Can they lower course record?

Kenya's Geoffrey Kipkorir Kirui competes in the men's marathon athletics event at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in central London on August 6, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Michael Steele

It’s a do-or-die battle when the 41st Bank of America Chicago Marathon gets underway on Sunday.

The current forecast in Chicago calls for a high of 56 F and low of 45 F on Sunday —perfect racing temperatures. Eight Kenyans will take on a strong that American defending champion Galen Rupp and Britain’s multiple Olympic champion Mo Farah as well as Ethiopia’s Mosinet Geremew and Birhanu Legese, who are among potential breakout stars. Immediate former world marathon record holder Dennis Kimetto holds the course record at 2:03.45 set in 2013.

Geoffrey Kirui, Abel Kirui, Dickson Chumba and Augustine Choge stand out among the favourites. Geoffrey Kirui has won two World Marathon Majors races —Boston Marathon and London World Championships —and he looks set to win his third majors race.                                                              

Kirui, as he did before Boston this year, split this buildup between his training base in Keringet in Nakuru and Kaptagat in Uasin Gishu, where he trained with Patrick Sang‘s group for three weeks in late August.

“In general, when he’s in Keringet, he [coaches] himself, but when he’s in Kaptagat, he is completely following the schedule of Patrick Sang,” says Kirui’s agent Valentijn Trouw. “But even in Keringet, he is doing more or less the same kind of buildup that the group in Kaptagat is doing.”

Chicago didn’t have pacemakers from 2015-2017, but they brought them back for this year’s race. The question now is whether he can translate his success to a marathon with pacemakers. He’s raced two marathons with pacemakers, finishing third in Rotterdam (2:07:23) and seventh in Amsterdam (2:06:27) in 2016. Clearly, he does well in non-rabbitted marathons, but Rotterdam and Amsterdam were also his first two career marathons. Kirui is at another level now and looks ready to assault his personal best in Chicago.

But Abel Kirui and Dickson Chumba are identical. They are consistent and both have run well in majors. Chumba has three wins and eight straight top-five finishes in majors while Abel Kirui has three wins and five straight top-five finishes in majors and both are former Chicago champs.

Chumba won in 2015 while Abel Kirui won in 2016. The duo carry their impressive shows this season to the start line. Chumba won Tokyo Marathon while Chumba, finished fourth in London Marathon.

The one concern is age. Kirui is 36 while Chumba turns 32 at the end of the month; Chicago will be Kirui’s 22nd marathon and Chumba’s 18th.

But Augustine Choge offers an exciting script. He boasts of brilliant personal bests on the track. He has 1:44.86 (800m), 3:29.47 (1500m), 7:28.00 (3000m), 12:53.66 (5000m) and 59.26 (half marathon. He trains with Abel Kirui and Geoffrey Kirui at Global Sports Communication camp in Kaptagat.

Choge is already the first man in history to break 1:45 in the 800m and 60:00 in the half marathon.

Mo Farah has run two marathons so far in his career and while both were run in London, the races were very different.

Farah was thrown into a tough spot, racing the greatest marathoner in history with the pressure of a nation on his shoulders, but he responded beautifully. Despite going out in a ridiculous 61:00 for his first half and experiencing some trouble grabbing drinks, Farah held on for an impressive 2:06:21 on a warm day during which few men looked comfortable. Farah had spoken beforehand about his commitment to the marathon, that he wasn’t in it just to pick up a few paydays before retiring, and his run in London was proof of that. He was tough and adaptable, two traits that will be important if he is to find consistent success over 26.2 miles.