Abel Kirui and Edna Kiplagat all set to take on JCL Montferland Run 15km title
It seems that the JCL Montferland Run 15 Km, to be held on December 4, is going to be a Kenyan affair as Abel Kirui and Edna Kiplagat, the reigning world marathon champions, have decided to take on the challenge to secure the event title this Sunday.
Kirui, the 29-year-old marathon runner, enjoyed back-to-back successes in the World Championships in athletics in 2009 and 2011. The strenuous runner claims to have his elite field running stamina intact.
Similarly, on the women’s side, the 32-year-old Kiplagat was the winner of the World Athletics Championships’ woman marathon race.
Besides the world title, a number of world class racing events, like Los Angeles Marathon and New York City Marathon races for 2010, have also been claimed by her.
Among the elite field that is expected to assemble this weekend in Netherlands’ small village, s-Heerenberg, the Kenyans stand tall before their expected rivals.
Interestingly, despite boasting of an overawing profile, Kirui will still fear a challenging opposition from runners like John Mwangagi, the winner of the 2011 Paris 20k run, along with the winner of the Singelloop 10Km in Utrecht, Philip Langat, who finished
his race in twenty seven minutes and twenty eight seconds in September.
Also included in the race will be the emerging and promising runner Gideon Kipketer, who, while contesting the 4 Miles of Groningen, finished just behind Kenenisa Bekele for a second place on the podium.
For the Kenyans, the traditional rivalry will come from the Ethiopian contingent that will mainly depend on Hailu Mekonnen, winner of the JCL Montferland Run back in 2005, along with the local runners Michael Butter and Koen Raymaekers who prevailed as the
fastest marathon runners for the years 2010 and 2011.
On the women’s side, the eyes of the spectators will definitely remain set on Kiplagat, the Kenyan who is looking forward to offset her injury-ridden absence from this year’s New York City Marathon race.
For the experienced runner, who set her current personal best of two hours, twenty minutes and forty six seconds in London Marathon 2011, the main opposition will come from the local runner Hilda Kibet and the winner of the Great Ethiopian Run, Abebech Afework.
In the presence of such a strong field, the course record – that stands at 42:36 for men and 48:32 for women – will come under a serious threat.
Tags: