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Ruth Chepng'etich has her work cut out as she looks to impress at the Bangsaen Half Marathon on Sunday.
Two-time Chicago Marathon champion Ruth Chepng’etich will face a stern test as she gears up for the Bangsaen21 Half Marathon, a World Athletics Platinum Label road race, in the Thai city of Chonburi on Sunday, December 17.
Chepng’etich has enjoyed a great season and she will be keen to end her campaign on a high despite facing formidable opponents.
Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh, a former world record holder, will prove to be the Kenyan’s strongest opposition. Yeshaneh will renew her rivalry with Chepng’etich who broke her half-marathon world record.
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The Ethiopian set a world record of 1:04:31 back in 2020, which Chepng’etich broke with her 1:04:02 clocking in Istanbul one year later.
They have clashed over the half marathon on three occasions, with Yeshaneh coming out on top in two of those races.
Chepng’etich opened her season with a win at the Nagoya Marathon in 2:18:08 and she recently finished second in Chicago in 2:15:37, the seventh-fastest marathon performance in history.
She has claimed podium finishes in two half marathons this year, placing second in Istanbul and third in Buenos Aires.
On her part, Yeshaneh has raced more sparingly and she finished fourth at the Boston Marathon in April before her victory in Buenos Aires four months later.
Sheila Chepkirui will also be in the mix and is motivated to perform well after her second-place finish in Berlin in September in 2:17:49. Another athlete to watch will be Degitu Azimeraw who will return to racing on Sunday.
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Given the quality of the field, the course record of 1:07:45 set last year by Kenya’s Hellen Obiri looks to be in danger, should the conditions be kind.
Meanwhile, the men’s race will pit Ethiopia’s Seifu Tura, the 2021 Chicago Marathon champion, leads the men’s field against very formidable field.
Tura, 26, boasts a PB of 58:36, and is an accomplished performer over the full distance. He has a marathon best of 2:04:29 and recently finished fifth at the Chicago Marathon two months ago in 2:05:29.
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Nobert Kipkoech Kigen is another sub-60-minute performer who clocked 59:42 back in 2016, then set a marathon PB of 2:05:13 one year later. However, he hasn’t raced since the 2022 Amsterdam Marathon, where he finished seventh in 2:05:32.
Amos Kipruto is more accomplished at the full marathon distance than the half, having earned bronze over the classic distance at the 2019 World Championships.
In recent years he has reduced his PB to 2:03:30 in Valencia in 2020 and then to 2:03:13 in Tokyo last year, suggesting his half marathon PB of 1:00:24 is due for serious revision.
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