KING Haile scours

By CHRIS MUSUMBA and IAAF

Marathon legendary Haile Gebrselassie will lead a group of elite runners in today’s Tokyo Marathon eyeing to kill two birds with one stone.

Gebrselassie will be eying to improve his personal best time of 2:03.59 as he attempts to set another world record in the 42km race. He is also eying to run a faster time under the two hours and four minutes mark so that he can make the Ethiopian team for the Olympics, in London.

Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia will run in Tokyo marathon today. [PHOTO:FILE/STANDARD]

With weather conditions predicted to be near-perfect Gebrselassie faces another chance to prove to the world that he is not over the cliff after he failed to finish in the last two marathons.

Gebrselassie withdraw last year from the race due to injury. He needs to record a very fast time in Tokyo as three Ethiopians cracked 2:05 in January’s Dubai Marathon.

When asked why he keeps on running, Gebrselassie answered, "I eat, sleep and run. It is part of my life. I will someday stop competing, but I will not stop running." He also said: "In 10,000m, you compete against other runners, but at the Marathon you compete against the distance."

That was quite an appropriate comment considering the fact that he has dropped out of his last two marathons –Berlin and 2010 New York City. Now the question is if he is ready to recapture his form from early 2010 when he ran 2:06?

Pacemaker requirement

The race pace set by the pacemaker, at this time, will be three minutes per kilometre, which translates to 2:06:35. Even if he ran 2:05 pace on Sunday, it’s unlikely that Gebrselassie would be running alone in front, as three other sub-2:07 runners along with three more sub-2:08 runners are in the field on Sunday.

The second fastest in the field is Kenyan Jafred Kipchumba, who improved his best by more than two minutes to 2:05:48 in Eindhoven last October. He seemed to be on a roll, for Kipchumba has improved his Marathon best in three-consecutive races since April of 2010.

Michael Kipyego also recorded his marathon personal best in Eindhoven, his last Marathon before Tokyo, his 2:06:48 more than four minutes better than his debut. A former Steeplechase specialist with an 8:08.48 best, Kipyego is a brother of Sally Kipyego, who won silver at 10,000m in the World Championships in Daegu.

Gilbert Kirwa also has a sub-2:07 personal best, however, his 2:06:14 was recorded back in 2009. Since he has not even cracked 2:14 in the two marathons he’s run since March of 2010, Tokyo will be a race of redemption for Kirwa.

Three 2:07 runners in the field are Steven Kiprotich (UGA) and two former champions – 2008 champion Viktor Rothlin and the defending champion Hailu Mekonnen. Mekonnen has improved his Marathon best in every race since his debut at the 2010 Barcelona Marathon – from 2:12:36 in Barcelona to 2:07:35 in Tokyo last year.

Twenty-two year old Kiprotich may be the most promising young runner in the field, for he ran 2:07:20 in his debut. In his second Marathon Kiprotich was ninth in the 2011 World Championships.

The women’s field is not weak and since the women’s course record is a relatively modest 2:25:38, the record is likely to become history by noon Sunday. Helena Kirop with 2:23:37 is the fastest in the field, but two 2:24 runners from Ethiopia - Atsede Habtamu and Eyerusalem Kuma - are likely to challenge her.