Nairobi — Marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge will be chasing another piece of history on Monday evening when he lines up on the streets of Boston, seeking to win his fifth major marathon, in his chase for a historic sweep of all the six majors in the world.
Kipchoge, arguably the greatest ever marathoner in the world, has already won four. He has won London four times, Berlin three times including two world records, Chicago and Tokyo and now has Boston and New York to go.
He will line up in Boston, the chase of history on his shoulders and the whole world watching with bated breathe as the Olympic Champion tries to conquer the hills of Boston.
Here is what you should know before the race.
What is special about Boston?
Boston is the oldest marathon in the world and is run without pacemakers. What makes it even more difficult is the course, which is mostly made up of hilly terrain.
What time does the race start?
The race guns off at 9:37am ET, which is 4:37pm East African Time. It will start almost half an hour plus after the wheelchair men and women’s race as well as the handcycle events.
In Kenya, you can watch the race on the SuperSport Athletics channels, while the Boston Marathon website has provided a live result stream where you can keep track of the splits and the leaderboard.
What has Eliud said?
Kipchoge is a man of focus and one who doesn’t say much when he has his full concentration on. But he says, Boston will be special not only because he will be chasing history there, but also because of the 10th anniversary of the 2013 bombing.
“I want to be there with the people when they commemorate this anniversary. I want to be there to show the world that sports brings people together and enhances peace. I want to be together with them at this time,” he told Capital Sport.
On his preparation for the race, Kipchoge says he is ready to run a beautiful race.
“I have prepared well for this and I trust in my methods. This race will be won by whoever prepares and plans better. I just want to run a beautiful race and win,” Kipchoge said.
On the competition expected?
“This will be a very tough race because there are many former champions. I don’t expect an easy outing but I will be there to compete and compete well.”
Who are competing?
Defending champion Evans Chebet will be the other highlight athlete, with of course, all eyes now on Eliud. The Kenyan won last year’s race in 2:06:51 and then went on to win in New York later in the year.
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Benson Kipruto, the 2021 winner will also be competing. Kipruto also won the 2022 Chicago Marathon.
Other Kenyans in the race will include John, Albert and Mark Korir as well as Augustine Choge, who is Kipchoge’s training partner in Kaptagat.
The Ethiopian contingent will be led by two-time Boston champion Lelisa Desisa, who is also a former world champion. Desisa won the Boston title in 2013 and 2015 and New York in 2018 before winning the worlds in 2019.
He has also finished twice in Boston in 2016 and 2019 and also has a pair of bronze medals from New York.
Shura Kitata, the 2020 London Marathon champion, is also in the race. Kitata has beaten Eliud once before, in London 2020, when the world record holder developed an ear problem towards the end of the race and managed an eighth place finish.
Benson Kipruto also competed in that race and finished sixth.
Eritrean Ghirmay Ghebreslassie, the 2015 world champion is also in the race and is one to watch out for as well.
Can Kipchoge break any record?
His world record of 2:01:09 might be a far reach for Boston especially because of its terrain and the fact that it doesn’t have pace setters.
However, he might try a hand at the Course Record which stands at 2:03:02, set by compatriot Geffrey Mutai in 2011.
