Vivian Cheruiyot set to hit the road at the Great North Run

What you need to know:

  • It will be interesting to see how the diminutive Cheruiyot, who also won silver in 10,000m at the Rio Olympic Games, will handle her maiden Half Marathon race.
  • Cheruiyot is familiar with road races, having won the Great South Run in Portsmouth last year in 51:17 while Dibaba will be seeking to maintain her form, having won her third Great Manchester Run this year after previous success in 2013 and 2014.

Rio Olympics 5,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot’s shift to road races starts Sunday when she competes at the Great North Run in Newcastle, England.

It will be interesting to see how the diminutive Cheruiyot, who also won silver in 10,000m at the Rio Olympic Games, will handle her maiden Half Marathon race as she takes the battle to former champions Priscah Jeptoo and Tirunesh Dibaba from Ethiopia.

After her exploits at Rio Olympics, Cheruiyot, who celebrates her 33rd birthday on Sunday, hinted that she is looking forward to defending her World 10,000m title in London next year before scaling to marathon.

Cheruiyot is familiar with road races, having won the Great South Run in Portsmouth last year in 51:17 while Dibaba will be seeking to maintain her form, having won her third Great Manchester Run this year after previous success in 2013 and 2014.

“I have heard many good things about the Great North Run so I am glad to be competing in it for the first time,” said Cheruiyot.

“I dreamt of winning an Olympic gold medal and I’ve done it, so now my focus is on the road and with so many great runners there on the day, the Great North Run will be a good test for me.”

Jeptoo, the 2012 London Olympics silver medallist, went for Great North Run top honours in 2013 before another Kenyan Mary Keitany won back-to-back in 2014 and 2015. However, Keitany will not defend her title.

Jeptoo’s return will be of interest, having clocked 65:45 minutes when she reigned supreme at the Great North Run in 2013. It makes the Kenyan the fastest in the race but its left to be known whether they will be able smash the course record time of 1:05:39 set by Keitany in 2014.

STRONG FIELD

Dibaba, who settled for bronze in 10,000m at Rio Olympics after winning gold over the same distance at 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics, claimed victory at the 2012 Great North Run, her first half marathon race.

Dibaba aimed to compete at the 2013 London Marathon, but a shin injury forced her to postpone her debut over the distance.

Dibaba finally made her marathon debut in the 2014 London Marathon where she finished third in a time of 2:20:34, behind Kenyans Edna Kiplagat and Florence Kiplagat.

Other Kenyans in the race are Joyce Chepkirui, 2014 Commonwealth 10,000m champion and Filomena Chepchirchir. They will be joined by locals Susan Partridge, Charlotte Purdue and Freya Ross, while 2014 European Cross Country team gold medallist Lily Partridge will also be aiming to challenge the leading pack.