The first of the six World Marathon Majors races is Sunday in Japan for the 13th Tokyo Marathon, with an excellent elite field assembled and hopes for a course record or better:
Men:
2:03:03 ‘16 Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) ~ 2004 OG gold 10,000 m; 2008 golds 5,000-10,000
2:04:04 ‘18 Marius Kipserem (KEN) ~ 2016 Rotterdam Marathon winner
2:04:15 ‘18 Birhanu Legese (ETH) ~ Third at Dubai Marathon ‘18
2:04:32 ‘14 Dickson Chumba (KEN) ~ 2014 and 2018 Champion (2:05:42 ~ 2:05:30)
2:04:43 ‘18 El Hassan El Abbassi (BRN) ~ 2018 Asian Games silver medalist
2:04:04 ‘18 Seifu Tura (ETH) ~ Milan and Shanghai Marathon winner in 2018
2:05:13 ‘17 Norbert Kigen (KEN)
2:05:50 ‘18 Suguru Osako (JPN) ~ 3rd Boston ‘17; 3rd Chiago ‘18
2:05:51 ‘17 Gideon Kipketer (KEN) ~ World Champs 5th in 2017
Women:
2:18:34 ‘18 Ruti Aga (ETH) ~ 3rd Berlin ‘18, 2nd Berlin ‘18; 2nd Tokyo ‘18
2:19:30 ‘18 Boru Feyse Tadese (ETH) ~ Berlin runner-up 2014
2:19:36 ‘18 Yebrgual Melese (ETH) ~ 14 straight top-5 marathon finishes 2014-18!
2:19:44 ‘11 Florence Kiplagat (KEN) ~ World X-C golds 2009-10; 2x Berlin & Chicago golds
2:20:16 ‘18 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) ~ Abu Dhabi winner in Dec. 2018
2:20:59 ‘15 Shure Demise (ETH) ~ World Champs 2017 Marathon fifth
2:21:32 ‘18 Bedatu Hirpa (ETH) ~ Four career marathons: 3-1-3-3 in 2017-18
Bekele is one of the greatest distance runners in history, and still owns the world records in the 5,000 m and 10,000 m from 2004 (12:37.35) and 2005 (26:17.53). He started marathoning in 2014 and in his eight career races, he has finished six, won twice and been second once. This is his first start in Tokyo; his one World Marathon Majors win was at Berlin in 2016 when he ran 2:03:03, still no. 4 all-time.
The pacesetters are planned to run at 2:58/km for the first 30 km, for about a 2:04:30 pace; a fast finish could threaten the race record of 2:03:58 by Wilson Kipsang (KEN) in 2017.
Aga holds the unusual distinction of being the fastest woman in history never to have won a marathon! But she has been a consistent medalist, with five podiums (0-4-1) in her seven career races. She has won medals in four of her five World Marathon Majors races, including silvers in Tokyo and Berlin in 2018.
The women’s pacesetting will aim for a finish in the 2:17 range; the race record is 2:19:47 from 2017 by Kenyan Sarah Chepchirchir.
Because the race starts early Sunday morning in Japan, coverage starts at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday in the U.S. on NBC’s Olympic Channel. Look for results here.
