Kenya’s William Kipsang will return to the Beirut Marathon, which celebrates its 12th edition on Sunday (7), looking to become just the second man to successfully defend his title at the IAAF Bronze Label Road Race.Last year, Kipsang surprised many people to win in 2:13:34, his first win over the classic distance for more than five years.It was a welcome return to the top of the podium for the man who set his personal best of 2:05:49 when winning the 2008 Rotterdam MarathonHowever, at 37 and perhaps with his best days behind him, Kipsang may struggle to hold off two talented Ethiopian runners.Fikadu Girma Teferi finished third at the Dusseldorf Marathon earlier this year, clocking 2:09:34 for the distance while his compatriot Abdela Godana will be making his marathon debut but can point to a best of 27:54 over 10km on the roads.Other contenders for a place on the podium include Russia’s Girgoriy Andreev, who has a best of 2:10:25, US international distance runner Carlos Trujillo and Uganda’s Phillip Kiplimo, the 2013 World Mountain Running Championships gold medallist who finished eighth in the marathon at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.The men’s course record is 2:11:14, set by Ethiopia’s Tariku Jufar in 2011, and that will be a feasible target for the men’s elite field, especially as some adjustments have been made to the course in a deliberate attempt to make it a faster circuit.Zemzem Ahmed, with a best of 2:27:12 from the 2012 Frankfurt Marathon, is the favourite for the women’s race but she will want to bounce back from her disappointing run of 2:39:46 in Sydney on 21 September.More indicative of her talent, the former 3000m steeplechase African champion ran 2:29:35 when finishing third in the Paris Marathon back in April.She will be bidding to be the eighth successive Ethiopian woman to triumph in Beirut, that winning streak coming after the four Kenyan wins in as many years at the start of the race’s history. There will be a lot of interest in the performance of Olga Dubovskaya, from Belarus, who clocked a personal best of 2:28:08 at the 2012 Dusseldorf Marathon but who then struggled home in a disappointing 77th place at the 2012 Olympics.She has not run a marathon since but will finally be looking to banish those bad memories and perhaps bid for her second marathon victory, after also winning in the Germany city of Munster in 2010.Other women who could be a factor include the Chinese duo of Jin Lingling and&nbsp;Wenrong Zheng, with personal bests of 2:30:27 and 2:32:54 respectively.Kyrgyzstan's two-time Olympian Julia Andreyeva, with a best of 2:30:58 from the 2012 Prague Marathon; Kenya’s 2013 Milan City Marathon champion&nbsp;Monica Jepkoech, when she ran her best of 2:32:54; as well as the Ethiopian pair of&nbsp;marathon debutante Mulahabt Tsega Chekol&nbsp;and 2:32:11 woman&nbsp;Makida Abdela also form part of what could be an enthralling women’s race.Like with the men's race, a course record is not beyond the pale and the leading women will be looking to improve on the time of 2:31:38 run by Ethiopia's Seada Kedir in 2011.As a guest of honour, Ethiopian distance-running legend Haile Gebrselassie will be the official race starter. Organisers expect an estimated 40,000 participants&nbsp;in the marathon and the other races staged on Sunday.Phil Minshull and organisers for the IAAF

Kenya’s Wilson Kipsang will return to the Beirut Marathon, which celebrates its 12th edition on Sunday (7), looking to become just the second man to successfully defend his title at the IAAF Bronze Label Road Race.

William Kipsang back to defend his Beirut Marathon title

Ethiopia’s Belaynesh Oljira heads a strong field of runners for the seventh edition of the Carrera de la Mujer de Bogotá (Bogota’s Women’s race), an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, on Sunday (29).The 12km race is solely for women and will take place over a 4km loop in the Colombian capital’s Parque Simón Bolívar.Part of the revenue will be dedicated to support campaigns, such as Liga Colombiana Contra el Cáncer, an organisation that fights cancer among women. Around 17,000 runners are expected to take part of the events, which include races from 2km to 12km for various age groups.Oljira, 23, comes to Bogota after the best year of her career. She finished third at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz back in March and earned a bronze medal over 10,000m at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow last month. She has run 30:31.44 over 25 laps of the track to stand fourth in the world on time this year. Oljira also set a personal best at the Marathon with her 2:25:01 time in Dubai at the start of the year.The 2625m altitude of Bogata will be one of Oljira’s main challenges. Besides that geographical factor, the Ethiopian runner will face rivals including her compatriots Zemzem Ahmed and Hiwot Ayalew, the USA’s Janet Bawcom, Poland’s Karolina Jarzynska, Morocco’s Malika Asahssah, Mexico’s Madai Perez, and the Kenyan pair of Paskalia Kipkoech and Sylvia Kibet.Ahmed, 28, was seventh at the 2008 Olympic Games in the 3000m Steeplechase and won over the barriers at the African Championships that year but is now concentrating on road racing. Ayalew, 23, is a talented performer on all surfaces. She was second at the World Cross Country Championships this year and placed fourth at the 2013 World Championships in the 3000m Steeplechase. On the roads she registered a second place in the New Orleans 10km with a 32:05 personal best and had a victory at the famous Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston.Bawcom, now 35, was 12th at&nbsp;the London 2012 Olympic Games. Her best performance of the season was her victory at the US 15km National Championships with 49:44.Jarzynska, 32, is also enjoying a good campaign. She was 15th in the 10,000m in Moscow and set a 31:43.51 national record in Ostrava. She also set a 2:26:45 personal best when winning the Lodz Marathon in April.The 30-year-old Asahssah can look back on a victory in Ottawa’s famous 10km race in May and ran her 69:11 Half-marathon personal best in the Rome-Ostia race in March.Perez comes to Bogota in a positive mood after her seventh place in the Marathon at the World Championships and, coincidently, she also placed seventh at the Boston Marathon.Kipkoech, 24, was the silver medallist at the 2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and has plenty of experience in South America, where she achieved her personal bests over 10km (30:57 at Santos, Brazil, on 20 May 2012) and Half-marathon (67:17 at Rio de Janeiro on 19 August 2012). Kibet, 29, will bring to Bogota her illustrious pedigree of two 5000m silver medals at the 2009 and 2011 World Championships. Erika Abril, Carolina Tabares, Yolanda Fernandez and Angela Figueroa will head the Colombian challenge. Abril is the Marathon national record holder while Tabares is the 2013 South American 5000m champion. Fernandez has been the best Colombian runner at the past two editions of this race and Figueroa is the 3000m Steeplechase national record holder. Eduardo Biscayart for the IAAF

Belaynesh Oljira leads strong field at Bogota’s Carrera de la Mujer

Ethiopia’s Belaynesh Oljira heads a strong field of runners for the seventh edition of the Carrera de la Mujer de Bogotá (Bogota’s Women’s race), an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, on Sunday (29).

The intense rivalry between Ethiopian and Kenyan long-distance stars will be on full display on the streets of Albany, New York on Saturday (1) at the Freihofer’s Run for Women 5K, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race.Returning champion Mamitu Daska heads up a talented Ethiopian squad, determined to keep the title she has held for the past two years at the prestigious all-women's event. Daska, who won back-to-back titles in Albany in 2011 (15:19) and 2012 (15:19), dominated the US road scene last year with victories at the Lilac Bloomsday 12km, Zazzle Bay to Breakers 12km, Bolder BOULDER 12km, AJC Peachtree Road Race 10km, and Boilermaker 15km.The 29-year-old started 2013 in good form with victory at the Houston Half Marathon in 69:53, but suffered a blip at the Boston Marathon where she finished 12th.”I am very happy to return to Albany for the 2013 Freihofer’s Run for Women,” said Daska, who has a Marathon PB of 2:21:59, set when winning the 2011 Frankfurt Marathon. “I am most excited about my chance to become the champion for a third year in a row. I feel like this would be a great honour and something I want very badly to do. I will do my best this year to win the race again.”She will be ably supported by a strong contingent of her countrywomen. They include former Ethiopian record-holder in the 3000m Steeplechase Zemzem Ahmed, 2013 Dubai Marathon third-place finisher Amane Gobena, and 2013 Houston Marathon winner Merima Mohammed.But a cluster of Kenyans, led by course record-holder Emily Chebet, could stand in the way of the Ethiopians. Earlier this year, Chebet won her second title at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, having won three years prior at the same venue. The 27-year-old has competed in Albany three times before, setting the course record of 15:12 in 2010.Joining her on the start line will be 2004 Olympic 5000m silver medallist Isabella Ochichi, 2012 Olympian at 10,000m Joyce Chepkirui, Sugar Bowl 10km winner Alice Kimutai, and Cherry Blossom fifth-place finisher Millicent Kuria.Other serious title contenders include two other 2012 Olympians – Burundian record-holder Diane Nukuri-Johnson and recent Lodz Marathon winner Karolina Jarzynska of Poland.Organisers for the IAAF

Double winner Daska faces course record-holder Chebet in Albany

The intense rivalry between Ethiopian and Kenyan long-distance stars will be on full display on the streets of Albany, New York on Saturday (1) at the Freihofer’s Run for Women 5K, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race.