Above: Tesfaye Girma will be chasing a new personal record
in Ottawa following his performance at the NYC half-marathon.
Source: The Ottawa Race Weekend
May 18, 2011
Ottawa – The Ottawa Marathon is expected to be a battleground for Kenyan and Ethiopian men and women elite athletes.
Running his debut marathon in Ottawa, 23-year-old Dino Sefir Kemal from Ethiopia comes with impressive race credentials, having placed 12th at the 2011 World Cross-Country Championships and running 59:42 in an early May half-marathon in France.
“With this being my debut marathon, I hope that my recent good form shows off and I win the Ottawa Marathon with a very fast time,” says Sefir.
One of his toughest opponents might be fellow countryman Tesfaye Girma, who will be chasing a new personal best after a breakthrough time of 1:00:38 recorded in the New York half-marathon on March 20.
But a large contingent of Kenyans will give the Ethiopians hot competition. Laban Moiben is returning to Ottawa for his third try at first place, having placed second in Ottawa last year with a finish of 2:09:44. Hosea Rotich is also coming, with an impressive 2:07:24 finish in Paris in 2008. Also in contention is 32-year-old Silas Sang, who posted 1:00:38 in a half-marathon in Lisboa, Portugal in March and boasts a 2:11 personal best time in the marathon distance. Hillary Kimaiyo is returning to Ottawa on a hot streak, with a 2:08:17 marathon finish in March in Torreon Mexico. Kimaiyo has run Ottawa twice – in 2007 (placing fifth with 2:11) and 2010 (placing fourth with 2:10:21). After pacing the London marathon, debut marathoner Jairus Chanchima hopes for his own podium finish. He comes to Ottawa with a fast 1:00:31 personal best in the half-marathon set in 2010.
There should also be a strong competition for the Canadian National championships. Twenty-eight-year-old Derek Nakluski comes to Ottawa with an Around the Bay (Hamilton) first place medal to his credit. Lucas McAneney has a solid 2:23 posted in Mississauga in 2010, and up-and-comer Brandon Laan has a marathon personal best time of 2:23 and a recently posted 1:06 in a half-marathon in New York.
“I expect the race will be a toss-up between Kenyan and Ethiopian runners,” says Manny Rodrigues, Elite Athlete Coordinator, Run Ottawa.
A similar battle is being waged among women marathon athletes.
Ethiopian Elfenesh Alemu is a 2:24 marathoner who has had podium finishes at the Boston and Chicago marathons and placed 4th in the Olympics. After laying low last year with injuries, she’s making a strong come-back.
“After missing all of 2010 with some injuries,” says Elfenesh’s agent, Matt McCarron. “Elfenesh came back to take third at Mumbai this year with 2:29:04 and is looking to improve her season’s best at a spring marathon.”
Fellow Ethiopian Kebebush Haile, 25, will give Alemu strong competition, with an impressive finish time of 2:25:31 in Rome in 2010.
“I hope to improve my personal best in Ottawa this year as I have run there before and I know it is a very good and favorable course,” says Haile, who came in third in the 2008 Ottawa Marathon.
Rounding out the Ethiopian contingent is Goitetom Haftu, placing second in this year’s Rome marathon in 2:26:21.
Among the Kenyan athletes who could overtake the Ethiopians is 26-year-old Irene Mogake, who ran 2:30 in Los Angeles two years ago and was the Commonwealth Games silver medalist in 2010.
Canadian women to watch are 28-year-old Emily Kroshus, who ran Philadelphia in 2005 with 2:43:07, and debut marathoner Lanni Marchant, who ran her half-marathon personal best of 1:15:05 in Detroit last year.
The 2011 Ottawa Race Weekend will take place May 28-29, 2011.
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About the Ottawa Race Weekend
The Ottawa Marathon and Ottawa 10K are both designated Silver Label IAAF events by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF). Run Ottawa, the organization behind the Ottawa Race Weekend, is run by a volunteer Board of Directors, and is dedicated to promoting the sport of running and enhancing the health and well-being of our community by organizing distinctive world-class and local races, and managing an active, membership-based running club.
