Running News Daily

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.

Irvette van Zyl is slowly regaining her form in time for the defence of her Soweto Marathon title

She proved this at the weekend when she ran a credible 34:40 to finish third in the Johannesburg leg of the Spar Women’s 10km Grand Prix Series.

That run ensured she finished as the best-placed South African and third overall in the six race Series. Only the invincible Helalia Johannes of Namibia and Ethiopia’s Tadu Naru got the better of her.

A tearful Van Zyl spoke of the joy at finally sorting out an injury that has troubled her for close on a decade thanks to an operation she had recently.

“It has been troubling me for seven years. I did not know what was happening with my left leg until someone found what was wrong and I did the operation.”

But she had to wait a while before going under the knife: “I waited for so long for the operation to happen. I had to wait during pregnancy as the doctors thought it would be too risky to do it at that time.”

While she has not fully recovered, Van Zyl is delighted to be back on the road.

“It is good to be running again although I am still not feeling well a 100 percent. The medication I have been taking is giving tough times.”

There were no signs of her being unwell on Sunday though as she raced into an early lead and set the pace for the initial two kilometres before the amazing Johannes took over.

“Helalia has been unstoppable this year setting new records wherever she runs. It has not been easy for us to compete with us, especially for me as I was recovering from the operation. But I think we ran great times, we are improving.

“Remember my operation was only three months back. But I am happy with my performance in the Johannesburg leg. I am also excited with podium finish.”

The Spar Series success has lifted her confidence for next month’s Soweto Marathon where she is not only the defending champion but also the record holder.

“Of course I would like to defend my title again this year,” she said.

Ethiopian Seifu Tura is the latest addition to the Chicago Marathon

Bank of America Chicago Marathon officials have announced several changes to the elite field for Sunday’s race, including Getaneh Molla and Herpasa Negasa’s withdrawal from the race.

The runners, who both hail from Ethiopia, had the two best personal-records among the men’s field, but neither will participate in Sunday’s race.

Race organizers did announce that a pair of new runners will join the field, including Seifu Tura, the Ethiopian racer who set a blistering career best time in the Dubai Marathon in 2018, crossing the line in 2:04:44.

While that result was only good for seventh in the race, Tura did win the 2018 Milan Marathon in Italy and the 2018 Shanghai International Marathon in China, giving him a pair of quality victories that he’ll look to build upon in Chicago.

Also added to the field is Ethiopia’s Dejene Debela. The 24-year-old set a personal best time of 2:07:10 in the Eindhoven Marathon in the Netherlands back in 2017. He is the defending champion at the Xiamen International Marathon in China, posting a time of 2:09:26 in the race earlier this year.

He also won the Beijing Marathon in 2018 and is currently the 45th ranked marathon runner in the world, according to the IAAF.

Course Record Holder Meskerem Assefa returns to defend women’s title at Mainova Frankfurt Marathon

Last year’s women’s champion and course record holder Meskerem Assefa will return to run the Mainova Frankurt Marathon while another world-class Ethiopian distance runner will also be on the start line on October 27.

Tsegaye Mekonnen, the junior men’s world record holder in the marathon is set to race in the men’s division.  In addition to these new recruits to the elite line-up, two more athletes will be joining them in the race for top prizes: Kenya’s Olympic bronze medallist in the 5,000m in 2008, Sylvia Kibet and last year’s German champion Fabienne Königstein.

About 14,000 runners are expected to complete the field in the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon which is an IAAF Gold Label race, the highest category in road racing.

“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. 

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. 

Leonard Langat won the Cardiff Half Marathon clocking 59:30, taking 73 seconds off the course record for the IAAF Silver Label road race on Sunday

Langat produced a strong sprint finish to pip fellow Kenyan Shadrack Kimining, the winner in Cardiff in 2016, by a mere two seconds.

Langat’s winning time of 59:30 was just 12 seconds shy of his lifetime best, while long-time race leader Kimming was rewarded with a 10-second PB to finish second in 59:32.

There was a group of 10 athletes in the leading pack at 5km (14:06) and this was cut to four by 10km (28:05). Kimining led for much of the next 10 kilometers as he led Langat and defending champion John Lotiang through 15km (42:15) and 20km (56:34).

Kimining tried to push up the steep incline coming off Roath Park Lake up to Cathays Cemetery, but Langat refused to be shrugged off. He stayed on the shoulder of his rival before making his move coming down the finishing straight.

“I was feeling comfortable behind Shadrack and I pushed on in the final 500 meters,” said Langat. “I kept the pace up right to the finish because I was feeling so strong.

“I always feel strong when I am running happy and that is down to the fantastic training group I have in Kenya. This is a wonderful course and I am sure that someone could run faster than 58 minutes on it in the future.”

“I am happy to have run a PB and I think this is one of the fastest courses on which I have ever run,” said Kimining. “It is a bit like the event in Ras Al Khaimah.”

There was also a dramatic finish in the women’s race as Kenya’s Lucy Cheruiyot and Ethiopia’s Azmera Abreha ran side by side down the finishing straight, with another Kenyan, Paskalia Kipkoech, not far behind.

In the end, Cheruiyot’s strength carried her to victory, although both she and Abreha were given the same times, 68:20. Kipkoech was a further five seconds behind in 68:25.

Kenyan runner Hillary Kipsambu won the 96th International Peace Marathon in Kosice clocking 2:09:33

This was Kenya's 11th victory in a row and the 17th triumph of a runner from this country at the Košice marathon, which is the oldest one in Europe, the SITA newswire reported.

Altogether, about 14,500 runners competed in the marathon, the regional Korzár daily wrote.

Apart from the laurel wreath, Kipsambu also received a financial reward of €12,000 since he finished the race in under 2:10 hours. However, he did not break the record of his fellow countryman Lawrence Kimaiya from 2012, who finished the race in 2:07:01 hours.

Shumet Mengistu of Ethiopia came second (2:10:50), followed by Tsegay Tuemay of Eritrea (2:11:02). African runners have dominated the marathon since 2005, Korzár wrote.

“I wanted to improve my personal record of 2:07:20 from last year’s autumn marathon in Amsterdam, but nobody could do it with such a wind,” Kipsambu said after the race, as quoted by SITA.

Several other participants complained about the weather, too. The last time there was such bad weather during the marathon was in 1998, according to meteorologists.

A record was broken in the women’s category. The winner, Ethiopian Sichala Kumeshi Deress, finished the race in 2:26:01. Last year’s winner Miliam Ebongon of Kenya crossed the finish line in 2:27:16.

“I was in good form, so the wind didn’t bother me,” Kumeshi Deress said, as quoted by SITA.

However, she added that if there hadn't been any wind, she may have been able to finish around 2 hours and 23 minutes.

Second placed Chemtai Rionotukei from Kenya (2:33:27), followed by another Kenyan, Joan Jepchirchir Kigen (2:34:05).

Lelisa Desisa wins the marathon at the IAAF World Athletic Championships in Doha

Lelisa Desisa added a world marathon gold to the silver he won in Moscow six years ago as he and teammate Mosinet Geremew headed an Ethiopian one-two on the Corniche in conditions that were significantly more forgiving than those that had seen a slew of women marathoners pulling out on the opening day of the championships.

Desisa clocked a season’s best of 2:10:40, with Geremew four seconds back. Bronze went to Kenya’s Amos Kipruto, who finished in 2:10:51, with Britain’s Callum Hawkins clocking 2:10:57 to repeat his fourth placing from the 2017 World Championships marathon in London.

With the temperature at about 29C (84F), and humidity at about 48%, the two Ethiopians were part of a group that caught up with early breakaway leader Derlys Ayala of Paraguay just before halfway point and maintained enough energy to push on to glory in the final kilometre.

They left in their wake Kenya’s Kipruto, who had also been a part of the long-time leading group, and Hawkins, whose massive mid-race effort brought him into the lead group of three with only a couple of kilometres to go.

The effort to get there, however, cost the Briton dearly, and he had to accept his second successive fourth place in this event following the London running two years ago.

In the interim, Hawkins hit the headlines when he collapsed in the heat of the Gold Coast when he was only a mile or so away from what looked like a runaway win at the Commonwealth Games.

On this occasion he maintained his effort to the line, although that seemed little consolation to him in the immediate aftermath.

So Desisa went one better than he had in 2013, although the action that earned him most renown that year was his gesture in donating his Boston Marathon winning medal back to the city in sympathy with the bombing that took place near the finish line nearly three hours after he had passed it.

"It was hot, but I prepared perfectly for this race," said Desisa, who won the New York City Marathon last year. "I am very tired. But after I took silver in Moscow, this time I kept my power better.”

Zersenay Tadese, Eritrea’s five-time world half-marathon champion, led the lead group for much of the second half of the race before dropping to sixth place in 2:11:29.

One place above him, in 2:11:09, was South Africa’s Stephen Mokoka, who had also taken the responsibility for the lead for long periods.

Ayala, who had run a personal best of 2:10:27 only two weeks earlier in Buenos Aires, dropped out very soon after the halfway mark – one of 18 who failed to finish from the field of 73.

A side-by-side comparison of Kipchoge and Bekele’s Berlin Marathons

On Sunday morning, Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia ran just two seconds outside of the marathon world record in a finishing time of 2:01:41. On a slightly wet and humid day, following what Bekele described as a less than ideal build, his run on Sunday was phenomenal–but not quite good enough for a world record.

Both Kipchoge and Bekele ran their times on identical Berlin courses one year apart, and when examining the splits of the race, they’re shockingly similar except for a few minor differences (but when you’re talking about two seconds overall, minor differences matter).

If you put the splits side by side, Kipchoge and Bekele ran identical times through 5K (14:24), two seconds apart through 20K (57:56 and 57:58), one second apart through the half (1:01:05 and 1:01:06) and at 40K, nearly identical times again (1:55:30 to 1:55:32).

The biggest discrepancy in cumulative time between the two runs was the 30K split. Kipchoge was at 1:26:45 in 2018 and Bekele was 1:26:55 in 2019. Ten seconds in a marathon at most levels is a blink of an eye, but when we’re talking two seconds away from a world record, it makes a difference. The 30K mark was when when Bekele was noticeably behind Birhanu Legese, who was in a comfortable lead. Over the next 12K, Bekele made up a lot of time, but not quite enough time to snag the world record.

Relative to Kipchoge, Bekele started slightly faster (5-15K) and finished (25-40K) slightly slower. It’s possible that Kipchoge’s more conservative start could have given him the edge one year ago.

n two weeks’ time, Kipchoge will line up once again in hopes of making history. The current world record holder is aiming to become the first person to run under two hours for the marathon, a mark he attempted in 2017 with the help of Nike and the creation of the Breaking2 project.

Men’s World Championship steeplechase final goes to photo finish

It was a very tight finish in the men's 3,000m steeplechase between Kenya's Kipruto and Girma of Ethiopia

he men’s 3,000m steeplechase final has been the toughest to call of any of the finishes in the World Championships thus far. The race was a battle between Conseslsus Kipruto of Kenya, Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia, Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco and Getnet Wale of Ethiopia. In the end, it was reigning World Champion Kipruto who took the title once more over Girma. They were seperated by 0.01s.

Kipruto finished in 8:01.35 which is a world lead, second place went to Girma in 8:01.36 and third to El Bakkali in 8:03.76. Canadian Matt Hughes finished 14th in the final in 8:24.78.

In contrast, Monday’s women’s steeplechase was not a close call. Beatrice Chepkoech of Kenya ran away from the field to win the World Championships and set a new championship record of 8:57.84. The Kenyan runner, who’s the world record-holder in the event (at 8:44), lost to American Emma Coburn (who finished second Monday) at the 2017 championships.

Callum Hawkins has been training in a heat chamber for Doha

The last time Callum Hawkins tried to win a marathon gold medal he went viral – with the images of him collapsing with heatstroke and dehydration at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Australia spreading around the world.

But as the 27-year-old Scot prepares to run 26.2 miles in the 32C heat and 50% humidity of Doha he has revealed a secret weapon: using a stack of heaters while on a treadmill in his shed to replicate the desert conditions at the world championships.

“I’ve been doing a bit of work in a heat chamber to prepare as well as getting the Aldi heaters,” he says. “I got it up to 39 degrees at one point. It’s a big proper shed and not a wee tiny one.”

Hawkins, who finished fourth at the 2017 world championships in London, insists he is not worried about a repeat of the Gold Coast – despite nearly half the field in the women’s marathon being forced to pull out due to the extreme conditions.

When asked what were the odds of him buying a one-way ticket back home after seeing that race, he laughed. “Never even thought of it,” he said.

“I’ve prepared well or at least I think I’ve prepared well. I learned a lot from watching it and I’ve got eight years of learning. It’s mainly about being patient – make sure I’m close enough but not doing too much or overheating.

“I’ve run well in the heat in the past – I ran decent in Rio and London in 2017 was not roasting but it was getting up there, into the 20s in the sun. Everyone is in the same boat. It’s about who prepares best and making sure your race plan matches the conditions.”

Most of the world’s top marathon runners will not be here – Eliud Kipchoge, the Olympic champion, is preparing to go under two hours in Vienna while Mo Farah will run at the Chicago marathon on Sunday week. However, Hawkins insists he is still facing a strong field.

“It’s got two Ethiopians who were second and third in London, the former world champion and the Kenyan team is always strong,” he said. “But we saw at the women’s that times don’t really matter, what you’ve done in the past doesn’t really matter. The women were 15 minutes off their best; it’s about who can get closest to their actual best. With the conditions it’s anyone’s race.”

Can Ethiopian runner Tadelech Bekele win the TCS Amsterdam Marathon on Sunday October 20 for the third time

The Ethiopian runner already made history in Amsterdam by convincingly winning the last two events. A third victory would be even more significant if she breaks the course record of 2.21.09. Former world-champion Linet Masai is a formidable opponent for Bekele. The Kenyan is also in the race to win the fast autumn marathon in Amsterdam.

After achieving fantastic times in the half marathon (1.08.38) and the 10 km (30.38), Tadelech Bekele made her debut in the Berlin marathon in 2014. She put in a stunning performance over the classic distance, with a time of 2.23.02.

The 28-year old athlete from The NN Running Team then gradually upped her pace in the marathon and achieved her PB in 2018. That same year, the Ethiopian was third in the London Marathon with a personal record of 2.21.40; she then went onto win in Amsterdam.

Organiser Le Champion has a former world-champion on the start line, in the shape of Linet Masai. In 2009, Masai was 10,000 m world champion. As a junior over this distance, the Kenyan was third at the Olympic Games in 2008 in Beijing (only awarded in 2017). She is also a class apart on the roads. In 2009 and 2014, she won the Dam tot Damloop and ran the half marathon in 1.08.50.

After having a baby, she decided to make her debut in the marathon last year. In a strong field in the TCS Amsterdam Marathon, she was fifth with a time of 2.23.46. In Amsterdam, we are all looking forward to the return of this fast Kenyan runner.

Nine-time U.S. champion Aliphine Tuliamuk has been added to the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon

Aliphine Tuliamuk will race her second TCS New York City Marathon and has had previous success in Central Park with three consecutive podium finishes at the 2016, 2017, and 2018 NYRR New York Mini 10K.

Earlier this year, she finished third at the Rotterdam Marathon in 2:26:48, becoming the first American woman to hit the Olympic qualifying standard for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Ethiopia’s Worknesh Degefa, winner of the 2019 Boston Marathon, has scratched from the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon after suffering from metatarsalgia in her left foot which caused her to lose too much training time.

This year’s professional athlete field will include all four previously announced defending champions: Kenya’s Mary Keitany, Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa, the United States’ Daniel Romanchuk, and Switzerland’s Manuela Schär. Keitany will go for her fifth career title in New York, Schär will race for her third consecutive crown, and Desisa and Romanchuk will look to post back-to-back victories.

In total, 13 Olympians and 18 Paralympians will toe the line, including Rio 2016 U.S. Olympians Des Linden and Jared Ward and 17-time U.S. Paralympic medalist Tatyana McFadden.

The 2019 TCS New York City Marathon will be televised live on Sunday, November 3, on WABC-TV, Channel 7 in the New York tristate area, throughout the rest of the nation on ESPN2, and around the world through various international broadcasters.

The TCS New York City Marathon is the largest marathon in the world and the signature event of New York Road Runners (NYRR), the world’s premier community running organization.

The race is held annually on the first Sunday of November and includes over 50,000 runners, from the world’s top professional athletes to runners of all ages and abilities, including over 9,000 charity runners. Participants from over 125 countries tour the diverse neighborhoods of New York City’s five boroughs—Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. Race morning also features the Rising New York Road Runners Youth Invitational at the TCS New York City Marathon, a race within Central Park that ends at the marathon finish line.

More than one million spectators and 10,000 volunteers line the city’s streets in support of the runners, while millions more watch the globally televised broadcast. The race is a founding member of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, which features the world’s top marathons—Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York.  Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting, and business solutions organization, is the premier partner of NYRR and the title sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon.

World 10,000 meters champion Sifan Hassan says her career has been thrown into uncertainty by Salazar ban

Sifan Hassan says her career has been thrown into uncertainty after her coach Alberto Salazar was handed a four-year ban.

The 61-year-old American was banned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for “orchestrating and facilitating prohibited doping conduct” as head coach of the Nike Oregon Project (NOP), a camp designed primarily to develop U.S. endurance athletes.

Salazar has denied wrongdoing and vowed to appeal and Nike said it will stand by the coach. There has been no suggestion of wrongdoing by Hassan.

Ethiopian-born Hassan, who joined the NOP in 2016, told Dutch broadcaster NOS that she was stunned by the news.

“I am always clean. I always want to stay clean,” said the 26-year-old, who won the 10,000 meters at the world athletics championship on Saturday and will also run the 1,500 meters later in the competition.

“I never thought something went wrong in this training group. Never.”

She was not sure what would happen next.

“Next year we have the Olympics, where do I have to go then? Do I have to find a new coach? Do I have to do an other training? Do I have to meet other people?,” she said.

Ad Roskam, technical director of the Netherlands athletics federation, said that Hassan would be guided by the Dutch head coach Charles van Commenee for the rest of the competition.

“We first of all are here for the world championships. That has to run smoothly for the whole team,” he added.

In a statement issued earlier on Tuesday, Hassan said the USADA investigation was focused on the period before she joined the NOP and “has no relation to me.”

She said she was saddened that the announcement was made during the world championships.

Ethiopia’s Muktar Edris, Repeats As 5,000 World Champion

Ethiopia’s Muktar Edris, the man who two years ago shocked the world by knocking off Mo Farah to capture the men’s 5000-meter world title, has done it again. Edris came into the 2019 IAAF Worlds Athletics Championships as a 15/2 underdog, having done nothing this year (his SB was just 13:29), but he will leave it once again with a gold medal hanging around his neck as he used a 55.07 final lap to close out a 3:59.63 final 1600 (64.62, 60.84, 58.99, 55.07) and come from behind to win gold in 12:58.85.

Edris’ compatriot Selemon Barega, who ran 12:43 last year, nabbed silver in 12:59.70. Moh Ahmed of the Bowerman Track Club made history for in third (13:01.11), earning Canada’s first-ever world or Olympic medal in an event longer than 1500 meters, after a confident run that saw him lead from 3800 until just after the bell.

Norway’s teen sensation Jakob Ingebrigtsen, 19, the youngest sub-4 miler in history and betting favorite, ended up fifth in 13:02.29 after putting forth his best impersonation of Steve Prefontaine at the 1972 Olympics. Ingebrigtsen boldly ran for gold taking the lead with just less than 300 meters to go before totally running out of gas in the last 100, which he covered in just 17.17 seconds.

Two of Ingebrigtsen’s older brothers were also in the race. Filip Ingebrigtsen was still with the lead pack with a lap and half to go and actually still ahead of the race winner Edris when he raised the white flag and stepped into the infield with 550 meters remaining, saving himself for the 1500 meters, where he won bronze in 2017. Henrik Ingebrigtsen was dropped early in the race and finished 13th in 13:36.25.

American Paul Chelimo, who had medalled as the last two global outdoor championships in the 5000, entered the final lap in 4th but ended up 7th in 13:05.27.

Edith Chelimo of Kenya set a new course record to win the Great Scottish Run in Glasgow

The 33-year-old finished the half marathon in one hour, seven minutes 38 seconds after a powerful display of front running.

The men's champion, Timothy Toroitich, also led for a long way, breaking clear after seven miles.

The 27-year-old from Uganda finished well ahead of closest challenger Micah Kogo in a time of 1:01:29.

Kogo just held off fellow Kenyan Stephen Kiprop as the race concluded in Glasgow Green.

England's Chris Thompson, bidding for a third successive title, struggled with the fierce pace and finished seventh.

Nancy Kiprop was runner-up to Chelimo, with Askale Merachi of Ethiopia in third.

Sara Hall of Flagstaff finished fifth Sunday at the Berlin Marathon, first among American women

Sara Hall, 36, ran a personal best 2 hours, 22 minutes, 16 seconds, sixth fastest in U.S. marathon history. Her previous PR was 2:26.20 at the 2018 Ottawa Marathon.

The women’s race was won by Ashete Bekere in 2:20:14, pulling away at the end from fellow-Ethiopian Mare Dibaba, 2:20:21, with Kenya’s Sally Chepyego taking third overall in 2:21:06.

Hall’s time takes four minutes from her previous best time of 2:26:20 and moves her up to sixth in the U.S. all-time rankings.

“I’m very happy. It’s the first time I’ve run a marathon with negative splits,” Hall told Runner’s World. “When I began to catch other women after halfway, I had fun and ran some 5:15 miles. It got tough near the end, with strong wind and running alone, but I finished strong. Ryan and I knew I was ready for an improvement, and it’s good to do it well.”

Hall is among several women with Arizona ties who are U.S. contenders for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Others include Amy Cragg, Emily Sisson, Kellyn Taylor, Desiree Linden, Allie Kieffer and Stephanie Bruce. 

Hall also gave a lot of credit to her husband and coach, Ryan Hall, who is the American record holder in the half marathon. She said it was her best period of training ever, with not one day off for injury or illness since racing Boston in April.

“We knew from her training times that she was ready to move to a new level. It was a matter of getting it right in the race today,” Ryan Hall added.

Kenenisa Bekele wins Berlin Marathon just missed breaking the world record by two seconds

Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele won the Berlin Marathon in 2:01:41, the second-fastest time in history, on Sunday.

Bekele, 37, missed Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge‘s world record, set in Berlin last year, by two seconds.

Kipchoge skipped Berlin this year to attempt a special sub-two-hour marathon in October in Vienna, not under record-eligible conditions.

Former Olympic and world champion Kenenisa Bekele staged a thrilling comeback on Sunday, dramatically missing the world record by two seconds.  

Ethiopian Bekele, winner in Berlin in 2016 and world record holder over 5,000 and 10,000 meters, finished in two hours, one minute and 41 seconds, agonizingly close to Eliud Kipchoge's world record time despite a full sprint in the final 400 meters.

"I felt a little pain in the beginning so I dropped behind," Bekele told reporters. "After a few kilometers I started relaxing so I tied to push a little bit.

"I am very sorry. I am not lucky. I am very happy running my personal best. But I still can do this (world record). I don't give up. It is encouraging for the future."

Bekele was part of a group, including fellow countrymen Birhanu Legese and Sisay Lemma, that quickly broke from the pack with a quick pace.

Legese, winner of this year's Tokyo marathon, then gradually shook off Bekele and then Lemma after the 30km mark.

But Bekele battled back, leaving Lemma in his wake and then reined in Legese to cruise ahead but missed the world record time by two seconds despite a thrilling sprint toward the finish line.

"I was recovering (from injury) only three months ago. My preparation was not 100%. Fantastic result but I feel sorry missing marathon record by two seconds," Bekele said.

Legese took second place in 2:02:48, becoming the third fastest marathon runner ever. Lemma was third, another 48 seconds behind.

In the women's race Ethiopian Ashete Bekere beat Mare Dibaba in a sprint to the finish to win with a time of 2:20:14 and complete the Ethiopian sweep.

Kenya’s Gladys Cherono returns to the Berlin Marathon in search of a fourth victory on Sunday

One year on from breaking the course record at the BMW Berlin Marathon, Kenya’s Gladys Cherono returns to the IAAF Gold Label road race in search of a fourth victory on Sunday.

Cherono clocked 2:18:11 in the German capital 12 months ago, winning her third Berlin Marathon title and breaking a course record that had stood for 13 years. A fourth triumph here would give her more wins than any other woman.

“I’ve trained well and my aim is to retain my title,” said Cherono, who stands at sixth on the world all-time list. “I hope also to set a personal best.”

Although her compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot has had to withdraw because of achilles tendon problems, multiple world and Olympic gold medalist Meseret Defar could prove to be a tough competitor.

The Ethiopian won Olympic titles at 5000m in 2004 and 2012 and earlier this year clocked a PB of 2:23:33 in what was just her second marathon to date.

“I have had many injuries in recent years but now I’ve been training well,” said the 35-year-old. “I decided to run Berlin because the course is so fast.”

Another Ethiopian, Olympic bronze medalist and 2015 world champion Mare Dibaba, is keen to get back to the form that brought her to a PB of 2:19:52.

Germany’s Melat Kejeta will be making her marathon debut and is hoping to run 2:22, which would be comfortably inside the Olympic qualifying time of 2:29:30 and would make her the third-fastest German woman of all time. Compatriot Anna Hahner is also targeting the Olympic qualifying mark.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cardiff Half Marathon announced High quality field for this year´s event

Former IAAF World Cross Country Champion Japhet Korir (60:08) will headline in Cardiff. The Kenyan athlete was the youngest ever senior Champion when he took the global crown in Bydgozsz in 2013. His P.B. came as he finished fourth in Lille two years ago, running just a second slower for fourth at the Hague in 2018.

Wilson Chebet (59:15) is the fastest athlete on paper. He has a 2:05.27 best for the Marathon set when winning in Rotterdam in 2011. He then set the course record in Amsterdam in 2013 and finished second in Boston in 2014. He was also sixth at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships at Birmingham in 2009.

Leonard Langat (59:18) ran his lifetime best when finishing second at Roma Ostia in 2016 and more recently finished second at the Hague with 59:41 last year. He has also recorded top five finishes in Barcelona, Istanbul, Gothenbourg and Yanzhou.

Shadrack Kimining (59:42) was the winner in Cardiff back in 2016 at what was his first race outside of his native Kenya. Kimining has made something of a breakthrough this year, going under the hour mark for Half Marathon with a 59:42 clocking at the Ras Al Kaimah Half Marathon in February. John Lotiang (60:08) is another former Cardiff winner (2017) who will be in action in Cardiff.

Teshome Mekonnen (60:02) has come agonisingly close to the hour mark in the past and will hope to dip under in Cardiff. He was the fourth Ethiopian scorer at the IAAF World Championships in Cardiff in 2016.

Kennedy Kimutai has run 27:38 for 10km on the road and will be making a well anticipated Half Marathon debut in Cardiff.

The women’s race will be equally as competitive this year as athletes chase the course record of 65:51 set by Edith Chelimo in 2017.

Paskalia Kipkoech (67:17) is another global medallist coming to Wales. She claimed bronze at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 2012, with recent form including a 67:38 clocking in February.

Kipkoech is familiar with Cardiff after finishing seventh at the IAAF World Championships here in 2016 and was a member of the Gold medal winning team on that occasion.

Lucy Cheruiyot (67:23) was fourth at the 2019 Sportismo Prague Half Marathon one place behind Lydia Mathathi (67:51) who is next fastest for Cardiff.

Azmera Abreha (69:55) is an exciting prospect owing to her performances in the Marathon which includes second at the 2018 Shanghai International Marathon and a 2:21.51 best for the distance. She is joined by fellow Ethiopian Birhan Mihretu (69:33).

Leading ethiopian trio, Ayele Abshero, Solomon Deksisa and Tadu Abate are set to battle at the TCS Amsterdam Marathon on Sunday October 20

Ayele Abshero, Solomon Deksisa and Tadu Abate will be competing for victory during the TCS Amsterdam Marathon on Sunday 20 October. The Ethiopian trio will try to lower the already very fast course record of 2:04:06. On paper, Abshero is the fastest, with a top finish time of 2:04:23. Last year Deksisa was third to cross the finish line in the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium in 2:04:40. And Tadu Abate won the Hamburg Marathon this spring.

Ayele Abshero has fond memories of the Netherlands, having won the NN Egmond Half Marathon in 2011, 2014 and 2019. The 28-year-old marathon runner’s personal best is a world-class time of 2:04:23, which led him to a glorious win during his marathon debut in Dubai in 2012. This was followed by a third-place finish in the London marathon in 2013 and a second-place finish in Hamburg earlier this year. For Ayele, the TCS Amsterdam Marathon will be an opportunity to gain revenge against compatriot and rival Tadu Abate, who beat him to the finish line by a second in the Hamburg Marathon this spring.

Solomon Deksisa shaved a massive two minutes off his personal best in Amsterdam last year, lowering it to 2:04:40. This was the 25-year-old Ethiopian’s third success in 2018, after winning the Mumbai marathon in January and the Hamburg Marathon in April.

Tadu Abate is the youngest of the Ethiopian athletes. The talented 22-year-old runner finished second in his debut marathon in Hamburg last year. He then placed seventh in Amsterdam with a time of 2:06:47, and continued his string of impressive performances by winning his first major marathon in Hamburg.

As has already been announced, Abdi Nageeye will also be running the TCS Amsterdam Marathon. He will be aiming to beat his own Dutch marathon record of 2:06:17 and is odds-on favorite to win the marathon title in the capital.

The TCS Amsterdam Marathon ranks as the world's sixth fastest marathon city and is since 2018 also the Netherlands' fastest marathon. Lawrence Cherono, who won last year’s marathon, demonstrated yet again that it is possible to run a fast time in Amsterdam. The Kenyan shaved more than a minute off the course record he set in 2017, finishing in 2:04:06.

The three main distances of the TCS Amsterdam Marathon are completely sold out. On Sunday October 20th 45.000 runners appear at the start of the marathon, 

Ethiopia’s Bekelech Gudeta Borecha will make her Debut at Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

A first-time marathon requires a great leap of faith as any distance runner can attest. And so it is that Ethiopian distance star Bekelech Gudeta, who will turn 22 nine days before the race, enters the unknown at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon tackling one of the strongest women’s fields assembled on Canadian soil. Though she has no experience at the classic marathon distance she has performed admirably these past two years in the half marathon, running under 1:08 on three occasions, most recently on September 15th. That time of 1:07:21 earned her 6th place in the Copenhagen Half Marathon, which, like Toronto, is an IAAF Gold Label race. A year ago, she recorded her personal best 1:07:03 on the same course.

"I am really happy to start the marathon," she reveals. " have run some half marathons and I think I can run a (good) marathon as a half marathon is a quicker pace than the marathon. I started preparation for the Toronto Waterfront Marathon from June. My target is to run a fast time in Toronto."

The women’s course record in Toronto is 2:22:29 and was set a year ago by Mimi Belete the Ethiopian who now runs for Bahrain. This doesn’t seem to faze Gudeta.

"My coach is Dawit Hiluf and he is telling me that I can run sub 2:22 in my first marathon," she says. "He is telling me the athletes with 1:07 in the half marathon have run 2:19 to 2:21 in the marathon and he is telling me it is possible to run fast in the first marathon. He is telling me that the Toronto marathon has a fast course. We expect to see me on the Toronto marathon podium with a fast time."

What gives her more confidence is that she has increased her training volume significantly this year but did not reduce it for her Copenhagen appearance. Training through Copenhagen and still coming away with a time just 18 seconds slower than her best must have been satisfying to her and her coach.

"Last year I was doing 100km per week now it’s 160 - 170km. So, I was expecting to run 1:05 (in Copenhagen) but this year there was too much wind. We ran against the wind. Especially when I dropped from the leading group it was difficult. But I am happy as I ran sub 68 for my third time."

Gudeta is a member of a training group put together by Volare Sports, a Netherlands based sports management company. It includes Hiwot Gebrekidan (2nd in Ottawa in both 2017 and 2018) Betelhem Moges (2nd in Ottawa 2019) and Abeba Gebremeskel (2nd place Seville marathon 2019). Like other runners she lives in the Ararat area of Addis, Ethiopia’s capital and shares a ride to training sites outside the city.

"Our training is in different places around Addis most of time we train in Sululta, Sendafa, Kaliti, Entoto, Sebeta and around Ararat inside Addis," she continues.

"We have a Volare team bus and we meet 3-4 times per week training program with a team. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and sometimes Sunday we train together with the team and Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we have easy training separately. When we are not with the team I train around Ararat."

Bekelech has not always lived in Addis. She was born in Shona just 50 kilometers outside the capital. After being introduced to running at school and having some success one of her brothers encouraged her to move to Addis and become a serious runner. She credits him with her success.

In Toronto she will face her experienced compatriots Dibaba Kuma, Eshetu Biruktayit and Hiwot Gebrekidan as well as Kenya’s Magdalyne Masai and Ruth Chebitok.

While the Toronto Waterfront Marathon signifies a dramatic change in direction for Bekelech Gudeta she sees it as a step towards meeting her ultimate goals.

"My goal is be a world class athlete like (Kenya’s four-time New York Marathon champion) Mary Keitany and Tirunesh Dibaba (three-time Olympic champion from Ethiopia)," she declares. " have represented my country during the World Half Marathon Championship last year in Valencia and I was 8th place. I want to represent Ethiopia again in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics or in other Olympics. It is my dream as a runner."

Ethiopia's Andamlak Belihu and Tsehay Gemechu are ready to defend their men´s and women´s Airtel Delhi Half Marathon titles

Ethiopia's Andamlak Belihu and Tsehay Gemechu will return to defend their men's and women's titles respectively in the 15th edition of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon on October 20.

Belihu won men's half marathon title of this prestigious IAAF Gold Label Road Race last year in 59:18, just missing out on the course record of 59:06 which remained since 2014 in the name of compatriot Guye Adola.

"Immediately after last year's race I said that I was going to come back to Delhi in 2019 as I had unfinished business with the course record and I am keeping my promise," commented Belihu, who will still be just 20 on race day.

He returned to India in May earlier this year to also win the TCS World 10K title in Bengaluru, another IAAF Gold Label Road Race promoted by Procam International.

Last year, Belihu had to work hard to hold off his fellow Ethiopian Amdework Walelegn to win by four seconds. Walelegn will also return with the ambition of going one better in this year's race.

No less than eight men in the ADHM 2019 elite field have run under the world class benchmark of one hour but much of the attention will be on a man who has yet to run the distance, Hagos Gebrhiwet.

Gebrhiwet had planned to make his half marathon debut in Delhi last year but a late bout of illness curtailed his training. However, he will stand on the start line this year. He won a bronze in Rio Olympics 5000m race.

The fastest man in Delhi this year will be Erick Kiptanui. The Kenyan notched up two impressive half marathon victories in 2018 when winning at high-quality Lisbon and Berlin races, coming home in the German capital in a personal best 58:42, and he is currently equal seventh on the world all-time list.

Kiptanui has been concentrating mainly on the track but had a solid win at the Barcelona Half Marathon earlier in the year.

In the women's elite section last year, Gemechu made a huge impact in her debut over the distance when she set an ADHM women's course record of 66:50 and in 2019 she has shown it was no fluke with a string of sparkling performances both on the roads and the track, including taking the African Games 10,000m title.

The third and fourth-placed women from the ADHM 2018 also return with Ethiopia's Zeineba Yimer and Kenya's Stacy Ndiwa coming back to do battle.

The fastest woman in the ADHM 2019 elite field will be Caroline Kipkirui. The Kenyan-born runner, who now competes under the Kazakhstan flag, set a personal best of 65:07 in the 2018 Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon.

Alemu Kebede of Ethiopia will aim for 2:20 course record at the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon

Could spectators witness a new women’s course record at the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon on 27 October? Two women who could be about to produce a world class time of around 2:20 are among the favorites.

Valary Jemeli of Kenya has a best of 2:20:53 while her Ethiopian rival Alemu Kebede has achieved 2:22:52. Alemu also showed last weekend that she is in formidable form in preparation for the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon, running her fastest ever half marathon in Copenhagen.

Two European runners who could also feature are Ana Dulce Felix of Portugal and Britain’s Stephanie Twell as well as the home contender Katharina Steinruck.

“We have put together a strong women’s elite field once again and expect a high-class and possibly thrilling race. Our goal is to one day have a sub 2:20 course record. It would of course be great if we could achieve it this year,” said race director Jo Schindler. With 14,000 runners expected to take part, the organizers say places remain available for this IAAF Gold Label race, the top category awarded for road races worldwide.

Last year the Ethiopian Meskerem Assefa improved Frankfurt’s course record to an impressive 2:20:36. It is highly possible that with good weather conditions this time could be under threat on October 27 and the city beside the River Main will stage its first ever sub-2:20 time by a woman.

Valary Jemeli has certainly gone close to that barrier on several occasions. The Kenyan has broken 2:22 three times with her best achieved in Berlin two years ago when she finished third in 2:20:53. A strong sign of her potential for sub-2:20 is a personal best of 66:14 for the half marathon, set this year.

A strong performance at half marathon is also a reason for making Alemu Kebede one of the favorites. The Ethiopian finished fourth in a highly competitive women’s field for the half marathon in Copenhagen last Sunday, improving her personal best to 66:43. In spring this year she set another personal best to win the Rome Marathon in 2:22:52.

Ana Dulce Felix has been one of the best European marathon runners for some time now. The 36-year-old Portuguese will be making her debut at the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon. She has a personal best of 2:25:15 and took 16th place in the 2016 Olympic Games marathon in Rio.

A runner who might well use Frankfurt as a springboard to establishing herself among the European Marathon elite is Stephanie Twell. The 30-year-old Briton was once regarded as a potential successor to Paula Radcliffe after some outstanding performances at junior level but subsequently suffered injuries which hindered her development. She made her marathon debut in Valencia last December, finishing seventh in 2:30:14. This could be a good omen for a marathon breakthrough.

Katharina Steinruck will be running the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon for the third year in succession. The 29-year-old competes for the home club Eintracht Frankfurt and is making her first appearance at the distance since heel surgery.

Her target will be the qualifying time for the Tokyo Olympics next year which is 2:29:30. Steinruck, better known under her maiden name of Katharina Heinig, has a personal best of 2:28:34.

Boniface Kongin and Grace Kwamboka Momanyi from Kenya gave strong performances and reached the top step of the podium, winning the 2019 running of the Marathon de Montréal

Approximately 10,430 registered runners took to the streets on Sunday to participate in the 29th edition of the International Oasis Marathon de Montréal, a musically themed Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series® event.

Giving runners the opportunity to run to the Beat in Their Feet™, the Marathon de Montréal provided participants great music in a community environment as runners of all athletic levels enjoyed the sights and sounds of Montréal.

With a time of 2:15:18, Kongin crossed the finish line first in the male marathon, followed by Mohamed Aagab from Morocco in second place, finishing with a time of 2:19:43 while the third step of the podium belongs to Isaac Maiyo of Kenya with a time of 2:23:17.

On the women's side, Kenyan athlete Grace Kwamboka Momanyi finished first with a time of 2:40:51 followed by fellow Kenyan Joan Massah in second, with a time of 2:42:46. Magarsa Tafa from Ethiopia rounded out the podium with a time of 2:46:41. Standout performance from Quebecers François Jarry and Paméla Bouvier, who finished in 5th and 6th position, respectively, place them atop of all runners representing the province.

The elite field competed for a total of $55,000 (USD) in prize money.

"The Marathon de Montréal's race program represents a solid challenge for both seasoned athletes and newcomers alike. It is always inspiring to see them all surpass themselves and give everything to cross the distances of the marathon and the half-marathon. Driven by the encouragement of the crowd throughout the course, it is always with great emotion that we welcome them to the finish line," said Dominique Piché, producer and race director of the Marathon de Montréal. 

Kenya’s Evans Chebet breaks south american all-comers´ record in Buenos Aires

Kenya’s Evans Chebet stopped the clock at 2:05:02 at the Buenos Aires Marathon on Sunday, breaking the South American all-comers’ record in the process at the IAAF Bronze Label road race.

Chebet was joined by compatriots Daniel Kibet, Allan Kiprono and Reuben Kipyego through the first half, which was covered in a swift 1:02:13, suggesting that the course record of 2:05:21, set last year, was under threat.

Kiprono was the first of the Kenyan quartet to drop off the pace, and by 30km it was down to just Chebet and Kipyego. Although Chebet’s pace slowed slightly in the second half, he was able to detach himself from Kipyego at about 34km and went on to win in 2:05:02, taking 28 seconds off the PB he set in Valencia two years ago.

Kipyego finished second in 2:05:19 with Kibet placing third in 2:06:52.

Rodah Tanui took almost five minutes off the women’s course record to win in 2:25:46.

Having been joined by Ethiopia’s Mulu Demissie for the first half, Tanui broke away from her opponent before the 25-kilometre mark and went on to win comfortably.

Demissie finished second in 2:30:33 with Faith Chemaoi placing third in 2:32:52.

Eliud Kipchoge will have a total of 42 pacemakers as he seeks to run the marathon in under two hours at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge

World record holder and Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge will have a total of 42 pacemakers as he seeks to run the marathon in under two hours at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria in October.

More than half the pacemakers tasked with helping Kipchoge become the first man to break the two-hour mark either live and train in Kenya or have roots from the country.

"13 more pacemakers have been confirmed to help Kipchoge in his bid to become the first human to run a sub-two hour marathon at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna in October," organizers said in a statement on Wednesday.

All 13 of the pacers took part in testing for the challenge in Vienna at the start of September and will return for the real thing in three weeks' time with the aim of helping Kipchoge make history.

The other named pacers in this group include:

Eric Kiptanui of Kenya, who holds the sixth-fastest half-marathon time (58:42) from the 2018 Berlin Half-Marathon, Another slate of 13 elite runners has been named who will take turns pacing Eliud Kipchoge to what the world hopes will be the first-ever sub-two-hour marathon next month in Vienna, and it includes Marius Kipserem of Kenya, who set a new course record of 2:04:11 at the 2019 Rotterdam Marathon.

The other named pacers in this group include:

Eric Kiptanui of Kenya, who holds the sixth-fastest half-marathon time (58:42) from the 2018 Berlin Half-Marathon.

Micah Kogo of Kenya, 10000m bronze medallist at the 2008 Olympics, Chala Regasa of Ethiopia, who set a course record of 27:23 at the Valencia 10K Ibercaja in January, which is this year’s sixth-fastest time in the world over 21.1K. 

Gideon Kipketer of Kenya, who set his marathon PB of 2:05:51 at Tokyo in 2017, where he finished second.

Stanley Kebenei of USA, who raced the World Cross Country Championships in Denmark in March, and who finished second in the USATF 3,000m steeplechase national championships and will have just competed at the World Championships in Doha when he returns to Vienna.

Shadrack Koech of Kazakhstan ran a PB in the 10K of 28:22 in the Netherlands this year, and a PB over 10,000m of 28:24:40, also set this year. 

Moses Koech of Kenya finished third in 27:46 behind Joshua Cheptegei and Julien Wanders in the Durban 10K last year.

Thomas Ayeko of Uganda was part of the team that won gold at the Cross-Country World Championships in Denmark this year. He was fourth in the 5,000m at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and has a half-marathon PB of 60:26.

Emmanuel Bett of Kenya has a 10,000m PB of 26:51:16 and a half-marathon PB of 60:08.

Timothy Toroitich of Uganda made the final of the 10,000m at last year’s Commonwealth Games, after winning bronze at the African Championships. He also won bronze at the first Commonwealth Games half-marathon in Cardiff.

Kaan Kigen Ozbilen of Turkey, who changed his name in 2015 (he is the former Mike Kipruto Kigen). He won silver medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the 2006 African Championships representing Kenya. He holds national records for Turkey in both the half-marathon (59:48) and the marathon (2:05:27). He also won a silver medal in the European Championships half-marathon in 2016.

Berihu wins Dam tot Damloop, Dutchman Ali finishes fourth

Solomon Berihu won the Dam tot Damloop on Sunday. One week after setting a big PB at the Copenhagen Half Marathon, Kenya’s Evaline Chirchir was the first athlete to cross the line at the Dam tot Damloop on Sunday (22), finishing just one second shy of the long-standing course record at the IAAF Silver Label road race.

The 10-mile race starts in Amsterdam and finishes in Zaandam. As is tradition, the women’s field set off 6:04 – the difference between the men's and women's course records – ahead of the men’s field, then the first three finishers are awarded bonuses of €5000, €3500 and €2500 respectively.

In sunny and warm weather (16-18C) with relatively low humidity and a moderate tailwind, Chirchir ran with compatriot Irene Cheptai and Israel’s Dagnechew Selamawit to break away as a lead trio.

Chirchir reached the finish line in Zaandam in 50:32, three seconds ahead of Cheptai. Selamawit was third in 50:48. Chirchir narrowly missed out on breaking the 50:31 course record set back in 1987 by Norwegian distance legend Ingrid Kristiansen.

Chirchir’s winning performance is the third-fastest time ever recorded by a woman over 10 miles, but the point-to-point course means times aren’t record-eligible.

Half way through the men’s race, Ethiopia’s Solomon Berihu, Kenya’s John Langat and Uganda’s Joel Ayeko detached themselves from the rest of the lead pack. Berihu accelerated at 12km and broke away from Langat and Ayeko.

In the hunt to be the overall first finisher, Berihu wasn’t close to catching Chirchir, who finished 1:21 ahead of the Ethiopian, but he was a comfortable winner of the men’s title in 45:49. Langat was second in 46:20 and Ayeko third in 46:40.

The bonuses for the first three overall finishers went to the top three women.

Mohamed Ali was the first Dutch finisher, clocking 46:51. Michel Butter, who is currently preparing for the New York City Marathon on 3 November when he hopes to finish in a qualifying spot for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, was 13th in 48:59.

LEMA BREAKS COURSE RECORD IN HENGSHUI

Ethiopia’s Marta Lema Megra took more than a minute off the course record to secure a convincing victory at the Hengshui Lake International Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label road race, on Sunday (22).

The 28-year-old Lema, who set a PB of 2:22:35 last year in Toronto, enjoyed a comfortable sole lead in the latter half of the race and wrapped up her first victory in China in 2:24:21.

It was Lema’s second appearance in Hengshui; she finished second in 2:25:59 four years ago behind Kenya’s Agnes Kiprop. And Kiprop’s winning mark of 2:25:43 had stood as the course record until Megra renewed it by 1:22.

Lema’s compatriot Askale Alemayehu trimmed nearly one-and-a-half minutes off her career best to finish second in 2:27:32. Her previous PB of 2:29:01 was set three years ago in Shanghai.

Olympian Tirfi Tsegaye finished third in 2:28:30 to complete an Ethiopian sweep of the podium. The 34-year-old, who won the 2016 Dubai Marathon in 2:19:41 and finished fourth at the Olympic Games later that year, was contesting her first marathon in three years having taken a maternity break.

As the fastest entrant in the men’s field, Aychew Bantie of Ethiopia led from gun to finish to claim the victory in 2:08:51.

A leading group of 12 runners paced the race to 10km in 30:37. After passing the 20km water tables in 1:00:10, the group started to wither rapidly as eight runners, including 2015 Hengshui winner Ernest Ngeno of Kenya, dropped off one after another.

Only four men were left in the leading pack after 25km and Ethiopia’s Teshome Girma quit the contest for the title before 40km.

The leading trio – Bantie, Bonsa Dida of Ethiopia and Kenya’s Joel Kemboi Kimurer – remained together until Bantie launched his powerful charge for the win with about 400 metres to go.

Bantie’s winning mark was a couple of minutes shy of the 2:06:23 PB he set four months ago in Prague, but it was his first ever marathon victory.

Dida, 24, bettered 2:10 for the first time as he finished second in 2:09:04. Kimurer, a 2:07:48 performer, trailed one more second behind to take the third place.

Evaline Chirchir hopes to cross the finish line first at the Dam Tot Damloop

This year’s Dam tot Damloop, could be one of the few races in the long history of the IAAF Silver Label road race in which a woman crosses the finish line first.

As has been tradition at this 10-mile race between Amsterdam and Zaandam, the women’s field sets off 6:04 – the difference between the men's and women's course records – ahead of the men’s field. The first athlete to finish, man or woman, will receive a €5000 bonus.

Following her 1:06:22 PB at the Copenhagen Half Marathon last week, Evaline Chirchir will start as the favorite. The Kenyan has also clocked some impressive times at 10km this year, including 30:43 in Valencia and 31:17 in Brunssum, and will be keen to improve on her fifth-place finish from last year.

Irene Cheptai, the 2017 world cross-country champion, recently clocked a season’s best of 31:27 over 10km, while Jip Vastenburg carries the Dutch hopes.

The women’s race record of 50:31 has been held by Ingrid Kristiansen since 1987, but last year’s winner Lonah Salpeter came close to it with 50:45.

Former 1500m specialist Chala Regasa of Ethiopia set a 10km PB of 27:23 earlier this year and will be making his Dam tot Damloop debut. Compatriot Solomon Berihu, aged 19, is another strong contender and has set PBs of 13:02.08 for 5000m and 27:02.26 for 10,000m this year.

Ethiopian Olympian Ayele Abshero, a 2:04:23 marathon runner, finished third in this race back in 2010 in a PB of 45:33, but doesn’t seem to be in that same kind of form this year. Kenya’s John Langat also returns to Amsterdam in a bid to do better than his 12th-place finish last year.

The weather forecast for Sunday morning seems ideal with temperatures between 16-18C and the wind on the runners’ backs.

Former winners Agnes Kiprop and Aberu Mekuria will both return to the Chinese city of Hengshui to compete for the women’s title at the Hengshui Lake International Marathon

The 36-year-old Ethiopian, Mekuria clocked a course record of 2:26:07, her personal best time at that time, to win in 2013. Two years later Kenyan, Kiprop claimed the tile in 2:25:43, which has stood as the course record until now.

However, the 39-year-old Kenyan, whose PB of 2:23:54 was set in Frankfurt back in 2011, hasn’t come close to 2:26 since her 2015 Hengshui victory. She clocked 2:29:04 to finish fourth at the Dongying Yellow River Marathon in April, which was her fastest time in more than four years.

Mekuria, on the contrary, has been enjoying a second wind in her decade-long career, achieving a PB of 2:24:30 to break the course record at the 2019 Chongqing International Marathon. It will be her third race in Hengshui as she also clocked 2:32:53 to finish eighth in 2015.

The organizers have assembled the deepest women’s field in the eight-year history of the race, as other race favorites also include Marta Megra of Ethiopia, who set her PB of 2:22:35 last year in Toronto, as well as her compatriot Tirfi Tsegaye, the fastest woman toeing the line with a PB of 2:19:41 from her massive victory in Dubai in 2016.

The men’s field also contains a former champion. 24-year-old Ernest Ngeno of Kenya took the top honors in Hengshui four years ago with a winning mark of 2:07:57, which was his PB at the time and 12 seconds shy of the course record set by Markos Geneti in 2014.

Last year, he improved his PB to 2:06:41 when finishing third in Paris, which makes him the second-fastest entrant in the field.

Although Ngeno is keen to end a three-year title drought following his victory in Milan in 2016, he could face a serious threat from Aychew Bantie.

The rising Ethiopian, who turned 24 this month, trimmed more than two minutes off his career best to finish third at the Prague Marathon in 2:06:23 four months ago and is still pursuing his first title since debuting over the classic distance in 2017.

Bantie’s compatriot Fikadu Kebede, who turns 33 on Friday, also arrives in Hengshui in high spirits. He set a PB of 2:08:27 in Dubai in January and came close to that mark three months later with a second-place finish in Dongying in 2:09:38.

The men’s field also includes Kenyan duo Dominic Ruto and Ismael Boshendich Chemtan

Zhengzhou Marathon bronze medalist Jonathan Korir will hope to land his first win in his Berlin marathon debut

Jonathan Korir,  who was eighth at this year's Hamburg marathon in Germany, has had his best performances in China and now hopes he will extend the same to Europe as he puts his best foot forward for the German capital road race in a week's time.

"It will be the first time for me to compete in the Berlin Marathon and I want to leave a mark. I have raced well in China and want to exploit the chink in Europe and win. I am preparing well for the race which will be very competitive as a hope to improve on my time," said Korir.

Korir, who trains with Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge in Eldoret, says he has been inspired by his mentor and hopes he will succeed him as champion in Berlin. Last year, Kipchoge won in Berlin in a world record time of two hours, one minute and 39 seconds.

While that time is much higher for Korir to break, he hopes to improve on his personal best in Berlin. His best time is 2:06.51 posted at the 2018 Amsterdam Marathon, where he placed eighth with Lawrence Cherono winning the race in a course record of 2:04.06.

"With my personal best pegged at 2:06.51, I want to try my best to lower that mark," he said. He said depending on the weather, he wants to run at least a 2:04.00.

Last week he was happy for another teammate Geoffrey Kamworor, who set a world half marathon record in Copenhagen, Denmark clocking 58.01 minutes.

"I also want to make a difference and Berlin will be my race," he said. "I may not be famous among Kenyans but I am keen to make a mark in Berlin."

The bronze medal he earned in Zhengzhou, China last year clocking 2:14:25 remains the only one he has in his collection. However, the 33-year-old is hopeful to do well in the German capital.

Ethiopians led by Kenenisa Bekele will be the top contenders. Others are Guye Adola, who finished second in Berlin two years ago, as well as Leul Gebrselassie, Sisay Lemma and Birhanu Legese.