Mariko Kipchumba will return to defend his title at the Beijing Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, on Saturday (17).

The Xiamen International Marathon, the first IAAF Gold Label Road Race of 2016, will be held on Saturday (2) with Kenyan veteran Mariko Kiplagat Kipchumba, the 2014 winner, aiming to regain his title in the men’s race.

Running down the pre-race favourite who is almost half his age, 41-year-old Kenyan veteran Mariko Kiplagat Kipchumba won the 35th edition of Beijing International Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, on Sunday (20), ending a three-year Ethiopian winning streak.

Just three weeks after the end of the IAAF World Championships, world-class athletics returns to the Chinese capital on Sunday (20) in the form of the Beijing International Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race.

When Tigist Teshome defends her Lattelecom Riga Marathon title on Sunday (17), she’ll line up against a much tougher field than last year’s edition of the IAAF Bronze Label Road Race.

The 25th edition of the HAJ Hannover Marathon on Sunday (19) will be boosted by the strongest elite entry in the history of the IAAF Silver Label Road Race.

The course records at the Xiamen International Marathon, the first IAAF Gold Label Road Race of 2015, look vulnerable as a strong field of elite runners are ready to continue the record streak on Saturday (3).

The coolest weather in almost 20 years this week means that runners in the Standard Chartered Hong Marathon on Sunday (16) could have their most temperate weather since the IAAF Silver Label Road Race was re-launched in 1997.

The 12th Xiamen International Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race and the first IAAF Label Road race of any hue in 2014, saw a course record from Ethiopia’s Mare Dibaba on Thursday (2).