AT LONDON MARATHON, ATHLETES SAY WINNING TRUMPS FAST TIMES
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2015 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - Used with permission.

LONDON (23-Apr) -- While organizers hope for a fast pace for Sunday's 35th Virgin Money London Marathon here, the top men who are running said that crossing the event's magnificent finish line on The Mall first was a more important goal than running a fast time.

Nonetheless, the top six entrants (all from Kenya), said that fans would likely see a fast time anyway based on both the strength of the field and pacemakers who have been assigned to cover the first half of the course in a swift 61:45.

Wilson Kipsang, the defending champion who ran an event record 2:04:29 last year, said in a press conference today that he is focused on winning.

"My main aim on Sunday is not really the world record, but maintaining the title, the defense, and running a great time," said Kipsang, who also won last November's TCS New York City Marathon.  He continued: "I think for me with this kind of field it will be a fast race, but more tactical. We can try to keep the pace and try to see what the guys are after."

London's course, which organizers describe in their official media guide as "relatively flat and fast," is not as fast as the courses in Berlin, Chicago or Rotterdam which have almost no elevation changes and mostly gentle turns.  The London race, which begins in Blackheath and ends adjacent to St. James's Park, has a sharply downhill first 5 kilometers (approximately 30 meters of elevation loss), then undulates between sea level and about 15 meters for the remainder of the course.  There are some sharp turns, mostly between 25 and 35 kilometers.

Kipsang, who won the Olympic Marathon bronze medal here in 2012 on a different course, runs equally well in paced races like London and Berlin (he set the since-broken world record of 2:03:23 in Berlin in 2013), or championship-style races like New York and the Olympics which don't utilize pacemakers.  He likes the way London organizers combine a deep field with pacemaking and said it's a winning formula for creating a compelling race for fans.

"Yeah, for me I think sometimes it's more interesting to have guys like this racing in the same race," Kipsang said, looking at compatriots Dennis Kimetto (2:02:57 PB/WR), Geoffrey Mutai (2:03:02), Emmanuel Mutai (2:03:13), Eliud Kipchoge (2:04:05), and Stanley Biwott (2:04:55) who are also running here on Sunday.  He continued: "When we are together, people can really see the potential for the athletes, and it's much more easy (to see). For this kind of field, there is high potential for more guys to come to the finish line (together). There are high chances for us to run a fast time."

Emmanuel Mutai, the former London course record holder who won here in 2011, said he did special preparation for London under coach Patrick Sang, a race he's run seven times before.  He's finished on the podium here three times and has never finished lower than seventh.

"For me the training has been good," Mutai told reporters.  He continued: "The way you prepare yourself will determine how you do on Sunday. With that pace, I'm so comfortable.  For me I'm really ready for it."

Eliud Kipchoge, one of Mutai's training partners, will be running London for the first time.  His marathon résumé is short, but excellent.  Starting with his debut in Hamburg in 2013, Kipchoge has run 2:05:30 or faster in each of his four marathons, and won all but one of them.  The 2003 IAAF World Championships 5000m gold medalist was ranked the #1 marathoner in the world last year by Track & Field News.

"It has been a good transition for me," said Kipchoge, referring to his move from cross country and track racing to the marathon in 2013.  He added: "I've enjoyed the training for marathon. I'm more happy in marathon than in track."

Although he's never run on the London course, Kipchoge sees this as a potential advantage.

"I think that's a big advantage," he postulated.  "I hope I will enjoy it.  I know I have a good coach and a good training program."

London's field is so strong, that one member of the media commented today that it was a de facto world championships.  Kipsang thought it was maybe too good.

"I can see if it could be a world championships," he said looking at his peers with feigned disbelief, "this is enough."


PHOTO: Wilson Kipsang (l) and Dennis Kimetto, the last and current world record holders in the marathon, pose for a photo in advance of Sunday's Virgin Money London Marathon (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)

ENDS