With three sub-2:06 Kenyan men entered for the Seoul Marathon, it&rsquo;s highly likely that an athlete from the east African nation will triumph again at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on Sunday (19).
Three-time winner Wilson Loyanae Erupe returns to the Korean capital. The 28-year-old Kenyan successfully defended his title last year with a course record of 2:05:13 to notch up his seventh successive career marathon win. But in October last year that streak came to an end when he finished a distant fifth in Gongju in 2:08:52.
Felix Kiprotich was the winner on that occasion, running a PB of 2:06:58, and the Kenyan will again line up against Loyanae in Seoul this weekend. Kiprotich will be keen to improve on his second-place finish to Loyanae in Seoul in 2015.
Ernest Ngeno may not be one of the fastest in the field, but he too finished ahead of Loyanae in Gongju last year. The 21-year-old recorded a PB of 2:07:49 in that race and has been steadily improving in each of the past four seasons.
Jafred Kipchumba and Mark Korir are the two other Kenyans in the field with sub-2:06 PBs. Korir won the 2015 Paris Marathon in a PB of 2:05:49 and came within a minute of that time to win last year&rsquo;s Frankfurt Marathon. Kipchumba&rsquo;s PB of 2:05:48 dates back to 2011, but he made it on to the podium at the 2016 Barcelona Marathon and 2015 Seville Marathon.
Turkey&rsquo;s Kaan Kigen Ozbilen finished third last year in a PB of 2:06:10, the fastest time ever recorded by a European. The former track specialist will be keen to achieve his first marathon win this weekend.
Other contenders include Valencia Marathon champion Victor Kipchirchir, 2:06:13 performer John Mwangangi, 2011 world 10,000m finalist Peter Kirui, Frankfurt runner-up Martin Kosgey, and 2015 Seoul third-place finisher Jacob Kendagor.
The women&rsquo;s race looks set to be just as competitive.
She may not be in the kind of form that took her to the Olympic title in 2012, but Ethiopian record-holder Tiki Gelana must still be respected. Her last outing was a 1:14:11 run at the Quanzhou Half Marathon in December, but she finished third against a quality field at the Tokyo Marathon as recently as 2015.
If Gelana isn&rsquo;t in sub-2:30 form, fellow Ethiopian Ashete Bekele Dido could start as favourite. A 2:23:43 performer at her best, Dido finished seventh at last year&rsquo;s Tokyo Marathon in 2:25:50.
Compatriots Aberu Mekuria and Letebrhan Haylay Gebreslasea could also ensure an Ethiopian win, although both may still be feeling the effects of running the Hong Kong Marathon five weeks ago. Mekuria won on that occasion in 2:33:43, finishing 13 seconds ahead of Gebreslasea. The latter has the faster PB, though: 2:25:24 to 2:25:30.
Margaret Agai&rsquo;s best of 2:23:28 was set when winning the 2013 Daegu Marathon. The Kenyan has made it on to the podium at every marathon she has contested, including last year&rsquo;s Shanghai Marathon where she finished second in 2:26:20.
Janet Rono was fourth in Seoul last year, so the Kenyan &ndash; who has a best of 2:26:03 &ndash; will be keen to make it on to the podium this time. Compatriot Rael Kiyara should also be in contention, as should Namibia&rsquo;s Beata Naigambo and Korea&rsquo;s Kim Seongeun.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

With three sub-2:06 Kenyan men entered for the Seoul Marathon, it’s highly likely that an athlete from the east African nation will triumph again at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on Sunday (19).

Kenyan success looks set to continue in Seoul

Lelisa Desisa and Caroline Rotich are set to defend their titles at the 120th running of the BAA Boston Marathon on Monday (18), one of the world&rsquo;s most venerated road races one of only three IAAF Gold Label Road Races in the US.
Although the point-to-point race from the distant western suburb of Hopkinton in to Boston&rsquo;s Back Bay is generally known more for its challenging profile than its fast times, Boston has been a prestigious international title since long before the professional era. Launched in 1897 on a course planned specifically in imitation of the classic Marathon-to-Athens course at the first modern Olympics, the race was one of the most competitive in the world in the days before international air travel. More recently, winning in Boston launched the careers of athletes like Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Uta Pippig, and Robert Cheruiyot.
Highlighting this year&rsquo;s men&rsquo;s race is defending champion Desisa, winner in 2013 and 2015. Should Desisa pick up a third win, a feat which has proven remarkably difficult in Boston (Cheruiyot was the last man to do it), he&rsquo;d seal his place as one of Boston&rsquo;s favourites, a position he first earned by returning his 2013 medal to the city in a gesture of sympathy.
Should the day prove warm, and forecasts suggest it might, Wesley Korir could have an edge. Korir was the winner in 2012, the last hot day in Boston. Since then, however, Korir has been elected to the Kenyan parliament, a side job which has put a dent in his training regime. To win, the world&rsquo;s fastest legislator will need a race which lets him use his tactical intelligence as much as his speed.
<h3>Seven men with sub-2:05 credentials on the start line</h3>
Along with the two former champions, Boston brings five more men with sub-2:05 PBs to the narrow starting line in Hopkinton. Sammy Kitwara ran 2:04:28 at the 2014 Chicago Marathon, making him the fastest in the field by a bare four seconds over Tsegaye Mekonnen, whose 2:04:32 came in Dubai the same year.
Kitwara, who has finished second twice at the Chicago Marathon, joins Yemane Tsegay, second last year here in Boston, as contenders looking for their first big wins. Kitwara is the younger of the two, with only seven previous marathon finishes under his belt. Tsegay, who also collected silver at the World Championships marathon in Beijing last summer, has wins in Ottawa, Daegu, Eindhoven, Taipei, and Otsu (Lake Biwa) on his resume, but nothing as big as Boston yet.
Tsegaye Mekonnen, a virtual kid at 21, has only five marathon starts on his record, but has twice run faster than 2:05. Both of those marks came in Dubai, where Mekonnen has finished first (in 2014) and third (this January); in 2014 he came back to finish fifth in London. His performance in Boston may depend on his ability to recover after Dubai and build on his fitness. Boston will also be Mekonnen&rsquo;s first major race on a course with significant hills.
Joining Mekonnen, another member of the sub-2:05 club is also another Dubai victor, Lemi Berhanu Hayle. Hayle doubled back from winning Dubai in January 2015 to add another win in Warsaw that April. He followed that up four months later with a 15th-place finish at the World Championships in Beijing. This year he was second in Dubai, notably ahead of Mekonnen.
<h3>Rotich and Gelana familiar names - women's race</h3>
Among the women, picking a favorite might be as challenging as arriving in Newton ready to climb. Defending champion Caroline Rotich is back and not to be ignored, but her 2015 victory was not the kind of dominant performance that intimidates the competition. Outside victories in Prague and Las Vegas, Rotich&rsquo;s best performances have been fourth-place finishes in Boston, Chicago, Tokyo, and Yokohama.
The next most familiar name on the entry list is that of Tiki Gelana, the Olympic champion, Olympic record-holder and Ethiopian record-holder. Gelana earned all of those accolades in 2012, however, and since then her best result has been a third-place finish in Tokyo in 2015 as she tries to recover the thread of brilliance she followed in the last Olympic year.
Gelana&rsquo;s presence in Boston is likely due to both the Ethiopian and Kenyan federations considering results from Boston in their Olympic team selection. A win in Boston, even without a sparkling time, would make it easy for Ethiopian officials to give her the opportunity to defend her Olympic title.
Buzunesh Deba also demands attention on the starting line. A two-time runner-up in New York and the owner of the fastest legal time on the Boston course (Deba finished behind Rita Jeptoo in 2014), Deba is Ms Silver of major marathons.
As in the men&rsquo;s field, Dubai winners are prominent in the women&rsquo;s field. Tirfi Tsegaye is the current Dubai champion and won in 2013 as well; Mamitu Daska is also a past Dubai winner. Atsede Baysa has won both the Chicago and Paris Marathons twice; Joyce Chepkirui has won in Amsterdam and Honolulu since finishing 10th here in 2015. And Jelena Prokupcuka, the two-time New York champion and two-time Boston runner-up, has returned for another tilt at the Boston windmill.
The top women will start shortly after 9:30, nearly half an hour before the men lead the first of five mass waves.
Parker Morse for the IAAF

Lelisa Desisa and Caroline Rotich are set to defend their titles at the 120th running of the BAA Boston Marathon on Monday (18), one of the world’s most venerated road races and one of only three IAAF Gold Label Road Races in the US.

Desisa and Rotich ready to defend in Boston

Organisers of the Boston Marathon have announced the full elite fields for the 120th edition of the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on 18 April.Following last month&rsquo;s announcement that Lelisa Desisa will defend his title, 2011 winner Geoffrey Mutai and 2012 champion Wesley Korir will also return to Boston, forming an elite men&rsquo;s field that includes 10 runners with PBs faster than 2:06.Following his 2011 win in 2:03:02 on Boston&rsquo;s record-ineligible course, Mutai won the New York City Marathon later that year in 2:05:06, smashing the course record by nearly three minutes. He recorded an official PB of 2:04:15 when winning in Berlin in 2012 and then regained his New York City Marathon title in 2013.Before winning the Boston Marathon in 2012, Korir had twice won the Los Angeles Marathon. He also has five top-five finishes at the Chicago Marathon.Yemane Tsegay and Wilson Chebet will also be returning to Boston, hoping to improve on their respective second and third-place finishes from last year.Tsegay is the world silver medallist and has won marathons in Rotterdam, Ottawa, Daegu and Eindhoven. Chebet is a three-time winner in Amsterdam and a winner in Rotterdam.After finishing second in Chicago for the past two years, Sammy Kitwara hopes that Boston will be the scene of his first marathon victory. His PB of 2:04:28 makes him the second-fastest man in the field.Ethiopia&rsquo;s Tsegaye Mekonnen ran 2:04:32 on his debut at the distance to win the 2014 Dubai Marathon while still a teenager. The Boston Marathon will be Mekonnen&rsquo;s first race on US soil.Getu Feleke is the sixth and last of the sub-2:05 men in the field. The 2010 Amsterdam winner set his PB of 2:04:50 when finishing second in Rotterdam in 2012.Others in the field include 2015 Dubai champion Hayle Lemi Berhanu, Stephen Chebogut and Deribe Robi, the winner and runner-up respectively of last year&rsquo;s Eindhoven Marathon, 2012 Tokyo Marathon winner Michael Kipyego, and Uganda&rsquo;s Jackson Kiprop, the 10th-place finisher at the past two World Championships marathons.<h3>Gelana set for Boston debut</h3>Such is the quality of the women&rsquo;s field, defending champion Caroline Rotich is only the 10th-fastest runner in the line-up.Olympic champion Tiki Gelana has the fastest PB of the field. The 28-year-old, who holds the Ethiopian record of 2:18:58, will be making her Boston marathon debut. A strong performance could put her in line for Olympic selection.Gelana will be joined in Boston by compatriots Buzunesh Deba, Tirfe Tsegaye, Mamitu Daska, Atsede Baysa and Tadelech Bekele.Deba finished second in Boston in 2014 and third last year. Tsegaye has won marathons in Berlin, Tokyo, Paris and Dubai. Daska, a past winner over 10km and the half marathon in Boston, won the 2011 Frankfurt Marathon. Baysa has twice won in both Chicago and Paris. Bekele set her PB of 2:22:51 in Dubai last year.Latvia&rsquo;s two-time New York Marathon winner Jelena Prokopcuka will be making her fifth Boston Marathon appearance.African and Commonwealth 10,000m champion Joyce Chepkirui was the only top-10 finisher from last year&rsquo;s Boston Marathon to set a PB. She went on to smash her best with a 2:24:11 victory in Amsterdam.Also in the field are 2013 Amsterdam winner Valentine Kipketer, Commonwealth champion Flomena Cheyech Daniel, Lisbon Marathon champion Purity Rionoripo, 2014 Beijing Marathon winner Fatuma Sado and two-time Vienna Marathon champion Fate Tola.USA&rsquo;s Neely Spence Gracey will make her highly anticipated marathon debut in Boston. Last year she set a half-marathon PB of 1:09:59.Organisers for the IAAF<h3>Elite field (with PBs)</h3>Men Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) 2:04:15 (2:03:02) Sammy Kitwara (KEN) 2:04:28 Tsegaye Mekonnen (ETH) 2:04:32 Lelisa Desisa (ETH) 2:04:45 Yemane Adhane Tsegay (ETH) 2:04:48 Getu Feleke (ETH) 2:04:50 Wilson Chebet (KEN) 2:05:27 Hayle Lemi Berhanu (ETH) 2:05:28 Stephen Chebogut (KEN) 2:05:52 Deribe Robi (ETH) 2:05:58 Wesley Korir (KEN) 2:06:13 Michael Kipyego (KEN) 2:06:48 Paul Lonyangata (KEN) 2:07:14 Jackson Kiprop (UGA) 2:09:32 Cuthbert Nyasango (ZIM) 2:09:52 Abdi Nageeye (NED) 2:10:24 Abdelmajid El Hissouf (MAR) 2:10:35 Solonei Da Silva (BRA) 2:11:32 Jordan Chipangama (ZAM) 2:11:35 Ian Burrell (USA) 2:13:26 Girma Mecheso (USA) debutWomen Tiki Gelana (ETH) 2:18:58 Buzunesh Deba (ETH) 2:19:59 Tirfi Tsegaye (ETH) 2:20:18 Mamitu Daska (ETH) 2:21:59 Atsede Baysa (ETH) 2:22:03 Flomena Cheyech Daniel (KEN) 2:22:44 Tadelech Bekele (ETH) 2:22:51 Jelena Prokopcuka (LAT) 2:22:56 Valentine Kipketer (KEN) 2:23:02 Caroline Rotich (KEN) 2:23:22 Joyce Chepkirui (KEN) 2:24:11 Fatuma Sado (ETH) 2:24:16 Purity Cherotich Rionoripo (KEN) 2:25:09 Fate Tola (ETH) 2:25:14 Lamei Sun (CHN) 2:27:55 Sarah Crouch (USA) 2:32:44 Neely Spence Gracey (USA) debut

Organisers of the Boston Marathon have announced the full elite fields for the 120th edition of the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on 18 April.

Mutai and Gelana lead Boston Marathon fields

Bernard Kipyego is seeking his second TCS Amsterdam Marathon victory in a row, Wilson Chebet is trying to become &lsquo;Mr Amsterdam&rsquo; with a fourth win, and Olympic champion Tiki Gelana wants to prove she is on her way back to the top at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on Sunday (18).Records are there to be broken, but that&rsquo;s not the goal in Amsterdam, race director Cees Pronk said at the pre-race press conference.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not focusing on one or two athletes hunting for the world record,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Instead, we hope to have a good group of fast runners who are battling it out for the victory. But of course, if the course record is broken, it will be a nice gift for our jubilee.&rdquo;Chebet clocked the course record of 2:05:36 when achieving his third successive victory in 2013. After surrendering his title to Kipyego last year, he now wants it back.&ldquo;I started my marathon career here in Amsterdam and I&rsquo;m very proud that people know me as &lsquo;Mr Amsterdam&rsquo; because of my victories,&rdquo; said Chebet, who finished third in Boston this year. &ldquo;The course is perfect, the weather is always good and the public is great.&rdquo;Last year Chebet was not in good shape in Amsterdam and was unable to finish, but found redemption when winning in Honolulu at the end of the year.Kipyego went on to win last year in a PB of 2:06:22, finishing almost a minute in front of Lucas Rotich, but he feels he could have gone faster.&ldquo;I was a bit cautious and waited too long to take the lead,&rdquo; said Kipyego, who was beaten by Chebet in Boston earlier this year. &ldquo;But the training went very well and now it&rsquo;s time to improve my PB.&rdquo;Two-time world marathon champion Abel Kirui is also in the field. The 33-year-old Kenyan is looking to recapture the form that brought him global gold medals in 2009 and 2011 as well as Olympic silver in 2012.He too was in last year&rsquo;s race in Amsterdam and finished a disappointing sixth in 2:09:45. But after solid preparation, he is confident of a better performance this weekend and feels he could challenge the course record.Two-and-a-half years after his stunning 2:04:56 in Dubai and 59:02 half-marathon PB in The Hague, Jonathan Maiyo finished second at last year&rsquo;s Eindhoven Marathon in 2:06:47. He has focused on the shorter distance this year and has a half-marathon season&rsquo;s best of 1:00:07.Despite being one of the youngest athletes in the field, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Tsegaye Mekonnen is the fastest. The 20-year-old won last year&rsquo;s Dubai Marathon in 2:04:32, the fastest performance in history by a junior, and went on to finish fifth in London in 2:08:06 a few months later.Amsterdam will be just the third marathon of his career, but he has raced just once in 2015, clocking 1:01:05 at the RAK Half Marathon back in February.Fellow Ethiopian Markos Geneti also set his PB in Dubai, clocking 2:04:54 to finish third in 2012. This year he finished seventh in Tokyo in 2:07:25 and third in Warsaw in 2:08:11, but is now said to be in better form and is expected to be among the lead pack that goes through half way in 1:02:45.<h3>Gelana returns to scene of first marathon triumph</h3>In the women&rsquo;s race, all eyes will be on Olympic champion Tiki Gelana.Since winning gold in London three years ago, the 27-year-old Ethiopian hasn&rsquo;t had much luck. In 2013 she collided with a wheelchair athlete at the London Marathon and finished a distant 16th. She failed to finish at the World Championships later that year, withdrawing after 10km.But there have been glimmers of hope. In 2014 she ran a respectable 2:26:58 to finish ninth at the London marathon. And in February this year she finished third in Tokyo in 2:24:26, her fastest time since winning the Olympic title.Aside from her Olympic win, Gelana&rsquo;s two other marathon victories have been on Dutch soil, the first of which came in Amsterdam when she set a then course record of 2:22:08 in 2011. Six months later, she set a national record of 2:18:58 when winning in Rotterdam.&ldquo;It has been a difficult time, but my preparations for Amsterdam have been better than they were for Tokyo,&rdquo; she said at the press conference this week.&ldquo;I hope to win here in a time that will qualify me for the Olympic Games in Rio next year where I want to defend my title.&rdquo;Her main contenders will be Kenya&rsquo;s Flomena Cheyech and Joyce Chepkirui.Commonwealth champion Cheyech finished fifth behind Gelana earlier this year in Tokyo in 2:26:54, more than four minutes outside the PB of 2:22:44 she set when finishing second in Paris last year.&ldquo;I had some problems with my ankle last year, but now everything is ok again,&rdquo; she said ahead of this weekend&rsquo;s race.Chepkirui looks to be the underdog. Last year she won African and Commonwealth titles over 10,000m on the track before ending her season with a victory at the Honolulu Marathon.Although she finished 10th at this year&rsquo;s Boston Marathon in 2:29:07, she was the only top-10 finisher to set a PB, finishing within a couple of minutes of athletes who have much faster lifetime bests. A recent 10-mile victory of 51:30 at the Dam tot Damloop showed she is in good form.The race also includes the three fastest Dutch marathon runners of all time: Michel Butter, Khalid Choukoud and Abdi Nageeye. All are aiming to achieve the 2:11 Olympic qualifying standard set by the Dutch federation.About 16,500 runners from 104 countries will start the marathon in Amsterdam&rsquo;s Olympic stadium on Sunday with a further 18,500 running the half marathon.Cors van den Brink for the IAAF

Bernard Kipyego is seeking his second TCS Amsterdam Marathon victory in a row, Wilson Chebet is trying to become ‘Mr Amsterdam’ with a fourth win, and Olympic champion Tiki Gelana wants to prove she is on her way back to the top at the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on Sunday (18).

Same goal, different approach for Kipyego, Chebet and Gelana in Amsterdam

The 2015 TCS Amsterdam Marathon has signed up Ethiopia&rsquo;s Olympic marathon champion Tiki Gelana for the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on 18 October.The 27-year-old hasn&rsquo;t won a marathon since her victory in London three years ago but showed signs that the injury problems of 2013 and 2014 are now behind her when she clocked 2:24:26 for third place at the Tokyo Marathon in February, her fastest outing since her Olympic triumph.Gelana&rsquo;s national record of 2:18:58 from the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon makes her the fastest in the women&rsquo;s elite field and has always run well in the Netherlands, setting several personal bests over shorter distances in Dutch road races.She also won the Amsterdam Marathon back in 2011, setting what was then a personal best and course record of 2:22:08, so Gelana has some familiarity with the race itself and knows fast times can emerge if there are favourable weather conditions.Two places behind Gelana in the Japanese capital at the start of this year was Kenya&rsquo;s 2014 Commonwealth Games winner Filomena Cheyech, and the latter will also be on the start line in Amsterdam. Cheyech has a best of 2:22:44, set when winning the Paris Marathon last year.Another Kenyan added to the Amsterdam women&rsquo;s field is African 10,000m champion Joyce Chepkirui. Despite her credentials on the track, Chepkirui has yet to really impress at the marathon and her best stands at a relatively modest 2:29:07, when finishing 10th in Boston this year.However, she won the high quality Dam tot Dam 10 mile road race in and around Amsterdam last month, running a personal best of 51:30, and this suggest she might be ready to make a big improvement over the marathon distance."This is the first time I will be running the TCS Amsterdam Marathon," said Chepkirui. "I'm in good shape now and expect to run a personal record. A time under 2:25 is possible, perhaps even 2:21."Phil Minshull and organisers for the IAAF

The 2015 Amsterdam Marathon has signed up Ethiopia’s Olympic marathon champion Tiki Gelana for the IAAF Gold Label Road Race on 18 October.

Olympic champion Gelana will return to Amsterdam Marathon

World and Olympic champions at all distances ranging from 1500m to the marathon will be meeting over 10km for the Morrisons Great Manchester Run, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, on Sunday (10).The elite field is headed by Haile Gebrselassie, who is making his season&rsquo;s debut in a race which he has won five times in the past. However, age appears to be catching up with one of the all-time long distance-running greats who set his first world record back in 1994.In his most recent competitive outing, Gebrselassie finished third in a 10km race held alongside the Singapore Marathon in December. His time of 30:00 was almost three minutes slower than his lifetime best, but he described the humidity as the worst he&rsquo;s ever raced in.A sixth victory might be beyond Gebrselassie&rsquo;s capabilities but the 41-year-old, who said he&rsquo;s in 29-30-minute shape, is still a huge fan favourite in Manchester. After finishing the elite race, Gebrselassie will run the course for a second time with the masses.&ldquo;It will be a unique experience for me and I look forward to meeting some of those who have cheered me on before,&rdquo; he said.Another former world marathon record-holder, Wilson Kipsang, is also lining up on Sunday. By contrast, Kipsang is in prime form at the age of 33 but can he challenge for victory so soon after finishing second at the London Marathon in 2:04:47?Kipsang, the runner-up in 2013 and 2014, is only the fourth fastest in the line-up with a 27:42 lifetime best but that mark was set en route to a 58:59 half marathon six years ago.While Gebrselassie and Kipsang have only met twice in the past, Gebrselassie and Bernard Lagat&rsquo;s racing paths will cross for just the second time on Sunday.Lagat will be making his 10km debut on Sunday and while the distance might be towards the upper reaches of his repertoire, he is aiming to attack Gebrselassie&rsquo;s world over-40 best of 28:00 set in this race two years ago.&ldquo;It is not going to be easy. It is like running two 14-minute 5km races back-to-back. That is something fast, but I will give it my best shot,&rdquo; said Lagat.&ldquo;The only time I remember running 10km was in cross country at university level, so the time that I run is going to be a personal best.&rdquo;The mantle of pre-race favourite might lie with Lagat&rsquo;s training partner Stephen Sambu, who has been arguably the most dominant performer on the US road-racing circuit in recent times. Sambu set a world lead for 10km of 27:25 last year, and he also cracked the 27-minute mark for the distance on the track.Sambu also ended Leonard Komon&rsquo;s three-year-plus unbeaten run at the distance in New York last May, and the world record-holder at 26:44 is also in this loaded line-up.Komon, who has won 10 of his 13 races over 10km, only finished fourth at the Great Dublin Run last month but the Kenyan should find the fast and flat course in Manchester more to his liking.Last year&rsquo;s third-place finisher Stephen Mokoka from South Africa is also in the field along with up-and-coming Ethiopian Tesfaalem Mehari.<h3>Saina aims to upstage marathon stars</h3>The women&rsquo;s race certainly doesn&rsquo;t lack star power either although Meseret Defar, who was due to make her competitive return from maternity leave, is a late withdrawal due to illness.Like Sambu, Betsy Saina from Kenya has largely plied her trade on the roads of the USA but the 26-year-old capped off her European tour last September with a 30:46 lifetime best to win the Tilburg 10km, which remained the world&rsquo;s best mark in 2014.That mark also makes Saina the fastest in the field by more than half a minute.But two global champions will line up alongside Saina: Olympic marathon champion Tiki Gelana and the two-time world marathon champion Edna Kiplagat.Gelana has been riddled by injuries since winning the Olympic title three years ago and while 10km might not be her favoured distance, a third-place finish at the Tokyo Marathon in 2:24:26 shows she is getting back to her 2012 form.By contrast, Kiplagat is the second fastest in the field with a 31:18 PB but her legs might be slightly tired from the London Marathon where she finished 11th a fortnight ago in 2:27:16.The leading British duo of European cross-country champion Gemma Steel and European 10,000m champion Jo Pavey will certainly be in contention for a podium finish. Steel finished second to Tirunesh Dibaba last year while Pavey, who is racing competitively for the first time since September, won this race in 2007 and 2008.Other leading elite contenders include former Boston Marathon winner Caroline Kilel from Kenya, former two-time New York Marathon champion Jelena Prokopcuka from Latvia, US-based Burundian Diane Nukuri, and former European cross-country champion Fionnuala Britton from Ireland.Steven Mills for the IAAF

World and Olympic champions at all distances ranging from 1500m to the marathon will be meeting over 10km for the Morrisons Great Manchester Run, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, on Sunday (10).

Global champions galore in town for Great Manchester Run

Ethiopian runners Endeshaw Negesse and Berhane Dibaba took the honours at the 2015 Tokyo Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, winning in 2:06:00 and 2:23:15 respectively on Sunday (22).It was the first time in the nine-year history of the event that runners from the same nation had won both the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s titles.Negesse broke away from Kenya&rsquo;s defending champion Dickson Chumba just before 40km to become only the second Ethiopian man, after Hailu Mekonnen in 2011, to win Japan&rsquo;s most prestigious road race. It was third-fastest time at the Tokyo Marathon, but fell just short of the twin goals of beating the Japanese all-comers' best of 2:05:18, which belongs to Tsegaye Kebede from the 2009 Fukuoka Marathon and who was also in this year's Tokyo race, and the course record of 2:05:42, which was set by Chumba in 2014.&ldquo;It was a good race, although the conditions were little bit tough because it was rainy and cold (with temperatures about 5C),&rdquo; said Negesse.&ldquo;The pacing was a little slow. If it had been faster, then I could have run faster,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;I knew that the field was formidable when I saw the start list, but I did not dwell on it. I have done good training including good speed work. So I knew I could win the race.&rdquo; &nbsp;After some slightly erratic early pace, 10km was reached in 29:54. At this point, Kohei Matsumura, who was first Japanese in the last year&rsquo;s race, started to drift back from the leaders and he eventually finished 25th in 2:16:08.Kenya&rsquo;s Joseph Gitau, the 2012 Fukuoka Marathon champion, also fell behind early. At 14km, former Tokyo Marathon winner Michael Kipyego suddenly started walking while Tariku Bekele, making his debut in a marathon, stayed with the leaders until 20km, but dropped out before 30km.&nbsp; The early splits were 15km in 44:49 and 20km in 59:51 while halfway was reached 1:03:08.&nbsp; The pace makers dropped out at 30km, passed in 1:29:50, as scheduled. At 31km, Masato Imai fell behind, leaving no Japanese runner in the front pack. Imai did work his way back to regain contact with the leaders, only to fall back again.&nbsp; Shortly after 35km, with the split reading 1:44:44, Kebede fell away to leave just four runners in contention for the honours, with Chumba leading from Negesse, Bahrain's Shumi Dechasa and Uganda&rsquo;s world and Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich. <h3>Negesse dominates over final 2km </h3> Between 36km and 37km, Dechasa and Kiprotich became detached, leaving it to a duel between Chumba and Negesse, the latter clinching his win two kilometres from the finish when Chumba started to struggle with a stomach cramp.The 40km time of 1:59:21 was only two seconds slower than Chumba&rsquo;s 40km time from the last year, so there was still a chance to break the course record, although by then breaking the all-comers' record was out of the question. However, the final 2.195km was just too slow, 6:39 compared to what Chumba had done when he clocked 6:23 for the final stretch last year.Kiprotich passed the fading Chumba in the final metres to finish second in 2:06:33, a huge personal best, eclipsing his best of 2:07:20 from 2011. Chumba finished third with 2:06:34 after taking 7:06 for the final 2.195km, and thus the history continues; no runner has won the Tokyo Marathon twice in its nine-year history. Dechasa finished fourth with 2:07:20, and his sub-2:08 streak continues; it now stands at four. Kenya&rsquo;s Peter Some finished fifth, the same place as last year, in 2:07:22. The race to be the all-important first Japanese runner home, with 2015 IAAF World Championships places at stake, was won by Imai.Imai finished seventh in 2:07:39, a personal best by nearly two minutes. &ldquo;If I had run little harder after 40km, I would have run little faster, but overall it was a good race, exactly what I have imagined for my race,&rdquo; said Imai.<h3>Dibaba provides double delight for Ethiopia </h3> Dibaba won the women&rsquo;s title despite her late arrival in Tokyo due to transport problems. A course record&nbsp;&ndash; beating the 2:22:23 Ethiopia&rsquo;s Tirfi Tsegaye ran a year ago &ndash; was also the target. Things started well with 16:52 at 5km and 33:44 at 10km but then the pace slowed.&nbsp; Five runners &ndash; Dibaba, her compatriot and Olympic champion Tiki Gelana as well as the Kenyan trio of Helah Kiprop, Selly Kaptich Chepyego and Flomena Cheyech Daniel&nbsp;&ndash; were together at a the half marathon point in 1:11:41 but this was nearly 40 seconds slower than the designated pace.&nbsp; The five runners continued through 25km and 30km together before Dibaba picked up the pace to win by 48 seconds with 2:23:15, the third-fastest time of her career. Kiprop stayed close to Dibaba until 35km but hung on to finish second with 2:24:03, improving her personal best by more than three minutes, while Gelana finished third in 2:24:26, her fastest time as well as highest finishing position since her race at the Olympics. Chepyego made a respectable marathon debut with 2:26:43 in fourth place. An estimated 36,000 runners took to the streets of the Japanese capital on Sunday.Ken Nakamura (organisers) for the IAAF<h3>Leading results </h3> Men 1 Endeshaw Negesse (ETH) 2:06:00 2 Stephen Kiprotich (UGA) 2:06:33 3 Dickson Chumba (KEN) 2:06:34 4 Shumi Dechasa (BRN) 2:07:20 5 Peter Some (KEN) 2:07:22 6 Markos Geneti (ETH) 2:07:25 7 Masato Imai (JPN) 2:07:39 8 Tsegaye Kebede (ETH) 2:07:58 9 Hiroaki Sano (JPN) 2:09:12 10 Benjamin Ngandu (KEN) 2:09:19Women 1 Berhane Dibaba (ETH) 2:23:15 2 Helah Kiprop (KEN) 2:24:03 3 Tiki Gelana (ETH) 2:24:26 4 Selly Kaptich Chepyego (KEN) 2:26:43 5 Flomena Cheyech Daniel (KEN) 2:26:54 6 Yeshi Esayias (ETH) 2:30:15 7 Madoka Ogi (JPN) 2:30:25 8 Albina Mayorova (RUS) 2:34:21 9 Yukari Abe (JPN) 2:34:43 10 Yumiko Kinoshita (JPN) 2:35:49

Ethiopian runners Endeshaw Negesse and Berhane Dibaba took the honours at the 2015 Tokyo Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, winning in 2:06:00 and 2:23:15 respectively on Sunday (22).

Ethiopian duo Negesse and Dibaba win at the 2015 Tokyo Marathon 

The ninth edition of the Tokyo Marathon will be contested on Sunday (22) with both Olympic champions on the startline of the IAAF Gold Label Road Race.Race director Tad Hayano has once again assembled a formidable field worthy of its World Marathon Majors status. Olympic champions Stephen Kiprotich and Tiki Gelana head the list of invited runners, but that is not all.On the men&rsquo;s side, there are four runners with PBs faster than 2:05 and another four runners who have broken the 2:07 barrier. Three runners with PBs faster than 2:23 will line up for the women&rsquo;s race. Two marathon debutantes are also worth keeping an eye on.Last year&rsquo;s race saw both course records broken, but the Japanese all-comers&rsquo; records are still standing. The men&rsquo;s all-comers&rsquo; record is 2:05:18, set by Tsegaye Kebede at the 2009 Fukuoka Marathon, while the women&rsquo;s mark is 2:21:18, set by Mizuki Noguchi at the 2003 Osaka Ladies Marathon.Tokyo has the slowest course records among the World Marathon Majors, but that could all change on Sunday. It may all depends on the weather, more specifically the strength of the wind from the Tokyo Bay, which will affect the runners in the closing stage of the race.Pace makers have been asked to cover each kilometre in 2:58, which translates to a finishing time of 2:05:11, slightly faster than the Japanese all-comers&rsquo; record. The emphasis on breaking that mark became the main focus at the elite athletes&rsquo; press conference.Only the third runner &ndash; after Portugal&rsquo;s Rosa Mota and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Gezahegne Abera &ndash; to win gold medals in the marathon at both the Olympics and World Championships, Kiprotich is an ultimate championship performer.The Ugandan also excels in whichever marathon immediately precedes a major championships. At the 2012 Tokyo Marathon, just six months before his Olympic victory, he finished third in 2:07:50, the second-fastest time of his career. At the 2013 London Marathon, four months before his World Championships triumph, Kiprotich ran 2:08:05. So in this, a World Championships year, Kiprotich is expected to run well this weekend.&ldquo;The record depends on a lot of factors like pace making and weather, but the record is possible,&rdquo; said Kiprotich when asked about the possibility of breaking the Japanese all-comers&rsquo; record. He later confirmed that after this race, he will prepare for the World Championships, expressing his desire to win in Beijing this year and at the Rio 2016 Olympics to make history. Fellow Olympic marathon champion Gelana set an Ethiopian record of 2:18:58 at the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon. She also excels at the half marathon, having won the Marugame title twice, in 2012 and 2013, and recording a best of 1:07:48 at the Great North Run.Unfortunately, after colliding with a wheelchair at the 2013 London Marathon, Gelana has been slow to recapture her form of 2012. She is running better at shorter distances, having finished third in two half-marathon races in 2014, but she is yet to translate those performances into marathon success.&ldquo;Unlike last year in Yokohama, I am in good form now,&rdquo; Gelana said at the press conference. &ldquo;The (all-comers&rsquo;) record depends on the wind, but I would like to do my best to improve the course record.&rdquo; The Olympic champions may not be the favourites on Sunday. Dickson Chumba is arguably the most formidable runner in the men&rsquo;s race. His personal best of 2:04:32, the fastest of the field, was set just four months ago at the 2014 Chicago Marathon, suggesting he is still on the rise. He is also the defending champion and course record-holder (2:05:42), so he is familiar with the course.&ldquo;If the weather is good, I would like to run faster, 2:05 or even 2:04 is possible,&rdquo; said Chumba, who will be aiming to become the first athlete to successfully defend the Tokyo Marathon title. &ldquo;But, given a choice, I&rsquo;d rather win in 2:07 than finish second in 2:04.&rdquo;Kebede, the owner of the all-comers&rsquo; record, will also be in the race. The diminutive Ethiopian is one of the most consistent marathon runners in recent history, having made it on to the podium in 14 of his 18 races over the classic distance. For seven years in succession, his season&rsquo;s best has been faster than 2:08. He also has most sub-2:07 (10), sub-2:08 (12), sub-2:09 (14) and sub-2:10 (15) career marathons in history.&ldquo;Of course it will depend on the weather, and I am not familiar with the Tokyo Marathon course, but if it was the Fukuoka Marathon, then I&rsquo;d say 2:04 is possible on Sunday,&rdquo; said Kebede, who is undefeated in Japan, having twice won the Fukuoka Marathon.Besides Kiprotich and Chumba, two other men in Sunday&rsquo;s field have previously run the Tokyo Marathon. Peter Some, who has a best of 2:05:38, was fifth last year, while Michael Kipyego was fourth in 2014, second in 2013 and first in 2012. Some ran 2:07:05 in Tokyo, while Kipyego &ndash; who also has a chance of becoming the first two-time Tokyo winner &ndash; ran 2:06:58 twice in the Japanese capital.Other sub-2:05 runners in the field are Endeshaw Negesse, who recorded 2:04:52 at the 2013 Dubai Marathon, and Markos Geneti, who ran 2:04:54 at the 2012 Dubai Marathon.Like Chumba, Bahraini record-holder Shumi Dechasa also recorded his personal best, 2:06:43, in his last marathon.Former world indoor champion Tariku Bekele, younger brother of athletics superstar Kenenisa, will be making his marathon debut. But Bekele hadn&rsquo;t arrived in Tokyo at the time of the press conference due to travel disruptions.Two of the first three Japanese finishers from last year&rsquo;s race &ndash; Kohei Matsumura and Hirokatsu Kurosaki &ndash; will be back again this year as team berths for the IAAF World Championships are at stake. Former college stars Yuki Sato and Masato Imai will also be in the field.<h3>Dibaba and Esayias look to go one better</h3> Berhane Dibaba was second in the women&rsquo;s race last year in Tokyo setting a PB of 2:22:30, while Yeshi Esayias was second in both 2013 and 2012. Esayias has a PB of 2:24:06, while her fastest time in Tokyo is 2:26:00. Both women will be looking to step up one place on the podium, although Dibaba has faced the same travel problems as Bekele.Flomena Cheyech, with a best of 2:22:44 from the 2014 Paris Marathon, is also a possible winner.World half-marathon bronze medallist Selly Chepyego, who has a 10,000m PB of 31:22.11, will be making her marathon debut.Because the women&rsquo;s race is not a World Championships qualifying race, the domestic field is relatively weak.Ken Nakamura for the IAAF<h3>Elite fields (with PBs)</h3> Men Dickson Chumba (KEN) 2:04:32 Tsegaye Kebede (ETH) 2:04:38 Endeshaw Negesse (ETH) 2:04:52 Markos Geneti (ETH) 2:04:54 Peter Some (KEN) 2:05:38 Shumi Dechasa (BRN) 2:06:43 Michael Kipyego (KEN) 2:06:48 Joseph Gitau (KEN) 2:06:58 Stephen Kiprotich (UGA) 2:07:20 Yared Asmerom (ERI) 2:07:27 Adil Annani (MAR) 2:07:43 Arata Fujiwara (JPN) 2:07:48 Kohei Matsumura (JPN) 2:08:09 Ryo Yamamoto (JPN) 2:08:44 Hirokatsu Kurosaki (JPN) 2:09:07 Masato Imai (JPN) 2:09:30 Yuki Sato (JPN) 2:16:31 Tariku Bekele (ETH) debutWomen Tiki Gelana (ETH) 2:18:58 Berhane Dibaba (ETH) 2:22:30 Flomena Daniel Cheyech (KEN) 2:22:44 Albina Mayorova (RUS) 2:23:52 Yeshi Esayias (ETH) 2:24:06 Azusa Nojiri (JPN) 2:24:57 Madoka Ogi (JPN) 2:26:55 Helah Kiprop (KEN) 2:27:14 Lauren Kleppin (USA) 2:28:48 Selly Kaptich Chepyego (KEN) debut

The ninth edition of the Tokyo Marathon will be contested on Sunday (22) with both Olympic champions on the startline of the IAAF Gold Label Road Race.

Japanese all-comers’ record under threat at Tokyo Marathon

Both of the Olympic marathon champions, Stephen Kiprotich and Tiki Gelana, will be heading to the 2015 Tokyo Marathon on 22 February, the organisers for the IAAF Gold Label Road Race confirmed on Thursday (27).The pair will also both go to Tokyo with points to prove after a difficult 12-month period when they have been unable to reproduce the form which took them to their Olympic triumphs. Kiprotich, from Uganda, is familiar with the Tokyo Marathon, having finished third there in 2012, running what is still his second-best time of 2:07:50, his last marathon before his victory in London.After 12th place in the London Marathon in April and fifth place in the New York Marathon earlier this month, both relatively modest outings for a runner who can also point to a gold medal at the 2013 IAAF World Championships, Kiprotich will be keen to get a good result in the Japanese capital in what could be his last marathon before he defends his global crown at the 2015 IAAF World Championships in Beijing next August. Formerly based in Japan, Gelana ran the Yokohama International Women's Marathon earlier this month where the Ethiopian was sixth in 2:29:13, suggesting that she has still not got back to her 2012 form following her well-publicised collision with a wheelchair racer at the 2013 London Marathon.&ldquo;I finished the race, but afterwards I found out that I was badly injured and it took me a very long time to fully recover,&rdquo; said Gelana recently, reflecting on her unfortunate return to London. Organisers also said that a staggering 304,825 people had entered for the 28,400 available places in the race for the general public.Phil Minshull for the IAAF

Both of the Olympic marathon champions, Stephen Kiprotich and Tiki Gelana, will be heading to the 2015 Tokyo Marathon on 22 February, the organisers of the IAAF Gold Label Road Race confirmed on Thursday (27).

Olympic champions Kiprotich and Gelana confimed for Tokyo

More than two years after striking gold at the London 2012 Olympics, Ethiopia's Tiki Gelana will aim to end a marathon victory drought on Sunday (16) at the Yokohama International Women's Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race.Gelana&rsquo;s slump can be traced back to a freak accident at the 2013 London Marathon, where she fell and suffered a foot injury after colliding with a wheelchair racer at a drinks station and finished in 16th place.She followed that by dropping out in the early stages of the marathon at the World Championships in Moscow in August on a day she described as being &ldquo;too hot&rdquo;, and then finished ninth at this year's London Marathon in April in 2:26:58, eight minutes off her personal best.&ldquo;I ran those races, but I had pain because of the accident at the London Marathon,&rdquo; Gelana said through an interpreter during a visit Thursday to Yokohama&rsquo;s Byobugaura Elementary School with fellow runners Philes Ongori and Marisa Barros. &ldquo;After London, I ran with only one good leg. Now I can run with full power in both legs, so it's no problem at all.&rdquo;With strong showings in several recent road races, Gelana said she&rsquo;s ready to be the first to break the tape at the finish in bayfront Yamashita Park.&ldquo;I have prepared very much for this race,&rdquo; said Gelana, whose Ethiopian record of 2:18:58 set when winning the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon puts her fifth on the world all-time list. &ldquo;Before I had pain in my foot, but I have recovered.&rdquo;Gelana heads a field that includes Ongori and Kenyan compatriot Caroline Rotich, who share personal bests of 2:23:22, among the 14 invited runners in the sixth and final edition of the race in the port city about 30km south of Tokyo.The other invited foreign runners are Russia&rsquo;s Alina Prokopeva, who won her third career marathon this summer in Nagano in 2:30:56, along with Ukraine's Olena Shurhno, Lithuania&rsquo;s Zivile Balciunaite, Barros of Portugal and South Africa&rsquo;s Irvette Van Zyl.Leading the host nation contingent will be last year&rsquo;s runner-up Azusa Nojiri, the cross-country skier-turned-marathoner who won the Hokkaido Marathon in August. The 32-year-old, who was 19th at the 2011 World Championships, ran a career best of 2:24:57 when finishing third in Osaka in 2013.For the Japanese runners, the race is also serving as the first of three domestic qualifying races for next year&rsquo;s IAAF World Championships in Beijing. The other invited entries are Tomomi Tanaka, who was fifth in her debut in Nagoya in March, Mayumi Fujita, Nanami Matsuura, Kumi Ogura and teenager Reia Iwade, who will be making her marathon debut after setting the Japan junior record in the half-marathon of 1:09:45 last December.The race, which originally started in Tokyo in 1979 and was moved to Yokohama in 2009 following the launch of the mass participation Tokyo Marathon, will be discontinued after this year, reportedly for financial reasons. It is also speculated that it is a victim of a trend of moving away from elite, single-gender races to the mass participation events. The JAAF is working to add a mass race in Saitama, north of Tokyo, to replace the Yokohama event.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a shock, because I like to race in women-only races,&rdquo; said Ongori, who attended high school and spent her early years as a pro in Japan.Gelana, who spent half a year in Japan competing for Denso in 2007, has had success here since leaving. She won back-to-back titles in the Marugame Half Marathon in 2012-13.&ldquo;I like Japan. I come year by year. I&rsquo;m happy to run here,&rdquo; said Gelana.This autumn, over a month-long span from 7 September, Gelana showed she was back on a healthy track by finishing third in a pair of half-marathons in Britain and second in a 10-mile race in the Netherlands.Gelana, who broke Naoko Takahashi&rsquo;s Olympic record in London to add to her race mark in Rotterdam, says she anticipates a winning time of 2:22-23, which would eclipse the Yokohama course record of 2:23:07 set in 2012 by Kenya&rsquo;s Lydia Cheromei.The main factor will be the intensity of the ever-prevalent winds that come off the bay and sweep across the loop course.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know about the weather, I don&rsquo;t know the course,&rdquo; said Gelana. &ldquo;High pace is good, but the wind is a problem.&rdquo;Ongori won her debut marathon in Rotterdam in 2011 and clocked her personal best in April in Boston, where she placed ninth in her fourth career marathon. After suffering from a leg cramp and finishing fifth last year in Yokohama, she says she&rsquo;s primed for a first marathon title in her second homeland.&ldquo;This year everything is good,&rdquo; said 2009 world half-marathon silver medallist Ongori, whose track PBs for 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m have all been set in Yokohama. &ldquo;I didn't get any injuries. Sunday I am going to do something, if the weather is going to be good.&rdquo;John Ondari, her husband and coach, said Ongori is well prepared.&ldquo;Hopefully, this time around things are going to be on our side,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;In spite of the competition from the Olympic champion, we are optimistic. The training has been good, the speed work and everything.&rdquo;Rotich, whose PB of 2:23:22 came while finishing fifth in Chicago in 2012, finished fourth at the Tokyo Marathon last February. The Kenyan has two victories in 10 career marathons, in Las Vegas in 2010 and Prague in 2013, the latter on the day before her 29th birthday.Shurhno, who failed to finish the 2013 Tokyo Marathon, will be looking to emulate last year's winner, Albina Mayorova of Russia, as a former pace-maker who later entered and won the race. She ran a career best of 2:23:32 at the 2012 Berlin Marathon, where she finished third.Barros has twice finished third in Yokohama, in 2011 and 2012, but might be hard-pressed to better that performance after suffering a left knee injury at the European Championships in Zurich, where she placed 20th. She said she is not at the level of preparation as she was two years ago.If experience plays a factor, then Balciunaite has a step on the competition, although she has not run faster than 2:30 since 2008. Among her 30 marathons dating back to 2000, her personal best of 2:25:15 came at the Yokohama race's predecessor in Tokyo in 2005, when she finished second.Ken Marantz for the IAAF

More than two years after striking gold at the London 2012 Olympics, Ethiopia's Tiki Gelana will aim to end a marathon victory drought on Sunday (16) at the Yokohama International Women's Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race.

Gelana looks to get back to winning ways in Yokohama

The 6th Yokohama Women's Marathon on 16 November, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, will have Olympic marathon champion Tiki Gelana as their star attraction.The 26-year-old Ethiopian has not yet returned to the heights she scaled two years ago when she won the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon in what remains her personal best of 2:18:58 and then took the Olympic title, but she has shown good form on the roads over shorter distances in the past seven weeks and could have Lydia Cheromei’s Yokohama course record of 2:23:07, also set in 2012, in her sights.Gelana has never run a marathon in Japan but she is still familiar with the Japanese roads after winning the 2012 and 2013 Marugame Half Marathon.The Kenyan pair of Philes Ongori and Caroline Rotich, who have identical bests of 2:23:22, could challenge Gelana and their compatriot’s standard in the Japanese city. Leading the European contingent will be Ukraine’s Olena Shurhno, along with Portugal’s Marisa Barros.There are also three Japanese runners with personal bests faster than 2:30, who will be looking to push their credentials for selection to next year’s IAAF World Championships as this race is a selection event for Beijing.The best of the local runners is Azusa Nojiri, who has a personal best of 2:24:57 from two years ago.Nojiri did not break 2:30 in her two marathon outings this year but gained the first marathon win of her career when she won in Sapporo in 2:30:26 in August, and that victory will certainly have boosted her confidence.Phil Minshull and organisers for the IAAF<h3>Elite field (with PBs):</h3>Tiki Gelana (ETH) 2:18:58 Philes Ongori (KEN) 2:23:22 Caroline Rotich (KEN) 2:23:22 Olena Shurhno (UKR) 2:23:32 Azusa Nojiri (JPN) 2:24:57 Marisa Barros (POR) 2:25:04 Zivile Balciunaite (LTU) 2:25:15 Tomomi Tanaka (JPN) 2:26:05 Mayumi Fujita (JPN) 2:29:02 Alina Prokopeva (RUS) 2:30:56 Irvette van Zyl (RSA) 2:31:26 Reia Iwade (JPN) debut

The 6th Yokohama Women's Marathon on 16 November, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, will have Olympic marathon champion Tiki Gelana as their star attraction.

Olympic champion Gelana heads Yokohama field

At 41 years young, Haile Gebrselassie still has plenty of ambitions to fulfil, but the Ethiopian has been told he will have to fight to defend his title at the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, in Glasgow on Sunday (5).Twelve months ago, the two-time Olympic champion claimed his latest world best in the British city when stealing away the M40 record at the half marathon with a victorious time of 1:01:09.A repeat performance would be gratefully received. “We shall see,” Gebrselassie smiled. “I’ve only been training again for five weeks so I am going out to enjoy the race and I will see how I go.”However the track legend has been promised a run for his money on his return to Glasgow by two rivals who have shone on their previous outing here.Michael Shelley of Australia and Kenya’s Stephen Chemlany claimed gold and silver when the Commonwealth Games were staged in the city in July and will chase a similar return amid an elite field that also includes Stephen Mokoka of South Africa and Kenyan Mark Kiptoo.And Shelley admits it is surreal to return to the scene of his finest hour.“I was out for a training run and the lines were still on the road,” the Queenslander said. “It brought back a lot of the memories from the Games. That was just an incredible feeling when I came up to the finish. I just didn’t expect to be there with the gold so it’s nice I’ve got a chance to take it in this time and hopefully do well again, even against Haile.”Olympic champion faces world champion in women’s raceOlympic marathon champion Tiki Gelana, fresh from coming third at the recent Great North Run in Newcastle, will likely face off with two-time world marathon champion Edna Kiplagat in the women’s race with the Ethiopian starting her personal countdown towards the 2016 Olympics.“I am now preparing for Rio,” she confirmed. “That is what I am thinking about now, defending my title. But there will be a lot of work to get ready, starting here.”However there will be a strong domestic field looking to make their own impression with Susan Partridge, who was 10th in the marathon at last year’s IAAF World Championships in Moscow, facing evergreen veteran Hayley Haining and 22-year-old British international Beth Potter, who is making her debut at the distance.“I just thought it would be good fun, especially to run in Glasgow,” said Potter. “I've not done any specific preparation so it’s going to be a useful run out. I’m still pretty fit from the summer, things haven’t been going too badly lately but it will be a useful test.”Mark Woods for the IAAF

At 41 years young, Haile Gebrselassie still has plenty of ambitions to fulfil, but the Ethiopian has been told he will have to fight to defend his title at the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, in Glasgow on Sunday (5).