Running News Daily
Top Ten Stories of the Week
10/21/2023
These are the top ten stories based on views over the last week.
The 26th Monthly KATA Time Trial edition was a success
The Kenya athletics training academy (KATA) monthly time trial took place today Oct 18. This was the 26th monthly KATA Time Trial held in Thika Kenya.
The weather was chilly and because of recent rains we moved the event to the roads. Our first Sprint time trial was held at another track.
We had a total of 22 registered athletes for the 5k and 10k. Seven women and 15 men. 10 athletes took part in 5k and 12 athletes took part in 10k. The performances were impressive considering the wet chilly weather conditions.
Job kamonde was quite impressive in the 10k considering it was his first time trial at Kenya athletics training academy. He was the winner clocking 29:55. Boniface mungai improvement in the 10k was impressive, dropping his personal best from 31:25 to 30:26 finishing in 4th position.
Anthony Mukundi likewise lowered his personal best from 32:08 to 31:49. All women in 5k had a slight improvement. The overall performances were impressive considering the fact that all our athletes participated at last Saturday's cross country races.
5k MEN
1. KELVIN RAGUI 466 21YRS 15;12
2. FREDRICK KIPROTICH 172 23YRS 15;29
3. CHARLES NDIRANGU 474 23YRS 15;59
4. AMOS CHIRCHIR 199 23YRS 16;22
5K WOMEN
1. LOISE WAMBUI 175 23YRS 17;29
2. KAREN CHEPKEMOI 473 23YRS 17;39
3. JECINTA MWENDE 185 22YRS 17;48
4. VIRGINIA WANJIRU 165 20YRS 18;29
5. JENIFFER MUMBI 472 23YRS 20;44
6; HANAH NJERI 180 24YRS 21;12
10K MEN.
1. JOB KAMONDE 439 23YRS 29;55
2. SAMSON NDAMBUKI 436 24YRS 30;16
3. JOHN KURIA 174 27YRS 30;25
4. BONIFACE MUNGAI 177 25YRS 30;26
5. PETER MBURU 144 26YRS 30;40
6. RAPHAEL KARITA 465 24YRS 30;44
7. ZAKARIAH KIRIKA 176 22YRS 30;50
8. EVANS KIGURU 181 28YRS 30;55
9. LEVIS KURIA 494 22YRS 31;39
10. ANTHONY MUKINDI 464 32YRS 31;49
11. ALFRED KAMANDE 178 24YRS 34;14
10K WOMEN.
1.SUSAN NJUU 472 37YRS 36;29
Today was the first KATA Time Trial for our sprinters and Middie distance runners. Our sprinters have great potential of breaking records.
Our sprinters are well discplined and up to task and the training is of high quality. "We are first camp to have an academy with sprinters, middle distance, 10k and marathoners," says Coach Julius (KATA sprint coach).
KATA SPRINTERS Time Trial Oct 18
100m women
1.Doreen Waka 12.02s
2.Shelmith Rono 12.5s
3.Sheila Awino 12.8s
100m men
1.Brian Oyugi 10.9s
2.Festus Waita 11.0s
3.Ambrose Simiyu 11.5s
4.Gerald Olela 11.6s
5.Philip Kinyanjui 11.7s
6.Douglas King'ori 11.8s
200m men
1.Benjamin Mulanda 22.8s
2.Alvin Mise 22.9s
3.Chris Mutahi 24.1s
200m women
1.Doreen Waka 25.9s
2.Shelmith Rono 28.0s
3.Sheila Awino 29.2s
400m women
1.Rahab Wanjiru 57.1s
2.Gladys Ngure 57.5s
3.Peris Chege 58.9s
4.Emma Wavinya 60.0s
400m men
1.Benjamin Mulanda 52.0s
2.Felix Ngetich 52.9s
3.Sammy Langat 53.2s
1500m women
1.Mercy Ndung'u 4.36
2.Patricia Gichuki 4.40
(10/18/23) Views: 141Coach John and Coach Julius
TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon: elite women’s and men’s preview
For the first time in the 34-year history of the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, the race has reached over 25,000 runners. Toronto has established itself as Canada’s premier marathon and has set a precedent in the global running community, with participants coming from 78 countries around the world for the marathon on Sunday, Oct. 15.
The elite field at the 2023 edition of the marathon looks significantly different from last year, and two new champions will be crowned on the men’s and women’s sides, as Ethiopia’s Yihunilign Adane and Kenya’s Antonina Kwamboi will not be returning. The 2023 elite field features up-and-coming stars, along with several American women aiming to achieve the Olympic standard of 2:26:50 ahead of the upcoming U.S. Olympic Trials in February.
The race will also determine two new Canadian marathon champions, with compelling storylines on both the men’s and women’s sides.
Women’s race
Will we see an American winner?
It has been 22 years since an American woman last won the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon (Leslie Gold in 2001) but in this year’s field, two American elites could possibly end the drought. One of them, Emily Durgin, a road racing specialist based out of Flagstaff, Ariz. came to Toronto looking for redemption after a less-than-ideal marathon debut in NYC last year.
Durgin said during Friday’s elite press conference that she felt the pressure to hit times and perform during her debut and ended up dropping out of the race before 30 km. “I learned a lot from New York and my build for Toronto has been different,” said Durgin. “As for a goal time, I want to run in the low 2:20s and be competitive.” The 29-year-old marathoner hopes to use Toronto as a stepping stone for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in February 2024 in Orlando. Durgin was able to qualify for the trials from her time at the 2022 Houston Half Marathon where she finished 6th overall, clocking the seventh-fastest half-marathon in U.S. history with 67:54. “I came to Toronto to be competitive and contend for the the podium, as that’s what it will take to qualify at trials come February,” she said.
Another U.S. name in the women’s elite field to watch is Molly Grabill, who is running her sixth career marathon in Toronto on Sunday. Grabill told the media that she has similar plans to her compatriot Durgin and hopes to bounce back after, in her words, falling short of her goals in her last marathon in Hamburg earlier this year. Although Grabill ran the second-fastest marathon time of her career in Hamburg, she said she was disappointed as she took a swing and missed, struggling in the second half. “The goal in Toronto is to control the second half of the race better and gain strong momentum heading into the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials,” said Grabill. The 31-year-old from Boulder, Colo., is coming off a top-15 finish in 69:53 at the inaugural World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia, earlier this month, which she says has given her a lot of confidence for Sunday.
Eyes on the course record?
Outside of the American duo, two other international athletes to watch are the Ethiopian duo of Afera Godfay and 2023 Ottawa Marathon champion Waganesh Mekasha. For Godfay, Toronto is her first marathon in three years after giving birth to her daughter. Her last marathon came in 2020 when she ran 2:26:43 to place third overall at the Xiamen Marathon in China. In her first two races back since becoming a mother, Godfay has run respectable half marathon times of 70 and 71 minutes but has not yet returned to her previous form. She said at Friday’s press conference that she hopes to come through the half mark in 1:11 and feels well-prepared for her marathon return. A glimpse of hope for Godfay is that she currently trains alongside the new women’s world record holder Tigist Assefa in Ethiopia. So, who knows what she is capable of?
The favourite in the women’s race is Mekasha, who is coming off a win in the scorching heat at the 2023 Ottawa Marathon in May. Mekasha is targeting the Canadian all-comers’ women’s marathon record on Sunday of 2:22:16, set four years ago by Kenya’s Magdalyne Masai at this race. Mekasha holds a personal best of 2:22:45 from the 2019 Dubai Marathon and said that she expects around a similar time on Sunday. “If the pacemaker runs a good pace, I hope to break the course record,” says Mekasha.
The Canadian contingent
Two of the top three Canadians from last year’s race have returned to the 2023 field, with Malindi Elmore, the reigning Canadian marathon champion, opting to run Berlin, where she clocked the second-fastest time in Canadian history (2:23:30). Returning are second and third place Canadian finishers Dayna Pidhoresky and Toronto’s own Sasha Gollish. Pidhoresky had an iconic moment here in 2019, when she raced just under the Olympic standard at the Canadian trials, winning in 2:29:03–qualifying her for the marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Although the Olympic marathon didn’t go as planned for Pidhoresky, she was able to bounce back at this event last year to place seventh overall (second Canadian) in 2:30:58.
“Growing up in Windsor, Ont., I came to Toronto for so many races,” said Pidhoresky on tackling on her fourth Toronto Waterfront Marathon. “I feel I know the course very well, which is helpful in a marathon, and it’s great to have a high-quality field that’s close to home.” Pidhoresky told the media that this build has not been smooth but she is still confident she can run a personal best Sunday. “This course is advantageous, and I need to be smart and just run my race,” she said.
It is a similar story for Gollish, who is running in her second consecutive TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, less than eight weeks after her last marathon at the 2023 World Championships in August. Gollish told Canadian Running at the press conference that she wants to go into this race with a similar mindset that she had in Budapest. “It feels like a privilege to be here, and I am not putting any pressure of a personal best on myself,” says Gollish. “For the longest time, I avoided this race because I felt there would be pressure to perform, but why not run something in your backyard fuelled by a community that has done so much for me?” Last year, Gollish surprised herself with a personal best time of 2:31:40 after a short marathon build. Could she do the same on Sunday?
A few other Canadian marathoners to watch are Emily Setlack, Toronto’s Liza Howard and Kim Krezonoski of Thunder Bay, Ont. It has been four years since Setlack has last touched the marathon, but with a personal best of 2:29:48 from the 2019 edition of this race, her potential to finish as the top Canadian should not be ignored. Setlack has had a quiet 2023 season but has strung together solid performances, winning Toronto’s historic Sporting Life 10K and placing eighth overall at the Canadian 10K Championships in May.
Howard has a personal best of 2:35:29 (Chicago 2022) and was the top Canadian finisher at the 2023 Boston Marathon (37th overall) in cold, wet and windy conditions. Krezonoski moved to Toronto within the last year and has been studying the course thoroughly in the hope of crushing her marathon personal best come Sunday. She ran her personal best of 2:37 at the California International Marathon last year but has dropped her half-marathon PB by nearly four minutes since. The spots on the domestic podium are up for grabs, and each of these three women could break through.
Men’s race
The rise of Elvis
The absence of Adane opens the door for several East African men hoping to establish their marathon careers in Toronto. One of these men is Kenya’s Elvis Kipchoge, who may already lay claim to the title of the best running name. This Kipchoge is a little less well-known than the former world record holder but boasts a faster half marathon personal best of 59:15, which earned him third place at the 2022 Barcelona Half Marathon. However, this Kipchoge has not had much luck in the marathon. At the young age of 27, he ran 2:10:21 at the Vienna Marathon earlier this year. He hopes to turn things around on a fast and flat Toronto course. Kipchoge has ties to the race, training alongside women’s course record holder Magdalyne Masai in Iten, Kenya.
While there is no relation between Elvis and Eliud Kipchoge, besides sharing the same last name and initials, Ethiopian athlete Adugna Bikila hopes to follow in the footsteps of his uncle, Worku Bikila. Worku was a world-class 5,000m runner who finished sixth in the 1992 Olympic 5,000m final in Barcelona and took fourth place at the World Championships the following year. Bikila enters Toronto with the fastest time in the field, holding a personal best of 2:05:52 from the 2022 Seville Marathon, where he finished fourth.
All the East African men will be aiming to break the Canadian all-comers record and course record of 2:05:00, held by Kenya’s Philemon Rono, set in 2019. The weather forecast for Sunday indicates cool and favourable conditions for both the men’s and women’s fields, which should make both course records vulnerable.
Who’s next for Canada?
A new men’s Canadian champion will be crowned Sunday, and for the first time since 2016, their last name will not be Levins or Hofbauer. The 2023 men’s field is full of up-and-coming Canadian talent on the precipice of breaking into the elite scene. Mississauga’s Sergio Raez Villanueva returns to Toronto after a stunning 2:18:04 debut last year, which earned him top-five Canadian honours. Challenging Raez Villanueva is Ottawa’s Blair Morgan, who was the second Canadian at the hot and humid Ottawa Marathon in May, running 2:19:50. Morgan ran his personal best of 2:18:29 at the 2018 Toronto Waterfront Marathon but is looking for a sub-2:18 result this time around.
Challenging Raez Villanueva and Morgan are debutants Thomas Broatch of Vancouver and 4:01 miler Kyle Grieve. Broatch is coming off a win at the Vancouver Eastside 10K where he beat three-time Toronto champion Trevor Hofbauer. “Winning the Eastside 10K was a huge confidence booster for me,” says Broatch. “Whenever you take the start line the objective is to win and run fast.” The 24-year-old software engineer told Canadian Running that he has ambitious goals to run under 2:15 on Sunday and that his marathon build has gone near perfect.
For Grieve, who grew up and still resides in Toronto, this marathon has always been on his bucket list. “I’ve been wanting to try a marathon for a few years and have just kept putting it off,” says Grieve, who got married in the summer. “Canada Running Series is a big reason I am still competing today, so it was never a question of where I wanted to run my first marathon.” His goal is to be competitive against a strong Canadian field and let the time come along with it.
How to watch?
Marathon fans from around the world will have the opportunity to watch the 2023 TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon live on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023, beginning at 8:00 a.m. ET with a pre-race introduction followed by the introduction of the elite field. The gun for the men’s and women’s elite field fires at 8:45 a.m. ET. All race action can be followed on torontowaterfrontmarathon.com or CBCsports.ca /CBC Gem or AthleticsCanada.tv.
(10/14/23) Views: 98Marley Dickinson
Kenenisa Bekele parts way with NN Running Team
The first and only athlete to be crowned an Olympic, World Outdoor, World Indoor and World Cross Country champion, Kenenisa Bekele has parted ways with NN Running team after more than two decades of running under their stable and being a Nike representative.
The contract stated that after agreement between the two parties the Ethiopian track and road legend will participate in Valencia Marathon in December and also take part in the 2024 Paris Olympic which will be his fourth appearance.
NN Running Team through their founder Josephus Maria Melchior “Jos” Hermens, penned a down an emotional letter to the legend, wishing him the very best in the future and that they will still follow him up with great excitement.
“…we wish you all the best in your next step in running and will follow your upcoming results with great excitement. Thanks for being such a great team mate over the years. We’re always behind you!” said Hermens.
The Ethiopian great has a rich cabinet of 21 global titles (including U20 titles) and who also shattered six world records during his glittering career, has joined the Chinese shoe brand who have promised take long distance running to a new level.
After penning down the contract with brand, ANTA Sportswear, took to their social media page and said,” We’re taking long-distance running to new heights with Kenenisa Bekele! In our partnership we’re looking forward to optimizing the Kenenisa Resort and Sport Center and provide elite athletes with better training services and guarantees.”
The 41-year-old Bekele is currently the third fastest man in the world witha a time of 2:01.41 that he set in 2019 at the Berlin Marathon.
(10/16/23) Views: 98John Vaselyne
Koyama and Suzuki secure places on Japan’s Olympic marathon team
Naoki Koyama and Yuka Suzuki won Japan’s Marathon Grand Championship in Tokyo on Sunday (15), guaranteeing their selection for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Koyama won in 2:08:57 with Akira Akasaki finishing a close second in 2:09:06, also securing his place on the team. As was the case in Japan’s Olympic selection race for the last Games, Suguru Osako finished third, meaning his selection is only provisional and not yet guaranteed.
Suzuki’s triumph in the women’s race was more clear cut as she won by 34 seconds in 2:24:09. Mao Ichiyama placed second in 2:24:43 while Ai Hosoda took third place (2:24:50).
Former Boston Marathon winner Yuki Kawauchi was the early leader of the men’s race, building up a 41-second lead at 25km (1:15:36). His lead was still 34 seconds at 30km, but several athletes in the chase pack started to make a move.
Kawauchi was caught with about seven kilometres remaining, but he didn’t drop back. Just four men remained in contention in the final five kilometres – Kawauchi, Koyama, Osako and Akasaki. Koyama made a decisive move just before 40km, and despite a strong finish from Akasaki and Osako, there was no catching Koyama who won in 2:08:57.
The first big move in the women’s race came at about 23km when Mao Ichiyama opened up a bit of a gap ahead of the rest of the leaders. Hosoda then took a turn in the lead at 30km, but Ichiyama regained it a few kilometres later.
Suzuki caught Hosoda at 36km, and then reeled in Ichiyama about 10 minutes later. In the final four kilometres, Suzuki extended her leading margin and eventually crossed the finish in 2:24:09. Ichiyama held off a strong challenge from Hosoda in the closing stages to hold on to second place.
(10/15/23) Views: 96
Ethiopia’s Buze Diriba wins the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon in a wild finish
On a windy marathon morning in Toronto, the women’s race came down to the wire, as four athletes, all of them from Ethiopia, finished within seven seconds of each other. Ethiopia’s Buze Diriba Kejela was quickest to the line, taking the win in 2:23:11–a five-minute personal best.
Diriba was closely followed by 2023 Ottawa Marathon champion Waganesh Mekasha in second place (2:23:12) and Afera Godfay in third (2:23:15). This was the closest finish between a top three in the race’s history. The women were paced by Kingston, Ont.’s Kevin Coffey through 30K.
Fozya Jemal Amid was right on their heels, finishing fourth in 2:23:18 (a personal best); the U.S.’s Emily Durgin finished fifth in 2:26:46 in her debut marathon, nabbing herself a 2024 Olympic marathon qualifying time in the closest of margins. Durgin was the fastest North American finisher on the course, finishing three minutes ahead of her compatriot Molly Grabill.
The women were within course record pace for most of the race, but the chilly wind on Toronto’s lakeshore took its toll, and the women’s course record of 2:22:16, set in 2019 by Kenya’s Magdalyne Masai, remained intact.
Godfay, who held the fastest seed heading into the race, did not push the pace, never taking a turn at the front to block the wind. “I came here to win, and was upset not to,” said Godfay on her third-place finish. “More speed won at the end.”
At the post-race press conference, Diriba credited her track speed for her ability to separate from the four women in the final kilometre. (She has a personal best of 14:50 for 5,000m.) She came into Sunday’s marathon with a PB of 2:28:06 from the 2019 Houston Marathon.
Pomerleau wins Canadian title
Caroline Pomerleau of Quebec was the surprise winner of the Canadian Marathon Championships, placing 10th overall in her marathon debut, in 2:34:44.
Pomerleau’s goal heading into her first marathon was to run under 2:40. On the final corner, she overtook Anne-Marie Comeau, who had been leading the Canadian women for most of the second half of the race, beating her by seven seconds; Comeau finished as second Canadian, in 2:34:51. Tokyo Olympian Dayna Pidhoresky rounded out the Canadian women’s podium for third, finishing in 2:35:50.
(10/16/23) Views: 93Marley Dickinson
Rick Rayman, 77, completes his 400th marathon at TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon
On Sunday at the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Rick Rayman, a professor of dentistry at the University of Toronto, marked his 400th marathon finish. Rayman is 77, and not only has he now completed 400 marathons, but he has participated in every single Toronto Waterfront Marathon in the race’s 34-year history.
As if that weren’t enough, Rayman has also run every single day for the past 44 years and 10 months–a daily run streak that’s topped by only one individual in Canada, according to runeveryday.com. (That’s Simon Laporte of Notre-Dame des Prairies, Que., whose streak is three years longer. Rayman is #20 on the international run streak list.) “I don’t know if the 19 runners ahead of me have run as many marathons as I have, but who cares?” he says, adding, “The older and slower I get, the more notoriety I get.”
On Dec. 10, he’ll celebrate 45 years of running without missing a single day. He runs for at least half an hour, though some days he runs for an hour or two. And he takes care to add that he never runs on a treadmill–though he has participated in 10 indoor marathons in the past, including six at York University, three at the University of Toronto’s Hart House and one the SkyDome (now the Rogers Center).
“It’s such a great marathon!” Rayman says of the Toronto race, even though he struggled with back pain in the second half, most of which he walked. “I can run 12 miles (or 20 km) without any pain,” he says. When asked if he’s ever considered switching to the half-marathon, he replies, “Never.”
“It’s a good question,” he concedes, “because my half marathon time is considerably better than my full. But I enjoy the challenge of the marathon.” Rayman was the only individual in the M75-79 age category.
Over the years, Rayman has seen a few changes at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. The technology for tracking runners on the course, in particular, has evolved considerably since the early days, and he enjoys the recent changes to the course, which allow midpackers and back-of-the-packers like himself to see the elites running past in the other direction on Wellington Street and Eastern Ave. He credits race director Alan Brookes and his staff at Canada Running Series with putting on a world-class event.
Rayman admits he’s slowing down. “I’m not going to do another marathon this year,” he says, adding that next year, he has plans to run the Fort Lauderdale Marathon in February, Ontario’s Georgina Marathon in the spring, the Buffalo Marathon in May and the marathon at the Niagara Ultra in June. “I did 11 [marathons] this year; I might cut that in half next year. Maybe six or seven.”
Regardless, you can catch him running every day, rain or shine, from his home in North York. “I’ll keep doing it until I can’t,” he says.
(10/17/23) Views: 93
Anne Francis
Ayana and Ebenyo win in Delhi
Ethiopia’s 2016 Olympic champion Almaz Ayana and Kenya’s world 10,000m and half marathon silver medallist Daniel Ebenyo took top honours at the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon on Sunday (15), winning the World Athletics Gold Label road race in 1:07:58 and 59:27 respectively.
Through the early stages, Ayana ran alongside fellow Ethiopians Aberash MInsewo and Dessie Anchinalu as well as Kenya’s Viola Chepngeno and Uganda’s Chesang, covering the first 5km in 15:45. Vivian Cheruiyot – who also claimed an Olympic gold medal in Rio, hers over 5000m – was slightly behind the lead pack.
Ayana maintained her 16-minute pace for each of the following five-kilometre intervals. She slowed down in the closing stages, but was a comfortable distance ahead of Chesang. Ayana crossed the finish line in 1:07:58, recording her second win in New Delhi following her 1:07:12 triumph in 2017.
Chesang finished 28 seconds later for second place while Chepngeno completed the podium in 1:09:09.
In the men’s race, Ebenyo and compatriot Chales Matata ran with several of their fellow Kenyans, as well as Ethiopia’s Addisu Gobena. The pack stayed together until 13km when Ebenyo and Matata made a break.
They ran together for another five kilometres, but Ebenyo managed to open up a significant lead in the final few kilometres to win in 59:27. Matata clocked 1:00:05 for second place, while Gobena placed third in 1:00:51.
(10/15/23) Views: 90
Dina Asher-Smith is changing coach ahead of Olympic Games
Dina Asher-smith shared that she had parted ways with her coach John Blackie and will now be guided by Edrick Floreal ahead of the Olympic Games.
Great Britain’s sprint sensation Dina Asher-Smith has joined Fred Kerley and Marcel Jacobs in changing coaches.
She made the announcement in a post on her Instagram page, noting that she has parted ways with her coach, John Blackie who has worked with her since she was eight.
As reported by BBC, the 27-year-old will now be coached by Edrick Floreal and based in Austin, Texas.
Her decision comes after her poor run at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary where she left with no medal. She finished eighth in the 100m final and seventh in the 200m.
She said: "After 19 years, John Blackie and I have ended our coach-athlete partnership. My life changed by meeting him and I will forever be grateful to him.
His intellect, patience, and dedication have taken me from an energetic eight-year-old to a world champion with over 20 international medals and many Olympics, World, Commonwealth, and European finals.
John and I will, of course, remain close friends. Thank you to John and thank you to all my team in London whose talents and hard work have helped me realise so many dreams to date.
My next chapter will be led by Edrick Floreal based out of Austin, Texas. I'm very excited to join his talented training group as we head to Paris 2024."
Under Blackie, the Briton cemented her place as one of the greatest sprinters of all time. She bagged the 100m bronze medals at the most recent two Olympics - in Rio 2016 and in Tokyo five years later - and won 200m gold at the 2019 World Championships in Doha.
(10/13/23) Views: 89Abigael Wuafula
Elvis Kipchoge Cheboi wins TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon
It was an inauspicious arrival in Toronto for newly-crowned TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon champion Elvis Kipchoge Cheboi, who lost a day of travel after a missed flight, then had to deal with a 4:30 a.m. fire alarm in the elite hotel, but none of that seemed to faze the 27-year-old Kenyan, winning in a decisive manner at Sunday’s marathon in a personal best time of 2:09:20.
Adugna Takele Bikila of Ethiopia, who was the top-seeded runner, finished second, in 2:10:26, with Alfred Kipchirchir Mukche of Kenya finishing third in 2:10:56.
From early in the race, the TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon was a duel between Cheboi and Kipchirchir, cruising along the course in their contrasting dark (Cheboi) and light (Kipchirchir) singlets, until the hairpin turnaround in the east-end Beach neighbourhood, when Cheboi surged ahead and never looked back.
This was only Cheboi’s second marathon, having debuted at the Vienna Marathon earlier this year, where he finished seventh in 2:10:21.
“For me, winning Toronto is a huge achievement,” said Cheboi on his result. “I am very happy I improved on my time (from Vienna) today.
(10/16/23) Views: 89Anne Francis
Kenya´s Nicholas Kimeli set to make Half Marathon debut in Valencia after poor track season
Nicholas Kimeli will be hoping to end his season on a positive note as he gears up for his half-marathon debut in Valencia after his poor run on the track.
Nicholas Kimeli will be hoping to end his season on a high as he makes his Half Marathon debut at the Valencia Marathon.
Kimeli has had a mixed season thus far and getting another shot with the Half Marathon will have him dig deep for a podium finish.
Speaking to Nation Sport, Kimeli said: “My season has not been very bad but I still have hope because I will be debuting at the Valencia Half Marathon where I intend to run a good time.
My body is doing well at the moment and I am hopeful of posting great results when I go there.”
He started off his season at the World Cross-country Championships where he finished a disappointing 13th in the men’s senior race.
The 25-year-old then proceeded to the Adizero Road to Records where he was competing in the 10km road race and finished third. He did not rest on his laurels as he went ahead to compete at the TCS World 10K Bengaluru where he finished fourth.
Kimeli then switched his focus to the track and he wowed fans at the World Championships National Trials.
Heading to the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, he failed to impress after finishing eighth in the 10,000m and finishing 14th in the 5000m semifinal to miss a slot in the final.
He went back to the drawing board ahead of the World Road Running Championships where he managed to finish third in the men’s 5km.
He blamed an injury setback for his poor form his season but has promised a better outcome at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris, France.
(10/13/23) Views: 87Abigael Wuafula
