There is the distinct prospect of an Ethiopian double victory at 11th edition of the International Beirut Marathon - ‘The Banque du Liban Beirut Marathon’ - on Sunday (10).Ethiopia’s Kedir Fekadu returns to the IAAF Bronze Label Road Race in the Lebanese capital looking to retain the title he won last year in 2:12:57, a feat achieved by his compatriot Mohammed Temam in 2009 and 2010With better weather forecast than the rainy conditions which the runners endured 12 months ago, the men’s course record of 2:11:14, set by Fekadu’s compatriot Tariku Jufar in 2011, could be under threat.Fekadu can boast of a best of 2:09:15 from the 2010 Rome Marathon. However, he is far from the fastest man in the race as former Rotterdam Marathon winner Kenya’s William Kipsang has a personal best of 2:05:49 from when he won in the Dutch city in 2008 although he has not broken 2:14 since that race. Kipsang returns to Beirut having finished third in last year’s race.Ethiopia’s Shume Hailu and the Kenyan pair of Sammy Malakwen and Stephen Shepkopol will also be looking to feature among the leading runners.The women’s field features Aliaksandra Duliba, who will be running her second top class Marathon in a month after her Belarus national record of 2:23:44 in the Chicago marathon on 17 October. The big question is how well she has recovered from that performance.Ethiopia will be well represented thanks to Azalech Masresha Woldeselasse and Rehime Kedir Robel, the former having a personal best of 2:25:34, set as she won the Paris Marathon in 2010, although she has not run under 2:31 since then.The Beirut Marathon women’s course record was set in 2011 by another Ethiopian runner, Saeda Kedir, when she ran 2:31:38.Phil Minshull and organisers for the IAAF

Prospect of an Ethiopian double victory at 11th edition of the International Beirut Marathon - ‘The Banque du Liban Beirut Marathon’ - on Sunday (10).


Fekadu bids to retain his Beirut Marathon title, and take the course record

There is the distinct prospect of an Ethiopian double victory at 11th edition of the International Beirut Marathon - ‘The Banque du Liban Beirut Marathon’ - on Sunday (10).



Uganda’s Docus Inzikuru, winner of the inaugural women’s World 3000m Steeplechase title in 2005, will make her debut over 26.2 miles on April 14 at the Brighton Marathon, an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race.The 31-year-old made a great return to form last year in her specialist event, clocking 9:30.95 – her fastest Steeplechase clocking since 2006. Although she races rarely on the roads, Inzikuru boasts PBs of 15:59 for 5km and 33:27 for 10km.Dividing her time between Kampala and Iten, Inzikuru has also been preparing for her final business degree exams, but cannot wait to tackle her first outing over the legendary distance.She will be joined in the race by fellow debutante Eunice Kales. The Kenyan has a PB of 69:50 for the Half-marathon and is a seasoned road runner.The fastest woman in the field is Ethiopian Aregu Lechisa who lifted the Nice-Cannes title on her debut last year when she ran a time of 2:31:56.Home hopes rest with former course record-holder Alyson Dixon, who will be targeting a qualifying time (2:31) for the Moscow IAAF World Championships later this summer. Brighton was the scene of Dixon’s greatest triumph when she won the 2011 event, setting a then course record of 2:34:51.Also in the race is USA’s Emily Harrison who set a PB of 2:32.55 to finish third in the Medtronic St Paul Minnesota race in 2011.The men’s field includes five men who have broken 2:12, the fastest being Ethiopia’s Fekadu Kedir who has a best of 2:09:15 from Rome in 2010. The 28-year-old has run a marathon a year for the last three years and is hoping to add the Brighton title to his laurels.One man who could challenge Kedir up front is Kenya’s Ben Kipruto, the most experienced of the field with 12 marathons under his belt, the fastest coming in Padua two years ago when he crossed the line in 2:09:26.Bernard Rotich has been enjoying good form over the country this year, finishing eighth in Antrim and a fine third in the Cinque Mulini early in February.Another to look out for will be debutante Justus Moranga, who reduced his Half-marathon PB to 61:07 last year and could be on for a fast time over the full distance in Brighton.The chase for the top British spot is likely to be between local man Jon Pepper, 24, who made his debut at the London marathon last year clocking 2:21:48, and Martin Williams who recorded a lifetime best of 2:17:36 in Seville two years ago.Organisers for the IAAF

Inzikuru to make Marathon debut in Brighton

Uganda’s Docus Inzikuru, winner of the inaugural women’s World 3000m Steeplechase title in 2005, will make her debut over 26.2 miles on April 14 at the Brighton Marathon, an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race.

Under difficult weather conditions, Ethiopians Kedir Fekadu and Saeda Kedir were victorious at the tenth edition of the BLOM Beirut Marathon on Sunday (11).The rain and windy conditions did not stop more than 33,000 participants from filling the streets of the city for this IAAF Bronze Label Road Race. However no course records were broken due to the heavy downpours at different points during the race. Ethiopian and Kenyan athletes maintained their dominance of this race.Taking the lead in the men’s field was Fekadu who clocked 2:12:57, followed by Kenyans Stephen Chepkopol in second place with a time of 2:13:14, and William Kipsang in third with 2:14:53. In the women’s race, Kedir won with a time of 2:35:08, followed by Kenyan Monica Jepkoech (2:36:20) with Mary Akor of the U.S. in third (2:37:32).Runners from 96 different nationalities ran the different races: The Marathon, the 42.195 km relay race, a 10 km fun run, a 5 km youth run, and a 1km run with mom and celebrity run.&nbsp; The weather on race day created special challenges to the organisers as high winds, heavy downpours, and at times hail hammered the runners, the organisers, and all support staff, who remained determined to offer a great race for all participants.&nbsp; The course became slippery at times especially on the long steady inclines, but some very good times were still achieved at the end of the day by all athletes.This year a new event was introduced which was the 1Km celebrity race, added in order to get the general public interested in running and in the main campaign of the race this year which was: “Break a Negative and Run”.&nbsp; The title of this campaign was put into action in order to create an atmosphere of positive sports values in the country in the face of the unrest in the region, and especially after the unfortunate explosion that rocked Beirut a few weeks back. The running community rallied to help the victims and seven Lebanese Marathon runners dedicated their race today to raising funds for this cause, in coordination with local television station LBC, who ran a telethon for this purpose during its live broadcast of the race.In attendance at the start and finish lines were national and international dignitaries and a good number of spectators cheered the runners under the rain. The Marathon winners were honored at the podium with an award ceremony that was attended by Beirut Marathon Association President May El Khalil and CEO of BLOM Bank the title sponsor of the event.&nbsp; As for the Lebanese winners, it was returning Lebanese men’s champion Houssein Awada who won with a time of 2:28:29. Maria Pia Nehme won the women’s domestic title in 3:16:38.&nbsp; &nbsp;Organisers for the IAAF

Fekadu and Kedir beat the rain in Beirut

Under difficult weather conditions, Ethiopians Kedir Fekadu and Saeda Kedir were victorious at the tenth edition of the BLOM Beirut Marathon on Sunday.