Ruth Chepng'etich still has eyes trained on marathon world record after falling 14 seconds short

ATHLETICS Ruth Chepng'etich still has eyes trained on marathon world record after falling 14 seconds short

Abigael Wafula 14:45 - 01.07.2023

Chepng’etich tried breaking the record during last year’s Chicago Marathon but unfortunately missed it by 14 seconds.

Two-time Chicago Marathon champion Ruth Chepng’etich still has her eyes trained on the marathon world record.

Chepng’etich revealed that if all goes well as she heads to the Chicago Marathon, she will once again try to break the record that currently stands at 2:14:04. The record was set by compatriot Brigid Kosgei during the 2019 edition of the same marathon.

Chepng’etich tried breaking the record during last year’s Chicago Marathon but unfortunately missed it by 14 seconds to become the second-fastest female marathoner in the world. She heads back to Chicago this year with the hope of lowering the marathon record time.

“It will depend on my preparations…if I do my training well, there will be nothing impossible for me to do,” she said, adding that her main focus is on the marathon.

She revealed that, however, if she gets invited for another race, preferably a 10km road race, she will go to compete and gauge how her body will be responding.

The first entries for the Chicago Marathon have already been announced and Chepng’etich will be up against Dutch woman Sifan Hassan who made her debut at the London Marathon and went ahead to shock the world by winning it. She has been in impeccable form and she will pose as Chepng’etich’s major threat in the race.

However, Chepng’etich remains unfazed and she noted that whatever she will achieve in the race will be a display of how well she prepared.

“You can’t go into the race with the mindset that you are the best and brag about it…you need to prepare well. If you train smart, God cannot leave you hanging, He will definitely reward you. I am hoping for the best…anything I achieve, I will be grateful,” she said.

The 28-year-old finished second in the 10,000m at the just-concluded National Championships and she noted that the race was a way of preparing her for Chicago berth.

She revealed that after the Istanbul Half Marathon, she took time off and was not fully back into training.

“The race was tough…but I hadn’t trained well in preparation for it since I took some time off after the Istanbul Half Marathon. I tried my best…this one was to just gauge my speed and also preparations for Chicago,” she said.