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The race comes only four weeks after their last meeting at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia, where Cheptegei saw Kiplimo claim his title as he settled for Bronze.
Compatriots Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo’s ‘friendly rivalry’ attracts new fame with every race that they come up against each other.
On Sunday, the two great friends will once again return to their more familiar roles as rivals when they take on the 21-kilometres of the New York Half marathon.
The race will be the first time either of the two great Ugandan athletes compete on the roads in New York, and the second time they race each other over a half marathon.
Cheptegei is the more accomplished athlete of the two, currently holding both the Olympic and World Athletics 10,000m titles as well as the 5000m and 10000m world records.
But over the half marathon, Kiplimo is more nifty when it comes to road races, specifically the half marathon as he holds both the world half marathon title and the world half marathon record.
And Cheptegei insists he is ‘absolutely; looking ahead to race against Kiplimo in what seems to be his more natural habitat.
“I am absolutely looking forward to racing against him, and I would really give everything to win,” he told Race Results Weekly, adding; “But you never know what goes in the race.”
“There's so much running history in New York, and the city has seen so many champions battling it out in iconic races. I want to add to that history.”
“I’m very excited for my first race in New York City,” said Cheptegei, who will be contesting the second half marathon of his career after his 59:21 run in Gdynia which Kiplimo won.
The race comes only four weeks after their last meeting at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia, where Cheptegei saw Kiplimo claim his title as he settled for Bronze.
But Cheptegei, who seemed not to be fully fit, said he had recovered well since the race at Mount Panorama and picked up some additional fitness.
“I think I had a lot of time to recover,” he said. “I had to continue with my training because I was sure that I was actually going to be invited for the New York Half-Marathon.”
“Everything has been going along well. My shape is actually better than cross country so I hope that I can run a good half-marathon.”
The race is set in the city’s residential neighbourhoods, with the course going from Prospect Park in Brooklyn to Central Park in Manhattan.
The opening nine kilometres feature several significant hills, including a steep climb up the Manhattan Bridge where the runners cross from Brooklyn to Manhattan, but Cheptegei is not worried about the course.
“They haven’t told me so many things about the course,” Cheptegei said. “They told me about the New York full marathon course, where the race is mostly decided, especially on the climb.”
He continued: “About Sunday, I am really excited to run my second half-marathon. I’ve really thought about it, and maybe in the future when I go to marathons maybe New York can be my final destination.”
Up to 25000 runners are expected to take part in the race 2017 Chicago Marathon winner Galen Rupp and his compatriot Teshome Mekonen, Kenya’s Kennedy Kimutai and Edward Cheserek, and Morocco’s Mourad Maroufit also expected to bring the challenge to the Ugandans.
In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi returns to defend her title against USA’s three-time winner Molly Huddle and Kenya’s two-time world 5000m champion Hellen Obiri.
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