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Eliud Kipchoge is just like the rest of us runners. All he wants from his next race is to beat his personal best. The only difference is that his next event is the BMW Berlin Marathon on September 16 and a Kipchoge PR could mean a new world record!, Eliud Kipchoge is the marquee signing for the 45th edition of BMW Berlin Marathon as the current Olympic champion and undisputed number one for consistency and quality in recent years. His PR, set in London 2016 (2:03:05), prefaced his Olympic marathon gold in Rio the same year. Meanwhile, Denis Kimetto's world record (2:02:57) remains tantalisingly just out of reach for the three-time London champion and double Berlin winner. Kipchoge surely has pace to burn as his brilliant 2:00:25 in 'laboratory' conditions at Monza motor racing circuit in May last year demonstrates. This was never going to be ratified as a record but serves to indicate there is much more to come from the 33-year-old Kenyan, who said: “My preparation is entirely concentrated on the BMW Berlin Marathon on September 16. I am confident I can beat my personal best on this fast course if conditions are good.” The women's field in Berlin is the best for many years and is headlined by the third fastest in history,
Tirunesh Dibaba, from Ethiopia (2:17:56) who set her PB in London last year chasing Paula Radcliffe's legendary 2:15:25 from 2003. Dibaba will face the defending champion Gladys Cherono (Kenya) and former double Berlin winner Edna Kiplagat (Kenya), who is the oldest of the leading trio at 38 years old.
(09/13/2018) ⚡AMP
Patrick Makau, 33, has lost his fight to gain fitness after persistent patella-tendon injury, forced him off training and competition since 2017. With doctors warning against him running, Makau has opted to throw in the towel. "With the age catching up, with persistent patella-tendon injury due to which I was forced to cancel competition in 2017 for both Boston and Berlin marathons, I know this is the right time to say it is enough," Makau said Thursday in Nairobi. The two time Berlin marathon champion is credited for reclaiming the world marathon record from the grip of Ethiopian Haile Gebreselassie in 2011 when he clocked 2:03:38 eclipsing the Ethiopian's time of 2:03:59. Gebreselassie had beaten Paul Tergat's record of 2:04:54 set in 2004. Wilson Kipsang improved Makau's record after two years to 2:03:23, but that has also been shuttered to 2:02:57 by Kenyan
Dennis Kimetto, which is the current record. "I have had a wonderful career as an athlete. My life is defined by athletics, what I have today is because of the sport I love. Athletics has literally changed me, allowing me to grow and to make positive impact on lives of my family and our community," said Makau, the 2007 World Half Marathon champion. "For this I am truly grateful." However, Makau will not be taking a long walk away from athletics completely. To remain busy, he intends to help guide a new generation of young distance runners realize their dreams and develop their careers, especially from the southern part of Kenya where he comes from. "I want to coach some athletes who have no guides. I want to continue giving back to the community," he said.
(09/13/2018) ⚡AMP
Over its decades-long history, the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon has been graced by some of the world’s greatest marathoners, but never an Olympic champion. That will all change on October 21, when Uganda’s Stephen Kiprotich will race in this IAAF Gold Label event. The 2012 Olympic marathon champion will accompany two-time Toronto champion Philemon Rono from their mutual training base in Iten, Kenya in what should be an intense battle between the two accomplished marathon runners. The pair are both friends and training partners, but each will want to take home the CAD$30,000 first-place prize money. “I am really happy and training hard and looking forward to competing in this big race in Toronto,” says Kiprotich, who also won the marathon title at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow, joining Ethiopia’s Gezehegne Abera as the only men to ever win both major competitions. “I was speaking with Rono and I asked him what is the course like,” he says of the man who set a Canadian all-comers’ record of 2:06:52 in Toronto a year ago. “He said the course is good and nice. I was telling him if we go fast and run the first half in 63 minutes, we can push at the end to 2:05. He told me it is possible.” Kiprotich’s major championship success is outstanding and all the more remarkable since he chose to make Iten his training base. There he lives in the camp built by Dutch based management company Global Sport Communications with a group which includes not only Rono but the world’s No.1 marathon runner, Eliud Kipchoge. They are coached by 1992 Olympic steeplechase silver medallist Patrick Sang.
(09/13/2018) ⚡AMP
Joshua Cheptegei from Ugandan won silver last year at the 10,000 meters at the World Championships in London and this year was the fastest in the 5000 and 10,000 meters at the Commonwealth Games in Australia. He will be going for gold at the up coming Dam tot Damloop ten mile race. Belgian's Bashir Abdi (silver 10,000 meters EK Berlin) and Ethiopian's Ayele Abshero are also candidates for the victory for the race that runs from Amsterdam to Zaandam. The Dutch toppers Khalid Choukoud and Michel Butter are also running. In total, 46,000 runners will participate at the Dam tot Damloop race.
(09/11/2018) ⚡AMP
Mapaseka Makhanya would like to add a Cape Town Marathon winners’ gold medal to her impressive collection of running accolades. “Of course I would like to win it,” the Soweto-born athlete said of the race she has never competed in “It is the only one (marathon) in Africa with that status of IAAF Gold Label. It is a big race in South Africa and I cannot miss it.” And so Makhanya will line up alongside the likes of Mother City favorite Nolene Conrad eager to reclaim the female’s title for the country. Back in 2016, Tish Jones reigned supreme in an impressive time of 2:36:13. Her time though was pretty slow in comparison to the winning times of Kenya’s Isabella Ochichi and Ethiopian Betelhem Moges Cherenet. The east Africans ran 2:30:20 and 2:30:23. This year’s race promises to be a little faster particularly given the quality of the men’s elite field. Makhanya is determined to see her name in stars, the fact she has only recently recovered from injury notwithstanding. “I think I will be ready to compete in that race. I’ve recovered from the calf injury that kept me out of action for two months. I will be there to compete to win just like in any other race.” But with the east Africans coming through in their numbers once again, Makhanya and all her other compatriots will need to be at their best to keep the title on home soil. She, in particular, will have to run close to, if not better than, her PB of 2:31:02.
(09/11/2018) ⚡AMP
World half marathon record holder Joyciline Jepkosgei says she will be ready for a full marathon debut, probably in December. Jepkosgei, who has had injury trouble since her world half-marathon record of 64:51 in Valencia last October, believes she still has more to do to return to her top performance and believes venturing into full marathon is her next target. "My coach is preparing me for a marathon. He told me that I will go for training and then he will see how my body is. It might be end of this year or next year," said the 25-year-old on Tuesday. "China marathons are good, though I have no particular race I have lined up now. But I know it will be good to test myself there." Shanghai Marathon in November might be too soon for the Kenyan star. However, there is a possibility of her running at the Xiamen Marathon in January if her management gets an invite from the organizers. Jepkosgei was third in 68:10 at last week's Great North Run in Newcastle, England, her third race this year. Injury concerns have limited the Kenyan participation in international competition, but she believes she is getting better. In May, Jepkosgei was second at the Manchester 10km run behind Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba. Meanwhile, London Marathon silver medalist Brigit Kosgei is intensifying her training ahead of her race in Chicago in October. However, the Kenyan has injury concerns after she pulled a hamstring problem in Newcastle in the last stages of the 21km Great North Run.
(09/11/2018) ⚡AMP
Ethiopia’s Abebe Negewo broke the course record at the Minsk Half Marathon, while Kenya’s Sheila Jerotich became the first non-Belarusian winner of the women’s race, Negewo ended Hillary Maiyo’s winning streak in the Belarusian capital, but the Kenyan put up a good fight and finished close behind Negewo as both men were given the same finishing time of 1:02:39. Negewo was first across the line, though, and became the first Ethiopian winner of the race. Negewo, Maiyo and the four other top contenders – Kenya’s Joel Maina Mwangi, Benard Korir, Ethiopia’s Feyera Gemeda and authorised neutral athlete Rinas Akhmadeyev – soon detached themselves from the rest of the field and covered the first five kilometres in 14:43. The pace dropped slightly, but the six men remained together through 10 kilometres, reached in 29:50, and were almost a minute ahead of their nearest chaser. Akhmadeyev and Gemeda were unable to maintain that pace for much longer and lost contact with the leaders. Korir soon followed, leaving Negewo and Maiyo at the front with Mwangi a few paces behind as they reached 15 kilometres in 44:48. Mwangi continued to drift away from Negewo and Maiyo as the leading duo ran side by side for the final quarter of the race. Negewo proved to have the better finish, though, as he kicked ahead of his Kenyan opponent to win in 1:02:39, taking 21 seconds off the course record Maiyo set during his first victory in 2016. Maiyo finished a close second while third-placed Mwangi crossed the line in 1:02:53, also inside the previous course record.
(09/10/2018) ⚡AMP
Abera Kuma (27) of Ethiopia, the Rotterdam marathon silver medalist has a personal best of 2:05:50. Former World marathon record holder Patrick Makau has warned that it will require more than skill, strength and pacesetters to break the world record. "Breaking a world record in my experience requires more hard work, experience, mental and physical strength as well as a favorable course and weather conditions," he warned. But that has not dampened Kipsang's resolution to go for the top mark and win the 50,000 U.S. dollar prize. "My target is to be on the podium as the winner. I will not be looking at who's in the race, but I will be able to use my training skills to be on the podium".
(09/07/2018) ⚡AMP
A strong Ethiopian women's quartet could cause a sensation at the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon on October 28th. All four Ethiopians, who have given their commitment to start this year's Frankfurt Marathon, have high-quality best times of less than 2:22 hours. The course record of 2:21:01, which Meselech Melkamu set up an Ethiopian six years ago, should at least be in danger in good weather conditions. The Women's Field will be led by 2015 Marathon World Champion Mare Dibaba, who will be the first starter in Frankfurt with a best time of less than 2:20 hours. Mare Dibaba did the trick twice to run exactly 2:19:52 hours. First, she was third in Dubai in 2012, three years later she set her best time in the victory in Xiamen (China). 2015 was followed by the World Cup triumph in Beijing (China). A year later, the Ethiopian won bronze at the Olympic Games in Rio (Brazil). Incidentally, it's not the first marathon start in Frankfurt for the 28-year-old. In 2010, she already finished fifth here in 2:25:27. "This may be the best women's field in the history of events in the breadth of the top. In this respect, we look forward to an exciting as well as high-class race. With four such fast athletes it can go in the direction of 2:20 hours or even faster, "said race director Jo Schindler. Among the strongest competitors of Mare Dibaba are three compatriots, who set high-caliber personal bests in 2018. 24-year-old Haftamnesh Tesfay made the fourth-fastest marathon debut ever in Dubai in January, finishing fifth in 2:20:13. Two places behind her was another debutant who will now run her second marathon in Frankfurt: The only 21-year-old Dera Dida reached in January in the desert emirate 2:21:45 hours.
(09/06/2018) ⚡AMP
Guye Adola of Ethiopia, last year’s surprise newcomer on the marathon scene, will run his next marathon in Frankfurt on October 28. He set an unofficial world record as a first time marathoner with 2:03:46 to finish second at the 2017 Berlin Marathon, coming within a hair’s breadth of beating the Kenyan superstar
Eliud Kipchoge. The Mainova Frankfurt Marathon will feature a contest between a trio of runner-ups, setting Guye Adola against his fellow Ethiopian Kelkile Gezahegn and the Kenyan Martin Kosgey. The latter two each finished second in Frankfurt in the previous two years. The German record holder Arne Gabius will make his fourth appearance in Frankfurt while Japan’s Hiroyuki Yamamoto will also be on the start line. The organizers expect up to 15,000 entrants for the 37th edition of the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon which is an IAAF Gold Label race, the highest category in international road running. Guye Adola is the marathon runner who almost broke the lengthy dominance of the Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge a year ago. Just before 40 kilometers in Berlin the 27-year-old was in the lead but Kipchoge, unbeaten in the marathon since 2013, was able to reel him in.
(09/05/2018) ⚡AMP
Martina Strähl, who won the World Championships double gold in 2015 as world champion in long-distance mountain running, ran in 2016 at the Jungfrau Marathon with a new course record to victory. However, last year Strähl had to hand over this record to the Vaud woman Maude Mathys. Strähl is now aiming for the record again after she finished seventh in the marathon at the European Championships in Berlin just a few weeks ago. Strähl is demanded by the German Michelle Maier, the runner-up of the last two years, and the Italian Ivana Iozzia, who won the Zermatt Marathon this year. The men's track record is still held by Jonathan Wyatt. The New Zealander ran the track in 2003 in 2: 49.02. On September 6, the three-time Jungfrau Marathon winner will speak about «his perfect race» starting at 8:00 pm at the Hotel Carlton-Europe in Interlaken. Wyatt will be back in 2018. However, the favorites are Jose David Cardona from Colombia, Robbie Simpson from Great Britain, Birhanu Mekonnen from Ethiopia and Shaban Mustafa from Bulgaria. Mustafa, Simpson and Cardona have already won the Jungfrau Marathon. Patrick Wieser from Aadorf or Stephan Wenk from Uster should be the best Swiss.
(09/04/2018) ⚡AMP
The Copenhagen Half Marathon is a Gold Label race ranked by the athletics world governing body IAAF. Leading the Kenyan charges will be reigning champion Abraham Cheroben, a Kenyan who represents Bahrain. "It has always been hard to win at this level of competition. There is always somebody new coming in trying to raffle the feathers and I must be on the lookout if I want to retain my title," said Cheroben, who trains in Iten in northwest Kenya. No fewer than 17 athletes with career bests under the one hour-mark will be on the starting line-up in the men's race. The line-up includes reigning champion Abraham Cheroben (58:40) from Bahrain and Kenyans Jorum Okombo (58:48) and Alex Korio (58:51) who were second and third behind Cheroben last year. "We train well with Cheroben, but that will not mean that I will not take the challenge to him. He is a stronger athlete, but I have done well in training and believe, I can outshine him in Copenhagen," Korio said on Friday in Eldoret. Kenya's Erick Kiptanui, the joint world leader with 58:42, is also in the line-up along with former London Marathon winner Daniel Wanjiru (59:20), Olympic marathon bronze medalist Galen Rupp (59:47) and Ethiopians Lelisa Desisa (59:30) and Shura Kitata (60:10). Wanjiru is using the race in Copenhagen to gauge his preparedness ahead of his running at the New York Marathon on Nov. 4.
(08/31/2018) ⚡AMP
The elite field for the Danish capital race includes a phenomenal 16 sub-60 minute men and eight sub-68 minute women including the European 5000m champion. Sifan Hassan (photo) will race for the first time over 13.1 miles at the Copenhagen Half Marathon on Sunday, September 16. The Dutch star is among a stellar field for the annual Danish capital half marathon event, that includes 16 men who have run under the hour and eight women who have dipped inside 68 minutes. Having focused predominately on 1500m racing in the past, Hassan joined the US-based Nike Oregon Project in 2016 and has been working towards the longer distances ever since, with European 5000m gold this month in Berlin her crowning moment thus far. The previous month, Hasan also broke the European record and Dutch national record with a 14:22.34 performance at the Diamond League in Rabat. The Ethiopian born athlete will be joined by American training partners Galen Rupp and Jordan Hasay on the streets of Copenhagen, as the US pair warm up for the Chicago Marathon in October. “In the world of running, it is said that CPH Half is going to be the most exciting half marathon in decades,” said Jakob Larsen, director of the Danish Athletics Federation and member of the IAAF Road Race Commission.
(08/30/2018) ⚡AMP
Kenya's Martin Kosgei will return to Frankfurt Marathon course on Oct. 28 aiming for gold. He finished fourth last year winning $6500US. Kosgei, 29, says he was not well prepared last year as he tackled windy conditions clocking 2:09:39 in a race that was dominated by Ethiopian runners. "I want to win the race this time round. I have experience now and I know the course very well. I thank the organizers for giving me the opportunity to return and try and win the race for the third time," he said Wednesday in Nairobi. Kosgei has three marathon wins to his credit since his debut in 2012. He started off winning in Salzburg (Austria), Marseille and Lyon (France). He was second in Hannover and Frankfurt in 2016. This year's race will be the third time Kosgei will be attempting to win in Frankfurt. "I believe I have the strength to do well. Hopefully it will be third time lucky," said Kosgei. Ethiopia's Guye Adola, who clocked 2:03:46 on his marathon debut in the Berlin Marathon last September losing to Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, has also confirmed his availability to race in Frankfurt. Adola will face opposition from teammate Kelkile Gezahegn and Kosgei, who finished second and fourth respectively in last year's race. "We are looking forward to a thrilling men's race with world-class runners. We are pleased when athletes of this caliber choose Frankfurt for their marathon. It is always our aim to present world-class athletes and at the same time to offer perfect conditions for every single runner," said Jo Schindler, the Frankfurt marathon Race director.
(08/30/2018) ⚡AMP
Kenya’s Titus Ekiru ran a smart race at the Telcel Mexico City International Marathon to set a course record of 2:10:38 at the IAAF Silver Label event on Sunday, while Etaferahu Temesgen led an Ethiopian sweep in the women’s contest. The men’s race set a modest pace from the start, covering the first five kilometres in 16:32. About a dozen men reached the halfway mark in 1:06:09, a group that included Ethiopia’s defending champion Fikadu Kebede. At 30 kilometers, reached in 1:33:11, the leaders have been reduced to Ekiru, Edwin Koech and Matthew Kisorio, 43 seconds ahead of the chase group. At that point, Ekiru made a decisive move and progressively extended his lead as the race approached the toughest hills on Insurgentes Avenue on its way to the Olympic stadium. He upped the pace and covered the second half in 1:04:30 to win in 2:10:38, breaking the previous record of 2:11:12 and securing the second marathon victory of his career. “I enjoyed the course and the altitude of Mexico City (2,240m) is similar as in Kenya so it did not affect me much,” said Ekiru, who has a PB of 2:07:43. “I am very happy to set a record and I realized at 20 kilometers that I felt very well, and I knew I could really break a new record.” In his fourth marathon since making his debut at the distance in 2016, Ekiru pocketed MXN 550,000 (about US$27,000) for his effort. He became the third Kenyan in six years to win the race. Koech (2:12:35) and Kisorio (2:13:14) completed a Kenyan sweep on the podium.
(08/27/2018) ⚡AMP
Fikadu Kebede returns to the Mexican capital to defend his title Sunday at the 36th Telcel Mexico City International Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label road race, which will also honour the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Olympic Games. Last year, Kebede beat Bahrain’s Isaac Korir in the last kilometre to become the second Ethiopian man in five years to win the largest 42.195km race in Latin America. The winner of the 2017 Rabat Marathon with a lifetime best of 2:09:37, will enter his third marathon of the season after running 2:19:06 in Hong Kong in January and 2:14:37 for seventh in Lanzhou, China, in June. Apart from the city’s 2240m high altitude, the Ethiopian will also face five men with personal bests faster than his, including Kenya’s Matthew Kisorio (2:06:33), Felix Kipchirchir Kiprotich (2:06:54), Edwin Kipngetich Koech (2:07:13) and Titus Ekiru (2:07:43). The last three ran their fastest marathon times in 2017. The Ethiopian contingent looks more solid in the women’s race, but Kebede will also rely on his countryman Daniel Aschenik Derese, winner in Mexico’s capital in 2015.
(08/24/2018) ⚡AMP
23-year-old Ethiopian Senbere Teferi made her debut 10K on the road in Tilburg last year clocking 30:38, the second best time ever in Tilburg. She was also once on the podium at the World Cup cross and the World Cup track athletics 5000 meters. In January she made her debut at the marathon with 2:24 in Dubai. Recently she was second at the 10K in Bangelore, India. Her goal for Tilburg is winning and clocking a time under 31.00. In the race in Bangelore, Teferi was defeated by her Kenyan peers Agnes Tirop. Tirop was world cross country champion in 2015, then in China. In 2017 she was second at the Tilburg Ladies Run in 31.00. The third candidate for the podium was also in Tilburg earlier. 24-year-old Kenyan Alice Aprot was recently second at the Kenyan championships at 10,000 meters and last year in Kampala second at the WC cross. In 2016 she was a winner in Tilburg. As usual, young talented African and European athletes come to Tilburg to clock a good time on the 10K course. In
Tiburg they also do the 10 miler.
(08/23/2018) ⚡AMP
The star-studded men’s field is led by Feyisa Lilesa, the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Marathon silver medalist. The Ethiopian distance runner has recorded a personal best of 2:04:52 ranking him in the top-ten fastest marathoners ever. Lilesa also boasts a personal best in the half marathon breaking the one-hour barrier at 59:22 and last year he won the New York City Half Marathon. “I’m looking forward to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon,” said Lilesa. “The race has a great history. World records have been set there, and it has had some fantastic champions. I am aiming to add my name to that list.” Lilesa will face some tough competition with four-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman, and 2015 World Marathon Champion Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, toeing the start line beside him. Somalian-born Abdirahman represented the United States at the Olympics in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 and placed 3rd in the New York City Marathon in 2016. He has personal bests of 2:08:56 in the marathon and 1:01:07 in the half marathon. Ghebreslassie hails from Eritrea and made a name for himself winning the 2015 World Marathon Championship. In 2016, he became the youngest male to ever win the New York City Marathon at 20-years old. His personal bests are 2:07:46 for the marathon and 1:00:09 in the half marathon. “It’s great to welcome so many fantastic athletes to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon,” said Josh Furlow, Managing Director of North America for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series®. “As the fall marathon season begins, athletes will be using this race as a measure of how months of training have been going. Having Olympic medalists and World Champions line up against World Marathon Major winners shows the regard with which this race is held. We’re looking forward to another fantastic edition next month.”
(08/23/2018) ⚡AMP
An impressive line-up of “golden” athletes, the commitment of ASA to host the national championships in Cape Town and a revival of the Captain’s Challenge were features of the 50-day launch of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon at a city hotel on Wednesday. While Mokoka remains the fastest in the field, boasting a marathon best of 2:07:40, he will be up against a number of talented young African runners bent on following in the footsteps of twice champion, Ethiopian Asefa Negewu, who placed 7th in the London Marathon after winning Cape Town in 2016. Notwithstanding its many other selling points, elite athletes running fast marathon times in Cape Town was the primary reason for the Cape Town Marathon receiving IAAF gold label status within just three years and the participation of IAAF gold-status athletes each year are an essential part of the retention of this status.
(08/04/2018) ⚡AMP
Defending champion Gladys Cherono of Kenya will put her title on the line as she confronts multiple world and Olympic gold medalist Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia and Edna Kiplagat at the Berlin Marathon on Sept. 16. Organizers have assembled some of the fastest women in women marathon with hope that they will make a serious attempt to lower the world record, which has stood since 2003. "The elite women's field for the Berlin Marathon is the strongest for many years. We proudly present Tirunesh Dibaba, Gladys Cherono and Edna Kiplagat. This will be a thrilling race," the organizers said in a statement. Cherono will be keen to make it three wins in four attempts after clinching the gold medal in the German capital in 2015 and 2017 while Kiplagat has won twice the world title and celebrated numerous wins at the Boston Marathon. Just like Dibaba, Kiplagat will be making her debut in Berlin. "Berlin is calling. Pleased to announce my next destination. Looking forward to running fast time," said Kiplagat. However, focus will be on 32-year-old Dibaba, who has three Olympic gold medals and nine world titles on the track and cross country. The Ethiopian has a marathon personal best time of 2:17:56. That time, which she set when finishing second at last year's London Marathon, makes her the third fastest woman in history. Dibaba is keen to beat this time in Berlin and, given ideal weather conditions, might even get close to the world record of 2:15:25, set by Paula Radcliffe in 2003. Cherono regained the Berlin Marathon title last year in 2:20:23, having won in 2015 with a best time of 2:19:25.
(08/02/2018) ⚡AMP
Marta Megra of Ethiopia announced her return to the marathon on Wednesday morning. Megra walked away with $25,000 CAD after winning last year’s race. Megra reportedly said, “This year I am in good condition, good shape so hopefully I will go slower the first half,” she says. “My goal is to run my personal best in Toronto and to improve the course record.” The current course record is 2:22:43 and the women who breaks the record walks away with an extra $40,000 CAD. Megra’s personal best is 2:24:08, which she will have to lower to catch the course record. This summer could potentially see the men’s and women’s Canadian soil records fall, as Canadian marathon events have become some of the best in the world.
(08/01/2018) ⚡AMP
The third fastest female marathoner of all-time will face previous winners Gladys Cherono and Edna Kiplagat in the German capital. Tirunesh Dibaba has been confirmed in elite women’s field for the 45th edition of the 2018
BMW Berlin Marathon, which takes place on September 16. The 32-year-old, who has won three gold medals at consecutive Olympic Games (2008 and 2012) and five World Championships from 2003 to 2013, will be joined by Kenyan athletes Gladys Cherono and Edna Kiplagat, who have both won twice in the German capital before, and fellow Ethiopian Aselefech Mergia. All four athletes have personal bests under 2:20 making it the strongest women’s field for many years. Defending champion Eliud Kipchoge is among the leading entries in the men’s field, which was announced in June. Dibaba, one of the best female distance runners of all time and the third fastest in the history, will start as the favorite, and also has a point to prove after dropping out of the London Marathon in April.
(07/31/2018) ⚡AMP
Rwanda international long distance and cross country runner Felicien Muhitira has won the French race Marvejols-Mende half marathon for a second consecutive time. Muhitira successfully defended the title at the 46th edition of the annual event on Sunday, which he had won last year on his maiden attempt. The 22.4-kilometre race was contested by over 5000 athletes from around the world, with Mountain Classic Athletics runner Muhitira being the only Rwandan in the competition. The 24-year old rose to the occasion, beating stiff competition from Kenyan, Ugandan and Ethiopian elite athletes to retain his gold medal. The former Nyamasheke Athletics Club runner clocked 1 hour, 11 minutes and 22 seconds; 89 seconds ahead of Kenya's John Liotang who finished second.
(07/31/2018) ⚡AMP
Belay Tilahun of Ethiopia wins the Quad-City Times
Bix 7. Tilahun finished second in 2016. Margaret Muriuki of Kenya captured the 2018 women's Quad-City Times Bix 7 on Saturday. Belay Tilahun pulled away in the final mile to claim the victory, In a winning time of 32:37, Tilahun became the first runner from Ethiopia to win the Bix 7. “I’m very happy,” Tilahun told KWQC after beating NCAA 10K champion Ben Flanagan and 2016 U.S. Olympian Leonard Korir down the final stretch. Kipruto finished fifth and Mekonen crossed the line a few seconds later in sixth-place. Tilahun became the first Ethiopian man ever to win the Bix 7 after several near-misses in the past. Reigning NCAA 10,000-meter champion Ben Flanagan recorded the highest finish ever by a Canadian in the race, crossing the line in second place. Andrew Colley of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, took fourth, the highest an American has placed in an international field at Bix since Meb Keflezighi was third in 2013. It’s the highest a native-born American has finished since Ken Martin won the race in 1991. Colley was one of four Americans in the top 10. It’s the first time that has happened since that same 1991 race. But all of them were mere footnotes to Tilahun, who showed interviewers with hand gestures how he navigated the incessant hills of the course and was able to convey the fact that it helped him to have run Bix once before. Ethiopians have been very close to winning the Bix 7 in the past. Tilahun was second behind three-time winner Silas Kipruto in 2016 and Solomon Deksisa took second the year before that. In one of the strangest episodes in Bix history, Ethiopia’s Maregu Zewdie was leading coming down 4th Street in the 2008 Bix but stopped after crossing under the skywalk at the Davenport RiverCenter, thinking that was the finish line. Kenya’s Edward Muge zoomed past him to win. He had a small lead on Flanagan and the rest of the pack coming down Kirkwood in the fifth mile of the race when he decided to just take control. In what seemed little more than a blink of the eye, he opened about a 7-second margin over Flanagan. Stream TypeLIVE Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% 0:00 Fullscreen 00:00 Mute“I don’t know if surprised is the word but I was impressed,’’ said Flanagan, who just completed his college career at the University of Michigan last month. “I knew coming in here there was a lot of really experienced runners who knew the course well. That was very evident by that move.
(07/30/2018) ⚡AMP
Ethiopians Netsanet Gudeta and Betesfa Getahun produced convincing victories at 19th edition of the Bogota Half Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label road race. Gudeta dominated the race through the high altitude streets of the Colombian capital, winning by more than four minutes in 1:11:34, but falling short of the 1:10:39 course record set by Susan Chepkemei back in 2004. It was nonetheless a strong performance by Gudeta given Bogota's setting at 2600m above sea level, and the day's sunny, hot and windy conditions. This was the 27-year-old's third half marathon victory in as many races over the distance this year, following up her 1:06:11 women's-only race world record at the World Half Marathon Championships in Valencia in March, and a dominating 1:07:30 run in Olomouc, Czech Republic, five weeks ago. A turning point in the race came just before the five-kilometre mark. Brigid Kosgei of Kenya, the winner last year, took a tumble and fell to the ground. Gudeta forged on on her own from there to finish unchallenged. Kosgei was second in 1:14:40, with Degitu Azimeraw of Ethiopia third in 1:14:51.
(07/30/2018) ⚡AMP
Kenya's Lawrence Cherono says he will do everything in his power to retain his Amsterdam Marathon crown and deny Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele the title. The two are expected to compete at this year's race, which will be held on Oct 21 and Cherono believes he has played the underdog card before and surprised his critics when he won in the Dutch capital last year. "Last year, I was very happy with the result. I immediately knew that I will come under focus this year and though I had not known who to face, I will be happy to battle it out with Bekele and win again," Cherono said on Tuesday in Eldoret. Of the nine marathons Cherono has contested, he has won four and finished on the podium in eight. Alongside winning in Amsterdam last year he also finished second in Rotterdam with a time of 2:06:21. The Amsterdam Marathon has always attracted a strong group of elite runners and the 2018 race will be no different. Bekele, a multiple world and Olympic champion announced last week that he will skip the big city marathons to compete in Amsterdam, which is an IAAF Gold Label road race. The Ethiopian distance runner owns the second-fastest marathon performance in history on a record-eligible course, having clocked a national record of 2:03:03 to win the 2016 Berlin Marathon. His time is just six seconds shy of Dennis Kimetto's world record (2:02:57). Bekele, who will be contesting his first marathon on Dutch soil, will be up against Cherono and a horde of other top Kenyan and Ethiopian road racers. "Kenenisa Bekele is one of the world's best long-distance runners," said race director Cees Pronk. "We are incredibly proud that Bekele will be lining up at the start on Oct 21. Bekele decided to run in Amsterdam because he has experienced the expert organization of the event and knows first-hand that the athletes always come first."
(07/27/2018) ⚡AMP
When it happened along Kirkwood Boulevard two years ago, it became national news in the running world. Silas Kipruto was loping along, leading the Quad-City Times
Bix 7 as he has so often through the years, when he suddenly whirled around and took a right-handed swipe at young Teshome Mekonen, who was running directly behind him. It’s just not the sort of thing you see in road racing. No one could recall seeing anything like it. Not in the Bix 7. Not in any race. Mekonen filed a post-race protest that was denied because the incident did not have an impact on the outcome. Kipruto did not even make contact with his swing. Here’s the happy news: Kipruto and Mekonen have become friends, buddies pals. "Brothers," Kipruto said as he stood outside one of the townhouses on the St. Ambrose University campus Thursday afternoon. "We were friends before," he added. "But I came to him after the race, and now we are friends like brothers, really good friends." Chances are, they shared a plate or two of ugali in the kitchen area at St. Ambrose on Thursday night. They may run the Bix course together today in preparation for Saturday’s 44th annual race. Kipruto, who is 11 years older at 33 and much more familiar with the Davenport race, may even give his pal a few pointers on how to navigate the hills of Bix. "We hang around together," Mekonen said. "We have a good time." It’s somewhat unusual because Kipruto is from Kenya and Mekonen is from Ethiopia. Runners from the two neighboring east African countries have a history of being less than friendly as they battle for supremacy in races across the U.S.
(07/27/2018) ⚡AMP
Ben Flanagan will be a decided underdog when he steps to the starting line in Saturday’s 44th annual Quad-City Times Bix 7. After all, the 23-year-old Canadian hasn’t run a road race of any distance since he was in the ninth grade. He certainly hasn’t run a race full of steep hills in the sometimes suffocating heat of late July against a field filled with battle-hardened Kenyans and Ethiopians, many of whom are very familiar with a course he’s never even seen before. But you get the feeling Flanagan kind of likes being the underdog. And he often responds positively when placed in that role. You needn’t look any further than the 10,000-meter race at the NCAA Division I track and field meet about seven weeks ago. Flanagan, a fifth-year senior at the University of Michigan, was seeded 19th in the race. He hadn’t even qualified for the NCAA meet the previous year because of a litany of injuries. He ran in the wake of Alabama star Vincent Kiprop the entire way but on the 25th and final lap, he found the strength to surge past Kiprop and spring one of the biggest upsets in recent NCAA history. He admitted he probably even surprised himself that day.
(07/26/2018) ⚡AMP
Three of the elite runners in the women’s field are from Illinois. The best known of them is Chelsea Blaase, who is from the small town of St. Joseph near Champaign and had a great career at the University of Tennessee. She was fifth in the NCAA 10,000 meters in 2016 and seventh in 2017 as well as placing fifth in the Bix 7 last year. Kelly McShea, from Lisle, ran collegiately at Illinois State and Kristen Heckert, who lives in Bolingbrook and teaches algebra at Plainfield South High School, competed at Illinois-Chicago. The women’s runner who has had the most past success in the Bix is Kenya’s Caroline Rotich, who won the race in 2011 and has placed in the top three on three occasions since then. She is not the only woman in the field who has run well on the streets of Davenport, however. Margaret Muriuki won the race the only previous time she ran it (in 2012), Ethiopia’s Buzunesh Deba was second in 2013 and Monicah Ngige has a pair of top-10 Bix finishes on her resume.Sydney Devore had a highly successful high school cross country career in Lakeland, Florida, but gave up running after suffering an injury as a freshman at the University of Florida. She resumed her career in 2015 and at the age of 26, is now an up and coming competitor on the U.S. scene. She attempted a marathon for the first time earlier this year and won, turning in the fastest time in four years at the Pittsburgh Marathon.
(07/25/2018) ⚡AMP
The Ethiopian distance runner owns the second-fastest marathon performance in history on a record-eligible course, having clocked a national record of 2:03:03 to win the 2016 Berlin Marathon. His time is just six seconds shy of Dennis Kimetto’s world record. Bekele, who will be contesting his first marathon on Dutch soil, will be up against Lawrence Cherono, who won last year’s Amsterdam Marathon in a course record of 2:05:09. Cherono also finished one place behind Bekele at this year’s London Marathon. “Kenenisa Bekele is one of the world's best long-distance runners,†said race director Cees Pronk. “We are incredibly proud that Bekele will be lining up at the start on Sunday 21 October. Bekele decided to run in Amsterdam because he has experienced the expert organisation of the event and knows first-hand that the athletes always come first.â€
(07/23/2018) ⚡AMP
The Wharf to Wharf race in California has a lot of history to it, some of which Flagstaff is tied to. In 2014, Ben Bruce became the last American male to finish in the top three of the six-mile race that starts at Santa Cruz Wharf and ends at Capitola Wharf. He recorded a third-place finish that year in 28:07.29. That same summer, Aliphine Tuliamuk, who now runs for NAZ Elite and has since become a United States citizen, finished third while running for Kenya, a country that has dominated the course over the years. Fast forward a year. A longtime Flagstaff running icon who moved from town in 2017, Nick Arciniaga crossed the finish line in 10th in 28:27.44. Then in 2017, former Northern Arizona Lumberjacks standout distance runner Diego Estrada took sixth at 27:47.81. Now, as the race enters its 46th year, NAZ Elite hopes to add to the history books as it sends Stephanie Bruce to compete on the women's side, and Scott Smith and Craig Lutz on the men's side. All three will face a stellar and challenging field. And the timing couldn't be much better for the team. "This made sense on the calendar," said NAZ Elite head coach Ben Rosario. Bruce, who placed fourth at Wharf to Wharf in 2013, is coming off her first-ever national title at the Peachtree Road Race USATF 10K Championships on the Fourth of July, and her body is feeling up to the task of taking on another race before breaking for the fall marathon season. She'll face an imposing field that consists of NYC Half-Marathon winner Buze Diriba of Ethiopia, 2015 Boston Marathon champion Caroline Rotich and Wharf to Wharf 2017 runner-up Monicah Ngige of Kenya, who finished behind only Diriba a year ago.
(07/20/2018) ⚡AMP
Molly Huddle a two-time U.S. Olympian, the reigning American record holder in the women’s 10,000-meter run, are among 46 professionals who will compete at the 21st TD Beach to Beacon 10K Aug. 4. Having Molly in our race this year is truly special, Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson said in a press release. Samuelson founded the TD Beach to Beacon in her native Cape Elizabeth. “But they’ve got their work cut out for them as the field is once again deep and talented and guaranteed to provide a highly competitive day of road racing on Aug. 4,” Samuelson said. Other elite runners set to take on the 6.2-mile route are U.S. Olympic gold medal triathlete Gwen Jorgenson, two-time U.S. Olympian Lopez Lomong, Ethiopian Buze Diriba, Kenya-based New Zealander Jake Robertson and 2012 Beach to Beacon champion Stanley Biwott of Kenya, as well as a host of other Olympians, All-Americans and rising stars from East Africa.
(07/17/2018) ⚡AMP
The International Association of Athletics Federations (
IAAF) today released the results of, what they claim, is the largest biomechanical study in the sport’s history. Almost everything that moved in the Olympic Stadium at last year’s IAAF World Championships was recorded by 49 high-speed cameras and has now been measured and analyzed as part of the study. "Biomechanics are crucial to the development of athletes where milliseconds and millimeters can make the difference between qualifying for a final, or not, and winning a medal, or not," says IAAF President Sebastian Coe. Among the highlights of the research was that on the steeplechase, which was recorded in detail for the first time. It is claimed the outstanding technique of American athletes Emma Coburn and Courtney Frerichs in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase clearly showed that medals were won and lost in the water. The research showed in detail that the United States team’s effective water jump clearance techniques were key to their performances. The data captured on women's 10,000m champion Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia, meanwhile, shows a difference of up to 20 centimeters between the length of her strides from right to left - her right to left is longer than left to right. While it is hoped the reports will provide useful insight for coaches and athletes, it is anticipated they will also help the sport innovate by providing new data and graphics that can be shared with the media and fans around the world.
(07/15/2018) ⚡AMP
Mary Wacera of Kenya won her fourth Boilermaker 15K with a time of 50:01. This tied her with four-time Boston Marathon winner Catherine Ndereba as the winningest female open runner in Boilermaker history. Monicah Ngige and Vicoty Chepngeno, both of Kenya, rounded out the women’s podium with times of 50:03 and 50:04 respectively. Gabriel Geay of Tanzania took the top spot in the 15K Men’s Open race with a time of 43:40 while 2016 Men’s Open champion, Teshome Mekonen Asfaha of Ethiopia, finished second and Edwin Kibichiy of Kenya took third.
(07/08/2018) ⚡AMP
The Elite Field for Sunday’s 41st running of Utica’s
Boilermaker 15K has gotten stronger.
Buze Diriba Kejela, 24-year-old from Ethiopia has already won three major road races this season — including the New York City Half-Marathon, the Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run in Washington, D.C., and the Lilac Bloomsday 12K Run in Spokane, Washington. Diriba Kejela ran her first Boilermaker 15K last year and finished fifth in the Women’s Open field with a time of 49:40. Wacera, the Boilermaker champion in 2014 and 2015, won her third title in four years with a time of 49:18, and she will join Catherine Ndereba as the only four-time winner with another victory Sunday. Diriba Kejela was one of 11,077 women running the New York City Half-Marathon on March 18, and she won that race with a late sprint past American Emily Sisson in a course record time of 1:12.:23. Sisson was only one-tenth of a second back at the finish. Two wins on the Professional Road Running Organzation (PRRO) Circuit — which the Boilermaker is a part of — has put Diriba Kejela in contention for the 2018-19 PRRO Championship bonus. On April 8, she won the Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run in 53:45; she had finished second in the race the previous two years. On May 6, she finished the Bloomsday 12K with a time of 39:25 and won that race by a single second.
(07/06/2018) ⚡AMP
The 28th annual Ballad Health and Niswonger Children’s Hospital Crazy 8s 8K road race is slated to begin on the evening of July 14th as part of the Kingsport Fun Fest. The race is continually one of the fastest in not only the Southeast, but the entire world, boasting some of the leading times for 8K all-time. The race will also feature the top three finishers in last year’s race making a return trip to the Model City to chase the world record and the $10,008 world record bonus. A high bar was set earlier this year at the UAE Healthy Kidney 10K in New York, where a certified 8K split of 21 minutes, 45 seconds set the world standard. Last year’s champion Teshome Mekonen has run well this year with a third-place finish at the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon. He will be on the starting line along with Silas Kipruto, Wilson Kibogo and Simion Chirchir.
(07/02/2018) ⚡AMP
“This is my race.” That’s what Mary Wacera was saying here last July, after winning the women’s open title at the
Boilermaker Road Race for the third time in four years. Now, according to the 2018 Elite Runner Field released by the Boilermaker, the 29-year-old Kenyan is planning to return to Utica for this year’s July 8 race. And if Wacera wins yet again, she will join Catherine Ndereba as the only four-time Women’s Open champion. The Elite Runner Field is subject to change, but both of last year’s Boilermaker winners — Wacera and Silas Kipruto of Kenya — are expected to return with hopes of defending their 15K titles. Wacera, the Boilermaker women’s champion in 2014 and 2015 and the third-place finisher in 2016, won last year’s race in 49 minutes, 18 seconds. Ruti Aga Sora was the runner-up, just two seconds back, and the 24-year-old from Ethiopia is also coming back this year.
(07/02/2018) ⚡AMP
Moses Kibet and Katsiaryna Shaban Karneyenka were victorious at the Vidovdan Road Race, winning the men’s and women’s titles in 28:34 and 33:40 respectively at the
IAAF Bronze Label road race in Brcko on Saturday June 23. Kibet looked controlled throughout and led a breakaway pack in the early stages. The Kenyan was followed closely by compatriot Ezra Kering, Romania’s Nicolae Soare, Morocco’s Jaouad Chemlal and Derara Hurisa of Ethiopia. Hurisa, who had set PBs for 10km and 5000m in the week leading up to the race, had to withdraw in the second half after feeling pain in his back. It left just three men at the front with the lead changing frequently before Kibet forged ahead at the eighth kilometre. With a strong finish, Kibet crossed the line in 28:34 to win by 35 seconds from Kering. Soare placed third in 29:17. For a while it looked as though Lilian Jelagat would make it a Kenyan double in Brcko as she led the women’s race up until the seventh kilometre. Karneyenka, however, had other plans and she attacked in the final few kilometres to take the lead. Jelagat stayed in relatively close contact, but the Belarusian eventually won by four seconds in 33:40. Ethiopia’s Gadise Mulu Demissie was third in 33:53.
(06/25/2018) ⚡AMP
Gudeta, the world half marathon champion, dominated from the outset en route to her 1:07:30 triumph. In her first appearance over the distance since breaking the world record for a women's only race with her 1:06:11 run at the
IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018,
Netsanet Gudeta, was on her own soon after the gun sounded, reaching five kilometers in 15:55, 18 seconds clear of her nearest challenger, compatriot Aselefech Mergia. From there she only added to her lead, passing 10 kilometers in 31:57 and 15 kilometers in 47:53, by then 1:43 clear of Mergia. "I feel really great about today’s race," said the 27-year-old Gudeta, whose winning time was the third fastest of her career. "I launched my attack early on to ensure I secured first place and I’m delighted that I managed to keep it up right until the finish line." Conversely, the men's race was one of patience, with eight men still in contention at the 15-kilometer point, reached in 43:21. Kiprop proved the strongest, pulling away late in the race to build a insurmountable lead en route to his 1:00:15 course record."I had my sights set on breaking the event record and I’m delighted that my plan worked out," said Kiprop, who at 19 is beginning to make waves over the distance. He won the Venloop in Venlo, Netherlands, on March 25, clocking 59:44. "The wind wasn’t half as bad as it seemed at the start, though if it hadn’t been there at all, I could easily have run 30 seconds faster. Even so, I really enjoyed the race."
(06/25/2018) ⚡AMP
Three months after her world record run at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018, Ethiopian
Netsanet Gudeta Kebede will be making her eagerly anticipated follow-up over the distance at the Mattoni Olomouc Half Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label road race, on Saturday June 23.
Gudeta stormed to a 1:06:11 women’s-only race half marathon world record in the Spanish city on March 24, winning by 43 seconds. She's competed only once since, a fourth place finish at the TCS World 10km in Bengaluru, India, on May 27, where she clocked 31:53.
She is going to have strong competition.
Among the opposition assembled in this eastern Czech city of 100,000 is compatriot Aselefech Mergia, the world silver medallist over the distance in 2007 and world gold medallist in the marathon in 2009. She has a 1:07:21 best from 2011, and clocked 1:08:46 last year. Her best race this season came in New York in April where she finished second in the Healthy Kidney 10km in 32:06.
Kenya comes armed with Antonina Kwambai, perhaps her fiercest challenger this weekend, who notched an impressive victory at the Paris Half Marathon on March 4 in 1:08:07. That was the 26-year-old's second consecutive personal best this year, following her 1:09:07 run in Naples in February where she was second.
The men's race features four men with personal bests under one hour.
The fastest is Jemal Yimer, the 21-year-old Ethiopian who clocked his 59:00 lifetime best at this year's Ras Al Khaimah Half in February where he finished second. His performance remains the third fastest of 2018.
(06/22/2018) ⚡AMPby IAAF
Just 61 days after dropping out of the Boston Marathon, Kellyn Taylor of Flagstaff, Ariz., found the 42nd Grandma's Marathon much more to her liking, crushing the Grandma's women's record by more than two minutes — winning in 2 hours, 24 minutes, 29 seconds.
This was a PR by four minutes. American women Marathon Runners are on fire. In the men’s race, Kenya's Elisha Barno became the first runner in the 42 years of Grandma's Marathon to win four straight men's titles. Taylor, 31, a U.S. Olympic marathon hopeful for the 2020 Summer Games, really didn't have any competition over the 26.2 miles from south of Two Harbors to Duluth's Canal Park.
Kellyn earned $20,000 from a $100,000 prize money purse. Askale Merachi, 31, of Ethiopia was second for a second straight year, in a personal-best 2:30:18. Serkalem Abrha, 31, of Ethiopia was third in 2:33:44. Kenyan Sarah Kiptoo set the Grandma's women's course mark of 2:26:32 in 2013. Until Saturday, East African women had won eight straight titles.
(06/16/2018) ⚡AMP
Mirhetu won in the western French city last year in 32:31. She has raced sparingly this year, but showed promising form at the Warsaw Half Marathon where she finished second in 1:10:26. Compatriot Meskerem Amare, the winner in Langueux in 2016, will also be on the start line on Saturday, but recent half marathon performances of 1:13:25 and 1:14:34 suggest she might not be at her best. Kenya’s Gloria Kite will be a strong contender. The teenager ran 31:41.47 for 10,000m earlier this month, followed three days later by a 3000m PB of 8:39.07. Other athletes who could challenge for a podium place include Paris-Versailles winner Chaltu Dida, 32:20 performer Gete Alemayehu, last year’s third-place finisher Susan Jeptoo of Kenya and her compatriot Mercyline Jerono, who has a PB of 32:46. France’s Sophie Duarte and Clémence Calvin could also be in contention. Duarte, the 2013 European cross-country champion, holds a PB of 31:53, while Calvin finished 28th at the recent IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018. The course record of 31:39 was set in 2015 by Kenya’s Gladys Yator.
(06/15/2018) ⚡AMP
Shewarge Amare of Ethiopia, who in 2010 smashed the women’s course record in her first, and until now only appearance in the race, plans to return to the historic Race this month to try to repeat her performance of eight years ago, Meanwhile, Joseph Gray, who has won the men’s race each of the past four years, will miss Mt. Washington this year, as he is preparing to compete instead as part of the U.S. team at the 15th WMRA Long Distance Mountain Running Championships on June 24, in Karpacz, Poland. After an eight-year absence, Amare’s appearance turns what would have been a likely duel between defending champion Shannon Payne and four-time winner Kim Dobson into a three-way battle in this race to the summit of the highest peak in the northeastern U.S. Dobson of Eagle, Colo., holds the second-fastest time ever recorded in the women’s race — one hour, 9 minutes, 25 seconds — and is the only woman to break 1:10 twice on the extremely steep 7.6-mile course. Payne of Franktown, Colo., won Mt. Washington in 2014, in 1:10:12. Absent in 2015 and 2016, she returned last year and won in 1:11:21.
(06/13/2018) ⚡AMP
Kelkile Gezahegn will return to the IAAF Gold Label road race on Sunday. The Ethiopian won in Lanzhou last year in 2:11:54 and went on to make it on to the podium in Frankfurt and Rotterdam, reducing his PB each time. He clocked 2:06:56 to finish second in Frankfurt and 2:05:56 to place third in Rotterdam two months ago, making him the fastest in the field for this year’s race. Gezahegn has a good record in China. Of the 13 marathons he has contested to date, seven have been in China, and he has won all but two of those. Little separates the top contenders, though, and Gezahegn will have to be at his best to win again.
(06/09/2018) ⚡AMP
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Meseret Defar of Ethiopia won the women's Synchrony Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Half Marathon on Sunday while Titus Ekiru of Kenya upset Olympic silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa of Ethiopia in the men's race. The elite runners in the half and full marathon had finished long before the race was halted for about 10 minutes and rerouted after a police officer accidentally shot himself in the leg while pursuing a hit-and-run suspect who pointed a weapon at police and was eventually arrested on the roof of a parking structure near the finish line in downtown. Defar, a two-time Olympic champion in the 5,000 meters, finished in 1 hour, 8 minutes, 26 seconds, well ahead of Jane Kibii of Kenya, who clocked 1:12:00. Kaitlyn James of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, was third in 1:13:54. Ekiru won the men's race in 1:01:02, 16 seconds ahead of Lilesa, who won the silver medal in the marathon at the Rio Olympics. Josphat Kipchirchir of Kenya was third in 1:02:21.
(06/04/2018) ⚡AMP
Meseret Defar donated her 2004 Olympic 5,000-meter gold medal to a church museum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She was 20 years old when that one was draped around her neck in Athens. Eight years later at the London Games, Defar became the only woman to win two gold medals in the 5,000. That medal is on display in the hallway of her Addis Ababa home. Since 2016, when knee pain prevented her from competing at the Rio de Janeiro Games — “That was the most difficult time for me.” — Defar has focused on marathon training. It has been a difficult transition for one of Ethiopia’s most revered runners. Because of recurring knee injuries, she still has not debuted at 26.2 miles. Come Sunday, when nearly 20,000 runners, walkers and wheelchair athletes take to the streets for the 21st Synchrony Rock ’n’ Roll San Diego Marathon & Half Marathon, Defar will be among them. She’s running the half. If her body cooperates, she hopes to make her marathon debut come fall, likely in Chicago, New York or Berlin.
(06/02/2018) ⚡AMP
“Today I felt the spectators helped me pull out something extra over and over again. It was absolutely fantastic,” Mikaela Larsson told Sweden’s SVT broadcaster. “I’m tired but terribly happy. I hadn’t expected this beforehand.” At the 30km mark, Larsson spurted ahead of her Ethiopian rival Beju Bekelu, building a lead of three minutes and 27 seconds by the finishing line. In the run-up to the start, many had feared that the 27C temperatures would mean runner collapsing from heat exhaustion, but the arrival of clouds just before the start made the contest slightly cooler than expected. Kenyan Lawi Kiptui won the men’s competition with a dramatic finish which saw him overtake and power ahead of his Ethiopian rival Bazu Worku. “It was an extremely hot race,” Kiptui told SVT. “I focused on nothing but winning.” Boston Marathon winner Japan’s Yuki Kawauchi finished fourth nearly 10 minutes behind the winner.
(06/02/2018) ⚡AMP
Sam Chelanga embodies the American dream. And even if he didn't finish the men's pro race quite like he wanted to Monday at the 40th annual Bolder Boulder, Chelanga nonetheless was inescapably moved during his stretch run to the finish line at Folsom Field. A Kenya-born runner who came to the United States to compete at the college level while gaining an education, Chelanga made his second consecutive appearance with the U.S. men's elite team in the International Team Challenge at the 40th annual Bolder Boulder on Monday. Though it wasn't as successful a race as last year, when Chelanga placed third overall and helped the U.S. to a rare victory in the team standings, Chelanga nonetheless couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed coming down the stretch of the Bolder Boulder with a miniature American flag in hand. "This is probably my favorite race ever," Chelanga said. "To come in this stadium and here them cheering for you, it's Memorial Day and I love America. I got my flag and was waving it down the home stretch. I think it embodies the spirit of remembering those who sacrificed for us. My heart was melting coming down there." It was a historic effort at the front of the pack among the men's professionals, with Ethiopia's Getaneh Tamire taking first in 28:18. In favorable weather conditions, Tamire's winning time was the fourth-best time ever recorded in the 40-year history of the Bolder Boulder. Tamire finished 21 seconds ahead of runner-up Gabriel Geay, a runner from Tanzania who ran on a unified Pan African team this year.
(05/29/2018) ⚡AMP
32-year-old Ethiopian’s
Gelete Burka set a Canadian All Comers’ marathon record of 2:22:17 to win the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon by almost four minutes on Sunday May 27. Her superb victory on an overcast breezy day was earned despite suffering stomach cramps in the final 12 kilometers which at one point provided incentive to her compatriot, Hiwot Gebrekidan to attempt a break. But the highly experienced Burka brushed off the pain to earn her first marathon victory. Though she finished 6th in Dubai in 2:20:45 earlier this year, winning this IAAF Gold Label road race on a less than flat course is certainly a far greater achievement. Along with the $40,000 (Canada) first place prize Burka will receive an additional $10,000 (Canada) for the new course record.
(05/28/2018) ⚡AMP
Geoffrey
Kamworor fulfilled all expectations and consolidated his reputation as arguably the best road racer in the world below the marathon distance by winning his third title at the TCS World 10K in Bengaluru, India, an IAAF Gold Label road race, on Sunday May 27. The Kenyan, the winner of the last two world half marathon titles and first man across the line in Bengaluru in 2012 and 2014, couldn’t challenge his course record of 27:44 on a hot and humid morning but crossed the line in 28:18 after impressively imposing his authority on the race just after the halfway point. Kamworor led during the early stages of the race almost from the gun as the rest of the leading pack ran in single or double file behind him through the first five kilometres, with only his compatriot and defending champion Alex Korio helping with the pace. A few strides after the halfway point was passed in 14:28 – making it almost certain that the course record would not fall this year – Kamworor suddenly went through the gears. Only Ethiopia’s 2018 Birhanu Legese opted to go with Kamworor as he strode away from the rest of the elite field, throwing in two back-to-back kilometres of 2:42 to reach 6km in 17:10 and 7km in 19:52. However, in the eighth kilometre Legese had to toss in the towel and by the 8km mark was 50 metres adrift with another 100 metres back to a four-man group consisting of Korio, his fellow Kenyan Edwin Kiptoo, Ethiopia’s 2018 Dubai Marathon winner Mosinet Geremew and Bahrain’s IAAF World Half Marathon Championships Valencia 2018 silver medallist Abraham Cheroben. Kamworor kept up his relentless pace and deservedly took the plaudits in front of a packed and raucous audience in the Kanteerava Stadium to continue his unbeaten streak which started with his win at the New York City Marathon last November and has continued through his four outings in 2018. “I think we were all cautious about the weather in the first half of the race. It was very hot, and I think that’s what cost me the course record. I came here thinking about the course record and tried the best I could, but I could feel the temperature rising as I was warming up. I was jogging for just three minutes before starting to sweat,” reflected a smiling Kamworor.
(05/27/2018) ⚡AMP