Running News Daily

Kenyan star Hellen Obiri to race at Northern Ireland International Cross Country

Kenya's world champion Hellen Obiri will compete in Saturday's Northern Ireland International Cross Country event in Dundonald.

The 32-year-old's entry is a big boost for the meeting which will take place at the Billy Neill Country Park.

Obiri won the World Cross Country title when that event was last held in 2019.

She also won 5,000m gold at the past two World Championships and took silver over the distance at the Tokyo Olympics behind Dutch star Sifan Hassan.

Obiri's performance in Tokyo matched her silver medal at the Rio Games in 2016 and her last run in the UK saw her winning the Great North Run in September.

"While the International Cross Country here has always attracted classy athletes from abroad it is particularly gratifying that we have got the services of such a star athlete as Hellen Obiri especially given the ongoing difficulties created by Covid concerning international travel," said meeting organizer John Allen.

"With her win in the last World Cross, Hellen has shown that she has the versatility to beat the best in the world over either track or cross country."

Star performers who have competed at the Northern Ireland event since it began in 1977 include Steve Ovett, John Treacy, Million Wolde, Ismael Kirui, Paula Radcliffe and Catherina McKiernan.

Rory Linkletter breaks the Canadian half-marathon record at Houston, Linkletter ran 1:01:08 for eighth place

The Houston Half-Marathon took place Sunday morning as part of the Houston Marathon weekend, and Rory Linkletter lowered Jeff Schiebler’s 23-year-old Canadian half-marathon record of 61:28, crossing the finish line in 61:08 for eighth place. His compatriot, Ben Flanagan, was only half a minute behind him, finishing 12th in 61:38.

Going into the race, both athletes had their eyes on Schiebler’s record, which hasn’t been touched in more than two decades. Linkletter recently left the NAZ Elite track club to train with American Marathon record-holder, Ryan Hall, citing stagnation in training as his reason for making the change. His decision seems to have paid off, and he ran a huge PB Sunday morning to become the new Canadian record-holder. The 25-year-old’s previous record of 61:44 was also run on the Houston course just last year.

Linkletter has enjoyed plenty of success lately, and his most recent result was a second-place finish at the California International Marathon in a new personal best time of 2:12:52.

Flanagan was also on the hunt for the Canadian record this Sunday, and came agonizingly close, running just 10 seconds behind Schiebler’s time. The 27-year-old has also had a lot of success recently, winning the Canadian 10K championships in Toronto in October and taking the title in the Manchester Road Race in November. “I am looking forward to competing,” he told Canadian Running ahead of the race. “The plan is to run conservatively to tackle the Canadian record. It’s engraved in my head.”

While he didn’t achieve his goal, Flanagan ran a very strong race and we will have plenty more opportunities to watch Flanagan on the roads. He will be running a few 5,000m and 10,000m races this spring to secure a spot on Team Canada at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Ore., but tells us that he will be stepping up to the marathon in hopes of qualifying for the Paris 2022 Olympics.

Ethiopia’s Milkesa Tolosa won the race in 1:00:24, followed by Kenya’s John Korir in second in 1:00:27 and Wilfred Kimitei of the U.K. in third in 1:00:44.

What it takes to become a Kenyan distance champion

For several generations now, Kenya has produced many of the world’s greatest distance runners.

Many athletes from elsewhere in the world, meanwhile, have tried to tap into the secrets of Kenya’s success as they try to play catch-up – quite literally – with the east African nation that continues to churn out global medallists and world record-breakers.

The truth is, there is no one single reason why Kenya is so dominant in distance events. It’s more down to a combination of factors, many of which were explained during a recent trip to the NN Running training camp in Kaptagat, about 24km east of Eldoret, where the likes of Eliud Kipchoge trains for 11 months of the year.

A way of life

There are few countries where people live and breathe athletics, and where the No.1 Olympic sport can claim to be more popular than football, filling entire stadiums even for age-group championships.

And while Kenya isn’t the only country in the world where kids run long distances to get to school, running has a whole different meaning to many people in the country.

Running is something that comes naturally to us as it’s something that has been part of our lifestyle since we were born,” says three-time world half marathon champion and two-time New York City Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor. “As a kid, I used to run from home to my school three kilometres away back and forth each day, so you end up running sometimes 12 kilometres a day as a teen without even realising it.”

Beyond being a means to an end, there is also a genuine love for running among the Kenyan population.

“As a kid, I would always go and watch athletics competitions when not at school and I enjoyed watching people competing,” added Kamworor. “It awoke my passion for running, especially seeing people cross the finish line and winning a trophy. In high school, it was always a fun and proud moment to represent your class and win a cup. I found it very encouraging.”

Having running embedded into day-to-day life sets Kenya apart from many other nations. But it’s just one of the many reasons why it is known as being the ‘home of the champions’.

Genetics

Simply running to school each day doesn’t automatically turn everyone into a world-class athlete. Genetics, as it does for every elite athlete, likely play a significant part.

Many people in the Rift Valley, where most of Kenya’s top distance runners originate, belong to the Kalenjin tribe. When compared to other Kenyan tribes, Kalenjin people are often described as having good natural running attributes: namely lean bodies and long legs.

Kipchoge, for example, isn’t particularly tall (1.67m / 5ft 6in), but the muscles on his legs are incredibly lean, his body fat percentage is low, and the strength in his feet make it appear as though he bounces along the grass.

But attributing all of Kenya’s success to just their genetics would be a gross over-simplification.

Conditions

Another element that helps Kenyan athletes in their training and preparation is the unique climate and surroundings in this part of the country. It also probably explains why there are so many training camps between Kaptagat and Iten, and why some people refer to it as the ‘Hollywood of elite runners’.

This region is located at 2500 metres above sea level, which, given the lack of oxygen, helps athletes produce a higher concentration of red blood cells and haemoglobin when training. This, in turn, gives runners an advantage when they return to lower altitudes to race.

The Eldoret region is also full of endless forests and dirt roads for athletes to use when running, while the area also enjoys a temperate climate with daytime temperatures ranging between 22-26C (68-78F) throughout the year, dropping to 10-12C (50-53F) at night time. That, combined with the good air quality, makes the area something of a distance-running paradise.

But as Kenya’s economy continues to develop, so do the local villages and the wider region, meaning many of the local dirt paths are now being made into proper roads – which is great for facilitating transport and access from other points of the country, but less so for athletes seeking a run-friendly surface.

Athletes are adapting well to this evolving environment, though, while remaining in close contact with nature. The Kalenjin community, Kipchogeand Kamworor  included, are running many tree-planting initiatives. “We evolve in a very natural environment which is a great advantage when it comes to training,” says Kamworor.

Patrick Sang, the 1992 Olympic silver steeplechase medallist and head coach at the Kaptagat training camp, explains how the new generation of running shoes can help counter the effects of running on harder roads.

“New running shoes help a lot because athletes can now do a lot more training on a hard surface and still recover on time to do their next hard session,” says Sang. “Overall, you can get more work done to help improve performance.”

Sleep, eat, train, repeat

Most world-class athletes are fully committed to their sport, but the elite runners at the Kaptagat training camp in particular take dedication to a whole new level.

Many of these athletes – including young mothers such as two-time Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon – have children who are at home during the week so that they can entirely focus on their training at the camp.

“Of course, it’s very hard but that’s the only way to be fully dedicated to being the best athlete you can and avoid any distraction,” said Kipyegon.

When not running, athletes at the Kaptagat training camp are focused entirely on other elements of their training, namely recovery and nutrition.

“When you are at the camp, your sole focus is on running and you are not distracted by anything else,” says Kamworor, father to five children, including young triplets. “You are away from your family, your wife and your kids during the whole week, and that makes you take your training very seriously as you are making sacrifices to achieve your goals. That’s the only way to be focused 100% on running and to give your very best.”

As in any walk of life, hard work and having the right mind-set are key to success. Kipchoge might be the most successful athlete at the camp, but Sang says that’s not just down to his talent. “Eliud isn’t the most gifted athlete within his training group but certainly the most dedicated,” Sang says of Kipchoge, who is always the first one ready for training and the last one to leave.

In an average week, athletes at the Kaptagat camp do one long run of 30km (once a month it will be 40km), which usually takes place early on a Thursday morning. Typical track sessions, meanwhile, would be something like 8x1600m (each rep completed in 4:40) and 8x400m (at an average of 65 seconds) on their local 380m cinder track.

“Have you seen him?” Sang says when watching Kipchoge train. “This guy is a machine.”

Athletes are religious in their approach to punctuality and producing their best effort in training. And other local athletes from outside the NN Running team are welcome to join in the sessions, provided they arrive on time. After all, no one wants to be playing catch-up with the likes of Kipchoge and Kamworor.

Community

The Kaptagat training camp is run entirely by the 25 athletes who live there for 11 months a year from Monday to Saturday morning before going back to spend quality time with their family, often in the big city of Eldoret. In and around the 12 training runs they do in a typical week, the resident athletes to everything at the camp.

“If you look at life at the camp, the one making bread is an athlete, the cleaning is done by the athletes, the one doing shopping for the camp is an athlete,” says Sang. “You don’t want athletes to live on another island.

“The whole idea is to make sure these athletes become well-rounded people. You wouldn’t want to help someone become a great athlete who lacks social skills or is out of touch with society.”

Kipchoge, whose wife and three children live just 45 minutes away from the training camp, could easily go and spend time with his family during his time off, but instead he chooses to stay at the camp with the rest of the group, monastically isolated from the rest of the world.

Kipchoge is rarely bored, too. When he’s not training or resting, he will be reading or working at the camp or reading.

The sense of community extends to caring about the environment. Every athlete at the camp gets a tree planted at the entrance as a welcome gesture and to symbolise their connection to nature. Some special guests to the camp – including Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie – have also had a tree planted for them in Kaptagat.

Occasionally, athletes at the camp will give each other lessons, or they will engage in real debates around serious issues, helping them develop holistically as people.

Simplicity

Far away from the latest technological innovations you often hear about in other parts of the world, daily life at the camp is basic.

Upon entering the gates at the Kaptagat training camp, the 380m cinder track is located on the left. It has a slight incline on the first bend and a couple of cows as spectators, but it meets all their needs.

“A synthetic track isn’t needed for what we do and the way we train,” says Marc Roig, a former international runner from Spain, who now works as a jack of all trades for NN Running, acting as a fitness coach, physio, runner, mentor and pacemaker. “If our athletes need a synthetic track, they can go to the one in Eldoret an hour away.” In fact, there are just four synthetic tracks in the whole of Kenya, but it’s clearly not a barrier to producing top athletes.

The runners at the camp rarely lift weights or spend time stretching, but twice a week they will do core strength sessions. Instead of water, they drink mursik – a nutritious fermented milk – in the morning and Kenyan tea in the afternoon. And not a single drop of water during their 30km long run. “That’s okay,” says Sang. “They don’t need it.”

Within the camp itself, there is a TV room with a small library corner with a few books there for the athletes, a living room for their meals, the dormitory (one for women and another for men), a basic gym comprising a bike, a treadmill, some elastic bands and a light weightlifting bar (with maximum 40kg available) and a big blue plastic drum outside used for ice baths.

It’s all quite rudimentary, but they don’t need more, and it seems to work.

The only visible ‘luxury’ – aside from the eco-friendly solar panels to get hot water – is that Kipchoge has his own bedroom. But even the king of the marathon does his fair share of the chores. He prepares tea for other athletes, and there’s a strict cleaning schedule that all athletes must stick to.

“I think that when you stop leading a simple life, your mind-set loses contact with the outside world and you lose your focus on your actual goals,” says Kipchoge. “At this point, you run the risk of forgetting about the really important things in life.”

Life at the camp is minimalistic, but nobody complains. Indeed, this simplicity is what defines them and enables the athletes to keep their focus and remain humble about who they are, where they come from and what they are here for.

Hollywood of running

To be the best, you need to surround yourself with the best – which is another reason why the Rift Valley continues to produce champion athletes.

The likes of Kipchoge, Kamworor and Kipyegon are true A-listers, but Kaptagat is filled with talented athletes who have achieved podium finishes at major championships and big city marathons.

Roig, who has a 2:18:05 marathon PB, moved to Kenya several years ago. “When I take my kids to school, I feel ashamed saying I am a runner as many of the dads there have 2:05 marathon PBs,” jokes Roig, who is now the race director for the Valencia Marathon. “There is even a mother at the school who has a PB similar to mine!”

But the Kaptagat camp isn’t the only leading training venue in the area. Iten, a small town at 2400 metres above sea level about an hour north of Kaptagat, is often referred to as the ‘home of champions’ or the ‘Hollywood of distance running’.

One of the drivers used for NN Running Team’s trip to Kenya, for example, was a former 1:06 half marathon runner. His wife, meanwhile, was a 2:21 marathon runner who finished second at the Rotterdam Marathon a couple of years ago. His neighbour is Emmanuel Korir, the Olympic 800m champion, and he is good friends with Joyciline Jepkosgei, the multiple world record-breaker and 2021 London Marathon champion.

Abdi Nageeye, the Olympic marathon silver medallist, also happened to be in Iten at the time of the trip. While ferrying around members of the media, the driver passed by a gas station named ‘Oslo’, which is one of many local businesses owned by Vivian Cheruiyot. The 2016 Olympic 5000m champion opened the station after winning at the Oslo Diamond League meeting.

One of the biggest training venues in Iten is the High Altitude Training Centre founded by multiple world half marathon champion Lornah Kiplagat, who herself is part of a highly successful family of runners, including Sylvia Kibet, Hilda Kibet and Susan Sirma. Many international athletes, including the likes of Mo Farah and Paula Radcliffe, have previously stayed there, while former steeplechaser Bob Tahri of France opened his own training centre in Iten a few years ago.

The Rift Valley – Iten and Kaptagat in particular – is like nowhere else on earth. Everybody knows a champion who is friends with another champion, who is the neighbour of another champion.

It’s yet another way – and one of the many – of becoming a great runner.

Meet Sabina Chebichi the barefoot petticoat runner

Sabina Chebichi was born on 13/5/1959, she won her first marathon in 1973 while barefoot and wearing nothing but a petticoat. Sabina went on to become the first Kenyan female athlete to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games in 1974.

Chebichi started running in 1972, her first race was at Kechiko which she won.

When news about a schoolgirl competing without any kit broke out in the media, Feisal Sherman who was Secretary of Kenya's Amateur Athletic Association (now Athletics Kenya) sent her running kit and proper shoes.

At 14 years of age, Chebichi became the first Kenyan female athlete to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games in 1974, she won bronze in the 800m Women's race at 2:02.61 mins, she went on to compete in the 4 × 400 m Relay and 1500m race.

Ethiopia’s Askale Merachi and Kelkile Gezahegn will defend their titles at the 50th Chevron Houston Marathon, while Kenya’s Vicoty Chepngeno and Shadrack Korir lead the entries for the Aramco Half

Merachi won in Houston in 2020 in 2:23:29, finishing more than a minute ahead of the rest of the field. She went on to win the Taipei Marathon later that year in 2:28:31, but hasn’t raced since then, so her form going into this weekend’s race is relatively untested.

She will face stiff competition from compatriot Biruktayit Eshetu Degefa, a three-time winner in Houston who is aiming to become the race’s first four-time winner. She finished runner-up to Merachi in 2020, clocking 2:24:47. Her PB stands at 2:22:40, set in Toronto in 2019, while her fastest time in Houston is the 2:23:28 she ran to win three years ago.

Two-time Chicago Marathon winner Atsede Baysa has the fastest PB of the field with 2:22:03. A sub-2:25 time may be required to make the podium on Sunday, but the last time the 34-year-old Ethiopian bettered that barrier was back in 2012.

Ethiopian women have won the past 14 editions of the Houston Marathon, but that streak could be under threat on Sunday as Keira D’Amato aims to become the first US woman to win the Houston Marathon since 2005.

The 37-year-old, who took a complete break from running between 2009 and 2016, has been racking up impressive performances on the roads in recent years. She set a marathon best of 2:22:56 and a North American 10-mile record of 51:23 in 2020, finished fourth at last year’s Chicago Marathon, and clocked a half marathon PB of 1:07:55 last month. If conditions are good, the course record of 2:23:14 – set by Alemitu Abera in 2012 – could be under threat.

Ethiopian marathon debutante Tsige Haileslase and USA’s Robert Groner, who finished sixth at the 2019 World Championships, are among the other contenders.

Gezahegn, the defending men’s champion, won with 2:08:36 two years ago and finished two minutes clear of his nearest rivals. His only race since then was the 2021 Boston Marathon, where he finished 15th in 2:12:37. A 2:05:56 runner at his best, the 25-year-old will be keen to use this weekend’s race as an opportunity for redemption.

If John Langat can reproduce his form from 2019, when he won in Eindhoven in a PB of 2:07:11, he could contend for the victory on Sunday. Japan’s Kenta Uchida will also be a formidable opponent. He has a lifetime best of 2:08:12 and will be keen to earn his first marathon victory.

Bahrain’s Abdi Abdo, Ethiopia’s 2008 world indoor 3000m champion Tariku Bekele and US marathon debutant Frank Lara are others to watch out for.

Vicoty Chepngeno will start as the favourite for the Houston Half Marathon, held concurrently with the marathon. The 28-year-old Kenyan has an impressive record in US road races; she has won nine of her past 10 half marathons on US roads, and her lifetime best of 1:07:22 was set in her most recent outing over the distance, in Philadelphia two months ago. Despite her extensive racing experience, though, this will be Chepngeno’s first Houston Half Marathon.

Compatriot Monicah Ngige, meanwhile, will be making her third Houston Half Marathon appearance. The 28-year-old set her PB of 1:07:29 there in 2019. More recently, she finished fourth at the Boston Marathon in October on her debut over the distance, clocking 2:25:32.

Sara Hall leads the US entrants. The 38-year-old has focused more on the marathon in recent years, achieving podium places at the 2020 London Marathon and the 2021 Chicago Marathon, also clocking a PB of 2:20:32 in between those outings. But she has also won her two most recent half marathons, setting a PB of 1:08:18 in 2020.

Shadrack Kimining Korir returns to Houston after finishing third in 2020 in a personal best of 59:27, just two seconds shy of the winner. His most recent outing was at the Lisbon Half Marathon in October, where he finished fifth in 1:02:42.

Wilfred Kimitei also competed in Lisbon towards the end of last year, albeit in a different event to the one where Korir raced, and finished 11th in 1:00:03 – just 23 seconds shy of the PB he set in Ras Al Khaimah in 2018.

Ethiopia’s Milkesa Mengesha also heads to Houston in good form. The 2019 world U20 cross-country champion, still only 21, finished ahead of Kimitei in Lisbon in November, clocking a PB of 59:48 in what was just his second half marathon to date. Earlier in 2021 he set a 5000m PB of 12:58.28 and finished 10th in the Olympic final at that distance.

Kenya’s Raymond Magut, who clocked a PB of 1:00:00 in Herzogenaurach in September, should also be a strong contender, along with Ethiopia’s Bayelign Teshager and Eritrea’s Tsegay Tuemay.

Elite fields

WOMEN Half marathon

Vicoty Chepngeno (KEN) 1:07:22

Monicah Ngige (KEN) 1:07:29

Sara Hall (USA) 1:08:58

Caren Maiyo (KEN) 1:09:20

Sarah Pagano (USA) 1:09:41

Emily Durgin (USA) 1:09:47

Maegan Krifchin (USA) 1:09:51

Andrea Ramirez Limon (MEX) 1:10:20

Dominique Scott (ZAF) 1:10:42

Elaina Tabb (USA) 1:10:44

Nell Rojas (USA) 1:10:45

Julia Griffey (USA) 1:11:04

Emily Setlack (CAN) 1:11:41

Dakotah Lindwurm (USA) 1:11:43

Maor Tiyouri (ISR) 1:11:50

Paige Stoner (USA) 1:11:53

Jessica Judd (GBR) debut

Fiona O’Keeffe (USA) debut

Maddie Alm (USA) debut

Marathon

Atsede Baysa (ETH) 2:22:03

Biruktayit Eshetu Degefa (ETH) 2:22:40

Keira D’Amato (USA) 2:22:56

Askale Merachi (ETH) 2:23:29

Roberta Groner (USA) 2:29:09

Kathya Mirell Garcia Barrios (MEX) 2:34:46

Militsa Mircheva (BGR) 2:35:03

Tsige Haileslase (ETH) debut

Maggie Montoya (USA) debut

Emily Kearney (GBR) debut

Alice Wright (GBR) debut

MEN Half marathon

Shadrack Kimining Korir (KEN) 59:27

Wilfred Kimitei (KEN) 59:40

Milkesa Mengesha (ETH) 59:48

Raymond Magut (KEN) 1:00:00

Bayelign Teshager (ETH) 1:00:31

Tsegay Tuemay (ERI) 1:00:50

Patrick Tiernan (AUS) 1:01:22

Reed Fischer (USA) 1:01:37

Rory Linkletter (CAN) 1:01:44

Reid Buchanan (USA) 1:01:45

Colin Mickow (USA) 1:01:47

Matt Llano (USA) 1:01:47

Harvey Nelson (USA) 1:01:48

John Raneri (USA) 1:01:51

Brogan Austin (USA) 1:01:52

Zouhair Talbi (MAR) 1:02:00

Kirubel Erassa (USA) debut

Marathon

Kelkile Gezahegn (ETH) 2:05:56

John Langat (KEN) 2:07:11

Kenta Uchida (JPN) 2:08:12

Abdi Abdo (BRN) 2:08:32

Elisha Barno (KEN) 2:09:32

Tariku Bekele (KEN) 2:09:33

Augustus Maiyo (USA) 2:10:47

Jesus Arturo Esparza (MEX) 2:11:04

Birhanu Kemal Dare (ETH) 2:12:21

Tyler Jermann (USA) 2:12:40

Frank Lara (USA) debut

James Ngandu (KEN) debut

Luke Caldwell (GBR) debut

Boston Marathon announces their fastest ever men’s field

Organisers of the Boston Marathon have revealed their fastest ever men’s field for the 126th edition of the World Athletics Platinum Elite Label road race on 18 April.

It features 12 men with lifetime bests faster than 2:06, led by three-time Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia, the second fastest marathon runner in history with a best of 2:01:41.

“I recognise the tradition of the Boston Marathon and look forward to racing in April,” said Bekele. “For many years Ethiopia has had a strong tradition in Boston, and I am excited to join that legacy. I have long looked forward to racing the Boston Marathon.”

Seven of the past eight winners will also return to Boston, including 2021 champion Benson Kipruto of Kenya. Lawrence Cherono (2019), Yuki Kawauchi (2018), Geoffrey Kirui (2017), Lemi Berhanu (2016), and Lelisa Desisa (2015 and 2013) are the other six former winners.

“Being back in Boston as a champion is very exciting, but at the same time I feel the pressure and the responsibility to defend my title,” said Kipruto. “I really admire those athletes that managed to be multiple champions in big races. I really want to do my best to be one of them and I really hope to make my name among those Boston champions that people will remember for a long time.”

Other strong contenders include Titus Ekiru, the fastest marathon runner in the world last year having run 2:02:57 in Milan, 2020 world leader Evans Chebet, New York City Marathon winner Albert Korir, and three-time world half marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor.

Men’s elite field

Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) 2:01:41Titus Ekiru (KEN) 2:02:57Evans Chebet (KEN) 2:03:00Lawrence Cherono (KEN) 2:03:04Bernard Koech (KEN) 2:04:09Lemi Berhanu (ETH) 2:04:33Lelisa Desisa (ETH) 2:04:45Gabriel Geay (TAN) 2:04:55Benson Kipruto (KEN) 2:05:13Geoffrey Kamworor (KEN) 2:05:23Eric Kiptanui (KEN) 2:05:47Bethwell Yegon (KEN) 2:06:14Geoffrey Kirui (KEN) 2:06:27Eyob Faniel (ITA) 2:07:19Yuki Kawauchi (JPN) 2:07:27Albert Korir (KEN) 2:08:03Amanuel Mesel (ERI) 2:08:17Bayelign Teshager (ETH) 2:08:28Tsegay Tuemay Weldibanos (ERI) 2:09:07Scott Fauble (USA) 2:09:09Colin Bennie (USA) 2:09:38Trevor Hofbauer (CAN) 2:09:51Jared Ward (USA) 2:09:25Ian Butler (USA) 2:09:45Mick Iacofano (USA) 2:09:55Jake Riley (USA) 2:10:02Jerrell Mock (USA) 2:10:37Jemal Yimer (ETH) 2:10:38Juan Luis Barrios (MEX) 2:10:55Matt McDonald (USA) 2:11:10Matt Llano (USA) 2:11:14Elkanah Kibet (USA) 2:11:15CJ Albertson (USA) 2:11:18Diego Estrada (USA) 2:11:54

Olympic Medalists Will Headline 2022 Boston Marathon Women’s Field

Peres Jepchirchir of Kenya, the 2021 Olympic gold medalist in the marathon, and her countrywoman Joyciline Jepkosgei, who ran the fastest marathon of 2021, 2:17:43, when she won the London Marathon, headline the Boston Marathon elite women’s field for 2022.

American Molly Seidel, who won Olympic bronze last summer, will also line up in Hopkinton on April 18.

The race marks the 50th anniversary of the first official women’s field at the Boston Marathon. This year’s elite women entrants include Olympic and Paralympic medalists, World Major Marathon champions, and sub-2:20 marathoners.

The race will include four Ethiopians with sub-2:20 credentials: Degitu Azimeraw, Roza Dereje, Zeineba Yimer, and Tigist Girma.

Former Boston Marathon champions Des Linden (2018) and Edna Kiplagat (2017) will race, as will Mary Ngugi of Kenya, who was third in Boston last October.

In addition to Linden, Sara Hall, who is the second-fastest woman in American marathoning history, is part of a strong crop of American talent. Nell Rojas, who was the top American finisher at Boston last year, and top-10 2020 Olympic Trials finishers Kellyn Taylor and Stephanie Bruce are also scheduled to run.

Other notable competitors include Canadian Olympian and national record-holder Malindi Elmore, two-time Canadian Olympian Natasha Wodak, and Charlotte Purdue, who is the third-fastest woman in British marathon history.

The Boston Marathon benefits from being the only World Marathon Major race on the calendar in the spring.

“As we look to celebrate the trailblazing women of 1972, we are delighted to welcome the fastest and most accomplished women’s field in the history of the Boston Marathon,” BAA President and CEO Tom Grilk said in a press release. “Though there have been many milestones in the five decades since the women’s division was established in Boston, this field of Olympic and Paralympic medalists, Boston champions, and global stars will make this a race to remember on Patriots’ Day.”

Elite field

Peres Jepchirchir (KEN) 2:17:16Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) 2:17:43Degitu Azimeraw (ETH) 2:17:58Roza Dereje (ETH) 2:18:30Zeineba Yimer (ETH) 2:19:28 Edna Kiplagat (KEN) 2:19:50Tigist Girma (ETH) 2:19:52Maurine Chepkemoi (KEN) 2:20:18Sara Hall (USA) 2:20:32Desiree Linden (USA) 2:22:38Viola Cheptoo (KEN) 2:22:44 Purity Changwony (KEN) 2:22:46Charlotte Purdue (GBR) 2:23:26Kellyn Taylor (USA) 2:24:28Molly Seidel (USA) 2:24:42Malindi Elmore (CAN) 2:24:50Mary Ngugi (KEN) 2:25:20 Monicah Ngige (KEN) 2:25:32Natasha Wodak (CAN) 2:26:19Nell Rojas (USA) 2:27:12 Stephanie Bruce (USA) 2:27:47Dakotah Lindwurm (USA) 2:29:04Roberta Groner (USA) 2:29:09Angie Orjuela (COL) 2:29:12Bria Wetsch (USA) 2:29:50Maegan Krifchin (USA) 2:30:17Elaina Tabb (USA) 2:30:33Lexie Thompson (USA) 2:30:37Kate Landau (USA) 2:31:56

I have learnt my lesson, Elijah Manang'oi says after return from ban

The 2017 world 1,500m champion Elijah Manang'oi says he is now enlightened about the importance of adhering to the 'Whereabouts Rule' as part of anti-doping regulations. 

Manang'oi was banned for two years in November 2020 after a whereabouts violation, which requires elite athletes to provide a definite location and time during which they can be easily located for impromptu drug tests by anti-doping officials. 

"I have learnt my lesson and now know what 'whereabouts' is. I know how to fill it and I have enlightened myself on the rules of AIU. It has not been easy being away but I am happy to be back. I am a human being and it could happen to anybody," the 2018 Africa 1500m champion said.

Manang'oi urged upcoming athletes to learn from his experience and take due diligence to obey all the rules laid down by anti-doping agencies. 

"They need to know the rules of AIU and World Athletics and this will enable them achieve their dreams. These matters may seem small but when you fall afoul, it can be a big blow. It is better for you to fill your 'whereabouts' rather than let someone else do it," he said. 

The 1500m Commonwealth champion added: "To the upcoming athletes, they can take inspiration from me. I have been a world and Commonwealth champion but I have also been suspended so they can learn a lot from my life." 

During his time out of action, the Tokyo Olympics has come and gone, among other competitions. 

However, Manang'oi says he will not cry over spilled milk but is focused on upcoming events. 

"It was a bit challenging being in training without any prospect of competing. Of course, the Olympics came and went, in addition to other competitions I would have loved to participate in. Nonetheless, there will be many other events coming up and that is where my mind is," he said. 

The 2015 world 1500m silver medalist was among competitors at Friday's National Police Service Cross Country Championship, at Ngong Racecourse where his Nairobi Team won the mixed relays. 

He urged Kenyan athletes to use the cross country season as a buildup for subsequent track and field activities. 

"I love to compete in any local competition because it gives you an idea of where you are in your preparations. It is also a chance to meet other athletes and just compare notes on our respective careers," he concluded 

Seyaum and Yihune claim Campaccio crowns

Dawit Seyaum and Addisu Yihune achieved an Ethiopian double at the 65th edition of the Campaccio in San Giorgio su Legnano, the eighth Gold level meeting of this season’s World Athletics Cross Country Tour, on Thursday (6).

The 2022 edition of the popular Northern Italian race celebrated the 100th anniversary of the local sports club Unione Sportiva Sangiorgese.

In the women’s race, Eritrea’s Rahel Daniel Ghebreyohannes took the early lead ahead of a seven-women group featuring Ethiopia’s Medina Eisa, Kenya’s world U20 champion Beatrice Chebet, Seyaum, Kenya’s Lucy Mawia, Ethiopia’s Fantaye Belayneh, Italy’s Anna Arnaudo and her compatriot Nadia Battocletti, the European U23 cross country champion. The leading pack went through the 2km mark in 6:38.

Seven runners remained at the front as the pace picked up at 4km. Seyaum changed gear, clocking a split of 2:49 between 4km and 5km. The leading pack was whittled down to five runners at 5km.

Seyaum, Chebet and Daniel Ghebreyohannes broke away with 500 metres to go and battled it out for the win. Seyaum unleashed her final kick to cross the finish line in 18:48, holding off Atapuerca cross country winner Daniel Ghebreyohannes by just one second in a close sprint. Chebet was beaten for the second time in this cross country season by Daniel Ghebreyohannes and had to settle for third place in 18:51 ahead of Belayneh (18:56) and Eisa (19:05).

Battocletti edged her Slovenian rival Klara Lukan to finish sixth in 19:06.

Seyaum claimed a back-to-back win after her recent triumph at the Boclassic 5km road race in Bolzano last Friday.

The men’s race saw a big group featuring Kenya’s Vincent Kipkurui Too, Emmanuel Korir Kiplagat and Amos Serem, together with Ethiopia’s Yihune, Eritrea’s Aron Kifle and Italian runners Iliass Aouani, Yohanes Chiappinelli and Eyob Ghebrehiwet Faniel, go through 3km in 8:43.

Too set the pace at the front of an eight-man group, closely followed by Serem, Kiplagat, Kifle, Yihune and Faniel during the third lap. They went through 4km in 11:46 and 5km in 14:30.

Aouani was the first to drop back at 7km and the leading group was whittled down to seven athletes. Kiplagat then moved to the front ahead of six other runners: Serem, Kifle, Faniel, Too, Yihune and Chiappinelli. 

The first significant move came at 8km when Yihune, Kiplagat, Too, Serem and Kifle picked up the pace and pulled away from marathon runner Faniel by two seconds. Yihune pushed on at the front and increased his lead during the last lap, going on to cross the finish line in 28:39 with a six-second gap over Kiplagat.

Serem, who won the world U20 gold medal in the 3000m steeplechase in Nairobi last August, won a very close sprint for third place in 28:53, holding off Too. Kifle rounded out the top five in 28:59.

Faniel finished sixth as the first Italian athlete in 29:15, beating European 3000m steeplechase bronze medallist Chiappinelli (29:21) and Italian cross country champion Aouani (29:45).

Yihune joined the list of Ethiopian stars who have won the Campaccio race, that includes Haile Gebrselassie, Kenenisa Bekele, Muktar Edris, Imane Merga and Hagos Gebrhiwet.

Yihune, who will turn 19 in March, finished fourth in the 5000m at the World U20 Championships in Nairobi and clocked a PB of 12:58.99 over this distance in Hengelo last June.

“I felt confident during the race that I could win, as I knew that I was well prepared,” said Yihune. “I train with Selemon Barega. He is my role model.”

Jeruto and Ebenyo take 10km honours in Valencia

Norah Jeruto and Daniel Simiu Ebenyo secured a Kenyan double at the 10K Valencia Ibercaja – a World Athletics Label Road Race – held on Sunday (9) in the Spanish coastal city on a windy day, which somewhat hampered athletes' performances.

Ebenyo clocked a PB of 26:58 to move to seventh on the world all-time list, while Jeruto ran 30:35 for a three-second victory ahead of Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal.

Fourth time lucky for Jeruto

Jeruto had claimed podium places on her three previous appearances in Valencia but the 26-year-old had never been the victor. The 2011 world U18 2000m steeplechase champion confirmed her role of hot favourite and dominated the race from the gun.

Paced by two male pacemakers, Mourad El Bannouri and Luis Agustin, the women’s event opened at a steady 3:03/3:04 pace, with a leading quintet featuring Jeruto, her fellow Kenyan Gladys Chepkurui, Ethiopian debutante Anchinalu Dessie Genaneh, Norway’s European cross country champion Grovdal and Sweden’s Meraf Bahta, the silver medallist at the European event in Dublin.

The first casualty was Bahta, who began to lose ground just before the fifth kilometre, which was reached in 15:18 to dash any hope of the world record being broken. Grovdal’s split of 15:19 was also outside Paula Radcliffe's European record pace.

The toughest section of the competition came between the fifth and seventh kilometres, because of an annoying headwind. Despite that barrier, Jeruto clearly pulled away from the lead pack, always following the pacemaker. Way back, Chepkurui was a lonesome second ahead of Genaneh, herself clear of Grovdal.

Over the closing kilometres the big questions were how close to 30 minutes Jeruto could be, and whether Grovdal would approach the European record. The 31-year-old Norwegian first moved into third place and by the eighth kilometre she had joined Chepkurui in second place, while Jeruto’s successive 3:05 kilometres meant she was off the pace needed to break 30:00.

After leaving Chepkurui behind with some 1500m remaining, Grovdal never threatened Jeruto’s win but she drastically closed the gap. Jeruto ran home in 30:35, three seconds ahead of Grovdal, whose 30:38 was her second-quickest ever time behind the 30:32 run she achieved in 2020, while Chepkurui completed a classy podium in 30:48.

Ebenyo breezes under the 27-minute barrier

The men’s start took place 15 minutes after the women’s and kicked off at the scheduled 2:42/km cadence in the hunt for a sub-27:00 clocking. In the absence of an official pacemaker, it was Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele Gudeta who took full command of the race, with only Kenya’s Ebenyo for company.

The leading duo went through the half way point in a promising 13:30, perfectly on schedule for the targeted time. By then, Jacob Krop travelled in third place, five seconds off the leaders, but also five seconds clear of his fellow Kenyan Boniface Kibiwott, while Great Britain’s European U23 10,000m bronze medallist Emile Cairess was the first European thanks to a 13:51 split. At that point he was four seconds ahead of Switzerland’s European record-holder Julien Wanders.

During the sixth kilometre, Ebenyo began to take a turn at the helm, and with some 20 minutes on the clock the 26-year-old Kenyan opened a gap on Gudeta, which grew over the following kilometres. Despite his lead, Ebenyo managed to maintain his 2:42 pace like a Swiss clock to reach the 9km checkpoint in 24:16, with a seven-second advantage over Gudeta. 

The 2020 San Silvestre Vallecana winner covered the closing kilometre like a man on a mission to finally cross the finish line in a huge lifetime best of 26:58.

Runner-up Gudeta also improved his career best to 27:10 and Krop was third in a PB of 27:23. 

Fast-finishing Cairess almost pipped Kibiwott on the line, with both athletes being given 27:44 – a 30-second improvement on his previous best for the Briton.

Fast 10km times expected in Valencia

Two years ago at the 10K Valencia Ibercaja, Kenya’s Rhonex Kipruto set the current men’s world record with his impressive 26:24 performance. This year, organizers hoped to match that feat in the women’s event at the World Athletics Label Road Race by bringing together some of the most outstanding distance athletes, including Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Kenya’s Norah Jeruto.

Unfortunately Yehualaw, the main candidate to improve the 29:38 mark achieved by Bahrain’s Kalkidan Gezahegne in Geneva last October, will be unable to compete in Valencia on Sunday (9) after testing positive for Covid-19 just before travelling on Thursday. Gezahegne's performance is awaiting ratification as the women's world 10km record set in a mixed race, with the current ratified mark the 29:43 run by Joyciline Jepkosgei in 2017.

The 22-year-old Yehualaw holds the second-quickest ever time in the half marathon, courtesy of her 1:03:51 run in Valencia on 24 October, when she covered the opening 10km in 29:45. Her 3:01 per kilometer average pace suggested the world 10km record was well within the world half marathon bronze medallist's capabilities.

Jeruto will be in the Mediterranean city this Sunday, however, and is a classic contender in the event, having recorded times of 29:51 in January 2020 and 30:08 in October 2021. She boasts the world’s third-quickest 3000m steeplechase time in history with a stunning 8:53.65 clocking to her credit and confirmed her top shape by winning the Italica cross country meeting on 21 November against some top competition.

The European record that belongs to Great Britain’s Paula Radcliffe seems to be in jeopardy thanks to the presence of the newly-crowned European cross country champion Karoline Bjerkeli Grovdal. In Dublin the 31-year-old Norwegian achieved at last the elusive gold medal she had chased for many years, having previously won one silver and four bronze medals.

Boosted by her recent success, Grovdal should improve her lifetime best of 30:32 set in 2020 to attack the European record of 30:21 set by Radcliffe in 2003, when it was a world record. Sweden’s 2014 European 5000m champion Meraf Bahta, silver medalist in Dublin, will also be looking for a fast time after setting a national 5km record of 15:04 on 31 December in Barcelona.

Grovdal and Bahta will likely be joined by Kenya’s Gladys Chepkurui, who achieved a career best of 30:34 on the Spanish soil of Laredo last year, while the British pair of Charlotte Purdue and Samantha Harrison will try to break the 32-minute barrier for the first time.

Reportedly, Grovdal plans to go through the first half of the race in a moderate 15:15, to then pick up the pace during the second and more favorable closing 5km.

Men target sub-27:00 performance

Although somewhat overshadowed by the women’s event, the men’s race is also shaping up well and is headed by the Kenyan trio of Daniel Simiu Ebenyo, Boniface Kibiwott and Jacob Krop. The former won the 2020 San Silvestre Vallecana, boasts a fine 27:12 10km lifetime best and lowered his 5000m clocking to 12:55.88 last summer, while Kibiwott timed 27:13 in Geneva for third place last October. As for Krop, he’s a talented athlete who placed sixth at the World Athletics Championships in Doha over 5000m aged 18. He set his lifetime best of 27:30 in Valencia in 2020 and showed fine fitness during his last appearance in Herzogenaurach, where he won the 5km event in a PB of 13:06.

The Ethiopian response should come from the 17-year-old Chimdesa Debele, winner of the Lille 10km last November thanks to a career best of 27:16, while Switzerland’s Julien Wanders and Spain’s Carlos Mayo will be the leading Europeans. The Swiss athlete set the current European record of 27:13 here two years ago while Mayo, a 27:25.00 performer on the track, is targeting a national record to improve the mark which currently stands at 27:48.

In addition to the elite competition, there will be a mass race with 10,000 entrants divided into five waves as a security measure. Runners from 58 different countries will be looking to improve their PBs over one of the quickest circuits worldwide.

Weather forecasters predict a sunny but windy day on Sunday, with temperatures between 12 and 14ºC by the time of the event.

Defending champions will return to mark 50th anniversary of Chevron Houston Marathon

With 194,039 finishers having run 5,083,822 miles since the first Chevron Houston Marathon, the race will mark its 50th anniversary on January 16.

“When 113 runners lined up in 1972 to run loops in Memorial Park, no one would have predicted the marathon would have a Golden Anniversary at all, much less with a field of 28,000 celebrating on the streets of Houston,” said Houston Marathon Committee Executive Director Wade Morehead. “Led by some of the top marathoners and half marathoners in the world, we’re looking forward to a great day in the history of the race and the city.”

Returning to defend their Chevron Houston Marathon titles from 2020 – only a virtual race was held last year because of Covid – are Askale Merachi and Kelkile Gezahegn, both of Ethiopia. Making her seventh-consecutive appearance will be three-time champion Biruktayit Eshetu Degefa, who will renew her quest to become the race’s first four-time winner after finishing as runner-up to Merachi last year.

Among the Americans worth watching are Keira D’Amato and Frank Lara. D’Amato comes to Houston with a personal best of 2:22:56 and could challenge the 10-year-old course record of 2:23:14, while Lara – the 2014 Gatorade Boys’ High School Cross Country Runner of the Year out of Strake Jesuit College Prep – returns home to Houston to make his marathon debut.

Dan Green, the first winner in 1972, will serve as honorary starter, along with other members of the race’s Hall of Fame. In addition to marking its 50th anniversary, the race will serve as the first qualifier for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon, with its newly-toughened standards of 2:18 for men and 2:37 for women.

The Aramco Houston Half Marathon, run concurrently with the marathon, will be headlined by Kenya’s Vicoty Chepngeno and American Sara Hall. Chepngeno set her personal best of 1:07:22 in winning the Philadelphia Half Marathon last November, while Hall is the sixth-fastest woman in U.S. history at the half marathon and second-fastest in the marathon. On the men’s side, the fastest time in the field belongs to Shadrack Kimining Korir, who returns to Houston after finishing third here in 2020 in a personal best of 59:27.

This year, the elite fields for the two races will feature athletes representing 17 countries: the U.S., Kenya, Ethiopia, Mexico, Great Britain, Japan, Bulgaria, Guatemala, Peru, Eritrea, South Africa, Morocco, New Zealand, Canada, Israel and Australia.

The Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon will be broadcast on ABC-13 from 7 a.m.-10 a.m., with a race day recap at 10:35 p.m. Joining ABC-13’s Greg Bailey and Gina Gaston as expert commentator will be Des Linden, the 2018 Boston Marathon winner and 50K world-record holder. Linden made the first of her two U.S. Olympic Marathon teams in Houston in 2012.

Kipruto ends Kamworor's dominance at Kenya Police Cross Country

World 10,000m bronze medalist Rhonex Kipruto from Police Boarder (PBU) Friday won the Kenya Police Cross Country Championships men’s 10km title on his debut.

Kipruto, who is the 10km world record holder cashed on the late withdrawal of eight-time defending champion Geoffrey Kamworor to win in 30 minutes and 28.57 seconds in the event held at the Ngong Racecourse.

Kamworor, who was going for his ninth title, withdrew after he sustained a groin injury during his long run the previous day.

But Kipruto’s victory didn’t come on a silver platter after he was forced to hold off teammate Michael Kibet in the last kilometre to triumph. 

The race curved fast into a two-horse battle between Kipruto and Kibet as early as the first four kilometres with Kibet leading throughout the distance. 

It’s only in the last kilometer that Kipruto, the 2018 World Under-20 10,000m champion, took charge and never looked back for his maiden win.

“It’s a good win coming just upon graduating from Kenya Police Training College. We went for team work with my brother Kibet. It was needless to fight each other ruthlessly when we are from the same team,” said Kipruto, ” said Kipruto, who embraced Kibet at the finishing line.

Kipruto paid tribute to Kamworor and wished him quick recovery. “ I would have loved to compete against him. He is a legend and I hope to compete with him in the next event,” said Kipruto.

Kipruto said he had not prepared well for the race having just graduated from Kenya Police Training College in December.

“We have a busy season and I will have to sit down with my coach brother Colm O’Connell to strategies well especially after I  missed out on Tokyo Olympics owing to a hip joint injury,” said Kipruto.

Kipruto intends to compete at the Memorial Agnes Tirop World Cross Country Tour on February 12 before turning his focus to the World Athletics Championships on July 15 to 24 in Oregon, United States and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games due July 28 to August 8 in United Kingdom.

“I want to work on my speed ahead of the track season," said Kipruto.

Selected results 

1.Rhonex Kipruto (BPU) 30:28.6

2.Michael Kibet (BPU) 30:28.9

3.Josphat Kiprotich (CIPU) 30:46.8

4.Joseph Kiptum (NEP) 30:50.7

5.Edwin Bett (RDU) 30:52.1

6.Kennedy Cheserek (GSU) 31:02.4.

Geoffrey Kamworor eager to shine at Cross Country Tour in tribute to Tirop

Former world half marathon record holder Geoffrey Kamworor says he will be running at the World Cross Country Tour on February 12 in memory of 'close friend' and 2015 World Cross Country champion Agnes Tirop. 

The inaugural cross country meet has been named Agnes Tirop Memorial World Cross Country Tour in honour of the fallen star who was found murdered in October last year at her home in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet. 

"She was one of my closest friends who always had encouraging words for me whenever we went for competitions. We would advise each other. So it is appropriate that this event be named after her and be held in the City of Champions, which is Eldoret. It is a privilege to run in this race to remember her and of course, to market it as a world-class," Kamworor said. 

Despite successes in past cross country races, the 2011 World Junior Cross Country champion says he is not fixated on claiming a podium place in Eldoret. 

"Of course, I am naturally a cross country runner but for me, what matters most is to run a good race and remember my good friend Agnes. Other than that, it is difficult to tell how the race will pan out. I have managed to go around the course and it is perfect. I can't wait to run on it," the three-time world half marathon champion said. 

It was not a rosy 2021 for Kamworor who began the year on a sour note, pulling out of the men's senior race at the national cross country championship before he had to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics due to an ankle injury. 

Nonetheless, the 2017 and 2019 New York Marathon champion is keen to put the underwhelming year past him and focus on upcoming competitions in 2022. 

"I don't want to comment much because last year was challenging for a lot of athletes. Many were not able to train effectively but we hope this year will be different and will be able to compete in a majority of competitions," he said.  

Kamworor added: "The season is still young; we have just begun the year. I can't say much about my plans for the season but these cross country races are the perfect build-up for this year's competitions."

The 2017 World Cross Country champion is elated by the country's burgeoning reputation as a destination for major athletics events. 

"It is wonderful to be competing against other great runners from other parts of the world. Normally, we are used to going outside for international events but this time it is coming home. This shows how Kenya is growing as a host nation for athletics events," he said. 

The one-day invitational race will bring together a number of local and foreign athletes, among them, world 5k record holder Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia. 

Kibiwott Kandie eyes another KDF X-country title, as part of his preparations for the track season

World Half Marathon Championships silver medalist Kibiwott Kandie intends to use the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Cross Country Championships on Friday at Moi Air Base as part of his preparations for the track season.

Kandie, who will be seeking his fourth consecutive KDF title, said that he will focus on the 10,000 meters this season as he targets the Commonwealth Games and World Athletics Championships.

The World Athletics Championships will be held on July 15 to July 24 in Oregon, United States, while the Commonwealth Games are due on July 28 to August 8 in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Iten-based Kandie said that he failed to perform as expected last year after he fell short in training. A nagging right knee injury also worsened things for the former half marathon world record holder.

“I think I over strained and that affected my performance,” said Kandie, who started 2021 with victory in the 10,000m in a personal best of 28:28.0 at the Athletics Kenya Weekend Meeting in February.

Familiar foes

Kandie said running under 29 minutes last year was a clear indication he can do well on the track.

At the same time, reigning World Cross Country Championship winner Hellen Obiri will be seeking her fifth KDF crown on Friday.

Obiri, the world 5,000m champion, recaptured the title in January last year when she beat defending champion Joyce Chepkemoi to second place in 33 minutes 25.1 seconds.

Sheila Chepkurui completed the podium followed by Nesphine Chepleting and Irene Kamais in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Obiri, the Olympic 5,000m silver medalist, claimed previous wins in 2014, 2017 and 2019.

Obiri, Chepkemoi, Chepkurui, Chepleting and Kamais will be joined by former champion Joycilline Jepkopsgei, who is fresh from winning the London Marathon in October.

KDF first vice chairman Alfred Olenawangas said the event will have familiar faces.

“We expect a full house with most of our athletes having resumed training ahead of the busy 2022 season,” he said.

Top athletes for Memorial Agnes Tirop World Cross Country Tour

Three-time world half marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor has confirmed his participation to the Memorial Agnes Tirop World Cross Country Tour on February 12 in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.

Kamworor said during the launch of the race at Lobo village in Kapseret Tuesday that he will be happy to compete with other international athletes in honoring the departed Tirop.

“It was so sad to loose such hard working athletes and competing in the race next month will give me joy because she was my best friend in cross country. We used to encourage one another before the race and since she is no more, I have to compete and run well,” said Kamworor.

Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey the 5,000m, 10,000m and half marathon world record holder, will also line up in the women’s 10km race.

Forty invited athletes will grace the race with many Kenyan athletes expected to join the list once they are selected after the national trials which shall be held at the same venue in Eldoret.

Some of the races that will be taking place include 10km senior men and women, 8km junior men, 6km junior women, Under-18 6km boys, Under-18 4km girls, 2km boys and 1km for children and masters race. 

Athletics Kenya President Jack Tuwei said the race is the only one in Africa and the last one in a series of 17, adding that Eldoret was picked by World Athletics as one of its venues for the inaugural 2022 World Cross Country Tour. 

World Athletics introduced cross country tours races which will be subsequently categorized as gold, silver or bronze and will come with additional prize monies for the best performers.

Out of the $400,000 (Sh43m) prize money for the best performers, $75,000 (Sh8m) will be set aside for the best male and female runners in the cross country tour. 

“We decided to name the race after our hero Agnes Tirop who was murdered last year as one way of honoring her. The Local Organizing Committee is on top of things and we shall be able to deliver a world class event," said Tuwei.

Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed warned rogue coaches and agents who want to ruin the sport by fleecing athletes of their hard earned cash or introducing them to drugs.

“It is really sad we are mourning the champion today who was to compete in the race because of rogue people surrounding her career. Going forward we shall be able to vet those handling athletes because the report that I will be releasing next week has a lot of issues which have to be addressed immediately,” said Amina.

She further said that Kenya has shown the world her prowess in the sport and athletes should continue working hard and carry the country’s flag high in the forthcoming events.

Aoyama Gakuin University breaks on course record for sixth Hakone Ekiden win

Riding the momentum of its Hakone Ekiden Day One win, Aoyama Gakuin University broke the Day Two and overall course records to take its sixth Hakone title in eight years.

With all sixteen men on his entry roster having broken 29 minutes for 10000 m and even leaving some recent 62-minute half marathoners off, head coach Susumu Hara had plenty of material to work with on the five-stage 109.6 km Day Two return trip from the mountain town of Hakone to central Tokyo. Handling the 20.8 km descent on the day's first leg, 4th-year Yuki Takahashi was the weakest link in the Day Two lineup in terms of finishing time on his individual stage, running only 8th-fastest, but even so he added a valuable 41 seconds to AGU's initial lead of 2:37.

And from there it was a total blowout. Hironori Kishimoto was the only runner to break 63 minutes on the 21.3 km 7th leg, taking the lead to 4:51. Issei Sato lost 19 seconds to Juntendo University's Masaki Tsuda but was still 2nd-fastest on the 21.4 km 8th leg. Yuito Nakamura blew the race apart with a 1:07:15 course record on the 23.1 km 9th leg, 46 seconds off the old record dating back to 2008 and putting AGU ahead of Juntendo by 7:56. Anchor Hironobu Takakura backed that up with a 1:07:50 course record on the 23.0 km 10th leg, 50 seconds under the old record.

AGU broke the Day Two record in 5:21:36 and took almost 2 minutes off its own record for the full 10-stage, 217.1 km course, finishing 10:51 ahead of 2nd in 10:43:42 with the biggest margin of victory since 1988. That works out to 2:57.9/km including the two mountain stages. How dominant is that? The same pace for 100.0 km, the distance run at Jan. 1 at the 7-stage New Year Ekiden corporate men's national championships, would give AGU a time of 4:56:30. That would have put them in 12th out of 37 teams, not evening taking into account that they were running more than twice as far as the corporate leaguers, only one stage at the New Year Ekiden is as long as what every runner at Hakone does, or that Hakone includes two stages with elevation changes of 837 m. Take those into account and AGU's best 7 could probably be giving New Year winner Honda, who averaged 2:54.6, a run for it, even without a Kenyan. Coach Hara might get it wrong every now and then, but at this point his development program is pretty close to untouchable at the collegiate level. 

Behind AGU, the overall race was as complex as expected given how close most of the teams were in ability, way too much to recap. From 2nd to 13th, almost every team changed position on almost every stage. There were as many brilliant days in the sun as devastating setbacks, as many as you could hope for. 2020 Yosenakai qualifier winner Juntendo continued its forward movement after a slow start on Day One, moving from 5th to 3rd thanks to a stage best from downhill runner Keito Makise, then 2nd after another stage best from 8th man Tsuda. Tsuda, a second-string senior, delivered one of the biggest runs of the day, taking out Komazawa's #2 man Mebuki Suzuki to put Juntendo into 2nd, where they stayed. Komazawa fell to 6th as Suzuki faltered, but fought back to 3rd. 

Last year's 3rd-placer Toyo University struggled to stay in the top 10, then caught Komazawa for 3rd in the anchor stage home straight before dropping to 4th in the final sprint. 2021 Izumo Ekiden winner Tokyo Kokusai University bounced between 7th and 4th before landing in 5th. Yosenkai runner-up Chuo University made it as high as 3rd on the 8th leg before falling back to 6th, its first time in the top 10 in ten years. Last year's Hakone runner-up Soka University went from 8th to 5th to 9th to 7th. Koku Gakuin University dropped from 4th to 10th over the first three stages of the day. A stellar run from first-year Kiyoto Hirabayashi took them back to 5th on the 9th leg, but anchor Ryomei Aizawa dropped again to 8th. Teikyo University started in 2nd after an uphill win at the end of Day One by Shoma Hosoya but spent Day Two sweating it out as they fell back as far as 10th on the 9th leg before anchor Shoma Nishiwaki took them back to 9th. 

A top 10 placing in Hakone gets you a return trip the next year and an invitation to October's season-opening Izumo Ekiden. 2019 Hakone winner Tokai University clawed its way up to 10th on the Day One 5th leg, then to 8th over the first four stages of Day Two. But anchor Yuta Yoshitomi ran into trouble and dropped, and coming off Nihonbashi with 1 km to go he was caught by Hosei University's Yuki Kawakami. It's a sign of how much trouble Yoshitomi was in that he ultimately finished 52 seconds behind Kawakami, sending Tokai back to the Yosenkai with Hosei getting into the top 10 for the first time in 3 years. Waseda University, Japan's University of Oregon, looked like they might break into the top 10 with good 7th and 8th leg runs from Soshi Suzuki and Ryunosuke Chigira, but they couldn't quite close it up and were caught just before the finish by Kanagawa University.

Even further back there was just as much action throughout the day. The Kanto Region Select Team recorded its best-ever time, finishing 14th overall but not counting in team scoring. 2021 Yosenkai winner Meiji University fought back from a disastrous Day One to overtake top 10 contender Kokushikan University for 14th. Chuo Gakuin University overcame a Day One time handicap to beat Yamanashi Gakuin University and Nittai University for 16th. The debuting Surugadai University, last on Day One, likewise outran its handicap to knock Senshu University down to 20th.

Altogether it was a truly great edition of the world's greatest race, one with more plot lines happening simultaneously than even the ultra-competent Nippon Television production team knew what to do with. That's a direct product of the constantly increasing level of collegiate men's distance running in Japan. AGU and coach Hara may be showing what's possible, but with so many teams raising the average ceiling at once it created the right conditions for tense and exciting racing throughout all 11 hours of action over Hakone's two days. That's good for the athletes, good for the broadcaster and their sponsors, and good for the fans. Japan is losing elite-level races at a rate that should be ringing some alarm bells, but in the lead-up to Hakone's 100th running in 2024 it was a reassuring sign that this one, at least, is only getting better.

Azimeraw and Katir end year on a high in Madrid

Ethiopia’s Degitu Azimeraw and Spain’s Mohamed Katir captured commanding wins at the San Silvestre Vallecana, a World Athletics Elite Label road race, in Madrid on 31 December on a perfect night for running.

Azimeraw, contesting her first race since her 2:17:58 runner-up finish at the London Marathon in October, won in 30:26, the third-fastest winning time in the event’s history. Katir, meanwhile, won in 27:45, becoming the first Spanish man in 18 years to win in Madrid.

Two-time world 5000m champion Hellen Obiri had been due to compete but she tested positive for Covid-19 and had to pull out on the eve of the race.

The women’s race started at a swift pace, the first kilometre being covered in 2:54 by Azimeraw, her fellow Ethiopian Haven Hailu and Kenya’s Edinah Jebitok. Israel’s Lonah Salpeter and Ethiopia’s Ayel Likina were a few strides behind, covering the first kilometre in 3:00.

The pace proved to be too quick for Hailu who lost ground before the third kilometre, covered in 8:46 by the lead group. Azemiraw and Jebitok went through the halfway point in 14:38, the quickest ever split and well on schedule to break the tough course record of 29:54. By then, Haven ran in third 13 seconds behind, Salpeter clocked 15:04 for Likina’s 15:11.

Azimeraw kept pushing hard over the following kilometres, possibly fearful of Jebitok’s finish, but she finally managed to leave the Kenyan behind just before the eighth kilometre at the beginning of the hardest section of the race.

Azimeraw’s cadence dropped significantly in the closing kilometres, missing her chance of breaking 30 minutes, but she still won comfortably in 30:26. Jebitok, recent winner at the Venta de Baños cross country meeting, was second in 30:44 in what was her first ever road race. Further back, the experienced Salpeter finished third in 31:14.

In contrast to the women’s race, the opening downhill kilometre in the men’s contest was covered in a relatively modest 2:46. It soon became clear that Burundi’s Rodrigue Kwizera, the current leader in the World Athletics Cross Country Tour, had no plans to be a front-runner. Instead, Spanish sub-2:09 marathon runners Daniel Mateo and Yago Rojo were the early leaders.

The lead pack continued at a steady 2:45/2:46 kilometre pace to reach 3km in 8:17 and halfway in 13:46. By then the lead group was still large and led by 40-year-old Spaniard Ayad Lamdassem.

Katir progressively moved to the front and shortly after the seventh kilometre (19:17) made a first serious attack which could be matched only by Kwizera while Kenya’s Shadrack Koech and Spain’s Nassim Hassaous began their own battle for third place.

Once at the uphill section of the race, Katir took command and gradually opened up a gap over Kwizera. By the time Katir crossed the line in 27:45, he had built a 10-second advantage over Kwizera, who in turn was 10 seconds ahead of Hassaous.

“It’s great to win such a prestigious race but I’m not at my peak yet,” said Katir, the Spanish record-holder at 1500m, 3000m and 5000m. “I’m now loading mileage and hope to be in top form in February when I would like to take part in several World Indoor Tour meets.”

Kwizera and Mohamed Katir, duel at the summit in the San Silvestre Vallecana International

The Burundian athlete Rodrigue Kwizera, dominator in the cross season, starts as a favorite against Mohamed Katir, who leads the Spanish representation with Ayad Lamdassem, Dani Mateo, Yago Rojo and Abdessamad Oukhelfen in the Nationale-Nederlanden San Silvestre Vallecana Internacional, which will be dispute this December 31 in the ‘heart’ of Madrid.

La San Silvestre is reunited with its traditional layout and Rodrigue Kwizera’s favorite poster. The athlete from Burundi arrives in Madrid after having shone in the national cross season, with victories in Itálica, Soria, Venta de Baños, Alcobendas and Lasarte, and a second place in Atapuerca.

With a performance that is very reminiscent of Jacob Kiplimo when he pulverized the Nationale-Nederlanden San Silvestre Vallecana record, the 26 minutes and 41 seconds of the Ugandan could be at risk this year if Kwizera brings out all that class that they have shown in this winter season.

The competition that you will find on the asphalt will contribute to this. And it is that Shadrack Koech and Abel Sikowo, already confirmed for the race as representatives of the NN Running Team, are joined by the very young 19-year-old Kenyan Emmanuel Kiplagat, who has 28 minutes and 28 seconds as the best mark in 10,000 meters in the open air, and the great star of national athletics today, Mohamed Katir.

In a dreamy summer, the Murcian of Moroccan origin broke three national records that seemed eternal – 1,500, 3,000 and 5,000 meters -, achieved two victories in the Diamond League against the best in the world, and was an Olympic diploma in 5,000 meters at the Games Tokyo 2020.

With ambition and courage as the flag, Katir will seek to climb to the top of the podium at the Vallecas Stadium, a victory that would be historic, because a Spaniard has not won since Chema Martínez was crowned in the 2003 edition.

Along with Katir, the Nationale-Nederlanden San Silvestre Vallecana will have the best Spanish athletes of the moment. Ayad Lamdassem knows what it is like to be very close to victory in the Vallecana. The national marathon record holder -2: 06: 35- and fifth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, has been second three times in Vallecas and will seek to approach the positions of honor. Of course, his personal best is very far in time, 28:09 in 2010.

Dani Mateo shattered this year the national record of the hour of a mythical, Mariano Haro. After his Olympic experience in Japan, the marathoner from Soria will seek to overcome his best position in the race, a ninth place, and try to go down for the first time in his career of 29 minutes in 10K (29:07 as a personal best).

For his part, Yago Rojo has dropped this year from 2 hours and 9 minutes in the marathon, which confirms him as one of the young talents of the distance. In the Vallecana he has already been tenth, in 2018, with a personal best time of 28:48.

The Spanish army is completed by Abdessamad Oukhelfen, current national cross champion and who has just been twelfth in the European cross country in Ireland, confirming the progression of this 23-year-old talent; the canary by birth Nassim Hassaous, the best of the Spaniards in the 2021 European Cross Country, with a seventh place; Ignacio Fontes, Olympic finalist in 1,500 meters in Tokyo 2020; Jesús Ramos, runner-up in Spain in 10,000 meters and with a personal best of 27:49; or Jesús Gómez, double European runner-up of 1,500 meters on the indoor track in 2019 and 2021, among others.

Kenyan Mary Keitany turns focus on charity after retirement

Four-time New York City Marathon champion Mary Keitany wants to focus on charity work after hanging up her spikes in September.

The former world half-marathon record holder said she will be engaging more in charity as a way of giving back to the community after quitting active running.

"My community has been supportive throughout my running career and this is the only way I can reciprocate their gesture," he noted.

“My first race in 2006 was Shoe4Africa Charity race and I got huge support from the community despite finishing in the 21st. This opened doors for my long successful career and I feel I owe the community a lot,” said the 2009 world half marathon champion.  

Speaking during the Equator Road Run to raise funds towards the first-ever Children’s Cancer Hospital at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, the women’s only marathon record-holder said she also has other big dreams that will be revealed soon.

“My first race was a charity run (Shoe4africa) and this opened doors for me and helped me a lot. I want to nurture young talents and share with them my experience and how to become a successful athlete,” she added.

Keitany dominated the New York City Marathon, winning four titles in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018. She finished second in 2017 and 2019 and third in 20110, and 2011. She also won the London marathon in 2011, 2012, and 2017 before finishing second in 2015.

 “Since I hang up my spikes, all I have thought about is charity work and how well to support upcoming athletes. A lot of athletes need guidance in their training and this is what I am willing to offer,” she added.

She said just as she has performed in marathon, she wants to leave a legacy as far as charity work is concerned and she will soon announce her program. 

“I want to do something so that I am not just forgotten like that. As I said I want to leave a legacy and that is why I am venturing into charity," she noted.

Kenyan Hellen Obiri, great star of the Nationale-Nederlanden San Silvestre Vallecana Internacional

The Kenyan athlete Hellen Obiri, double Olympic runner-up and 5,000 meter outdoor world champion, seeks to be crowned on December 31 at the Nationale-Nederlanden San Silvestre Vallecana International, being one of the favorites in the women’s category.

In 2018, in a record race, she could only be second after her compatriot Brigid Kosgei – current world marathon record holder -. Therefore, for this 2021, the objective is twofold: to climb to the top of the podium in the Vallecas Stadium, and snatch the record of the event from Kosgei, of 29:54.

Their biggest rivals for victory will be the trio of African athletes from the NN Running Team. The Ethiopians Degitu Azimeraw and Haven Hailu, and the Israeli Lonah Salpeter, will force Obiri to show his entire class if he wants to add this triumph to his extensive international record.

THE BEST SPANISH FUNDS WILL BE IN LA VALLECANA

Among the Spanish favorites, the Cantabrian Irene Pelayo is postulated as the best positioned. He arrives at the Nationale-Nederlanden San Silvestre Vallecana with the best marathon record of the season, with 2:29:16. In addition, you already know what it is to be the best national on December 31, with a seventh place and personal best in 10K in 2019 (32:46).

Laura Méndez is second in the national marathon ranking. The Valencian debuted in that distance in style, with 2:29:28, which earned her a place for the Tokyo Olympics. His best personal record in 10K is 33:01 achieved in Valencia in January 2020.

Another classic athlete in the test is the Olympian in Rio 2016 Azucena Díaz. A three-time national half-marathon champion, once a 10K champion, the 39-year-old veteran will not miss her appointment with Vallecas, where she came fourth in the 2017 edition with a time of 33:06.

But if we talk about the fastest in the test, Clara Viñarás can boast of having destroyed the 33-minute barrier. He did it last year in the 10K in Alcobendas with 32:42. With those credentials, and a best mark of the season of 34:49, we can expect the best of the Madrilenian, current national runner-up of 3,000 meters hurdles.

Sifan Hassan wants to try a marathon before Paris Olympics

Hassan was crowned Dutch Sportswoman of the Year for the second year in a row

On Wednesday evening, triple Olympic medallist Sifan Hassan was crowned Dutch Sportswoman of the Year for the second year in a row, after her heroics at the Tokyo Olympics. Hassan revealed in her acceptance speech that she has aspirations of moving up in distance to the marathon soon.

“I want to run a marathon before the Paris Olympic Games,” she said in her virtual acceptance speech. Hassan was unable to attend the award ceremony in person after testing positive for COVID-19.

Going into the Tokyo Olympics, Hassan had her eyes on pulling off the trifecta in the 1,500m, 5,000m and 10,000m, an accomplishment no other athlete has achieved. She beat her rivals Letesenbet Gidey in the 10,000m and Hellen Obiri in the 5,000m to win gold in both, but fell just short of the triple, as she finished third in the 1,500m behind Faith Kipyegon of Kenya and Great Britain’s Laura Muir. Hassan joined a very small group of athletes to have won three individual medals in athletics at an Olympic Games.

Although the date for Hassan’s marathon debut has not been set, it will be interesting to see how she transitions into the 42.2-kilometre distance. Hassan currently holds the European half-marathon record of 65:15, which she ran at the Copenhagen Half Marathon in 2018.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all our MBR family from publisher Bob Anderson

Another year has passed.  It has been a challenging two years for most of us all over the world.  But I do think the worst is mostly behind us.  The good news is that most races are coming back.  The Boston Marathon will be held in April again and most likely the 2024 Paris Olympics will be held as planned.  

The sad news is that we have lost a lot of good races. The Fukuoka marathon was first run 75 years ago.   This year's race was the last.  (Michael Githae was victorious at the 75th and final edition of Fukuoka International Marathon clocking 2:07:51.)

The pandemic was not the only reason, I am sure, why the Fukuoka Marathon was cancelled but it certainly was what pushed the organizers not to continue. 

Many other races have already been cancellled or are still in limbo.  From what I have read, there is no evidence that any runner has gotten Covid by attending a race.  I am sure there might be some but certainly what many people feared did not happen. But things will get back to normal soon.  

The good news is that many people decided to take up running during the last two years.  With all these people now training the obvious next step will be to yet again offer them a variety of races.  Training is great but running without racing is like writing and not publishing.  Our focus should be on what races are being held and not on what races are not.

It is Christmas Day.  Be sure to get in your Christmas run.  I plan on getting in at least seven miles today.  Since turning 70 a few years back I also now count walking.  

Actually I think mixing in walking at any age is good for the body.  I am going to average 8.8 miles daily for the calendar year and with the walking I have not had any serious injury all year long.  (I need 49.6 more miles over the next seven days to reach my goal of 3212 miles.  About 50 percent has been walking.)  

I will be 74 Dec 28 and I can still run 6 miles at eight minute pace.  I know there are lots of guys my age who are faster, that is super and I admire you.   But making running (and walking) a regular thing at any pace is also great.  We all just need to keep moving today, tomorrow and so on....

2022 is going to be a good year.  Let's make it our best year yet!  Merry Christmas and I need to get out before it starts raining again. 

Second photo is me, my daughter, son-in-law and grandson Owen getting in four miles yesterday.  My son, Michael will be here later today and we will get out as well.  He just ran a half marathon yesterday placing second overall clocking 1:38 on a tough course.  

As long as the rain is not too bad,  we are hoping to do a 35 mile relay tomorrow. Just the two of us and our Jeep.  One of us will be running all the time.  We tag off and cover anywhere from a couple of miles up to eight or so on each leg.  Fun event we came up with.  This will be the third time we have done it.  

Third photo is some of our KATA (Kenyan Athletics Training Academy in Thika Kenya) athletes with head coach julius the other day.  (Bob owns the KATA operation and is very proud to be offering this training, educational and housing facility.). Our Academy manager is Florence and she is doing a good job making it all work day to day.  She has a good staff as well and our athletes help out too.  

Athletics Kenya joins UNEP, in fight against air pollution

Concerned by the state of changing environment that is already affecting the sport, Athletics Kenya has joined environmentalists and policy makers in addressing the problem of air pollution.

Athletics Kenya President Lieutenant General (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei says AK has already drawn a strategy to address pollution and climate change.

One of the critical issues to be addressed is how climate change and air pollution have affected the sporting environment.

The athletics umbrella body is doing it in conformity with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which has come up with the Sports for Climate Action Framework as the strategy to address sporting activities and climate effects.

“Over the last few decades, the athletics world has been experiencing side effects of global warming which in turn is affecting the weather patterns in different parts of the country as well as the world. The increasing hot temperatures affect the sport because athletes biologically perform optimally within a certain environment,” said Tuwei.

“If there is a rise in temperatures, it can only mean, either to postpone until the right temperatures recommended for a given sport is realised or to move it to another location. Any above decisions will mean re-strategising, and if that were to be done every time there was a world sporting event, then you can read where the mark is going about sports budgets in future.”

Besides rising temperatures, athletes are prone to lung infections if they happen to be racing within an area whose ambient air (open ground-air) is polluted.

This lowers their mobility (kinesis) as they are not able to breathe freely, something that affects their end performance.

To a great extent, air quality is interlinked with environmental and forestry destruction, alongside changing weather patterns within highlands where athletes have long been known to practise to optimise their stardom internationally.

“Some of you who followed the 2021 Olympics Games in Tokyo may recall that even as we celebrated the endurance and resilience of our athletes Peres Jepchirchir and Brigid Kosgei, who dominated the women’s marathon and brought glory and honour to Kenya by bagging gold and silver medals, they had to endure unusually high temperatures in Sapporo that even forced the organisers to change the start time of the race. Other adverse weather conditions were witnessed during the World Championships in 2019 and Beijing Olympics in 2008,” explains Tuwei.  

It is due to this concern that different players drawn from environmental, health and policy sectors have been meeting to deliberate on the way forward.

“Clean air is very important to a runner. As you run, you need to exhale used air and for the lungs to get in fresher air so as to facilitate the running activity. It comes as no surprise that all around us we are witnessing deteriorating air quality due to an increase in air pollution, which is made worse by the impacts of climate change,” added Tuwei.

During a meeting held in Nairobi to address air pollution and its effect on athletics, that brought together UNEP, WHO, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) – Africa Centre and the Nairobi Metropolitan Services, a concern was raised on the risk that morning joggers could be exposing themselves to during heavy traffic as people rush to work.

“The carbon emission cumulatively by heavy traffic in the morning as people rush to work gets to be concentrated within one area and particularly along the roads where people jog. This happens because, in the morning, the air is usually still with little or no breeze to whirl it,” explains Dr Njogu Mbarua, an expert on climate and environment with Joint Environment and Climate Action, a non-governmental organisation.  

“Precipitation is not enough to keep our ambient air clean and going. We must devise actionable ways, policy and regulatory, of ensuring that the air we are breathing and our children are going to be breathing is well within the international safety standards. As we get concerned with protecting children who are already born, we must bear similar concern for the unborn children as research is indicating of a possibility of mother-to-foetus air pollution transmission,” said Dr Andriannah Mbandi, an air quality researcher and UNEP Technical Coordinator, Regional Office for Africa.  

The meeting recommended more studies to be conducted to ascertain the level of pollution in various parts of cities and towns.

Sebastian Coe optimistic of great year ahead despite Covid-19 threats

World Athletics (WA) President Seb Coe is confident the global athletics governing body is well equipped and informed to continue organising top level competitions while tackling the challenges posed by Covid-19.

Eugene, in Oregon State, will host the 2022 World Championships at the brand new Hayward Field Stadium in the heart of the University of Oregon from July 15 to 28.

“It’s absolutely vital that whenever we have a World Championships, we do everything we possibly can to have our seats absolutely full,” Lord Coe said.

“And that’s not just the work of the LOC (Local Organising Committee). That’s also the work we need to do at World Athletics to make sure that we have all the right initiatives in place to help sell tickets.”

He acknowledged the fact that with more insights on Covid-19 and with sports having developed protocols to guard against the spread of the coronavirus at competitions, it will be easier to navigate through the virus.

But he conceded that with the unpredictable nature of the virus, nothing could be cast in stone on the programme.

“We know a great deal more about the management of Covid-19, both medically and within our own stadiums.

“Our health and science teams have probably led the world in making sure that we stage events that are safe and secure to protect the athletes and crucially to protect those communities that are hosting our events.

“But the world is an uncertain place at the moment. We will have all the protocols and processes in place, but we can’t at this moment guarantee our borders remaining open if the pandemic suddenly takes a turn for the worse.

“We don’t have enough data to know if this variant (omicron) is more transmittable but not causing more illness… all that, I’m afraid, we have to wait for scientists and governments to decide on the direction forward.

“But we will do everything we possibly can to ensure that the stadium in Oregon is full and that people are able to travel, but we can’t obviously open borders that are closed by governments. That remains a challenge to us.”

The WA President said next year - and the next four seasons - will be crucial to the sport, and is excited that USA has finally come round to organising a global competition as they hold a special place as the world’s biggest sports market.

The last major global athletics events hosted by USA were the 2014 World Junior (under-20) Championships in Eugene and 1992 World Cross Country Championships in Boston along with the 2016 World Indoor Championships in Portland.

“We have four major athletics events and also the European Championships (next year).

“We have a global championship every year for the next four years and that will mean working very closely with all our organizing committees.

“The United States is very important for us, to help grow the sport. It’s the largest sports market in the world, and it’s also an opportunity for your athletes to have more competitive outlets and to grow their profile in a very important market."

“But the world is an uncertain place at the moment. We will have all the protocols and processes in place, but we can’t at this moment guarantee our borders remaining open if the pandemic suddenly takes a turn for the worse.

“We don’t have enough data to know if this variant (omicron) is more transmittable but not causing more illness… all that, I’m afraid, we have to wait for scientists and governments to decide on the direction forward.

“But we will do everything we possibly can to ensure that the stadium in Oregon is full and that people are able to travel, but we can’t obviously open borders that are closed by governments. That remains a challenge to us.”

The WA President said next year - and the next four seasons - will be crucial to the sport, and is excited that USA has finally come round to organising a global competition as they hold a special place as the world’s biggest sports market.

The last major global athletics events hosted by USA were the 2014 World Junior (under-20) Championships in Eugene and 1992 World Cross Country Championships in Boston along with the 2016 World Indoor Championships in Portland.

“We have four major athletics events and also the European Championships (next year).

“We have a global championship every year for the next four years and that will mean working very closely with all our organizing committees.

“The United States is very important for us, to help grow the sport. It’s the largest sports market in the world, and it’s also an opportunity for your athletes to have more competitive outlets and to grow their profile in a very important market."

“We also have Cali (Colombia) Under-20 World Championships, hot on the heels of Oregon 2022, and the following year we are back to the World Under-20 Championships in Lima, Peru."

“This is a great opportunity to make gains not just in US, but in South America too.”

Coe also highlighted the successes of athletics in 2021 saying the sport remains in really good shape, highlighted by both athletes’ performances and commercial success at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

“We leave 2021 as a sport in really good shape. We needed to stay focused in order to deliver the championships that we did, and create a platform for the athletes, which we did, and the Tokyo Olympic Games particularly for African athletes was a really important platform… and, my goodness!, they grabbed that platform in a really, really good way!”

“We also maintained, at the same time, all our competitions, and we maintained the work streams that we feel are really important in growing our sport.”

The former Olympic champion and middle distance world record holder noted that WA also revamped their competition calendar and drove further interest in the second tier Continental Tour one-day meeting series.

“I’m very grateful to the Kenyan federation particularly for their help in extending that footprint in Africa for us,” he noted, appreciating the success of the September 18 Kip Keino Classic at Kasarani which was the final stop of the 2021 WA Continental Tour circuit.

“Our strategic partnerships – and these were really important: In broadcast, we extended broadcast arrangements with NBC and, crucially for Africa, with the European Broadcast Union, not just with our broadcast arrangements with Europe, but also extends into Africa and that’s very, very important.

“Both contracts have been secured until 2029 with a healthy uplift.”

Coe mentioned the importance of the World Athletics World Plan, describing it as an important roadmap which will create the pathway for the next years.

“It sets up 19 objectives and 67 different actions. It builds on the four-year strategic plan, whose four pillars are: More people; More participation; More partnership; Broadening fan base.

"The top lines from that will help us, particularly given the global focus driven by Covid-19 around healthy communities is driving kids’ athletics, not only as a way of encouraging more young people into our sport, but also as a way of helping in that drive to make our communities fitter and healthier – as athletics is the most accessible to communities globally.”

Good times at the 4th KATA 10k Time Trial Series in Thika kenya

The Kenyan Athletics Training Academy (KATA) is concluding the year strongly after athletes posted impressive times during the 4th edition of KATA monthly 10 Kilometres Time-Trial on Wednesday morning in Thika Kenya.  

The time-trial, held on a new course West of the Academy, saw Solomon Gachoka, the winner of the 2nd edition in October, clocked 29:44.23, bettering his previous time of 31:22.10 during the event that attracted 23 participants.

Solomon dislodged Elisha Tarbei, the November winner while new entrants, Evans Kibet, finished 3rd. Tarbei timed 30:05.91, chopping off 1minute and 28 seconds from his previous 31:34.45. Kibet was timed at 31:02.35.

In women, Lucy Mwende Mawia regained her footing ruling in the category just a week after returning to Kenya from Europe where she dominated her races. 

She clocked 34:58.24 ahead of Catherine Njihia and Monica Njeri who finished second and third timing 36:38.86 and 44:05.20.

Both the winning times for men and women are KATA 10k Time Trial best performances for the monthly series.  

Kenyan Athletics Training Academy Competition Director Joseph Ngure has hailed the results and predicted better times in future from all the Athletes.

“This is our 4th edition since the Academy was opened officially on 4th of September. All our athletes have been posting impressive times and we are expecting more next year,” summed up the Director, also a senior Middle and Long Distant coach.

Three of our elite athletes- Joel Maina, Peter Mwaniki and Lucy Mawia, fresh from winning several races in Europe, also participated in the monthly time trial.  

"Our 5th edition will take place on Wednesday January 19th and will act as a warm-up for those who would be competing for the Regions on 22nd," says KATA head coach Julius.  

KATA manager Florence days,"Some people want it to happen,others wish it happens,and others makes it happen. Our Kenyan athletic training academy time trial is one of a kind, where you can make it happen."

For more info of our monthly time trial please get in touch with academy manager florence at 0729074388 or 0104074388 in Thika Kenya.  

December 15th KATA 10k Time Trisl Results: 

1. Solomon Gachoka  29:44.23  (31)

2. Elisha Tarbei     30:05.91   (32)

3. Evans Kibet        31:02.35   (31)

4. Zakaria Kirika       31:27.60   (20)

5. Peter Kimwetich    31:34.92     (32) 

6. Erick Cheruiyot      31:39.29    (26)

7. Peter Mwaniki       32:00.25      (23)

8. Alex Ekesa        32:17.41    (39)

9. Eston Mugo       32:32.26      (28)

10. Fredrick Kiprotich  32:44.45      (22)

11. Paul Ng’ang’a    33:47.05     (43)

12. Collins Kibet      34:56.08     (22)

13: Lucy Mwende     34:58.24    23) F

14: Joel Maina         35:44.45    (36)

15. Alfred Kamande  35:44.47    (23)

16: Charles Ndirang’u 36:25.84  (57)

17: Catherine Njehia   36:38.86  (22) F

18. Martin Ndung’u   38:18.50   (31)

19. Levis Kuria      41:06.06  (20)

20. Lamech Cheleket  44:05.19  (23)

21. Monica Njeri     44:05.20   (23) F

Kenya’s Philemon Kiplimo and Ethiopia’s Gotytom Gebreslase win Bahrain Half Marathon

Ethiopia’s Gotytom Gebreslase and Kenya’s Philemon Kiplimo claimed victory at the Bahrain Royal International Night Half Marathon – a World Athletics Label road race – when the event returned for its second edition on Sunday (12).

After running 2:20:09 to triumph when making her marathon debut in Berlin in September, Gebreslase achieved another impressive result as she improved her half marathon PB to 1:05:36 in Manama to win by 11 seconds ahead of home favorite Kalkidan Gezahegne – the Olympic 10,000m silver medalist who was making her half marathon debut after breaking the world 10km record with 29:38 in Geneva in October.

The men’s race was much closer, with Kiplimo outsprinting his compatriot Collins Koros to the tape – both athletes recording a time of 1:00:01.

The women’s race had got off to a blistering start, with Gebreslase and Gezahegne both part of a group which passed the 5km mark in 14:53, well inside world record pace. The race also featured Kenya’s former world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich, who had run 1:04:02 in Istanbul in April and won October’s Chicago Marathon in 2:22:31, but she ran to around 17km in Manama and did not finish.

Following the fast start, Gebreslase and Gezahegne maintained their pace through 10km, with the clock showing 29:49 – four seconds off the split recorded by Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey en route to the 1:02:52 women’s half marathon record she set in Valencia in October.

The wind had been behind them during the first half of the race and as they looped back the pace dropped, with Gebreslase passing 15km in 45:47 and Gezahegne following five seconds behind her. Chepngetich’s race came to an end a couple of kilometers later.

Gebreslase had increased her lead to 11 seconds by the finish, with the top two clear ahead of the rest of the field. Sheila Kiprotich secured third place in 1:07:01 and was followed by her Kenyan compatriots Irene Cheptai, who was four seconds back, and Daisy Cherotich, who ran 1:07:11, with a total of 11 athletes finishing inside 68 minutes.

Kiplimo led a Kenyan top five in the men’s race and had formed part of a lead group which followed the pacemakers through 5km in 13:58 and 10km in 27:35.

A seven-strong pack passed 15km in 42:24 and things remained close until the final stages, with Kiplimo edging ahead to deny Koros, and Mathew Kimeli finishing third just three seconds back.

Titus Mbishei finished fourth in 1:00:23, one second ahead of Geoffrey Koech, while Ethiopia’s Jemal Yimer was sixth in 1:00:29.

World Athletics, with assistance from Alberto Stretti

Leading results

Women1 Gotytom Gebreslase (ETH) 1:05:362 Kalkidan Gezahegne (BRN) 1:05:473 Sheila Kiprotich (KEN) 1:07:01 4 Irene Cheptai (KEN) 1:07:055 Daisy Cherotich (KEN) 1:07:11

Men1 Philemon Kiplimo (KEN) 1:00:012 Collins Koros (KEN) 1:00:013 Mathew Kimeli (KEN) 1:00:044 Titus Mbishei (KEN) 1:00:235 Geoffrey Koech (KEN) 1:00:24

Mary Keitany: from shoeless prodigy to top of the world

Kenya’s Mary Keitany, the holder of the world marathon record in a women-only race, generously agreed to donate some of her racing kit to the World Athletics Heritage Collection following her retirement in September.

Since the beginning of December, Keitany’s singlet, shorts and shoes from her fourth and final New York City Marathon victory in 2018 have been on display in the 3D virtual Museum of World Athletics (MOWA).

We are delighted to celebrate her donation by recapping the career of one of the all-time greats of road running.

'If I don’t do this, then what?'

Hailing from Baringo County, a province immediately to the east of the focal point for Kenyan running in Eldoret, there are many well-known and successful athletes who come from the area, but Keitany’s impoverished childhood made it initially unlikely that she was going to join their number.

She elaborated on her tough childhood in a lengthy interview with The New York Times in 2019 – details of which are only precised here – and described living in a home without electricity or any other basic amenities, as well as having no shoes for much of her childhood.

Her household tasks as a very young child included walking several kilometers to a nearby river to haul pails of water home for cooking and cleaning.

Keitany’s parents, both struggling subsistence farmers, were unable to afford even the modest school fees for her to continue her education from her mid-teens so, at the age of 15, to help support her parents and five siblings, she left and went to work as a live-in maid almost 20 kilometers away, caring for three infants and sometimes not seeing her family for several months at a time.

“It was not an easy job,” reflected Keitany. “But I was getting money to give to my parents. I was thinking, ‘If I don’t do this, then what?’”

Hidden talent out in the open

She returned to school after two years when a relative was able to help financially and Keitany started to attend the National Hidden Talents Academy near Nairobi, a community-based secondary school that primarily assists orphaned and vulnerable children. 

The school had a strong emphasis on physical education, which continues to this day, and it has produced several Kenyan internationals in a variety of sports. Keitany’s precocious talent as a runner, which had been evident in her early teens prior to the enforced two-year hiatus, came to the fore.

After eight months of hard training and sharing a cramped one-bedroom house with three other runners, Keitany made her first overseas trip and caused a minor sensation by winning the relatively low-key Sevilla-Los Palacios Half Marathon in southern Spain – not to be confused with the much better known EDP Sevilla Half Marathon – by over two minutes in 1:09:06, a course record that exists to this day ahead of the 2021 edition on December 19.

The words ‘unknown Kenyan’ are too often used to hide a lack of research or information but in this instance, it was a most appropriate phrase and, amid rumors at the time that the course was short because of Keitany’s super-quick time on the circuit, it bought her to the attention of both athletics aficionados and race promoters alike.

In the first nine months of 2007, Keitany proved that her debut international race had been no fluke as she rattled off another five half marathon victories in six outings at races in Portugal, Spain and France, also reducing her best to 1:08:36.

Keitany takes silver in Udine

This streak of success earned her a place on the Kenyan team at the 2007 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in the Italian city of Udine – an accolade she subsequently admitted as being among her wildest dreams, despite her ambition to be a top-flight runner 12 months before – and she showed her considerable mettle to finish second behind the Netherlands’ Lornah Kiplagat and bank a cheque for a life-changing $15,000.

To now give a complete narrative of the next 12 years of Keitany’s superb competitive running career through to her last race, the 2019 New York City Marathon, would take a book and cannot be done justice in just a few hundred words.

However, it was apposite that her running career should finish in the Big Apple at arguably the world’s most famous race over the classic distance, as it is this event with which she is probably most closely associated.

After finishing third in New York on her marathon debut in 2010 – in the wake of her win at the 2009 World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in 1:06:36 which, at the time, was the second fastest mark ever on a record-legal course and an African record – Keitany went on to win the New York City Marathon on three consecutive occasions between 2014 and 2016 and then again in 2018.

To this day, she remains the only woman other than the incomparable Grete Waitz to have triumphed in New York more than three times.

Keitany also made her mark in the London Marathon. Her first triumph there came in 2011 and further victories in the British capital came in 2012 and 2017.

Record runs in London and RAK

She continues to hold the women-only marathon world record with a time of 2:17:01 set when she completed her hat-trick of London wins four years ago.

Another particularly notable accolade during her illustrious career was setting a world half marathon record of 1:05:50 at the 2011 RAK Half Marathon.

Perhaps the only blemish on Keitany’s competitive record is that she never climbed the podium at an Olympic Games.

At the London 2012 Olympic Games, she started arguably as the favorite having returned to the city with a world-leading 2:18:37 from the London Marathon, albeit on a different course, four months earlier. She was part of a leading quartet of runners at 40km but was the luckless member of the group to miss out in the battle for the medals over the final two kilometers and crossed the line in fourth place.

In 2016, she was named as a non-traveling reserve for the Kenyan contingent going to Rio, but Keitany had her sights set on challenging for a place on the Tokyo team before the pandemic, and a cruelly timed back injury, intervened.

In September this year – with her 40th birthday looming on 18 January 2022 – Keitany decided to call time on her outstanding career and announced the end of her professional running in a valedictory press release.

“After my successful 2019, when I had some good results including second place in New York, I was hopeful that I could still be very competitive internationally for several more years even though I am in my late 30s,” she commented.

“However, I’m sad to say, a back injury that I suffered in late 2019 made a decision about my retirement for me. I couldn’t get the treatment I wanted in Europe because of the pandemic-related travel restrictions last year and every time I thought I had got over the injury and started training hard, it became a problem again.”Sadly, Keitany will no longer be seen on the start line of a major marathon but nevertheless she leaves behind a host of memorable performances that have assured her of a place in the pantheon of road running greats.

Kenya’s Mark Korir smashed the record at the 14th edition of the Zurich Marathon that was held on Sunday in Malaga, Spain

Kenyan Mark Korir destroyed the race course by more than two minutes as he erased the previous record of 2:10.08 that had been set by compatriot Martin Cheruiyot in 2019.

The 36 year-old cut the tape in a new course record of 2:07.39 and was followed by Nguse Tesfaldet Amlosom from Eritrea who also ran under the old course record as he crossed the line in 2:08.23.

Solomon Kirwa from Kenya closed the podium first three finishes in 2.08. 43.

Lawrence Cherono receives State Award

Recently crowned Valencia Marathon champion Lawrence Cherono has urged young athletes to work hard and be patient, and success will come their way.

Speaking in Kabarnet, Baringo County while receiving his Head of State Commendation through the County Commissioner Henry Wafula, the 2020 Tokyo Games Olympiad, said he trained for many years before breaking into the limelight.

“I want to thank President Uhuru Kenyatta for the award I have received. I also want to encourage upcoming athletes to continue training hard because in athletics, one might take long before excelling," said Cherono.

“In my case, it took me five years to get on the podium and 10 years to be in the national team,” the 33-year-old runner said.

Cherono donned the Kenyan colours for the first time at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games where he finished fourth in the men’s marathon race in Sapporo.

He was one of the athletes honoured by President Kenyatta on Mashujaa Day.

Cherono, who trains under the Rosa Associati Management, is currently ranked as the eighth fastest marathoner of all time in the world.

He has won a couple of major marathons including Chicago and Boston and was recently crowned the Valencia Marathon champion.

The Kaptagat-based athlete on Sunday timed 2 hours, 05 minutes and 12 seconds ahead of Ethiopia’s Chalu Deso who was second in 2:05:16 while Kenya’s Philemon Kacheran finished third place in 2:05:19.

The women category saw Nancy Jelagat cross the line in 2:19:31 ahead of Ethiopians Woldu Etagegne (2:20:16) and Degefa Beyenu (2:23:04) who came in second and third respectively.

Cherono, who won the 2019 Boston and Chicago marathons, said that he will be taking the Christmas break as he waits for his manager to decide on which races he will feature in next year.

Wafula asked upcoming athletes to emulate Cherono by working hard and focusing on their careers for better results.

“Cherono is a good example to youth who are training in this region and they should follow his example because nothing comes easy,” said Wafula.

Try diagonals: a Kenyan recovery workout, use this workout to improve leg speed and running economy

Given that Kenya has produced several of the top distance runners in the world, when the country’s athletes or coaches share a bit of training wisdom, runners of all levels listen up.

Recently, Coach Peter Bii at the Asics Chojo Camp in Iten, Kenya, shared a recovery workout that his athletes do on a regular basis called Diagonals, which help keep their legs feeling fresh for their next workout.

The athletes perform the workout on a soccer field, where they jog along the goal line and do strides diagonally across the field, from one corner to the opposite corner. Bii explains that the workout is meant to promote quick leg turnover, and improve leg speed, strength and running economy without taxing the aerobic system too much. The athletes will perform diagonals for the entire length of a regular run, usually 40-50 minutes.

Bii says in the video that he usually has his runners perform this workout after they’ve already done a harder workout earlier in the week. In the video, he is using the session as a final prep workout before the athletes toe the line in a race on the weekend.

“If you tell the marathoners that today we are doing 100m on the track, they won’t do it,” says Bii. “But if you say we’re doing diagonals at a bit up pace, then they won’t see what it is.”

Doing diagonals for upwards of an hour might be too much for you, but the great thing about this workout is it can easily be adapted for all experience levels. To start, you could try doing a 10- or 15-minute warmup, followed by 15 minutes of diagonals, and work your way up from there.

Cherono, Jelagat dominate Valencia Marathon

In the women's category, Jelagat won her first-ever marathon, clocking 2:19:31 as Ethiopia's Woldu Etagene came second in 2:20:16

The win by Cherono in the Spanish city comes after victories in Chicago and Boston in 2019, Amsterdam Marathon in 2018 and 2017, Honululu in 2017, Czech in 2016  and Sevilla in 2015.

•Cherono clocked 2:05:12 to fend off Ethiopian Deso Chalu (2:05:16) in a sprint finish while Philemon Kacheran rounded off the podium positions by posting 2:05:19.

Lawrence Cherono and Nancy Jelagat secured a Kenyan double at the Valencia Marathon on Sunday.

Cherono clocked 2:05:12 to fend off Ethiopian Deso Chalu (2:05:16) in a sprint finish while Philemon Kacheran rounded off the podium positions by posting 2:05:19. Former winner Geoffrey Kamworor finished fourth in 2:05:23.

The win by Cherono in the Spanish city comes after victories in Chicago and Boston in 2019, Amsterdam Marathon in 2018 and 2017, Honululu in 2017, Czech in 2016  and Sevilla in 2015.

In the women's category, Jelagat won her first-ever marathon, clocking 2:19:31 as Ethiopia's Woldu Etagene came second in 2:20:16 with compatriots Degefa Beyenu (2:23:04) and Tusa Rahma (2:23:20) finishing third and fourth respectively.

Fionnuala McCormack of Ireland completed the top five positions in 2:23:58

Former Boston Marathon Lawrence Cherono will be leading Kenyan charge in Valencia Marathon

Former Boston Marathon Lawrence Cherono will be leading an elite field during this years’ Valencia Marathon in Spain on Sunday, a race which is considered to have one of the fastest courses.

According to Cherono, he has had good training and is looking forward to running well after a good recovery for the last two months.

He will be aiming to win the race after he was narrowly beaten last year by Evans Chebet who sprinted in the last 50 metres to bag victory in 2:03:00 with Cherono registering his personal best of 2:03:04. Ethiopia’s Birhanu Legese came third after timing 2:03:16.

“I have recovered well after participating in the 2020 Olympic Games and went straight to camp to prepare for this race. It is competitive but I believe I will be able to run well on Sunday,” said Cherono who did not defend his Chicago and Boston Marathons races this year. 

Also in the race is Geoffrey Kamworor who is seeking a comeback after some time out of competition due to an injury he suffered when he was knocked down by a speeding motorcycle in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County in June last year.

Dr. Victor Bargoria who treated Kamworor then told Nation Sport that he had fractured his tibia and had bruises in his head, something that forced him to take a break from competition.

Kamworor also missed the Olympic Games despite making the team in the 10,000m race after he was advised by his doctor to recover fully before competing again.

The two-time World Half Marathon champion who is fondly referred to as ‘man of all surfaces’ due to his good performance in track, cross country, road races and marathon will be looking to pull another surprise when he competes in Spain.

Cherono, who has the fastest time of 2:03:04 in the elite field will be battling it out with Ethiopians Herpasa Negasa (2:03:40), Kinde Atanaw (2:03:51) and Abebe Negewo (2:04:51), Chalu Deso (2:04:53).

Also in the lineup are Kenyans Philemon Kacheran (2:06:05) who also trains with Kamworor in Kaptagat, Michael Kunyuga (2:06:43), Alex Kibet (2:07:09), Bethwell Kipkemboi (2:07:41) and Japheth Kosgei (2:08:08).

Turkey's Polat Kemboi (2:08:14), Belgium’s Koel Naert (2:07:39), Eritrea’s Goitom Kifle (2:08:09) are the other notable competitors.

In the women's category, 2018 Prague Marathon champion Bornes Chepkirui will be battling it out with other athletes notably Uganda’s record-holder Juliet Chekwel and three-time Rome Marathon champion Rahma Tusa of Ethiopia. 

Dorcas Tuitoek, who will be debuting during the race will also be looking to shine having trained with Olympics marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir in Kapsabet, Nandi County.

Kamworor aims to conquer Valencia

The Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso EDP, a World Athletics Elite Platinum Label event, will return on Sunday (5) and as usual, the organizers have brought together a mouth-watering line-up, headed by Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor.

The city of Valencia has witnessed a number of world records in recent years – at 5000m, 10,000m, 10km, and the half marathon – and organizers aim for Valencia to be the epicenter of the running world again this Sunday.

Undoubtedly, all eyes are on the three-time world half marathon champion Kamworor, who turned 29 last month. The Kenyan ace is now fully recovered from the injury which prevented him from competing at the Tokyo Olympics and his last outing was a promising 27:01.06 10,000m at the altitude of Nairobi during the Kenyan trials before he got injured. Once recovered, the two-time world cross country champion focused exclusively on his build-up for Valencia, where he should far improve his relatively modest 2:06:12 lifetime best set on his debut in Berlin back in 2012.

Kamworor has great memories of Valencia, as he became a commanding world half marathon champion in the city back in 2018. “Valencia is the city of running, the atmosphere is special,” he said. “I managed to be world champion here, I know the circuit is incredibly fast and definitely it’s a great opportunity to record a quick time.”

Reflecting after the injury, Kamworor's coach, Patrick Sang, said: “To me, Geoffrey came back stronger physically but also mentally. He is a more professional athlete now. I do not set any target for athletes like Geoffrey, or any other athlete actually, because setting targets is putting pressure. I believe that serious athletes like them, they have the willingness to give their best and that’s always what we should ask from them."

The course record is the goal

A large group of pacemakers – headed by Alexander Mutiso, Bernard Ngeno, and Victor Chumo – will target a steady 2:55 pace to go through the half marathon in 1:01:30, on schedule to break the course record of 2:03:00 set last year by Kenya’s Evans Chebet.

Kenya’s Lawrence Cherono should be one of Kamworor’s stiffest opponents. The 33-year-old was runner-up last year in a career best of 2:03:04 and finished just outside the medals at the Tokyo Olympics with a fourth-place to his credit.

The Ethiopian contingent is also strong as it comprises four athletes to have dipped under the 2:05:00 barrier during their careers: Herpasa Negasa, Kinde Atanaw, Abebe Negewo and Chalu Desu. The former boasts a 2:03:40 PB set in Dubai in 2019 but he has barely competed since then, while Atanaw took the victory in Valencia in 2019 thanks to a 2:03:51 performance, although he could not go faster than 2:11:00 in his only appearance so far this season in Prague.

As for Desu, he finished sixth last year and will be looking to bounce back after a below-par outing in Chicago two months ago, while Negewo, eighth in 2020, will be making his debut at any distance this year. The other sub-2:05 athlete on show is Tanzania’s Gabriel Geay, who ran 2:04:55 in Milan last May and is fresh from a season’s best of 1:00:16 at the Valencia half marathon six weeks ago. Watch out too for Ethiopian debutante Andamlak Belihu, a 58:54 half marathon performer.

Germany’s Amanal Petros, who has a lifetime best of 2:07:18, recently set a national half-marathon record of 1:00:09, also in Valencia, and Norway’s former European record-holder (2:05:48) Sondre Moen, who ran 1:00:15 on that occasion, also promises a fast time over the classic distance on Sunday. Spain’s Hamid Ben Daoud will attack the Spanish record of 2:06:52 following his half marathon PB of 1:01:05 here.

Wide open women’s contest

The women’s cast is led by Ethiopia’s Guteni Shone, holder of a career best of 2:20:11 set in Dubai a couple of years ago, while her season’s best is 2:21:46 to finish runner-up in Prague in May. The 30-year-old will be joined by her compatriots Azmera Gebru, who races her second marathon this year after clocking 2:22:58 in Tokyo in March; Bedatu Hirpa, owner of an identical time in Prague earlier this year; and Rahma Tusa, whose PB stands at 2:23:46.

The Kenyan squad includes 2:21:26 athlete Bornes Kitur, who ran barely six weeks ago in Rotterdam and will be eager to bounce back from her 2:30:41 clocking there, plus debutante Dorcas Tuitoek, a 1:06:33 half marathon specialist, and Nancy Jelagat, holder of a quick 1:05:21 clocking in the shorter distance.

Ugandan record-holder Juliet Chekwel won the Seville Marathon last year in a career best of 2:23:13 and should be a dangerous outsider on Sunday. While the course record of 2:17:16 set by Kenya’s Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir last year doesn’t seem to be in jeopardy, organisers have planned a sub-70-minute split for the half marathon in the hunt for a sub-2:20 performance.

The weather looks set to be sunny but very windy, with the thermometer reaching 10-12ºC by the time of the event.

Canadian releases Fukuoka Marathon documentary

Brett Larner of the Japan Running News website released his documentary on the iconic Fukuoka International Marathon, which saw its final running (open to locals only) on Dec. 6. Inside the Outside: When the World Came to Fukuoka tells the story of the non-Japanese runners, who, over the race’s long history, turned it into the unofficial world men’s marathon championship.

The film, which is introduced by Larner (and which he produced), does not focus on the 24 Japanese athletes who pushed each other to victory at Fukuoka over the race’s 75-year history, but on the foreigners who came to race there, giving the race an international profile and contributing significantly to its mystique. (Larner himself ran it in 2007 – the year that Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya, who would go on to win Olympic gold the following year, set a course record in his marathon debut.)

The first outsider to be interviewed is Pavel Kantorek of the former Czechoslovakia, who won Fukuoka in 1961. He raced there six times in all and never performed worse than fifth; he also ran in the Olympic marathon in 1956, 1960 and 1964. Kantorek, who was married at the time, comments that he kept getting invited to return because of his exemplary behaviour, unlike some of the runners, who were “more interested in the Japanese geisha than in racing.”

Other notable athletes interviewed include Amby Burfoot, who won the Boston Marathon in 1968 and was fifth at Fukuoka the same year, finishing just shy of the American record; double Olympic medallist Frank Shorter, who won Fukuoka every year from 1971 to 1974, who says “Fukuoka is where I was born as a marathon runner”; and Canada’s own Jerome Drayton, a two-time Olympian who won the Boston Marathon in 1977 and the Fukuoka Marathon in 1969, 1975 and 1976 (and his 1975 winning time, 2:10:09, was the Canadian marathon record for 43 years). Four-time Boston Marathon and NYC Marathon champion Bill Rodgers, who ran in the 1976 Olympics, won Fukuoka in 1977 and was third in 1975. 

For many of the early Fukuoka runners, it was the first time they’d been invited to compete at an international marathon, and it became very prestigious on that basis. The meaning the race holds for them is obvious in their words, many of which were delivered via iPhone, thanks to the constraints of pandemic-style filmmaking. Fans of the marathon’s history will find a great deal of value in the film.

Kenyan Geoffrey Kamworor faces tough test on fast course in Valencia

Kenyan leads strong line-up in the marathon on Sunday and judging by past results we are likely to see some very fast times

Geoffrey Kamworor believes he can break the world marathon record in future and possibly dip inside two hours. This Sunday (Dec 5) should offer clues as to whether he’s correct when he takes on a strong field on a super-fast course in Valencia.

The Maraton Valencia Trinidad Alfonso EDP takes place in a Spanish city that has hosted a number of record-breaking distance running performances lately. Before he thinks about getting close to Eliud Kipchoge’s world marathon record of 2:01:39, though, Kamworor must first win the race – and it won’t be an easy task.

Kamworor’s marathon best is “only” 2:06:12 but that dates back to 2012. In recent years he has focused on the New York City Marathon – which has no pacemakers and a slowish course – and which he has won in 2017 and 2019.

Kamworor is also a former world cross-country winner and has a good record in Valencia, as he won his third world half-marathon title in the city in 2018. When it comes to marathon potential, he will no doubt be comparing his fitness to training partner Kipchoge – as they are coached by the same man, Patrick Sang – although the 28-year-old is also on the comeback from a car accident last year.

“I have big dreams and ambitions in the marathon and want to run as fast as possible and break barriers,” he says. “Valencia will be ready to help us push our limits on race day and I am sure it will be amazing.”

Facing him in the marathon on Sunday are fellow Kenyan Lawrence Cherono, a former winner of the Boston and Chicago marathons with a best time of 2:03:04, which makes him the fastest in the field.

There is also Kinde Atanaw of Ethiopia, who won the Valencia Marathon in 2019 in 2:03:51 and was poised to run in London in October but had to withdraw after a positive Covid test.

In addition there is Herpasa Negasa of Ethiopia, who has a best of 2:03:51, another Ethiopian, Chalu Deso, who has a PB of 2:04:53, Tanzanian 2:04:55 man Gabriel Geay and Sondre Moen of Norway – the latter of whom held the European record until 2019.

Altogether there are three men who have run sub-2:04:00 and eight who have broken 2:06:00, which makes Kamworor only the 10th fastest in the field based on PBs.

The women’s field is not quite as strong, but is led by 2:20 performers Guteni Shone and Asmera Gebru of Ethiopia plus 2:21 runners Bornes Chepkirui of Kenya and Bedatu Hirpa of Ethiopia. Watch out too for Nancy Jelagat, who has a 65:21 half-marathon PB.

Sonia Samuels, Alice Wright and Norman Shreeve are among almost 500 British runners in the race, although the 16,000-strong field is of course dominated by more than 9000 runners from Spain. Samuels has a best of 2:28:04 but is now 42, whereas the US-based Wright is aiming to finish her first marathon.

There is a strong Irish contingent too which includes 2:26:47 runner Fionnuala McCormick, who ambitiously plans to run the European Cross Country Championships seven days later in Dublin.

The race is also taking place for the 41st time. The first race in 1981 was won by Teodoro Perez in a modest 2:57:55 with Nuria de Miguel the first woman home in 3:20:50.

After those humble beginnings the winning times began to improve rapidly, though, and in 1984 Vicente Anton won in 2:14:01 and the women’s winner Juana Pablos Acosta was inside three hours with 2:57:28.

Now in the era of super-shoes, the last four editions have been won in 2:05:15 (Sammy Kithara), 2:04:31 (Leul Gebresilase), 2:03:51 (Atanaw) and 2:03:00 (Evans Chebet) in an elite-only race minus the masses in 2020.

The last two women’s title, meanwhile, have gone to Roza Dereje in 2:18:30 in 2019 and Peres Jepchirchir with 2:17:16 in 2020. The latter of course went on to win the Olympic title this year.

Michael Johnson's iconic gold spikes join the Heritage Collection

To mark the 226th World Athletics Council Meeting in Monaco, a special Heritage display was staged this week in the foyer of Le Meridien Beach Plaza. The exhibit contained 15 recent acquisitions made by the World Athletics Heritage Collection, which will soon be on display in glorious 3D in the virtual Museum of World Athletics (MOWA).

One of the oldest artefacts exhibited was a solid silver trophy donated by Kenya’s Olympic legend Kipchoge Keino, and one of the youngest items on show was a Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch.

Yet arguably the greatest recent addition to the collection are three running spikes worn by eight-time world champion and four-time Olympic Games gold medalist Michael Johnson.

Entering the collection is one of Johnson’s iconic gold spikes from Atlanta 1996 (right foot), one from Sydney 2000 (left foot), and thirdly, a shoe from Johnson’s final race in 2001 (right foot). Each shoe is autographed.

“I can still vividly remember the chills I felt…”

The trio now form part of the World Athletics Heritage Collection thanks the extraordinary generosity of Brad Hunt, who was Johnson’s agent during his outstanding running career.

“I visited the Heritage exhibition while at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha,” commented Hunt. “The scale of the collection was particularly impressive, considering it had only been created in 2018.

“The historic display of artefacts included items from the careers of Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis and Usain Bolt. In men’s sprinting history, there was one glaring omission. By offering the spikes which Michael (Johnson) gave me after some of his most memorable races, I hope to have helped fill that gap in the World Athletics Heritage Collection,” added Hunt.

Johnson stunned the world of sport in 1996. At the Atlanta Games he won an unprecedented Olympic men’s 200m and 400m double. In the process, with a 19.32 clocking, Johnson destroyed his own 200m world record (19.66) which he had set less than two months before the Games on the same track at the US Olympic Trials.

“Both Olympic shoes were given to me two or three weeks following the Games they were used in,” confirmed Hunt. “The 1996 shoe was given to me in Hawaii, where we travelled for our post-Olympic celebrations. The 2000 shoe was given to me in Los Angeles.

“I can still vividly remember the chills I felt when I became the first person Michael told of his decision to wear gold spikes in the 1996 Olympic Games. We were sitting on a flight to Los Angeles from the Atlanta Olympic Trials to Los Angeles for Michael's first appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

“Michael had just set his first world record (19.66 200m) the day before (23 June). We were discussing how much attention his purple spikes had received when he declared he would be wearing gold in the Games.”

14c gold in the material

Four years later, Johnson retained his Olympic 400m title in Sydney, Australia. Johnson had become world record-holder for the distance (43.18) at the World Championships in Seville, Spain, the previous year.

“Although the 2000 shoe is made with actual 14c gold in the material, thus making them shinier (with significantly more material value), the 1996 shoe is my favourite because these gold shoes were an actual media phenomenon!

“The amount of secrecy involved with the shoes' clandestine development and historical Olympic debut created one of the strongest identities an athlete has ever had with his or her footwear,” concluded Hunt.

The following year Johnson undertook his ‘Golden Victory Lap’ tour, finishing his career at the Goodwill Games in Brisbane. It is one of the shoes which he wore in that last season which completes this extra special induction of footwear into the World Athletics Heritage Collection.

The three spikes will soon be on display in the virtual MOWA.

In 2022, the spikes will also go on public show at MOWA’s onsite public exhibitions in Portland and Oregon, USA, in the lead into and during the World Athletics Championships Oregon22.

Epic Jacob Kiplimo joins world record class

Jacob Kiplimo is trending in Uganda and the global athletics circles. And his name, like counterpart Joshua Cheptegei, could remain on the lips of many for long.

A week after clocking 21, Kiplimo broke the 21km world record (WR) at the Lisbon Half-Marathon in Portugal on Sunday to put the icing on the celebration.

Clad in his customary orange and blue bib, Kiplimo stunned the elite field when he exuded calm authority before crossing the white tape in a time of 57 minutes and 31 seconds.

“I’m so happy,” said Kiplimo, who ran solo up-front for the second half of the race, beat Kenyan Kandie Kibiwott’s previous WR mark set in Valencia, Spain, on December 2, 2020, by a second.

Then in Valencia, Kibiwott won in 57:32 and Kiplimo was second with 57:37e. But on Sunday, Kiplimo, running only his third career 21km race, obliterated Kibiwott’s mark in style. 

“I want to say thanks to everyone who has supported me and cheered me,” the youngster from Kween District said.“This is the thing that I have been looking for.

Remember last year when we were in Valencia, I missed the WR by a few seconds. I knew I was going to break it. My training for the last two weeks was perfect,” he added. 

Kotut and Maru claim marathon crowns in Florence

Kenya’s Cybrian Kotut and Ethiopia’s Tsehay Alemu Maru took the honours at the 37th edition of the Asics Firenze Marathon, a World Athletics Label road race, on Sunday (28).

Kotut crossed the finish line in 2:08:59, recording the second fastest time in the history of the Florence Marathon. The 29-year-old missed James Kutto’s course record by 17 seconds. Samuel Lomoi from Kenya finished second, improving his PB from 2:12:14 to 2:09:54. Olivier Irabaruta from Burundi completed the podium, taking third place in 2:10:13 ahead of former Eritrean record-holder Oqbe Kibrom Ruesom.

The leading pack – featuring Kotut, Salomon Soy, Lomoi, Irabaruta and Ruesom – set off at a conservative pace in the early stages of the men’s race and went through 10km in 31:16, 15km in 46:27 and 21km in 1:05:09.

The race really started at 30km, when three runners – Lomoi, Kotut and Kibrom – remained in contention. The leading trio reached the 30km mark in 1:31:48.

Lomoi and Kotut made the decisive move at 35km and ran neck and neck until 40km. Kotut launched his final sprint with 2km to go to win by 55 seconds over Lomoi.

Kotut won the Paris Marathon in 2016 in 2:07:11 and finished third in Frankfurt in 2:07:28 in the same year. He also set a half-marathon PB of 59:12 in New Dehli in 2012. 

In the women’s race, Maru set the fourth fastest time in the history of the women's event in Florence with 2:27:17, beating her compatriot Megertu Ifa Geletu by four seconds. Kenya’s Mercy Kwambai finished third in 2:27:32 ahead of Morocco’s Souad Kabouchia (2:27:49).

Six runners were still in contention until 35km: Naomi Tuei, Maru, Flomena Cheyech Daniel, Kwambai, Geletu and Obse Abdeta Deme. They went through 15km in 51:53, 21km in 1:13:14, 30km in 1:44:42 and 35km in 2:02:41, with four runners left in the leading group at 40km.

Maru and Geletu ran together over the final 2km in a close race, while Deme and Tuei dropped back. Alemu unleashed her kick in the final kilometre to win in 2:27:17, as four women dipped under 2:28 for the first time at the Florence Marathon. Geletu with 2:27:21 and Kwamboi with 2:27:32 joined Maru in setting personal best times.

Kenyans Titus Ekiru and Judith Jeptum Korir dominate in Abu Dhabi

Judith Jeptum Korir and Titus Ekiru landed a Kenyan double at the ADNOC Abu Dhabi Marathon, winning by significant margins at the World Athletics Elite Label road race on Friday (26).

The heat and humidity put paid to any truly fast times, so the course records remained intact. But Korir and Ekiru maintained their highly consistent career record over the marathon, winning in 2:22:30 and 2:06:13 respectively.

Korir, a former winner in Belgrade, Venice and Izmir, was part of a five-woman pack during the early stages, passing through 10km in 33:24. By the time the half-way point was reached in 1:10:27, just three women – Korir, 2009 world 10,000m bronze medalist Wude Yimer and Olympics seventh-place finisher Eunice Chumba – remained at the front.

Shortly after, Korir started to pull away from Yimer and Chumba. She reached 30km in 1:40:04, almost two minutes ahead of her closest pursuers and still on schedule to break the course record of 2:21:11, and by 40km her lead had grown to almost four minutes.

The conditions finally started to take their toll on Korir in the closing stages as her pace dropped, but by that point she had a comfortable margin and everyone else in the field were similarly feeling the effects of the heat. Korir crossed the line in 2:22:30, smashing her PB by more than four minutes. The 24-year-old, who earlier this year set a half marathon PB of 1:06:24, has now notched up four marathon victories from six races.

Chumba held on for second place in 2:26:01 while Uganda’s Immaculate Chemutai came through to take third in 2:28:30.

Ekiru, who was competing for the first time since setting a world-leading 2:02:57 in Milan in May, set out confidently in the hope that he could challenge the course record of 2:04:40. Once the last of the pacemakers had dropped out at 15km, reached in 44:21, Ekiru upped the tempo and reached the half-way point in 1:01:46 with just defending champion Reuben Kipyego by his side.

The Kenyan duo ran together for a few more kilometers before Ekiru started to run away, and by 30km Ekiru’s lead had grown to about 100 meters. Although Ekiru’s pace dropped in the closing stages, like women’s winner Korir, his lead was insurmountable and he won by more than a minute-and-a-half, crossing the line in 2:06:13. The 29-year-old has now won seven of the eight marathons he has completed.

Tanzania’s 2017 world bronze medalist Alphonce Felix Simbu overtook Kipyego with about four kilometers to go and took second place in 2:07:50. Kipyego held on for third in 2:08:25, finishing 21 seconds ahead of two-time world champion Abel Kirui.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our readers and races around the world

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at My Best Runs with staff in Los Altos California, Bend Oregon, La Piedad Mexico, Thika Kenya and Chandler Arizona. Enjoy your day and be sure to get in a good run. Bob Anderson and team.  

It is also a special day because my Grandson Bear (second photo) ran his first race today.  A 1k race in Redmond.  Remember your first race? 

We received many emails from US races today. This one from the San Francisco Marathon caught our eye and we wanted to share it.

"Today on Thanksgiving Day, we want to express our endless gratitude to our runners. From those that run our race to the friends and family that support you, each and every one of you is important to us. After a whirlwind few years, we are grateful that we are once again back as a community doing what we love to do, RUN!

Soak in every moment surrounded by your loved ones, remember to be grateful for a body that is capable and the community that shares your passion.

The SF Marathon Staff and Family."

Kenyan David Rudisha hints at comeback in athletics after successful surgery

David Rudisha has disclosed he is set to make a comeback in athletics after undergoing a successful surgery on Saturday.

The 800 m, 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics champion stated that he had undergone a successful surgery on his left leg and will make a return to the track since July 2017.

"I am glad that on Saturday i had a successful surgery of removal of an implant on my left leg that has been there for the last one year and a half. At least i will be back soon doing some running," Rudisha said.

Rudisha's career has been characterised by injuries that denied him opportunities to represent Kenya at major global competitions such as the 2019 World Championships and the 2020 Olympic Games.

The world record holder had earlier revealed he was set to retire soon after the 2020 Olympic Games after a four-year hiatus but had to shelve the idea after he injured his back and twisted his ankle prior to the global event.

Rudisha is regarded as one of the most accomplished 800-meter athletes after his sensation record time of 1:40:91 at the 2012 London Olympics, going on to become the first runner to break the 1:41 time barrier.

He also broke his own record of 1:41:01 that he had set back in 2010 during the Rieti Diamond League meeting.

Drew Hunter and Weini Kelati Will lead fields for Thursday’s Manchester Road Race

The elite fields for Thursday’s Manchester Road Race in Manchester, Conn., have been finalized, race organizers reported this morning.  The classic Thanksgiving Day race, founded in 1927, will return to its usual 4.748-mile, hilly loop with the start and finish on Main Street after being held virtually last year.  Among the hundreds of “Turkey Trots” to be held in the United States on Thursday, Manchester is the only event with a truly top-class elite field.  Organizers expect 8,700 runners to answer the starter’s gun at 10:00 a.m. EST.

“Our elite runner coordinator, Jim Harvey, has done a brilliant job of assembling excellent fields of elite runners for our return to Main Street and the celebration of our 85th Manchester Road Race this year,” said Dr. Tris Carta, president of the Manchester Road Race Committee, through a statement.  “It is going to be a very exciting road race.”

The women’s contest will feature an interesting match-up between USA 5-K champion Weini Kelati and 2:22 marathoner Keira D’Amato.  Both American women will be running Manchester for the first time.

Also likely to contend for the win are Kenyans Edna Kiplagat, the two-time world marathon champion, and Monicah Ngige, most recently fourth at the Boston Marathon.  Also entered are Britain’s Amy-Eloise Markovc, the 2021 European indoor 3000m champion, and Americans Taylor Werner, the 2019 NCAA Championships 5000m runner-up, and Katie Izzo, fourth at the 2019 NCAA Championships in the 10,000m.  In all, ten women have track or road 5-K personal bests under 16 minutes.  Kiplagat was the Manchester winner in 2019.

Drew Hunter, the newly-crowned USA 5-K road running champion, leads the men’s field and will be making his Manchester debut.  Hunter’s biggest challengers will likely be 2:07 marathon Leonard Korir, veteran Sam Chelanga, and two-time Falmouth Road Race champion Ben Flanagan, a Canadian.  A total of 14 men have sub-14:00 5000m personal bests.

Thursday’s race has a generous $47,800 prize money purse, and the top-3 men and women will receive $7,000, $4,000 and $3,000, respectively.

Behind the elites, 75 year-old Amby Burfoot will run Manchester for the 59th consecutive year (he ran virtually in 2020 using the race’s traditional course).  Burfoot, the 1968 Boston Marathon champion, won the Manchester Road Race nine times from 1968 through 1977.  Should he finish the race on Thursday he will earn sole ownership of the record for most total Manchester finishes at 59.

Thursday’s races will be broadcast on the Connecticut Fox affiliate, Fox 61.  Their coverage will be streamed live and free globally at fox61.com at 10:00 a.m. EST.

The complete elite fields are below with 5000m personal bests.

WOMEN

–Weini KELATI (USA), 14:58.24

Amy-Eloise MARKOVC (GBR), 15:03.22

Aisling CUFFE (USA), 15:11.13

Taylor WERNER (USA), 15:11.19i

Katie IZZO (USA), 15:13.09i

Monicah NGIGE (KEN), 15:16 (road)

Edna KIPLAGAT (40+/KEN), 15:20 (road)

Sarah INGLIS (GBR), 15:24.17

Fiona O’KEEFFE (USA), 15:31.45

Tristin VAN ORD (USA), 15:53.44

Emeline DELANIS (FRA), 16:02.54

Keira D’AMATO (USA), 16:09.86

Annmarie TUXBURY (USA), 16:17.45

Emily SETLACK (40+/CAN), 16:26.31

Whitney MACON (USA), 35:36 (road 10-K)

MEN

–Sam CHELANGA (USA), 13:04.35i

Leonard KORIR (USA), 13:15.45

Drew HUNTER (USA), 13:17.55

Ben FLANAGAN (CAN), 13:20.67

Donn CABRAL (USA), 13:22.19

Jordan MANN (USA), 13:27.68i

Blaise FERRO (USA), 13:31.54

John DRESSEL (USA), 13:36.29

Alex OSTBERG (USA), 13:42.44

Mo HREZI (LBA), 13:42.80

Matt McCLINTOCK (USA), 13:47.68

Alfredo SANTANA (PUR), 13:48.10

Joey BERRIATUA (USA), 13:49.16

Julius DIEHR (USA), 13:56.79

Tai DINGER (USA), 14:09.41

Brendan PRINDIVILLE (USA), 14:10.96.

Norah Jeruto and Rodrigue Kwizera triumph at Cross de Italica

Kenya’s Norah Jeruto and Burundi’s Rodrigue Kwizera secured victories at the Cross Internacional de Itálica on the outskirts of Seville in what was the fifth World Athletics Cross Country Tour Gold meeting of the season, held (21) on a cloudy but dry day.

Right from the start of the women’s 7.9km contest, Jeruto took command of the race and led a quartet that included compatriot Beatrice Chebet, Ethiopia’s 5km world record-holder Senbere Teferi and recent Atapuerca winner Rahel Daniel. Margaret Chelimo, the defending Cross de Italica champion and world 5000m silver medallist, was a few seconds adrift of the leaders within the first few kilometres.

While Jeruto and Chebet took charge of the pacing duties, Teferi and Daniel ran at the back of the lead pack. Just before the halfway point, Chelimo made contact with the lead group and moved to the front alongside Chebet and Jeruto. Daniel, meanwhile, began to lose contact after the fourth kilometre as the race became a duel between the Kenyan trio and Teferi.

Half way through the final circuit, Teferi couldn’t live with the pace being set by Chelimo and Jeruto. Chebet lost ground on her compatriots in the final kilometre, leaving Jeruto and Chelimo to battle for victory.

It briefly seemed as though the long-legged Chelimo would reel in the long-time leader, but Jeruto, who this year clocked a world-leading 8:53.65 in the steeplechase to move to third on the world all-time list, found an extra gear in the home straight to win marginally ahead of Chelimo, herself two seconds clear of Chebet.

The men’s 10.1km event began at a moderate pace, set by the Spanish duo of Carlos Mayo, a 27:25.00 10,000m performer, and the 40-year-old Ayad Lamdassem, a creditable fifth at the Tokyo Olympics in the marathon. Shortly before the third kilometre, world U20 3000m champion Tadese Worku moved to the front to whittle down the leading group to six other men: fellow Ethiopian Nibret Melak, Uganda’s Thomas Ayeko, Eritrea’s Aron Kifle, Kwizera, Mayo and Abdessadam Oukhelfen.

The first significant move came some 15 minutes into the race when Kifle, the winner in Atapuerca last weekend, put in a surge to leave Ayeko and the Spaniards behind within a matter of seconds. Kifle and Worku then took turns at the front with Melak and Kwizera tucked behind.

Throughout the closing loop, Worku tried to shake off Melak, Kwizera and Kifle, but Kwizera was able to stick to the teenager’s relentless pace. After negotiating the tricky final bend, Kwizera overtook Worku with relative ease to take the biggest win of his career so far in 28:33, one second ahead of the defending champion Worku, while Melak secured third spot in 28:42, seven seconds clear of Kifle.

“Winning the Itálica permit is incredible for me,” said 22-year-old Kwizera, who finished 11th at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships. “I’m doing very well this cross country season and hope to maintain this. I feel very comfortable in cross country races but I also would like to improve my career bests on the track (13:34.65 for 5000m and 28:21.92 for 10,000m).”

Top fields gather for Cross Internacional de Italica

The Cross Internacional de Italica in Santiponce on the outskirts of the Spanish city of Seville – the fifth Gold standard meeting in the current World Athletics Cross Country Tour – always boasts a mouth-watering line-up, and this year’s race on Sunday (21) is no exception.

The men’s 10,092m contest features one of the most promising distance runners, Ethiopia’s Tadese Worku, who was the last victor here in January 2020. The 19-year-old is the current world U20 cross country and 3000m champion, has recently shown impressive form with a 26:56 clocking at a 10km road race in Herzogenaurach and should be tipped as one of the favourites. He will be joined by his fellow Ethiopian Nibret Melak, a 12:54.22 5000m performer this year.

They will face stiff opposition from the whole Atapuerca podium, as Eritrea’s Aron Kifle, Burundi’s Rodrigue Kwizera and Uganda’s Joel Ayeko will also be in contention. The latter’s compatriot Thomas Ayeko, Burundi’s Thierry Ndikumwenayo and Eritrea’s Yemane Hailesilassie should also rank in the top 10 on Sunday.

Spanish hopes rest on the European U23 cross country bronze medallist Abdessamad Oukhelfen. The 22-year-old has proven to be in fine form at this early stage of the season, with third and fifth-place finishes in San Sebastian and Atapuerca respectively. Watch out too for Carlos Mayo, who also made the top 10 in Atapuerca and will be aiming to match that feat here.

Eritrea’s Rahel Daniel Ghebreneyohannes managed an upset victory in Atapuerca last weekend, defeating a mighty Kenyan armada featuring Beatrice Chebet, Margaret Chelimo and Norah Jeruto who were second, third and fourth-place finishers respectively there following a tight and intriguing finish. The four of them will clash again over 7910m on Sunday and the battle for the win promises to be epic.

Reportedly, the unheralded Eritrean competed in Atapuerca wearing two right shoes, but despite that disadvantage she got the better of a world-class line-up and will be eager to prove her victory was no fluke.

Daniel’s top performance is a 14:55.56 5000m clocking from Hengelo last June, but she couldn’t advance to the final at the Tokyo Olympics. Meanwhile, the Kenyan triumvirate holds impressive backgrounds. While Chelimo is the reigning world 5000m silver medallist and defends her victory in Santiponce last year, Jeruto boasts the third fastest ever time in the 3000m steeplechase thanks to a 8:53.65 performance. As for Chebet, the 2018 world U20 5000m champion was runner-up behind Chelimo in 2020 and narrowly beat Chelimo and Jeruto in Atapuerca.

Another Kenyan, Eva Cherono, was eighth at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships and will make her second outing this autumn after a winning 19:17 clocking over four miles in Groningen last month.

To add more quality to Sunday’s field, organisers also announced the late addition of Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi. The 26-year-old came sixth at the Tokyo Olympics over 5000m and bettered her lifetime best for the distance to an impressive 14:15.24 this season. Teferi will be aiming to regain her 2017 win here and seems ready to do so after her 14:29 overwhelming victory and outright women's world 5km record of 14:29 in Herzogenaurach in September.

The most remarkable Europeans on show will be Turkey’s Yasemin Can and Italy’s Nadia Battocletti; the former having claimed four consecutive European cross country titles and the latter having finished just outside the top 10 in Atapuerca.

Previous winners in Santiponce include Kenenisa Bekele (2003, 2004 and 2007), Fernando Mamede (1984 and 1985), Paul Kipkoech (1987 and 1988), Paul Tergat (1998 and 1999), Moses Kipsiro (2008 and 2009), Leonard Komon (2010 and 2011), Linet Masai (2010 and 2012) and Paula Radcliffe (2001), among others.

Weather forecasters predict a rainy day and a temperature of 18ºC by the time of the event.

Kiplimo breaks world half marathon record in Lisbon

Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo broke the world record* at the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon on Sunday (21), clocking 57:31 at the World Athletics Label road race.

The world half marathon champion won by more than two minutes and took one second off the previous world record set by Kenya’s Kibiwott Kandie in Valencia last year.

Kiplimo, who finished third in the 10,000m and fifth in the 5000m at the Tokyo Olympics earlier this year, passed through the first 5km in 13:40, having already dropped the rest of the field.

By the time he reached 10km in 27:05, he had a lead of about one minute over the chase pack and was well on schedule to break Kandie’s world record.

Kiplimo passed through 15km in 40:27, the fastest time ever recorded for the distance and indicative of a sub-57-minute finish. With no nearby competitors to work off, Kiplimo’s pace dropped slightly in the closing stages, but he managed to just finish inside the world record, crossing the line in 57:31.

Ethiopia’s Esa Huseyidin Mohamed finished second in 59:39, just ahead of compatriot Gerba Beyata Dibaba, who was given the same time for third place. The top nine men all finished inside 60 minutes.

The women’s race was a close affair as Ethiopia’s Tsehay Gemechu won in 1:06:06 from Kenya’s Daisy Cherotich (1:06:15) and Joyce Chepkemoi (1:06:19).

Leading results

Women1 Tsehay Gemechu (ETH) 1:06:062 Daisy Cherotich (KEN) 1:06:153 Joyce Chepkemoi (KEN) 1:06:194 Hiwot Gebrekidan (ETH) 1:08:005 Vibian Chepkirui (KEN) 1:08:026 Ethlemahu Sintayehu Dessi (ETH) 1:08:167 Yitayish Mekonene Agidew (ETH) 1:08:188 Jess Piasecki (GBR) 1:09:449 Tsige Haileslase Abreha (ETH) 1:10:3110 Debash Kelali Desta (ETH) 1:11:01

Men1 Jacob Kiplimo (UGA) 57:312 Esa Huseyidin Mohamed (ETH) 59:393 Gerba Beyata Dibaba (ETH) 59:394 Hillary Kipkoech (KEN) 59:415 Ibrahim Hassan (DJI) 59:416 Milkesa Mengesha (ETH) 59:487 Antenayehu Dagnachaw (ETH) 59:488 Edmond Kipngetich (KEN) 59:499 Isaac Kipsang (KEN) 59:5210 Solomon Berihu Weldeslassie (ETH) 1:00:00

Top fields gather for Cross Internacional de Italica

The Cross Internacional de Italica in Santiponce on the outskirts of the Spanish city of Seville – the fifth Gold standard meeting in the current World Athletics Cross Country Tour – always boasts a mouth-watering line-up, and this year’s race on Sunday (21) is no exception.

The men’s 10,092m contest features one of the most promising distance runners, Ethiopia’s Tadese Worku, who was the last victor here in January 2020. The 19-year-old is the current world U20 cross country and 3000m champion, has recently shown impressive form with a 26:56 clocking at a 10km road race in Herzogenaurach and should be tipped as one of the favorites. He will be joined by his fellow Ethiopian Nibret Melak, a 12:54.22 5000m performer this year.

They will face stiff opposition from the whole Atapuerca podium, as Eritrea’s Aron Kifle, Burundi’s Rodrigue Kwizera and Uganda’s Joel Ayeko will also be in contention. The latter’s compatriot Thomas Ayeko, Burundi’s Thierry Ndikumwenayo and Eritrea’s Yemane Hailesilassie should also rank in the top 10 on Sunday.

Spanish hopes rest on the European U23 cross country bronze medalist Abdessamad Oukhelfen. The 22-year-old has proven to be in fine form at this early stage of the season, with third and fifth-place finishes in San Sebastian and Atapuerca respectively. Watch out too for Carlos Mayo, who also made the top 10 in Atapuerca and will be aiming to match that feat here.

Eritrea’s Rahel Daniel Ghebreneyohannes managed an upset victory in Atapuerca last weekend, defeating a mighty Kenyan armada featuring Beatrice Chebet, Margaret Chelimo and Norah Jeruto who were second, third and fourth-place finishers respectively there following a tight and intriguing finish. The four of them will clash again over 7910m on Sunday and the battle for the win promises to be epic.

Reportedly, the unheralded Eritrean competed in Atapuerca wearing two right shoes, but despite that disadvantage she got the better of a world-class line-up and will be eager to prove her victory was no fluke.

Daniel’s top performance is a 14:55.56 5000m clocking from Hengelo last June, but she couldn’t advance to the final at the Tokyo Olympics. Meanwhile, the Kenyan triumvirate holds impressive backgrounds. While Chelimo is the reigning world 5000m silver medalist and defends her victory in Santiponce last year, Jeruto boasts the third fastest ever time in the 3000m steeplechase thanks to a 8:53.65 performance. As for Chebet, the 2018 world U20 5000m champion was runner-up behind Chelimo in 2020 and narrowly beat Chelimo and Jeruto in Atapuerca.

Another Kenyan, Eva Cherono, was eighth at the 2019 World Cross Country Championships and will make her second outing this autumn after a winning 19:17 clocking over four miles in Groningen last month.

To add more quality to Sunday’s field, organisers also announced the late addition of Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi. The 26-year-old came sixth at the Tokyo Olympics over 5000m and bettered her lifetime best for the distance to an impressive 14:15.24 this season. Teferi will be aiming to regain her 2017 win here and seems ready to do so after her 14:29 overwhelming victory and outright women's world 5km record of 14:29 in Herzogenaurach in September.

The most remarkable Europeans on show will be Turkey’s Yasemin Can and Italy’s Nadia Battocletti; the former having claimed four consecutive European cross country titles and the latter having finished just outside the top 10 in Atapuerca.

Previous winners in Santiponce include Kenenisa Bekele (2003, 2004 and 2007), Fernando Mamede (1984 and 1985), Paul Kipkoech (1987 and 1988), Paul Tergat (1998 and 1999), Moses Kipsiro (2008 and 2009), Leonard Komon (2010 and 2011), Linet Masai (2010 and 2012) and Paula Radcliffe (2001), among others.

Weather forecasters predict a rainy day and a temperature of 18ºC by the time of the event.

Geoffrey Kamworor, Lawrence Cherono and Guteni Shone confirmed for Valencia Marathon

Valencia will once again become the epicentre of the running world on December 5, when it holds the Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso EDP, a World Athletics Elite Platinum Label race that in 2021 wants to continue making history by breaking records.

And to achieve this, it will count on some of the best athletes in the world including Geoffrey Kamworor, Lawrence Cherono and Guteni Shone.

Kamworor, winner of three world half marathon titles and two world cross-country titles, is eager to improve on his 2:06:12 PB, set on his debut at the distance back in 2012. Since he had to withdraw from the Tokyo Games due to injury, the two-time New York Marathon champion from Kenya has been preparing exclusively and conscientiously to achieve a great result in Valencia.

Cherono is coming off a fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics. The 2019 Boston and Chicago champion will return to the scene of his 2:03:04 PB, a time which makes him the fastest in the field.

Herpasa Negasa, the 2019 Dubai runner-up, and 2019 Valencia winner Kinde Atanaw are the other sub-2:04 performers in the field.

Ethiopia’s Andamlak Belihu, who finished fifth over 10,000m at the 2019 World Championships and at the 2020 World Half Marathon Championships, will be making his marathon debut. The 22-year-old’s PBs of 26:53:15 for 10,000m and 58:54 for the half marathon point to a potentially fast time for the full marathon distance.

Although no one in the women’s field has a PB faster than 2:20, organisers are hopeful that barrier will be broken again in Valencia for the third year in a row.

Guteni Shone came close to that mark last year when finishing second in Dubai with 2:20:11. Fellow Ethiopian Azmera Gebru is also less than a minute shy of the barrier, thanks to her 2:20:48 PB from the 2019 Amsterdam Marathon.

Kenya's 2018 Prague Marathon champion Bornes Chepkirui, Ugandan record-holder Juliet Chekwel and three-time Rome Marathon champion Rahma Tusa of Ethiopia are also in the field. Marathon debutante Dorcas Tuitoek is also one to watch.

“This year’s marathon is extremely competitive, as we like it in Valencia,” said elite athlete coordinator Marc Roig. “I don’t rule out a sprint finish in both the men’s and women’s races – in fact, I’m counting on it. The athletes know that Valencia offers one of the best courses for achieving personal best times. And this, with the level of runners we have, can easily translate into several athletes breaking the course record. By how much? We will see on December 5.”

Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala and six other Kenyan athletes left the country Wednesday night for the 2021 Dubai Run

The run, dubbed "Run with the Champions", will see participants among them the Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, take part in 5km and 10km races along the iconic Sheikh Zayed superhighway on November 26.

The 2021 Dubai Run is among several activities lined-up for the seven athletes who will represent Kenya at the Expo 2020 Dubai.

The Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency (Keproba), who will manage Kenya's pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai, aim to use to showcase Kenya as a destination for investment, sports, and tourism.

Apart from Omanyala the other Kenyan athletes include double 3,000m steeplechase Olympic champion Ezekiel Kemboi, former 800m world champion Janeth Jepkosgei, 2013 London Marathon winner Priscah Jeptoo, 2021 Berlin Marathon first runner-up Bethwel Yegon, Jonathan Kiplimo Maiyo, who set a personal best time of 2:04:56 at the 2012 Dubai Marathon, and 2010 Nagpur half-marathon winner Hellen Nzembi.

Omanyala will be the leader of the athletes’ delegation. Omanyala, who will do the 3km at the Expo run, shared his excitement at representing Kenya at the Expo.

"I am privileged to be among great athletes like Ezekiel Kemboi and Janeth Jepkosgei to promote our country through a fun and engaging initiative as this one," Omanyala told Nation Sport.

"Other than showcasing the best of my country, I also hope to learn from other countries," he added.

Omanyala is currently on a break before starting his busy 2022 season in February that will see him compete in the World Indoor Championships, Kipkeino Classic, Diamond League, Continental Tours, African Championships, World Championships, and the Commonwealth Games in six months.

The run will start at the Kenyan pavilion and, it will have three courses - 3km, 5km, and 10km routes.

Jepkosgei said she cannot wait to showcase the best of Kenyan agriculture and tourism.

"I am excited by my role at Expo. I look forward to telling the world about our peaceful and hospitable country, the good quality of our agricultural products and, our enchanting tourist attraction sites," the 37-year old, who has taken up coaching athletes, said

The Expo 2020 Dubai was initially scheduled to take place from October 20, 2020, to April 10, 2021, but it was cancelled due to Covid-19.

"Our athletes are our greatest ambassadors. Their presence at the Kenya Pavilion will boost our effort to market Kenya as a destination for investment, sports, and tourism," Keproba CEO Dr. Wilfred Marube said at the flag-off ceremony for the Kenyan athletes held at a Nairobi hotel on Wednesday.

Kenyan Mercy Cherono credits parents for long career in athletics

The 2014 Commonwealth Games 5,000m champion Mercy Cherono has described her father as a pivotal pillar in her athletics career since her junior heydays. 

Cherono said her father's frequent advice has helped her avoid pitfalls that many athletes experience in the course of their careers. 

"The first thing is to trust in God. The second is to have a strong relationship with parents. I have been very close with my father and he has been advising me, alongside my mother, ever since I was a junior runner. Up to now, I still consult him on various issues and that is why I have not had challenges with rogue coaches," Cherono said. 

The 2013 world 5,000m silver medalist subsequently advises athletes to love themselves first as well as to remain close to their old folks if they are to excel. 

"You need to respect yourself first and place a high value on what you do. You also need to trust in God, respect your parents as well as the coaches. If you do this, then you will be able to shield yourself from such unscrupulous individuals," she said. 

Cherono further advocated for gender equality in the athletics coaching sector to mitigate cases of sexual harassment of female athletes by male coaches. 

"If you look at the South Rift for example, majority of the coaches are male. We need to empower more ladies to become coaches. I believe they are better placed to mentor the young athletes and guide them on what to do right to avoid falling prey to rogue coaches," added the 2010 World Cross Country junior champion. 

Regarding upcoming competitions, Cherono has set sight on next year's major competitions and plans to compete in the ongoing national cross country series. 

"I feel it would be a good opportunity for me to get in shape in preparation for next year," she said. 

Cherono was among hundreds of athletics stakeholders who showed up in Kericho County for a consultative meeting with Athletics Kenya as part of face-to-face discussions on the issues ailing the sport. 

Speaking at the same event, athletes' representative in Kericho, Peter Cheruiyot, concurred with Cherono's sentiments, noting that male athletes are also undergoing harrowing times due to wrong relationships. 

"The ladies have decided to be more vocal about it but the men choose to remain silent. Many are struggling with the management of family affairs back home. It is a tough act balancing between career and family needs, which often collide," Cheruiyot said. 

He urged AK and other stakeholders to impart the importance of education onto young athletes at the grassroots rather than wait until their careers are so far gone. 

"Those who cannot afford fees should be assisted so they can balance between education and career. We have the Olympics 800m champion (Emmanuel Korir) who is in the US but is often available to compete in local races back home," he said.