Sarah Chepchirchir of Kenya broke the course record at the Rock 'n' Roll Lisbon Marathon EDP to highlight a busy day of IAAF Gold Label Road Race action in the Portuguese capital on Sunday (2).
The 30-year-old clocked 2:24:12 to eclipse the previous course standard by nearly a minute while shattering her own lifetime best by nearly six.
In the morning's other three races, also IAAF Gold Label events, Kenyan Alfred Kering won the men's marathon in 2:10:27, while Nguse Amlosom of Eritrea and Genet Yalew of Ethiopia took the half marathon titles, clocking 1:02:39 and 1:10:25 respectively.
<h3>Chepchirchir surprises even herself</h3>
The women&rsquo;s race began with a balanced pace, with a group of five still in contention at the midway point, reached in 1:12:23. Ethiopian Shanko Genemo, who was gunning for her third marathon triumph of 2016, was forced to drop out just beyond the half, leaving four Kenyans to battle for the win: Chepchirchir, Brigid Kosgei, Esther Ndiema and Rose Chepchumba.
Midway through the race&rsquo;s second half, Chepchirchir and Kosgei dropped the other pair with Chepchirchir making her decisive break in the closing kilometres to easily take down the previous course record of 2:25:09.
&ldquo;I wasn&rsquo;t expecting that, neither the victory nor the performance,&rdquo; said Chepchirchir, whose previous best was 2:30:08 set in Hamburg in April. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m very, very happy with that.&rdquo;
Behind her, Kosgei notched a big personal best as well, clocking 2:24:45 for second place, finishing inside the previous course record. Her performance was also a big improvement on her previous lifetime best of 2:27:45 set when winning April&rsquo;s Milan Marathon. Ndiema was a distant third in 2:31:41.
In relative terms, the men&rsquo;s race wasn&rsquo;t nearly as fast.
After an opening half of 1:04:07, Alfred Kering pulled away in the latter stages to win comfortably in 2:10:27, well ahead of Reuben Kerio, who clocked 2:11:09.
Seboka Nigusse closed well to clock 2:11:42 and dash the hopes for a Kenyan double podium sweep.
<h3>Mixed results for defending champions</h3>
In the half marathon, Nguse Amlosom of Eritrea encountered little difficulty in retaining his title.
The Eritrean, who was ninth in the Olympic 10,000m in August, beat the hot and sunny conditions along with the rest of the field in 1:02:39, one second slower than his winning time one year ago.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy with another win, but the other runners didn&rsquo;t race fast enough to challenge us for a quick finish,&rdquo; Amlosom said. &ldquo;For that I&rsquo;m not satisfied. But I&rsquo;m hoping to do better in another opportunity.&rdquo;
Amlosom was followed by Kenyans Remmy Ndiwa and Wilfred Kimeli Kimitei who clocked 1:02:48 and 1:02:49 respectively. Eritreans Amanuel Mesel and Dawit Weldeslasie were further back, in fourth and fifth.
In the women&rsquo;s race, a misunderstanding at the start left Kenyans Margaret Agai and defending champion Beatrice Mutai stranded, with both finally starting almost half a minute after the leading runners.
Recovering kilometre by kilometre, the pair made a big effort to narrow the deficit, but they couldn&rsquo;t catch Ethiopian Genet Yalew who fought off Agai&rsquo;s final assault to win in 1:10:25.&nbsp;
Agai was three seconds further back, followed by Kenyan Valary Jemeli Aiyabei, who clocked 1:10:44 for third. Mutai meanwhile had to settle for fourth, nearly two minutes in arrears.&nbsp;
Magdalene Masai (1:12:57), the third place finisher at this year's Rome-Ostia Half Marathon, finished in fifth, ahead of Portugal&rsquo;s Ana Dulce Felix, the European 10,000m silver medallist.
Ant&oacute;nio Manuel Fernandes for the IAAF
<h3>Leading results</h3>
MEN
Half marathon 1 Nguse Amlosom (ERI) 1:02:39 2 Remmy Limo Ndiwa (KEN) 1:02:48 3 Wilfred Kimeli Kimitei (KEN) 1:02:49 4 Amanuel Mesel (ERI) 1:02:56 5 Dawit Weldeslasie (ERI) 1:03:21 6 John Kipkoech (KEN) 1.04:51 7 Samuel Barata (POR) 1:05:16 8 Geofrey Kusuro (UGA) 1:05:16
Marathon 1 Alfred Kering (KEN) 2:10:27 2 Reuben Kerio (KEN) 2:11:09 3 Seboka Nigusse (ETH) 2:11:42 4 Silas Sang (KEN) 2:14:47 5 Patrick Cheruiyot (KEN) 2:16:51
 WOMEN
 Half marathon 1 Genet Yalew (ETH) 1:10:25 2 Margaret Agai (KEN) 1:10:28 3 Valary Jemeli Aiyabei (KEN) 1:10:44 4 Beatrice Mutai (KEN) 1:12:33 5 Magdalene Masai (KEN) 1:12:57 6 Ana Dulce F&eacute;lix (POR) 1:16:19 7 Doroteia Peixoto (POR) 1:16:20 8 Lucy Kabuu Wangui (KEN) 1:16:30
Marathon 1 Sarah Chepchirchir (KEN) 2:24:13 2 Brigid Jepcheschir Kosgei (KEN) 2:24:45 3 Esther Ndiema (KEN) 2:31:41 4 Rose Chepchumba (KEN) 2:33:01 5 Rosa Madureira (POR) 2:47:54

Sarah Chepchirchir of Kenya broke the course record at the Rock 'n' Roll Lisbon Marathon EDP to highlight a busy day of IAAF Gold Label Road Race action in the Portuguese capital on Sunday (2).

Chepchirchir breaks marathon course record in Lisbon

Course record assaults are the goals at both the Rock 'n' Roll Lisbon Marathon EDP and Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Santander Totta RTP &ndash; IAAF Gold Label Road Races&nbsp;&ndash; in the Portuguese capital on Sunday (2).
Some of the key contenders know the marathon course &ndash; which sets off in the iconic city of Cascais and then follows along the coast where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Tagus River&nbsp;&ndash; and will be setting out to topple the 2:08:21 standard set by Samuel Ndungu in 2014.
The key contenders include 2014 world half marathon silver medallist Samuel Tsegay from Eritrea, who was sixth in the 2013 Lisbon Half Marathon, and Kenyan Alfred Kering, who was second at the Rabat Marathon this year. Tsegay has a 2:07:28 personal best from 2011 while Kering's 2:07:11 lifetime best was set in 2010.
Others to watch include Ethiopian Seboka Nigusse (2:09:14); Kenya's Reuben Kerio (2:09:05), the winner this year in Brescia; Kenyan Patrick Cheruiyot (2:09:48), this year's runner-up in Madrid; Cuthbert Nyasango from Zimbabwe (2:09:52), who was seventh at the 2012 Olympics; and Spaniard Ayad Lamdassem, a two-time European cross-country silver medallist.&nbsp;
Asbel Kipsang of Kenya and South African Stephen Mokoka, who boast 2:07:30 and 2:07:40 personal bests respectively, will be on pace-setting duty.
Kenyan Samuel Kiplimo Kosgei, a former world record-holder for 25km who achieved his personal best of 2:06:56 earlier this year in Dubai, was a late scratch due to a visa issue.
The women&rsquo;s field also features a strong line-up.
Ethiopian Guteni Shone is the fastest at 2:23:32, courtesy of her victory at the 2015 Seoul Dong-A Marathon. Meanwhile, her countrywoman Shanko Genemo (2:24:31) will be gunning for her third marathon triumph of the year after victories in Mumbai and Vienna.
The field also includes a solid Kenyan quartet: Brigid Kosgei (2:27:45), the winner in Milan this year; Esther Ndiema (2:28:37), the 2014 Turin champion and this year's Rabat runner-up; Rose Chepchumba (2:29:09), winner in Cannes last year; and Sarah Chepchirchir (2:30:08), seventh this year in Hamburg.
<h3>Amlosom and Mutai return to defend half marathon titles</h3>
In the half marathon, the course record targets are 1:00:19 set by Kenyan Wilson Kirop in 2013, and Mary Keitany's 1:07:53 set in 2011.
In the men's contest, the front line will include defending champion Nguse Amlosom of Eritrea, who was ninth in the Olympic 10,000m last month. He'll be backed up by compatriots Amanuel Mesel, who has a 1:00:10 personal best, and Dawit Weldeslasie, third at last year's Valencia half Marathon.
Also arriving with fast credentials are Uganda&rsquo;s Geoffrey Kusuro and Kenyan Remmy Ndiwa, who clocked 59:43 and 1:00:06 at the Rome-Ostia Half Marathon, respectively, in 2015 and 2016.
Other familiar names include Ukraine's Serhiy Lebid, the nine-time European cross-country champion, and Brazil's Paulo Roberto Paula, who was eighth in the 2012 Olympic marathon.
In the women's race, injury forced Kenya's Olympic marathon champion Jemima Sumgong to the sidelines, shifting the attention to her compatriot Beatrice Mutai, the winner last year winner, who'll be aiming to become only the second woman to claim two consecutive titles. The first was course record-holder Keitany.
She'll be challenged by Kenyans Margaret Agai, who was second in Lisbon last year; Valary Aiyabei, winner of the Barcelona Marathon this year; Lucy Kabuu, who was fourth at the 2014 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships; and Magdalene Masai, the third place finisher at this year's Rome-Ostia half marathon.
Others to watch include Ethiopian Genet Yalew, who was fifth at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships earlier this year, and Portugal's Ana Dulce Felix, the 10,000m silver medallist at June's European Championships.
Ant&oacute;nio Manuel Fernandes for the IAAF

Course record assaults are the goals at both the Rock 'n' Roll Lisbon Marathon EDP and Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Santander Totta RTP – IAAF Gold Label Road Races – in the Portuguese capital on Sunday (2).

Course record chases on tap in Lisbon

Course record assaults are the goals at both the Rock 'n' Roll Lisbon Marathon EDP and Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Santander Totta RTP --IAAF Gold Label Road Races-- in the Portuguese capital on Sunday (2).

Getu Feleke overcame stomach problems in the final stages of the 31st edition of the Vienna City Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, to win in a course record time of 2:05:41 on Sunday (13).The Ethiopian sped away from the leading group just after 30 kilometres to take more than a minute off the previous course record of 2:06:58, clocked by Kenya’s Henry Sugut in 2012."In the last two kilometres I had problems with my stomach. I could have been faster," reflected Feleke, who ended a Kenyan winning streak in the Austrian capital which stretched back to 2007.An eight man group went through the halfway point in 1:02:42 to suggest that the course record was going to be substantially improved upon, and 30km was reached in 1:28:48 before Feleke put in his burst of acceleration, covering the 31st kilometre in just 2:46.“Before I pushed the pace I had a look at the others and thought that I should go," explained Feleke after the race.Running on his own and unchallenged, Feleke reached 35km in 1:43.48 with his nearest rivals around 40 seconds and held his form all the way to the line while his opponents continued to drift further back.Kenya’s Alfred Kering finished a distant second in 2:08:28, nearly three minutes behind the winner, while his compatriot Philip Kimutai was third in 2:08:58.In ideal overcast conditions and with temperatures around 12 degrees Celsius, three-time winner and defending champion Sugut lost touch with the leaders started to struggle at around 15 kilometres and quit the race shortly afterwards. "It was a very good race except for the wind," said Feleke. "There was strong wind between the 24th and 26th kilometre and when I was running alone after 30 kilometres."Feleke, who set his personal best of 2:04:50 when finishing second at the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon, was returning to the race where he made his marathon debut five years ago. He became the first Ethiopian winner in Austrian capital since Moges Taye in 1998."This is my lucky city," Feleke said. "It's not my best time but it is a great win." Germany’s Anna Hahner won the women’s race in 2:28:59. In a dramatic finale, she pulled away from Kenya’s Caroline Chepkwony just 300 metres from the line.Chepkwony finished second in 2:29:18, 19 seconds in arrears while Ethiopia’s Marta Lema was third in 2:31:10."I just can't believe it," said Hahner."I was running in fourth and started thinking that reaching the podium could be possible. When I was in second, people along the road shouted that Caroline had almost come to a standstill. “I passed her and just didn't look back," added the delighted German after arguably the biggest win of her career, although she was just over a minute outside her best of 2:27:55 set when finishing eighth at last year’s Frankfurt Marathon.Chepkwony and the Japanese runner Mai Ito passed the halfway point in an audacious 1:12:13 with Hahner almost two minutes behind in fifth place, but she had measured her effort much better than the other elite women and ran a strong second half to pass everyone in front of her, including Chepwkony who had been struggling since 40km. Hahner was the first German winner in Vienna since Christa Vahlensiek in 1989. A record number of 42,078 runners from 127 nations entered the marathon and the associated races, including a half marathon.Phil Minshull for the IAAF

Getu Feleke overcame stomach problems in the final stages of the 31st edition of the Vienna City Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, to win in a course record time of 2:05:41 on Sunday (13).

Chepchirchir breaks marathon course record in Lisbon

Course record chases on tap in Lisbon

Feleke smashes course record with 2:05:41 win at Vienna City Marathon