Cheyech, Chepkirui for Amsterdam marathon

Commonwealth Games Marathon Champion Flomena Cheyech during her homecoming ceremony at Naiberi in Uasin Gishu County on July 31, 2014. Cheyech and Joyce Chepkirui have lined up for the this year’s Amsterdam Marathon due October 18 in the Netherlands. FILE PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Cheyech, who won the Commonwealth title in 2 hours, 26 minutes and 45 seconds last year, has personal best of 2:22.44, set when winning the Paris Marathon last year.
  • Chepkirui won the high quality Dam tot Dam 10 mile road race in and around Amsterdam last month, running a personal best of 51:30, and this suggest she might be ready to make a big improvement over the marathon distance.

Commonwealth Games champions Flomena Cheyech (marathon) and Joyce Chepkirui (10,000m) have lined up for the this year’s Amsterdam Marathon due October 18 in the Netherlands.

Cheyech, who won the Commonwealth title in 2 hours, 26 minutes and 45 seconds last year, has personal best of 2:22.44, set when winning the Paris Marathon last year.

Chepkirui, who went on to win the Africa 10,000m title after her Commonwealth exploit, is yet to impress in marathon despite her credentials on the track.

Chepkirui’s best over the distance stands at a relatively modest 2:29.07, when finishing 10th in Boston this year.

Chepkirui won the high quality Dam tot Dam 10 mile road race in and around Amsterdam last month, running a personal best of 51:30, and this suggest she might be ready to make a big improvement over the marathon distance.

"This is the first time I will be running the Amsterdam Marathon. I'm in good shape now and expect to run a personal record. A time under 2.25 is possible, perhaps even 2.21," said the ambitious Chepkirui.

Cheyech and Chepkirui come up against the 2011 Amsterdam Marathon winner, Ethiopia’s Olympic marathon champion Tiki Gelana among others.

Cheyech and Gelana faced-off at Tokyo Marathon on Februarys 22, this year where the Olympic champion finished third in 2:24:26 against Cheyech’s fifth place in 2:26:54. Ethiopian Birhane Dibaba won 2:23:15.

Six other Kenyan women have won in Amsterdam; Lorna Kiplagat (1999), Rose Cheruiyot (2006), Magdaline Chemjor (2007), Lydia Cheromei (2008), Alice Timbilil (2010) and Valentine Kipketer (2013).

Gelana, 27, hasn’t won a marathon since her victory in London three years ago but showed signs that the injury problems of 2013 and 2014 are now behind her when she clocked 2:24:26 for third place at the Tokyo Marathon in February, her fastest outing since her Olympic triumph.

Gelana’s national record of 2:18:58 from the 2012 Rotterdam Marathon makes her the fastest in the women’s elite field and, whether coincidentally or not, has always run well in the Netherlands, setting several personal bests over shorter distances in Dutch road races.

She also won the Amsterdam Marathon back in 2011, setting what was then a personal best and course record of 2:22:08, so Gelana has some familiarity with the race itself and knows fast times can emerge if there are favourable weather conditions.

Two places behind Gelana in the Japanese capital at the start of this year was Kenya’s 2014 Commonwealth Games winner Filomena Cheyech, and the latter will also be on the start line in Amsterdam.