Ethiopia&rsquo;s Kelkile Gezahegn successfully defended his title at the Lanzhou Marathon, while Bahrain&rsquo;s Merima Mohammed won the women&rsquo;s contest by a narrow margin at the IAAF Gold Label road race on Sunday (10).
The race is held on a flat course along the Yellow River, but the typically warm temperatures and 1600 metres of altitude mean that times are never that fast. The races are often competitive, though, and that was certainly the case at this year&rsquo;s edition.
A group of nine athletes remained at the front of the pack in the men&rsquo;s race after passing half way in 1:04:41, suggesting the course record of 2:10:50 could be under threat. Shortly afterwards, Kenya&rsquo;s Ernest Ngeno tried breaking away from the rest of the group and had built up a lead of about 15 seconds at 30 kilometres.
He managed to hold on the pole position for another five kilometres, but Gezahegn and Kenya&rsquo;s Joshua Kipkorir were closing in. Gezahegn took the lead shortly after the 35-kilometre point and opened up a margin of 34 seconds over Ngeno at 40 kilometres.
Gezahegn didn&rsquo;t let up and continued to extend his lead until the end, eventually crossing the line in 2:11:00. His time was 10 seconds shy of the course record, but nearly a minute quicker than his winning time from 12 months ago.
Ngeno, who finished third in Lanzhou last year, moved up one place on the podium to take second place in 2:12:32. Kenya&rsquo;s Alex Chepkwik Saeko was third in 2:13:01.
While fewer athletes were in contention during the earlier stages of the women&rsquo;s race, it went right down to the wire with the podium positions decided only in the closing metres.
The lead pack of six women ran together through 10 kilometres, reached in 35:12, and beyond half way, which they passed in 1:14:11. They stayed together until 30 kilometres but soon after just four women were left: Mohammed and Ethiopian trio Megertu Alemu, Muluhabt Tsega and Tigist Girma, last year&rsquo;s runner-up.
Neither one of the four women showed any sign of relenting for the next 10 kilometres and they were still running side by side with little more than a kilometre left of the race.
Girma was the first to fade, leaving Alemu, Mohammed and Tsega to sprint for the line. Tsega couldn&rsquo;t quite match the closing foot speed of the other two women and settled for third place, while Mohammed edged ahead of Alemu just before the line, winning in 2:32:22 with her rival being given the same time.
Tsega crossed the line 10 seconds later, while Girma finished fourth in 2:32:53.
There were 40,000 runners on the streets of Lanzhou on Sunday with 10,000 taking part in the marathon, 8000 in the half marathon and 22,000 in the 5km.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

Ethiopia’s Kelkile Gezahegn successfully defended his title at the Lanzhou Marathon, while Bahrain’s Merima Mohammed won the women’s contest by a narrow margin at the IAAF Gold Label road race on Sunday (10).

Gezahegn retains title while Mohammed wins in close finish in Lanzhou

Now in its fifth edition, the Orlen Warsaw Marathon taking place this Sunday (23 April) is once again poised to be the highlight of the Polish road racing circuit.
The history of this IAAF Silver Label Road Race may be a short one, but it has included world-class racing. The course records of 2:06:55 by Tadese Tola in 2014 and 2:26:25 by Fatuma Sado in 2015 are both the fastest marathons ever run on Polish soil.
The 2017 edition promises to be another high-quality race. Three men with sub-2:08 credentials will start, the fastest of them being Raji Assefa Worku of Ethiopia. On the women's side, the biggest star is Bahrain's Merima Mohammed.
Worku's greatest moment came in 2012 when he finished second at the Paris Marathon, clocking 2:06:24. Two years later, he also finished in runner-up position in Fukuoka with 2:08:48. An accomplished runner over shorter distances as well, Worku has a 1:00:07 best for the half marathon and finished 12th and 14th respectively at the 2007 and 2008 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.
The race in Fukuoka 2014 was his most recent marathon, so the Ethiopian will be hoping for a successful comeback.
As ever, the race will also have a strong Kenyan presence. The fastest of the Rift Valley runners in the field is Felix Keny, a consistent runner with a PB of 2:07:14. He achieved that time while winning in Valencia in 2013, and has run faster than 2:08 on two other occasions, in Barcelona in 2010 and Seoul in 2012. His most recent top-quality performance was a win in Gunsan in 2015 with 2:09:05.
Philemon Baaru is only slightly slower on paper than his compatriot with the 2:07:49 he ran to take second in Kosice in 2012. Baaru's record also includes victories in Casablanca and Porto. In 2015, he was third in Milan with his second-best time of 2:09:08 and second in Casablanca.
Josphat Leting, another of the Kenyan contingent, has a best of 2:09:34 dating back to 2013, when he finished runner-up in Enschede. He recently came close, taking fourth in Rabat with 2:09:56 at the beginning of March this year. His other accomplishments include two wins in Munster as well as a third place in Hamburg.
Not to be forgotten is Alex Saekwo, a runner with an excellent competitive record, with wins in Verona, Turin and Lyon. The latter was his most recent triumph and fastest performance with 2:10:49 in 2016.
Last year's winner, Artur Kozlowski of Poland, will be hoping to hold his own against the African contingent. His surprising come-from-behind victory in 2016 also earned him a national title and a ticket to the Olympic Games. With the national championships once again held in conjunction with this race, Kozlowski starts as clear favourite for the title and may look at challenging his personal best of 2:10:58 set in Vienna in 2012.
<h3>Mohammed looking to regain past form</h3>
Merima Mohammed, the Ethiopian-born Bahraini, is the fastest woman in the field by some way. Her best of 2:23:06, set in Toronto in 2010, was set when she was only 18. She followed up with other successful marathons, among them wins in Dusseldorf and Houston, and three more sub-2:25 performances. However, she has not run faster than 2:30 since 2013, so it remains to be seen whether this could be a return to top form.
If Mohammed is not ready, Nastassia Ivanova of Belarus may be one of those challenging for top honours. With a best of 2:27:24 achieved in Dusseldorf in 2012, she is the second fastest on paper. Ivanova, an Olympian of two Games, had a good season last year, with top-three finishes in Lodz and Florence.
The second Belarusian athlete in the field, Maryna Damantsevich, has taken part in all editions of the Orlen Warsaw Marathon so far, placing second, third, fourth and third. Her PB was set in this race when she ran 2:30:07 in 2014.
Olga Kotovska of Ukraine has a best of 2:28:47, set while taking a win in Rennes in 2014, and recently ran 2:30:18 in Daegu, and thus should also be considered a contender.
Ensuring an African presence in the race, Muluhabt Tsega of Ethiopia is also a sub-2:30 runner, having run 2:29:17 in Beirut in 2014. Her 2:30:38 run in Osaka earlier this year suggests she has not lost form since then.
A potential Kenyan challenge in the race may come from Viola Jelagat. Although a relatively inexperienced marathon runner with a best of just 2:35:03, Jelagat is a quality half marathon specialist who has run faster than 1:10 on three occasions, and could be ready for a breakthrough.
From a Polish point of view, perhaps the most interesting entry is Dominika Nowakowska, the 2013 World Championships finalist at 5000m, making her marathon debut. With a half marathon best of 1:12:37 set two years ago, it remains to be seen whether Nowakowska is ready to take another step up in distance.
Pawel Jackowski for the IAAF

Now in its fifth edition, the Orlen Warsaw Marathon taking place this Sunday (23 April) is once again poised to be the highlight of the Polish road racing circuit.

Worku and Mohammed looking for fast return in Warsaw

Sometimes the winner of a marathon emerges so emphatically in the final stages that you wonder why you never rated them for the first 40 kilometres. Other times the champion is obvious from the start. There was one of both types as Tomohiro Tanigawa and Makda Harun raced to victory in the Blackmores Sydney Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, on Sunday (18).
Each won emphatically in the end, but Tanigawa&rsquo;s triumph in 2:12:13 was only evident in the final three kilometres around the Sydney Harbour waterfront, while Harun, who clocked 2:32:22, led from the moment the gun was fired in Milson Point, North Sydney, and raced unchallenged to the finish on the other side of the Harbour Bridge at the Sydney Opera House.
Tanigawa came into the race with a personal best 2:11:39 on debut in Nagano last year. He was always in the group of four which chased down runaway leader Mogos Shumay after 15 kilometres. While he was a presence in the lead pack thereafter, it was a long time before he appeared to be a threat to well-credentialled debutant Shumay, Belachew Alemayehu (personal best 2:09:48) and Julius Muriuki Wahome (2:09:08).
But a threat he proved to be as he remained with Alemayehu as first Shumay and then Muriuki fell away, the former one hour and 40 minutes into the race, the latter some 10 minutes later.
The damage continued to be done at 10-minute intervals, but on the third occasion it was Alemayehu, who had looked so comfortable throughout, surprisingly failed to respond to a surge and Tanigawa was suddenly 15 metres clear as they raced around the waterfront.
The gap of 15 metres quickly became 50, then 100, and kept right on growing as Tanigawa pulled away to win by almost 300, the fact that he was just 34 seconds outside his best more than compensated by it being his first marathon win after second-place finishes on his debut in Nagano and again in Sapporo last year.
Pronouncing himself &ldquo;very excited and very happy,&rdquo; Tanigawa added: &ldquo;My only focus was to win the race, so I was surprised to run so close to my PB.&rdquo;
The lead appeared to change with each of the many turns as Tanigawa and Alemayehu raced around the waterfront finish, though it was always the Japanese runner who seemed to be in control once the corners had been safely negotiated.
&ldquo;It was hard to tell whether I was leading or not,&rdquo; the winner said. &ldquo;As we approached the last three kilometres the pace seemed to get slower, so I kept to my own pace and moved ahead and felt like I was winning.&rdquo;
Alemayehu crossed the line in 2:13:09, still looking comfortable but now having lost almost one minute in the last 10 minutes&rsquo; running. Muriuki took third place in 2:14:15 while Taiki Yoshimura also got past the fading Shumay to steal fourth place, 2:15:47 to 2:16:25.
Shumay led from the gun and by up to 150 metres early in the race. He went through 15 kilometres in 45:22, still 11 seconds clear of the chasers and then remained in contention until just past kilometre 30. Seventh in the 10,000 metres at the World U20 championships this year, the 19-year-old now knows what the marathon is all about.
<h3>Harun dominates</h3>
In stark contrast, Harun appeared to have more problems with her running outfit over the latter stages of the race than with her opposition, constantly tugging at her shorts and occasionally her singlet. She also appeared to experience occasional spasms of side-cramps.
But none of this slowed her down to any noticeable extent. Having taken a lead of over a minute before the half-way point of the race, Harun continued to pull away from her closest rivals kilometre by kilometre. Wardrobe and cramps notwithstanding, she enjoyed a margin of almost seven minutes at the finish, winning in 2:32:22.
Harun has a personal best of 2:26:46 in finishing third in Paris in 2012. Now 28 years old, she is based in Melbourne.
Merima Mohammed, the fastest entrant in the race with a personal best of 2:23:06, ran an equally isolated race to take second place in 2:39:02 with China&rsquo;s Beijing 2015 world championships representative Yinli He third in 2:44:17.
Poland&rsquo;s Karolina Nadolska, one of the pre-race favourites, who returned to running late last year after the birth of her first child, was forced to pull out early on by knee pain.
Up to 33,000 people participated in the marathon and associated events which make up the Sydney Running Festival.
The marathon was broadcast live on Australia&rsquo;s Ten network with a live stream and live coverage also going into China for the first time.
Len Johnson for the IAAF

Sometimes the winner of a marathon emerges so emphatically in the final stages that you wonder why you never rated them for the first 40 kilometres. Other times the champion is obvious from the start. There was one of both types as Tomohiro Tanigawa and Makda Harun raced to victory in the Blackmores Sydney Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label race, on Sunday (18).

Tanigawa and Harun victorious in Sydney

There are many unknowns about the marathon, but the 2016 Blackmores Sydney Marathon on Sunday (18) offers a little more intrigue than the average 42.195km journey.
While retaining a starting point in North Sydney and the showcasing of two Sydney icons in the Harbour Bridge, which it crosses in the first five kilometres, and the Sydney Opera House, where the race finishes, the course has been tweaked. Race organisers promise this will make the IAAF Gold Label Road Race course &ldquo;flatter and faster&rdquo;, which remains to be seen.
But they are on safer ground with the third part of the commitment that it will be &ldquo;even more beautiful.&rdquo; Like New York, Sydney, with its harbour and luxuriant inner-city parks, is a city to be enjoyed more than one in which to attack marathon records.
Nonetheless, the race records of 2:11:18 and 2:29:42 should both be in reach for the winners given the deep and even men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s fields assembled.
Two names at opposite ends of the age and experience spectrum stand out as possible winners. Eritrea&rsquo;s 19-year-old Mogos Shumay makes his marathon debut, backed by impressive recent credentials at cross-country, half-marathon and World U20 championships while, in the women&rsquo;s field, 35-year-old Karolina Nadolska, an accomplished track distance athlete and runner-up in the 2014 Osaka Women&rsquo;s marathon, returns to the 42.195km event after a year off for the birth of a baby daughter.
There will be no lack of competition in either field. Five men boast personal bests faster than 2:10, with three of those &ndash; Ethiopia&rsquo;s Mulugeta Wami and Debebe Tolossa, and Essa Ismail Rashed of Qatar &ndash; having run 2:07.
Merima Mohammed of Bahrain has the fastest PB on the women&rsquo;s side at 2:23:06 with Jarzynska one of four others with fastest times in the 2:26-range.
<h3>Shumay&rsquo;s strong credentials</h3>
For one so early in his career, Shumay brings performance credentials most would be happy to take into retirement. He was 14th in the U20 race at the IAAF World Cross Country championships in Guiyang in 2015. Later that year, still only 18, he ran 1:01:09 in finishing 10th behind 2016 world half-marathon silver medallist Bedan Karoki.
Shumay ran through 10km in that race in 27:58, just over a second slower than the track 10,000 metres PB of 27:56.96 that he ran in the Payton Jordan Invitational meeting in Palo Alto earlier in 2016. All of this suggests great potential at the marathon distance, similar to his compatriot Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, winner of the 2015 world title in the marathon just before his 20th birthday.
Wami&rsquo;s 2:07:11 best dates back to Amsterdam in 2012, but his more recent 2:08:37 last year suggests he remains a serious threat to those with winning aspirations in Sydney. Tolossa&rsquo;s 2:07:41 also goes back to 2012, but he has run 2:09 times both in finishing third in Houston and seventh in Warsaw last year.
Rashed ran 2:07:54 in Amsterdam two years ago and his recent marathon performances &ndash; Seoul 2015 (17th), Amsterdam 2015 (16th) and Chongqing 2016 (10th) have not been impressive. Looking a more likely prospect is Ethiopia&rsquo;s Belachew Alemayehu whose last two marathons &ndash; sixth in Seoul last year and 12th in Dubai at the start of 2016 &ndash; have been 2:09:48 and 2:09:49.
Another debutant, Sota Hoshi, has good track performances and has run a 1:01:18 half-marathon. He may prove to be the best of the Japanese entrants as Tomohiro Tanigawa and Takuya Noguchi boast best times of 2:11 and 2:12 respectively.
<h3>Nadolska vs Mohammed in women&rsquo;s race</h3>
Nadolska, who made her marathon debut under her maiden name Jarzynska&nbsp;as long ago as Warsaw in 2007, was consistently in the 2:26-2:30 range through to 2014 when she took time off for the birth of her daughter. She has not raced much since then, but a record which also includes 15:25/31:43 performances and a 15th place in the 10,000 at the Moscow 2013 world championships commands respect.
Merima Mohammed has personal bests of 2:23:06 and 1:08:36, though both date back to the earlier part of her career. Looking at more recent form, Goitetom Haftu, with an eighth place 2:27:44 in Dubai two years ago and a 2:30:19 in Santiago last year, looks a more obvious challenger as does China&rsquo;s Yinhi Le with a 2:27:35 from last year and 37th place in the world championships in Beijing.
The race is certain to crown new champions as neither of last year&rsquo;s winners Hisanori Kitajima and Mirriam Wangari are back to defend. The race records were set in 2014, 2:11:18 by Gebo Burka and 2:29:42 by Biruktayit Eshetu, both of Ethiopia.
Upwards of 33,000 participants are expected in the marathon and associated events which make up the Sydney Running Festival.
The race will be broadcast live on Australia&rsquo;s Ten network with a <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/special-features/in-depth/blackmores-sydney-running-festival-watch-live/news-story/d7a918669c5bc0988ccb0ba6fcf951e7">live stream here</a>&nbsp;beginning at 06:00 local (GMT+10). Live coverage will also be provided in China for the first time.
Len Johnson for the IAAF

There are many unknowns about the marathon, but the 2016 Blackmores Sydney Marathon on Sunday (18) offers a little more intrigue than the average 42.195km journey.

Shumay’s marathon debut under the spotlight in Sydney

The 37th Vodafone Istanbul Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, will see defending women&rsquo;s champion Amane Gobena return to the Turkish city with the aim of chasing the course record of 2:27:25 on Sunday (15).This mark was set back in 2010 by Gobena&rsquo;s Ethiopian compatriot Ashu Kasim Rabu but Gobena, now 33, set a personal best of 2:23:30 in April this year when finishing second in the Paris Marathon and would appear to be very capable of improving on the Istanbul course record.She is very familiar with the Istanbul course as she was the third in 2010, second in 2012 and the winner 12 months ago.Gobena&rsquo;s compatriot Fatuma Sado achieved personal best of 2:24:16 in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon this year and will give Gobena a run for her money.Sado has also won the Hamburg, Los Angeles, Warsaw and Xiamen marathons during her career and was the runner-up of the 2011 Istanbul Marathon early in her career over the classic distance.Merima Mohammed is another strong Ethiopian runner and can boast of a best 2:23:06, albeit from five years ago. She has won the Cannes, Ottawa, and Dusseldorf marathons in the past.Kenya&rsquo;s 33-year-old Kenyan Agnes Barsosio is another candidate for the podium. Her best of 2:24:03 came when winning the Daegu Marathon in 2013. The local focus will be on Sultan Haydar who had her career best with 2:24:44 this year in Dubai. Other runners to look out for include Belarus&rsquo; Volha Mazuronak (2:25:36) and Ukraine&rsquo;s Olena Burkovska, who has a best of 2:27:07 and finished third in Istanbul in 2014.Kenya&rsquo;s Mark Kosgei Kiptoo, now 39, is the fastest man in the men&rsquo;s field of 2:06:00 and set his best this year when finishing third in Eindhoven. He was also the runner-up at the Rotterdam Marathon this year and was the first to cross the finish line in Frankfurt 2014.His compatriot Elijah Kiplagat is another sub-2:07 runner with best of 2:06:41 from when he was second in the 2009 Amsterdam Marathon but although that was six years ago, he has never failed to run under 2:10 every year since then.Michael Kiprop Tiony, who had the third place last year in Istanbul, will also be a candidate for honours.Elias Kemboi Chelimo, Silah Limo, and Hilary Kipkosgei Yego also form part of an elite Kenyan contingent in Istanbul, along with Evans Kiplagat. <h3>Kiplagat aiming for Istanbul double</h3>Kiplagat won this year&rsquo;s Vodafone Istanbul Half Marathon and his stated aim is to stick in the minds of the citizens of Istanbul by winning two major events in the same city in the same year. He has had an erratic marathon career but can boast of a best of 2:07:46 when finishing second in Seoul last year and also won the challenging local Iten Marathon in Kenya earlier this year. He was also third in Istanbul in 2012 and was just one step off the podium in last year&rsquo;s Istanbul Marathon, when he was fourth, so it can be said that he is at least familiar with Sunday&rsquo;s course.Apart from the extensive Kenyan group there is a noteworthy Ethiopian trio could have an impact in the men&rsquo;s race. One of them is Kasime Adilla Roba (best of 2:10:20), a two-time winner of Istanbul Marathon in 2008 and 2009. His compatriot Gebo Burka was the runner-up in 2014 Vodafone Istanbul Marathon and he is definitely among the favorites for this year&rsquo;s edition too. With a best of 2:08:12, clocked in the Houston Marathon this year, he has shown very good form already in 2015.Debebe Tolossa is the last athlete of this Ethiopian trio with a best of 2:07:41, achieved in 2012 Houston Marathon.As in the previous years, athletes will run on a unique course between two continents. The race starts from the Asian side of Istanbul and reaches to the European side by crossing the Bosphorus Bridge. The finish line is situated in Sultanahmet district, which is labeled as a World Heritage by UNESCO. More than 28.000 runners from 111 countries have entered. Additionally, nearly 100.000 participants are expected in a fun run.Yusuf Y&uuml;cel (organisers) for the IAAF

The 37th Vodafone Istanbul Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, will see defending women’s champion Amane Gobena return to the Turkish city with the aim of chasing the course record of 2:27:25 on Sunday (15).

Defending champion Gobena returns to Istanbul to chase course record

South Africa’s Stephen Mokoka and Ethiopia’s Aberu Kebede gave the course records a scare at the 14th edition of the Shanghai International Marathon but ultimately both marks, set 12 months ago, remained unbeaten at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on Sunday (1).Last year, the women’s race was a fast one with Ethiopia’s Faysa Tadesse winning in 2:23:07 and two other women under 2:25. Even if this year’s race didn’t quite have the same times to its credit, it was nevertheless a top quality affair.Ethiopia’s 24-year-old Aberu Kebede, who won the 2012 Berlin Marathon in a 2:20:30 personal best and had another great 2:20:33 performance in Dubai 2012, fulfilled her role as favourite and bounced back from a disappointing outing at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, where she finished only in 13th, by winning in season’s best of 2:23:27 and she missed her compatriot’s course record by only by 21 seconds.Two more Ethiopians followed Kebede home, albeit at a distance, with 21-year-old Merima Mohammed Hasen finishing her third Marathon of the season in 2:26:30 for second place, following two faster races in Paris (2:23:14) and a victorious Houston Marathon outing (2:23:37) in the first half of this year.Ashu Kasim, second behind Tadese in 2012, completed the clean sweep for Ethiopia in 2013 when she finished third in a 2:26:34 season’s best.Mokoka gets first Marathon winIn the men’s race, there were a number of athletes with considerably faster personal bests than Mokoka, but most of them were several years ago. The South African also had the experience of finishing in a high position at the two immediate previous Marathons in Shanghai, finishing second in 2011 in 2:10:29 and fourth in 2:09:43 last year, as well as having posted some good results on the roads over shorter distances in recent months.The 28-year-old, running his first Marathon of 2013, won his first race over the classic distance in 2:09:30, finishing just 29 seconds short of the 2:09:01 course record set by Kenya’s Sylvester Teimet last year. In a close race, where the first six athletes dipped under 2:10, Eritrea’s Beraki Beyene was the best in a thrilling finish over the final few hundred metres where the five athletes in places two to six came home in the space of 10 seconds. Bayene, now 33, clocked 2:09:46 for a season’s best and was just 47 seconds outside his best, which was set at another Chinese event, the Hengshui Lake International Marathon, in September last year.Kenya’s Stephen Chemlany was third in 2:09:48, following a 2:07:44 personal best in Berlin two months ago, his third time under 2:10 this season. Last year’s runner-up, Ethiopia’s Teferi Kebede, was this year fourth in a 2:09:52 season’s best while the Kenyan pair of Samuel Ndungu and Michael Chege were fifth and sixth in 2:09:53 and 2:09:56 respectively.The six runners were on their own from 32km before Mokoka broke away in the last two kilometres.More than 35,000 people took to the streets of Shanghai on Sunday morning, 8000 in the Marathon, 10,000 in the Half Marathon, 5000 in a 10km run and approximately 12,000 people in a Mini Marathon. Mirko Jalava for the IAAF

South Africa’s Stephen Mokoka and Ethiopia’s Aberu Kebede gave the course records a scare at the 14th edition of the Shanghai International Marathon but ultimately both marks, set 12 months ago, remained unbeaten at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on Sunday (1).

Mokoka and Kebede close to course records in Shanghai

Officially, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon is USA’s fastest legal Marathon course, home of the US all-comers’ records for both men (Tsegaye Kebede’s 2:04:38) and women (Paula Radcliffe’s 2:17:18).Speed is always a key element of this IAAF Gold Label Road Race, and executive race director Carey Pinkowski expects fast running through the streets of Chicago on Sunday (13).“The World record in Berlin, I think, has set the atmosphere for Sunday,” said Pinkowski. “I think the culture is that we’re going to go fast.”Pinkowski has loaded his field with some of the sport’s top Africans, including five men who have run sub-2:06 and seven women who have run under 2:24. With the help of 10 pacemakers, he expects the race to be both fast and closely-contested.“I think the course record is going to go,” Pinkowski said confidently.Leading the men’s entry list is Kenya’s Moses Mosop, who won here in 2011 despite being at only “85% fitness” due to an achilles injury he had suffered the summer before. His 2:03:06 personal best from Boston in the same year is the fastest in the field, and he ran 2:05:37 when he won here, a time which broke the late Sammy Wanjiru’s course record. Mosop said at the time he could definitely have run faster.“When I was 100% I run 2:02,” he said matter-of-factly. “One hundred per cent.”His biggest challengers are compatriots Dennis Kimetto, the 2013 Tokyo Marathon champion who recorded the fastest ever debut with 2:04:16 in Berlin last year, and Emmanuel Mutai (2:04:40), the 2009 World silver medallist who set his 2:04:40 PB when winning the 2011 London Marathon. Pinkowski likes that mix of athletes.“If you look at Emmanuel Mutai, these guys are at different points in their career,” said Pinkowski. “I think they’re going to complement each other. I think we’re going to have a great run.”Others hoping to cross the finish line in Grant Park in the top three include Ethiopia’s Ayele Abshero, who set a PB of 2:04:23 on his debut in Dubai last year, and Tariku Jufar, who won in Houston last year with a PB of 2:06:51.Despite dipping below 2:06 on his Marathon debut in Chicago last year, Sammy Kitwara just missed out on the top three. He will aim to improve on that this year and will be joined by fellow Kenyans Mike Kigen and Micah Kogo, both of whom will be competing in their second Marathons after making their debuts earlier this year with respective times of 2:08:24 and 2:10:27.Five-time World Half-marathon champion Zersenay Tadese and fellow Half-marathon specialist Atsedu Tsegay of Ethiopia are also in the field.For the home country, Olympians Dathan Ritzenhein and Matt Tegenkamp will lead the charge. Ritzenhein ran here last year, setting a career best of 2:07:47, easily toppling the personal best of his coach, Alberto Salazar (2:08:51, Boston, 1982).He ran a smart race last year, moving up eight positions in the second half to finish ninth, becoming the third-fastest US marathon runner in history.Tegenkamp, a five-time US champion, will make his Marathon debut. He said two days ago on his Twitter account that his goal was to run “as far below 2:10 as possible”, which could put him under Alan Culpepper’s US debut record of 2:09:41 set here in 2002.Top two women from last year returnEthiopia’s Atsede Baysa and Kenya’s Rita Jeptoo finished first and second here last year, separated by only one second in a sprint finish. Running 2:22:03 and 2:22:04 respectively, both women set PBs and have decided to race here again this year.“Rita Jeptoo and Atsede Baysa, the greatest women’s race in the history of Chicago,” said Pinkowski. “It came down to the final steps.”Jeptoo, who also won this year’s Boston Marathon, is currently fourth in the 2012/2013 World Marathon Majors standings with 40 points. A victory here would put her at 65 points, giving her a 10-point lead for the $500,000 prize going into the series' final event, the ING New York City Marathon on 3 November.“Rita has a lot at stake,” Pinkowski said. “If she wins Chicago, she may win the World Marathon Majors. There’s a lot of intrigue there.”Other women to look out for include Ethiopia’s Merima Mohammed, who has a 2:23:04 PB, Ehitu Kiros, who smashed her PB in Dubai this year with 2:23:39, Abebech Afework, who finished second in Rotterdam this year in 2:23:59, and 2003 World cross-country champion Werknesh Kidane, who has a best of 2:26:15.Kenya’s Jemima Jelagat, who finished one place ahead of Afework in Rotterdam with a PB of 2:23:27, is also entered alongside Japan’s 2008 Olympian Yukiko Akaba (2:24:09) and Belarusian record-holder Aliaksandra Duliba (2:26:08).The 35th Bank of America Chicago Marathon offers a $550,000 prize money purse, with $100,000 going to the race winners. Time bonuses go as high as $75,000 for course records.The race has 45,000 registered participants, and had 37,475 finishers in 2012, making it the largest Marathon in the United States last year (the usually larger ING New York City Marathon was cancelled due to Super Storm Sandy).David Monti (Race Results Weekly) for the IAAF

Packed field and flat course promises fast times in Chicago

Ethiopia’s Boru Feyse Tadese set a world-leading time and women’s course record of 2:21:06 today (7) at the 37th edition of the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, while Kenyan Peter Some was the surprising winner of the men’s race in 2:05:38.With cool temperatures and sunny sky, the weather conditions were ideal for the start of the Paris Marathon at 8:30. The women’s race started very fast, as the leaders ran 16:44 at 5km, faster than the 17:01 by Ethiopian Tirfi Beyene ran when she broke the Paris Marathon course record last year (2:21:37).After one hour, pre-race favourite Eunice Kirwa Jepkirui of Kenya – the fastest of the field with a 2:21:41 personal best – led from Ethiopians Merima Mohammed, winner in Houston this year with 2:23:37, Amane Gobena, winner in Seoul and Osaka in 2010, and Marathon debutante Imana Gutemi.But it was another Ethiopian, World Half-marathon silver medallist Boru Feyse Tadese, who then moved into the lead and went through the half-way mark in 1:10:08 – the fastest ever intermediate time in Paris. The 25-year-old ran very steadily and progressively built up her winning margin, disposing of Jepkirui and Mohammed before the Bois de Boulogne. Her final time, 2:21:06, was easily a world-leading time, and a Paris Marathon course record. After her 68:35 at the RAK Half Marathon in February, this was another PB for Tadese who improved her previous best by more than two minutes.She now moves to equal 25th on the world all-time list, tied with Ingrid Kristiansen’s former long-standing World record (2:21:06).Team-mate Mohammed held on for second place in 2:23:14, 20 seconds ahead of Jepkirui.Some surprises with big PBAs the compact pack in the men’s race passed the Hotel de Ville, the first 5km was covered in 14:44, twelve seconds faster than the time achieved by the Kenyan Stanley Biwott when he set the course record (2:05:11) last year.The three pacemakers maintained the pace towards the East side of the French capital, passing through 10km in 29:31. They were leading about 15 athletes which included all the favourites –Ethiopians Tadese Tola, the fastest entrant with 2:04:49; Abraham Girma, a 2:06:48 performer; Sahle Warga, 2:08:38 this season; and Kenyans Eric Ndiema, fourth in Paris last year; Sylvester Teimet, seventh at the Paris Half Marathon last month; and Philip Sanga, 2:06:07 in 2011.In the Bois de Vincennes, Sanga was timed in 44:28 for 15km, while Tola was hidden inside the group. No changes occurred until the half-way mark, where the leading dozen were still led by two pacemakers and the split time (1:02:25) was now outside course record pace (1:01:51).The runners were by themselves as they faced the difficulty of two consecutive up-hill sections with 14km to go, close to Pont de l’Alma.&nbsp; The group – led by the Kenyan trio of Some, Sanga and Ndiema – reached 25km in 1:14:19 and 30km in 1:29:35, running at a pace still well over 20km/h, while favourite Tola was still biding his time.Suddenly, Some injected an acceleration of pace which went unanswered. Occasionally looking over his shoulder to check his opposition, he steadily opened a large gap as he headed towards the Bois de Boulogne.At 30km (1:43:56), the Kenyan had about 25 seconds over his challengers. The last difficulty, a slight uphill before 40km (timed in 1:58:50), had no effect on the winner’s easy-looking style. Some finally won the race in 2:05:38, smashing his personal best by more than three minutes.“When I chose to accelerate, nobody followed me so I maintained the pace,” explained the 22-year- old winner. There was a sprint for the second place between Tola and Ndiema, and the Ethiopian had the edge as he beat the Kenyan by one second, crossing the finish line in 2:06:33.Pierre-Jean Vazel for the IAAFLEADING RESULTSMen 1 Peter Some (KEN) 2:05:38 2 Tadese Tola (ETH) 2:06:33 3 Eric Ndiema (KEN) 2:06:34 4 Megersa Bacha (ETH) 2:06:56 5 Philip Sanga (KEN) 2:06:57 6 Sylvester Teimet (KEN) 2:08:14 7 Sahle Warga (ETH) 2:08:19 8 Abraham Girma (ETH) 2:08:19 9 Gezahegne Alemayehu (ETH) 2:09:57 10 Gilbert Masai (KEN) 2:10:27Women 1 Boru Feyse Tadese (ETH) 2:21:06 CR 2 Merima Mohammed (ETH) 2:23:14 3 Eunice Kirwa Jepkirui (KEN) 2:23:34 4 Dinknesh Tefera (ETH) 2:25:09 5 Agnes Kiprop (KEN) 2:25:22 6 Fantu Jimma (ETH) 2:28:03 7 Amane Gobena (ETH) 2:29:36 8 Shitaye Bedaso (ETH) 2:34:40 9 Carmen Oliveras (FRA) 2:35:57 10 Aline Camboulives (FRA) 2:36:44

Tadese breaks course record in Paris as Some smashes PB

On a day where Ethiopia dominated all four races, 20-year-old Merima Mohammed overcame leg problems and cold, wet conditions to run the second-fastest ever women’s race at the Chevron Houston Marathon on Sunday (13), while countryman Bazu Worku, 22, ran away with the men’s title.World bronze medallist Feyisa Lilesa defended his title in the men’s Aramco Houston Half Marathon and Mamitu Daska, the 2011 Chevron Houston Marathon champion, won the women’s crown. Daska is the first-ever woman to win the marathon and the half marathon at Houston.Mohammed’s late break proves decisiveMohammed ran the first half of the race with fellow Ethiopians Bizunesh Deba and Meskerem Assefa and that trio stayed together through 33km, when Mohammed made a strong move and broke away. She stretched her lead to 47 seconds over Deba by the 40km mark and crossed the line in 2:23:37, missing the course record by 23 seconds.Deba, the runner-up of the 2011 New York Marathon, finished second in 2:24:26, which is the fifth-fastest time in race history. Showing great range for an athlete who boasts PBs of 2:02.12 and 4:02.12 for 800m and 1500m, Assefa finished third on her marathon debut in 2:25:17."I had a problem with my left leg," Mohammed told reporters through a translator while massaging her left calf. "It was hurting badly. It was a very painful situation."Worku wins by more than two minutesWorku, who had been running in a pack of nine early in the race, came through the half-way mark in 65:25 with five others. But by 25km, he had opened up a 50-second lead over team-mate Solomon Molla.Worku continued to stretch that lead with every mile and finished in 2:10:17, winning by more than two-and-a-half minutes. Teferi Balcha claimed runner-up honours in 2:12:50, while Molla held on for third in 2:14:37.Daska and Lilesa take half-marathon titlesCourse record-holder Lilesa ran side-by-side with Deriba Merga until the pair entered the home stretch, where Lilesa used his superior speed to win in 61:54. Merga, winner of the Houston Marathon in 2009, was second in 62:00, while Kenya’s Wilson Loyanai made a late surge to take third in 62:12.Daska took command early in the race, leading through 5km in 16:18, and then doubled her margin by the 10km mark, reached in 32:42. At 15km, she had a 1:27 lead over Caroline Kilel of Kenya and her margin of victory was 2:05 when she crossed the line in 69:53, the fifth-fastest time in race history.Kilel finished as the runner-up for the second year in a row, finishing in 71:58 as her team-mate Hellen Jemutai was third in 72:34.Organisers for the IAAFLeading resultsMen - marathon 1 Bazu Worku (ETH) 2:10:17 2 Teferi Balcha (ETH) 2:12:50 3 Solomon Molla (ETH) 2:14:37 4 Birhanu Gedefa (ETH) 2:15:21 5 Dereje Abera (ETH) 2:17:09Men - half-marathon 1 Feyisa Lilesa (ETH) 61:54 2 Deriba Merga (ETH) 62:00 3 Wilson Loyanai (KEN) 62:12 4 Shadrack Biwott (USA) 62:23 5 Luke Puskedra (USA) 62:32Women - marathon 1 Merima Mohammed (ETH) 2:23:37 2 Bizunesh Deba (ETH) 2:24:26 3 Meskerem Assefa (ETH) 2:25:17 4 Meseret Legese (ETH) 2:30:31 5 Olena Burkovska (UKR) 2:34:56Women - half-marathon 1 Mamitu Daska (ETH) 69:53 2 Caroline Kilel (KEN) 71:58 3 Hellen Jemutai (KEN) 72:34 4 Chemtai Rionotukei (KEN) 72:58 5 Zemzem Ahmed (ETH) 73:25

Youth trumps weather in Houston as Ethiopians take clean sweep of titles