From Australia To Andorra, There's No Stopping The Kenyan Running Might

NAIROBI, Kenya- A glorious weekend for Kenyan distance running that was crowned in Berlin also saw the country’s runners storm to victory at the Sydney Marathon and IAAF/WMRA World Mountain Running Championships in Andorra on Sunday.

The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the world record performance by Eliud Kipchoge and another scorching course standard victory by Gladys Cherono in the men and women races of the 2018 BMW Berlin Marathon as they both celebrated a hat-tick of titles at the event.

However, a seismic day for the country did not stop on the streets of the German capital with Elijah Kemboi and Mercy Kibarus delivering another Kenyan double in Sydney.

In Andorra, Lucy Murigi successfully defended her senior title at the Mountain Running Championships but the men’s event witnessed Robert Chemonges lead a Ugandan 1-2-3.

Joy Down Under

At the Blackmores Sydney Marathon Kemboi and Kibarus duly delivered a double victory for Kenya in the IAAF Gold Label road race in fulfilling their favourites’ roles to perfection.

Kemboi broke a run of three successive wins by Japanese athletes in taking the men’s race while Kibarus produced the third-fastest winning women’s time on the Sydney course, which starts with an up-and-over run over Sydney Harbour Bridge and produces several other tough challenges along the route to the finish at the Opera House.

Favouritism is often a heavy burden in a marathon, but Kemboi and Kibarus bore the mantle lightly. Each had seen off their closest rivals by the 35-kilometre point and ran to victory unchallenged over the final stages.

Kibarus had finished third in the women’s race last year, the pack opting to stick together as Makda Harun made a winning move approaching the exit from Centennial Park near the 20-kilometre mark.

This time it was Kibarus and Eunice Jeptoo who pushed clear at almost the same point, breaking away from a group which included the other main contenders Hayimanot Alemayehu and Zanesh Debebe Getachew of Ethiopia and a third Kenyan, Leah Kiprono.

Kibarus and Jeptoo seemed to be sharing the pace over the next 15 kilometres, but Kibarus took over for good nearing the 35-kilometre point.

The 34-year-old, who finished fifth at the 2014 World Half Marathon Championships, pushed on to the finish in 2:31:24, the third-fastest winning time in the race behind Harun’s 2:28:02 from last year and the 2:29:42 by Biruktayit Degefa in 2014.

Jeptoo held on well to retain second place, some 58 seconds behind, in 2:32:22, with Getachew third in 2:33:53.

With three sub-2:08 marathons to his name among seven sub-2:10 performances, Kemboi looked the class of the men’s field. In the marathon, however, you have to execute your race plan before the race executes you.

The just-turned 34-year-old dominated the race from the start in North Sydney to the finish at the Opera House. It had come down to a race of three very shortly after the start as the lead group was whittled down from 10, to six and then to Kemboi, Uganda’s Thomas Ayeko, and Birhanu Addisie of Ethiopia.

Addisie never looked too interested in sharing the leading duties, but Kemboi motioned the younger Ayeko, the Commonwealth Games 5000m fourth-place finisher and with a 1:00:26 half marathon to his credit, to the front several times in the first 30 kilometres.

Fastest entrant

Pre-race favourite Valary Jemeli Aiyabei lived up to expectations at the Beijing Marathon on Sunday (16), becoming the first ever Kenyan winner of the women’s race at the IAAF Gold Label event.

The women’s race was first introduced to the Beijing Marathon in 1989, but Kenyan runners had never previously managed to reach the top step of the women’s podium.

Aiyabei, the fastest entrant and the only Kenyan in the elite women’s field, broke clear after 20 kilometres and kept pushing ahead until hitting the line in 2:21:38, ending a four-year winning run by Ethiopian runners.

Her winning mark is the fourth fastest in the history of the race and the quickest mark since 2005, but is two minutes shy of the 2:19:39 course record set by Sun Yingjie in 2003.

“This is my first time running the Beijing Marathon,” said the 27-year-old, who set her PB of 2:20:53 when finishing third at last year’s Berlin Marathon. “The race today was good and the weather was good. Everything was good. I want to say thanks to my pacemaker and my husband, he did the best job. I am very happy.”

The race was staged under cool ad breezing conditions and the in-form Aiyabei tried to break away soon after the gun. After passing the water station at five kilometres, only Bahrain’s Eunice Chebichi Chumba, with a PB of 2:24:27 set last year in Rotterdam, managed to keep up with Aiyabei’s pace.

The duo remained together for another 15 kilometres before Aiyabei finally broke free from Chumba.

Paced by her husband Kenneth Kiplagat Tarus, Aiyabei kept widening the gap between her and Chumba. When Tarus stepped out of the course at 40 kilometres, Aiyabei had already built a lead of more than four minutes.

The 25-year-old Chumba, who was the fourth-place finisher at the 2018 World Half Marathon Championships in Valencia and just collected a 10,000m silver medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta last month, was eventually more than five minutes behind Aiyabei as she took second place in 2:26:56.

Ethiopia’s Fatuma Sado, a 2:24:16 performer and winner of the 2014 edition of the race, finished third in 2:27:41.

Murigi defends

With the Mountain Running championships held in Andorra for the first time, the senior runners were greeted with a sometimes steep but generally fast course over 12km with 1028m ascent.

Although mainly uphill – these championships alternate year by year between up-only and up-and-down – it contained 100m of elevation drop and the terrain was a mixture of forest trail, mountain path, gravel tracks, stony paths and meadow.

Murigi, who had come into the race having retained her title at the high-class Sierre Zinal mountain race, quickly established a lead, reaching the midway checkpoint at 4.72km in 26:25 with a margin of 25 seconds over compatriot Viola Jelagat and Austria’s six-time champion Andrea Mayr.

Uganda’s Patricia Chepkwemboi was following 14 seconds behind, three seconds ahead of Britain’s Emily Collinge, who was runner-up in 2015.

-Report compiled using material from www.iaaf.org