05:09.”

The Dutch top runner, Abdi Nageeye, felt some pain in his right hamstring from 10km onwards and had to settle for ninth place in 2:07:39.

“My condition is fine, but mentally this was very tough,” he said. “Nevertheless, I am happy with my second-fastest time ever. Now I have to recover well and start planning smartly for the Olympic Games.”

Ethiopia’s Tsehay Gemechu smashes her own Airtel Delhi Half Marathon course record

Ethiopia’s Tsehay Gemechu retained her Airtel Delhi Half Marathon title in 1:06:00 on Sunday (20), taking 50 seconds off the course record she had set 12 months ago at the IAAF Gold Label road race.

Gemechu’s compatriot Andamlak Belihu also retained his title, clocking a PB of 59:10 to finish within four seconds of the course record.

The women’s race came down to a thrilling head-to-head duel over the final five kilometres between the 21-year-old defending champion and her compatriot Yelamzerf Yehualaw.

A large pack went through 5km in 15:43 before the male pacemakers brought the leading group of six past 10km in 31:22, indicating that the course record was very much under threat. One by one, runners became detached until only Gemechu and Yehualaw remained as they went through 15km in 47:05.

Coming into the final kilometre, Yehualaw – who won the African Games half marathon title in August – edged in front and briefly looked like she was going to cause an upset. But with the finish line approaching, Gemechu dug deep and managed to claw her way past her rival to notch up a personal best while becoming just the second woman to retain a title in Delhi.

“I was tired after Doha (where she finished fourth in the World Championships 5000m two weeks ago) but I wanted to come here and fight for the course record. I knew I was mentally strong,” said Gemechu, who becomes the sixth-fastest Ethiopian woman for the distance.

Yehualaw, even younger than the winner having turned 20 in August, took more than three minutes off her previous best for the distance when finishing just one second behind Gemechu in 1:06:01.

Zeineba Yimer, who started to lose contact with the leading pair just before 15km, held on to make it an Ethiopian 1-2-3 when she crossed the line in third place in 1:06:57, the same position as she had finished in 2018. Kenya’s 2017 world cross-country champion Irene Cheptai had a solid half marathon debut to finish fourth in 1:07:39.

The men’s contest also saw a thrilling head-to-head battle over the final few kilometres.

Six men passed 10km in 28:08. Belihu was still accompanied by another Ethiopian, Solomon Berihu, and the Kenyan pair of Kibiwott Kandie – who had made much of the pace in the middle stages of the race – and Alfred Barkachas.

The lead quartet reached 15km in 42:11 but between 17 and 18 kilometres firstly Barkach and then Kandie couldn’t stay with the relentless momentum and surges from the two Ethiopians and drifted backwards.

Berihu pushed again at 18km and Belihu looked in trouble for several minutes but recovered his poise and reeled in his rival with little more than a kilometre remaining before pulling away for victory.

“At about 18km I started to suffer some back pain; that possibly cost me the course record,” said Belhiu, who still managed to take eight seconds off his PB to move to seventh on the Ethiopian all-time list. “I have been mainly focusing on the track season in my training until recently but I always knew I was going to come here and so I had that in mind.”

Berihu, just 20, posted one of the fastest half marathon debuts ever when he came home second in 59:17 while Kandie hung on for third in 59:33.

Eric Kiptanui was involved in Eliud Kipchoge's record-breaking feat in Vienna, and now he is set to run the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon

Kiptanui was part of a 41-member pacemaking team at the Vienna event that ran in front of Kipchoge in a V-formation, protecting him from drag caused by wind, allowing the main runner to save energy in the process — a technique known as drafting or slipstreaming in running events and in motorsports.

"My family was happy. Everybody at home was happy. Eliud is a friend to me, always encouraged me to train. Has done a lot for me. So I think it’s very special for me and for my family," said Kiptanui at an event in New Delhi in the build-up to the 15th edition of the event certified as an IAAF Gold Label Road Race.

When asked about his standout memory from the record-breaking feat, Kiptanui picked the moment when his compatriot finally crossed the finish line to complete the historic feat. The sight of Kipchoge raising his arms in celebration, as did his pacemakers behind him, before embracing his wife on the other side of the finish line has now become an iconic sporting moment.

Can a feat like this be achieved without a team of in-and-out pacemakers? Kiptanui replied by saying: "It’s possible, and even now it’s possible. Even now one can say 'I want to run alone, maybe one pacemaker along the course of the 30k.'"

Life however was far from easy for Kiptanui. Early in his career, the runner resorted to washing toilets to make ends meet, which he now says has been a learning experience and has only made him a stronger person.

"In college, I had nothing. I had no money. I had to look for a job. I got a job for washing toilets. That experience made me a stronger person, because where I am today, and what I did some time back, it tells a lot. I believed in myself, that one day, one time, I will be somebody. No matter who I am now, I will be somebody one day one time," said Kiptanui.

Being part of Kipchoge's 41-member team of pacemakers at Vienna however, isn't his only claim to fame, for he is a serious contender himself as far as long-distance IAAF events are concerned. Kiptanui enjoyed a good run in 2018 by winning the Berlin (58.42 seconds) and Lisbon (60.05 seconds) half marathons, and had won the Barcelona half marathon earlier this year.

For Kiptanui, part of his training for the Delhi half marathon came in the form of his pacemaking duties at Vienna, and has had a fair bit of training in the build-up to the Delhi event in order to keep his body in shape.

East African runners have dominated long-distance running events across the world for decades now, and the Delhi Half Marathon is no different — nearly all the winners in both the men's and women's categories in the event hailing from either Ethiopia or Kenya — both titles being won by an Ethiopian last year.

Come Sunday, Kiptanui will face a stiff challenge from defending champion Andamlak Belihu and debutant Hagos Gebrhiwet. In the women's category, its defending champion and course record-holder Tsehay Gemechu will be in the spotlight along with Kenya-born Kazakh runner Caroline Kipkirui. Over 40,000 are expected to take part in the upcoming event, which begins in the wee hours on Sunday in the national capital, across five categories — Half Marathon (21.097 km), Great Delhi Run (5 km), Open 10K, Senior Citizens' Run (3.2 km) and Champions with Disability (3.2 km).

Ethiopian Junior World Record Holder Tsegaye Mekonnen joins the Frankfurt marathon

“The addition of Meskerem Assefa and Tsegaye Mekonnen means two more top stars have joined our race. It says a lot for the quality of the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon that these two athletes want to run their autumn marathon here. If weather conditions are right, we have a good chance for very fast races,” said the race director Jo Schindler.

A year ago Meskerem Assefa set a course record of 2:20:36 despite windy conditions which was also her personal best. The 34-year-old has the potential to target a sub-2:20 time for her latest appearance in Frankfurt. She may well have company in this challenge since the Kenyan Valary Aiyabei has a best of 2:20:53, only 17 seconds slower than Meskerem’s course record in Frankfurt.

Sylvia Kibet can also be expected to produce a considerable improvement on her fastest time.

The 35-year-old won in Rabat in Morocco in April, setting a personal best of 2:25:52. Her pedigree for the marathon includes impressive speed over shorter distances on the track which helped her win two silver medals over 5,000m in the 2009 and 2011 World Championships and an Olympic bronze for the same distance in 2008.

Another newcomer to the women’s race in the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon is Fabienne Königstein, better known as Fabienne Amrhein.

The 26-year-old made her breakthrough last year, improving to 2:32:34 to win the women’s title in Düsseldorf, followed by becoming the top German finisher in 11th place in the European Championship Marathon in Berlin. Injuries have prevented her from racing in the early part of 2019 but she is likely to be aiming for the Olympic qualifying time of 2:29:30 in Frankfurt.

Tsegaye Mekonnen is a runner with enormous potential. In 2014 the Ethiopian was the shooting start of the international marathon scene, running, as an 18-year-old, an unofficial junior world record in Dubai on his debut at the distance of 2:04:32 (the IAAF does not record official marathon world records for juniors).

Since then Tsegaye Mekonnen’s progress has been restricted by a succession of injuries. He also suffered misfortune when making his Frankfurt debut in 2014, recovering from a fall during the race but subsequently dropping out.

In 2017 Tsegaye Mekonnen won his second marathon with 2:07:26 in Hamburg. He has not raced internationally this year but the flat and fast course in Frankfurt should give him the opportunity to show what he can do.

There is a good chance the course record will be broken at the EDP Lisbon Marathon

With two IAAF Label road races being held on the same day – the LUSO Lisbon Half Marathon (Gold) and the EDP Lisbon Marathon (Silver) – and competitive fields lined up for both, there’s a strong chance of at least one course record being broken in the Portuguese capital on Sunday.

Kenya’s 2016 world half marathon champion and former world record-holder Peres Jepchirchir leads the women’s field for the half marathon. The 26-year-old, who had a baby at the end of 2017, has returned to action this year with a best of 1:07:36, two-and-a-half minutes shy of her lifetime best.

She’ll face defending champion Yebrgual Melese of Ethiopia, who set a course record of 1:07:18 last year.

Others in the field include Kenya’s Vivian Kiplagat, 10km world leader Dorcas Kimeli, Monica Jepkoech, Ethiopia’s Waganesh Amare, South Africa’s Glenrose Xaba and Portuguese duo Jessica Augusto and Catarina Ribeiro.

With a PB of 58:48, Kenya’s Jorum Okombo is the fastest in the men’s half marathon field and has the ability to challenge the course record of 1:00:13, but he heads to Lisbon with a season’s best of 1:02:31 so might not be at his absolute best.

Eritrea’s Amanuel Mesel, who has a best of 1:00:10 and finished seventh at the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships, will be keen to improve on his third-place finish from last year. Uganda’s Thomas Ayeko, seventh at this year’s World Cross Country Championships, and Kenya’s Daniel Rotich also have PBs inside 61 minutes and should contend for top honors. Hermano Ferreira, who has a best of 1:01:24, is the leading Portuguese entrant.

The course record of 2:07:34 will be the prime target for the leading men in the marathon field.

Kenya’s Stephen Chemlany, who has a best of 2:06:24, is the fastest in the field, but his PB was set back in 2014 and the 37-year-old hasn’t raced this year. Fellow Kenyan Samuel Wanjiku won in Lisbon in 2014 in 2:08.21, but his PB of 2:07:04 dates back even further to 2012.

Barnabas Kiptum, however, heads to Lisbon off the back of a 2:08:02 lifetime best at the Gold Coast Marathon just three months ago. Likewise, Ethiopia’s Andualem Shiferaw (2:08:16) and Birhanu Teshome (2:08:20) have set PBs earlier this year.

Others in the field with PBs inside 2:09 include Kenya’s former steeplechaser Patrick Terer, Joseph Aperumoi and Richard Mengich.

Fatuma Sado’s lifetime best of 2:24:16 is just three seconds shy of the Lisbon course record. The Ethiopian won in Osaka earlier this year in 2:25:39, the second-fastest performance of her career, and will start as the favorite on Sunday.

Compatriot Sechale Dalasa set her PB of 2:26:27 on her debut at the distance back in 2012 but has come close to it on several occasions since then, including her 2:28:46 run in Houston earlier this year. Kenya’s Truphena Chepchirchir, meanwhile, set her PB of 2:27:52 at this year’s Dongying Marathon.

Others in the field include Ethiopia’s 2008 world U20 5000m champion Sule Utura, Kenya’s Helen Jepkurgat and 2010 Commonwealth 10,000m silver medalist Doris Changeywo.

Kenya’s Linet Masai and Ethiopia’s Solomon Deksisa are running the TCS Amsterdam Marathon hoping to claim victory on Sunday

Deksisa clocked 2:04:40 to finish third in the Dutch city last year and placed third, finishing just 34 seconds behind Lawrence Cherono, who set a course record of 2:04:06. “The course is completely flat and I am really looking forward to it,” Deksisa said at the pre-race press conference.

Fellow Kenyans Elisha Rotich and Vincent Kipchumba head to Amsterdam off the back of PBs earlier this year. Rotich ran 2:06:12 in Seoul, while Kipchumba won in Vienna in 2:06:56.

Following the withdrawal of Ayele Abshero, who contracted food poisoning this week, Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands has been added to the field. This year the 30-year-old has set Dutch records of 2:06:17 for the marathon and 1:00:24 for the half marathon. Nageeye, who trains alongside Eliud Kipchoge, also clocked 59:55 at the Great North Run, a course not eligible for record purposes.

“If you can keep up with him (Kipchoge) during the training sessions, you know that you have become a better athlete,” said Nageeye, “and you can believe that you will also go faster and faster in competitions.”

The lead pack will be paced through the half-way point in 1:02:30 with the aim of finishing in about 2:05:00.

Masai, the 2009 world 10,000m champion, set her PB of 2:23:46 to finish fifth in Amsterdam last year. Following a 1:07:44 run at the Great North Run, she returns to Amsterdam this year with one eye on the course record of 2:21:09, set by Meseret Hailu Debele in 2012.

Bahrain’s Mimi Belete is another former track specialist who has turned to the marathon in recent years. Her PB of 2:22:29, set when winning in Toronto last year, makes her the fastest woman in the field.

Azmera Gebru, who finished third in Amsterdam last year and improved her PB to 2:22:52 earlier this year in Paris, leads a strong Ethiopian contingent. She’ll be joined by 2018 Amsterdam runner-up Shasho Insermu and Guteni Shone, who have respective PBs of 2:23:28 and 2:23:32

The weather forecast for Sunday morning is good: dry with temperatures between 10-12C and a light breeze from the south.

Ethiopian Muktar Edris went from being an underdog to being a two time world champion

Rarely had a reigning world champion been such an underdog. Rarely had an athlete so accomplished, so dangerous, been so overlooked in the pre-race predictions.

But Muktar Edris has a habit of defying expectations.

When the 25-year-old Ethiopian launched his kick to grab gold in the men’s 5000m, many at the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 turned to each other, as they had done in London two years earlier, in surprise: Where had he come from?

Edris’s second successive title proved a much bigger shock than his first, even if two years ago he had to defeat Mo Farah on his home turf to take gold, the Briton who had won the previous three world 5000m titles.

The reason for Edris being so severely doubted was simple: injuries.

After London he developed chronic pain and inflammation in his achilles tendon, and while it wasn’t the kind that completely side-lined him, it limited his training substantially. Edris could only do longer, slower running for much of the past two years, his achilles flaring up anytime he let rip on the track with shorter reps.

“One kilometre and under, no,” he said. “Because (practising the) kick is painful. I could just do slow running, lap after lap. The injury is still sore today.”

It was the reason he failed to fire in 2018 and for much of 2019, Edris’s two outings in the IAAF Diamond League resulting in an 11th-place finish in Oslo (over 30000m) and an 18th-place finish in Lausanne (over 5000m). In May he dropped out of the 10,000m at the Ethiopian Championships, which meant the only reason he was able to compete in Doha was via his wild card entry as defending champion.

But he had shown flickers of his old self in the summer, clocking a 7:39.52 3000m to finish second in Budapest – good, but not the kind of great form needed to win a world title.

Few had expected him to repeat his 2017 feat, with teammates Selemon Barega and Telahun Haile Bekele tearing it up on the circuit, the Ingebrigtsen brothers primed to utilise their fearsome kicks if the pace was slow, and accomplished 5000m performers like Mohammed Ahmed of Canada and Paul Chelimo of USA never to be discounted.

Edris himself didn’t expect it to win. “I had such problems with injury,” he said. “My hope was to be in the medals.”

Kenya's Gideon Kipketer will lead the hunt for gold at this Sunday's Amsterdam Marathon in the Netherlands

Kipketer, who was fourth in Amsterdam last year, is yet to win a marathon this season.

He failed to finish the Tokyo and London Marathons, but hopes his return to the Dutch capital will be another chance to redeem himself.

Kenya´s Gideon Kipketer, Laban Korir and Jonathan Korir, the trio will, however, face stiff competition from Kenyan-born Kaan Ozbilen of Turkey - formerly known as Mike Kipruto Kigen - and Ethiopia's Mule Wasihun.

"The forecast is promising, with temperatures between 10 and 15 degrees, not much wind and comfortable humidity levels. A tight regime in terms of mid-course times won't work. We will have to tailor the strategy during the race," said race director Cees Pronk.

Last year, Kenya's Lawrence Cherono set a new course record, winning his first Amsterdam Marathon in 2:05:09, also establishing a new personal best time. He has since gone on to win in Boston and last weekend won in Chicago.

"I was thrilled with last year's win. It was a good race on a flat course and the crowd was great," said Cherono.

Enos Kales and Naomi Jebet from Kenya win the Paris 20km

The pace of the men’s race was aggressive from the outset. “It was really fast. I decided to let it go with some others French runners,” said Florian Carvalho afterwards. The Frenchman, third two years ago, then bridged the gap at about two kilometres into the race.

A group of 10 runners hit the 5km mark in 14:25, but the pace was irregular. Carvalho decided to take the lead after 10km, reached in 29:05, with eight other runners still in contention.

After the 15km mark, hit in 43:58, Enos Kales, who entered the race at last minute, made a big move. His compatriots Shewalem Yergalem and Joseph Mbatha as well as Ethiopia’s Getinet Mele Gedamu were able to stick to his stride as the French trio Carvalho, Michael Gras, and Nicolas Navarro struggled to sustain the pace.

In the closing stages, Yergalem and Mbatah couldn’t handle the pace and Kales broke off. At about the same time, Carvalho and Gras drew level with the chasers.

Kales held on for the win and crossed the line in 58:28, following a 14:30 last 5km section, as Carvalho finished second in 58:56, 16 seconds outside his time from 2017. “It bodes well for the Valencia Marathon, which is my main goal,” said Carvalho.

Gras managed to hold off Yergalem and Mbatha to round the podium in a personal best of 59:02.

In contrast to the men’s race, the women’s race set out at a relatively slow pace. Nine runners hit the 5km mark in 17:52, suggesting a possible finish time of 1:11:30, far from the results of past editions. The group, spearheaded by Kenya’s Naomi Jebet, ramped up the tempo during the next 5km section to reach the 10km checkpoint in 35:06.

With five kilometres to go (52:30 at 15km), there were still eight contenders for the win, including Jebet, Adawork Aberta, Chaltu Dida as well as the French pair Liv Westphal and Samira Mezeghrane.

Jebet made a big surge after 15km and only Dida and Aberta were able to follow her. Aberta then struggled to sustain the pace with two kilometres remaining, and Jebet sealed the win in 1:08:51, following a 16:21 5km section, the fastest of the race, six seconds ahead of Dida. Aberta finished third, 33 seconds adrift of the winner.

“I am very happy,” said Jebet, who clocked a half marathon PB of 1:08:08 last month. “I didn’t expect to win that race.”

Lawrence Cherono again made a last minute sprint to win the Chicago Marathon like he did in Boston earlier in the year

2019 Boston winner Lawrence Cherono made another last 400m sprint today in Bank of Chicago Marathon in a group of 4 athletes clocking 2:05:45.He was followed closely by Dejene Debela 2:05:46 and Asefa Mengstu 2:05:48.Mo Farah finished 8th in 2:09:58.

Lawrence has had a great form of consistent record of seven victories over 14 marathons.He crossed the finish line victoriously with arms in the air in celebration .He then knelt down on the ground and prayed.

The race started with Dickson Chumba leading the group cross the first mile at 4:42.The high speed forced runners to form two elite groups.The first pack consisted Chumba,Cherono,Debela,Bedan Karoki,Tura and Asefa Mengstu.The second pack was Mo Farah and Galen Rupp who came back after Achilles surgery. 

The Ieading group hit 5km  in 14:45 while Mo and Rupp did 14:47.At 10km ,the split was 29:27 and Mo and Rupp were already in the first group.Rupp started again dropping in the group followed by Mo Farah at 8 miles while the Dickson Chumba led team crossed it at 37:48.

At 15km, Karoki, Chumba, Cherono, Debela,Mengstu and Tura crossed it at 44:10.  At 21km, Chumba led it through with 1:02:14.

 Karoki up the pace to 25km in a group of six making it at 1:13:54.Chumba was back again in front but slightly struggling and led 30km at 1:28:58.This is the point where Chumba slowed and first group remain with 5 men.Debela charged and pushed hard making 35km split at 1:45:53 while Chumba struggled at 1:44:23.

 Debela who looked strong crossed 40km 1:59:08. At this point, the race was between four athletes.  The only thing to decide was final kick coz they were all running a tactical race.

At about 400m remaining, Lawrence Cherono made a surprise kick outshining the two Ethiopians and Bedan Karoki of Kenya. He finished with Debela in just a second behind.  Cherono is remembered for making a kick in Boston too to beat Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa.

The whole country of Kenya is buzzing with excitement as Brigid Kosgei smashed the world record in Chicago just 33 hours after Eliud Kipchoge clocked the first ever sub two hour marathon in Vienna

25-year-old Brigid Kosgei smashed the world record at the Bank of Chicago Marathon Sunday October 13.  She clocked 2:14:04 and she thinks 2:10 is possible.  

Brigid broke the 16 year old record set by Paula Radcliffe (in photo with Brigid) at the 2003 London Marathon where she clocked 2:15:25.  Many thought it was an untouchable record to beat.  

Bridid ran away from the field.  Second to cross the line was Yeshaneh clocking 2:20:51 and then Burka 2:20:55 both from Ethiopia.  Fourth was America’s Emma Bates clocking 2:25:27 a personal best.  

Through the help of pacemakers, Brigid crossed the first 5km in 15:28 at a projected time of 2:10.  Between 5km-10km, the pace dropped slightly but Kosgei was within the record time hence making 10km at 31:28 which was a projected 2:12:26 marathon time.

At 15 km the clock was 47:26 disabling Yeshaneh who was chasing from behind almost a minute behind.

From 15km to a half way ,the tempo went up again.  She passed  21km at 1:06:59 which was 66 seconds faster than Radcliffe's.

At this point, the projected time was 2:14:00.  The gap between her and Yeshaneh kept widening  to 2 minutes.  She then hit 25km in 1:19:33 with help of two pacers who did an incredible job. She hit 35km at 1:51:14 looking calmed, relaxed and comfortable.  At 40km Brigid looked easy Clicking 2:07:11.

The pacers finished their job and let Brigid Kosgei cross the finish line smiling in 2:14:04.  What a weekend for marathoning.  

The whole country of Kenya is buzzing with excitement.  Eliud Kipchoge clocked 1:59:40 in Vienna on Saturday and now Brigid Kosgei clocked 2:14:04 on Sunday.  

Brigid Kosgei Breaks the World Record at the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon

Kenyan Brigid Kosgei shattered a 16-year-old world record in the women’s marathon by 81 seconds, winning the Chicago Marathon in 2:14:04 on Sunday.

Paula Radcliffe had held the record of 2:15:25 set at the 2003 London Marathon. Kenyan Mary Keitany holds the female-only record of 2:17:01 from the 2017 London Marathon. Both Kosgei and Radcliffe, the only women to break 2:17, ran with men in their record races.

Radcliffe’s record was the longest-standing for the men’s or women’s marathon of the last 50 years.

Kosgei did it one day after Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to run a sub-two-hour marathon in a non-record-eligible event in Vienna. She won by a gaping 6 minutes, 47 seconds over Ethiopian Ababel Yeshaneh.

Kosgei, who won Chicago in 2018 and the London Marathon in April, came in highly favored. The 25-year-old tuned up with the fastest half-marathon ever by a woman (by 23 seconds) on Sept. 8 on a non-record-eligible course.

“2:10 is possible,” Kosgei reportedly said after Sunday’s record.

Jordan Hasay, the top U.S. woman in the field, crossed 5km at a slow 22:20 and registered no further timings. Hasay, who was coached by Alberto Salazar before his ban in a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency case, is one of several women in contention for the three Olympic spots at the Feb. 29 trials in Atlanta.

Kenyan Lawrence Cherono won the men’s race by one second over Ethiopian Dejene Debela in 2:05:45.

Galen Rupp, reportedly dropped out in the final miles. He began fading from the lead pack before the 10-mile mark in his first race since last year’s Chicago Marathon. Rupp, who was also coached by Salazar, is coming back from Achilles surgery.

Mo Farah, the defending champion and four-time Olympic track gold medalist, finished eighth in 2:09:58. He also dropped from the leaders before the halfway point.

Kosgei raced her way to an early lead, breaking far away from her pack and continuing on pace to break not just a course but the woman’s world record. 

Kosgei has literally been unbeatable in 2019.

Kosgei wowed fans in 2017 with a second-place finish, but she made an even bigger splash last fall when she won the race with third-fastest time in Chicago's history.

Kenya's Gilbert Yegon and Betty Chepleting will seek the victory at Eindhoven marathon

 Kenya's Gilbert Yegon and Betty Chepleting hope to break through and win a big city marathon when they line up at the Eindhoven marathon on Sunday in the Netherlands.

Yegon leads a quartet of Kenyan stars keen to crash the course record and boost their selection prospects to the national team ahead of next year's Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Yegon, a bronze medalist from the Stockholm marathon, is seeking his first win in 2019. Last year, Yegon won the Dusseldorf marathon and was fifth at the Singapore marathon.

"I hope to run a fast race and boost my personal best time. But the important thing is to win against a strong challenge from Ethiopian and Turk runners. However, my training has gone on well and will be looking forward to a good performance," Yegon said in Nairobi on Friday.

Leading the women's charge will be Chepleting, who hopes to bounce back from a poor showing in China's Dongfeng Wuhan marathon, where she was seventh in two hours, 34 minutes and 26 seconds.

"This will be my third race in 2019. I was seventh in Wuhan and failed to finish in Nagoya. I also won in Tunis in 2018 and hopefully, I will be able to overcome my challenges and fears to stage a good show in Eindhoven and win," said Chepleting.

Race Director Marc Corstjens believes they have top elite runners who can break the two hours and six minutes mark.

"Since 2014, winners of the Eindhoven marathon managed to complete the course within an average time of 2:06:26. But only if all conditions like the weather, are excellent. However, their finishing times ensure Eindhoven's marathon is among the ten fastest marathons in the world," Corstjens said.

On paper, the four Kenyans have the fastest time. Yegon has a fast time of 2:06:18 with Laban Mutai (2:07:38) and Reuben Keiro (2:08:12) in the men's race and Chepleting (2:31:18) in the women's race.