Defending champions Yuki Kawauchi and Des Linden head a stacked elite field for the 123rd edition of the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15.

Japan’s Kawauchi and USA’s Linden were the surprise 2018 winners as they battled through the rain and blustery winds while many of the favourites faltered in the far from ideal racing conditions.

Kawauchi leads a formidable men’s field that includes 15 men who have run sub 2:08 marathons. Joining the Japanese star for Monday’s race are former Boston champions Geoffrey Kirui of Kenya, Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia, Lemi Berhanu of Ethiopia and 2012 winner Wesley Korir of Kenya.

Among those chasing the former champions are 2:04 marathoners Lawrence Cherono of Kenya, a two-time Amsterdam champion, and Ethiopians Sisay Lemma and Solomon Deksisa. The Japanese pair of Hiroto Inoue and Hayato Sonoda also race.

From Eritrea, 2015 World Championships marathon gold medalist and 2016 New York City champion Ghirmay Ghebreslassie will be in contention as will countryman Zersenay Tadese, a former world record holder in the half marathon.

American athletes include third place finisher last year, Shadrack Biwott, Olympians Dathan Ritzenhein, Abdi Abdirahman, and Jared Ward, as well as Jeffery Eggleston, Elkanah Kibet, Timothy Ritchie, Scott Fauble, Aaron Braun and Brian Shrader.

Among those making their Boston debuts are Rotterdam winner Kenneth Kipkemoi of Kenya, compatriot Benson Kipruto and Beirut winner Mohamed Reda El Aaraby of Morocco.

Also joining the field is British Olympian Scott Overall, who has a best of 2:10:55 from 2011, and 2:06 Kenyan marathoners Felix Kandie, Festus Talam and Philemon Rono.

In the women’s elite race, organisers have assembled an star field that includes 15 athletes who have run inside 2:25, 11 of whom have personal best times under 2:23:00.

Photo: Boston Marathon

Leading the way is 2018 winner Linden, 2017 Boston champion Edna Kiplagat of Kenya, 2015 Boston winner Caroline Rotich of Kenya and 2012 Boston champion Sharon Cherop of Kenya.

Challenging the Boston champions are 2:19 Ethiopian marathoners Aselefech Mergia, Mare Dibaba and Worknesh Degefa.

Last year’s second and third place finishers, Sarah Sellers of the United States and Krista DuChene of Canada return. American athletes also set to race in Boston include Jordan Hasay, third in 2017, Sara Hall, Lindsay Flanagan, Becky Wade, Sarah Crouch and Sally Kipyego.

Photo: Chicago Marathon

Joining them will be a trio of sub 2:23 Ethiopians: Meskerem Assefa, Belaynesh Oljira and Marta Megra.

Olympian Aly Dixon, who ran her best of 2:29:06 in London two years ago, leads the British hopes in Boston, while Ireland’s Fionnuala McCormack makes her return to the marathon looking to improve on her 2:31:22 best from the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Full elite men’s field

Full elite women’s field

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The post Boston Marathon: Yuki Kawauchi and Des Linden ready to defend crowns appeared first on Fast Running.

Organisers have announced the complete elite fields for the 123rd edition of the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15.

Nine Boston Marathon champions and seven Boston Marathon wheelchair champions will challenge their respective fields.

Desiree Linden and Yuki Kawauchi were the surprise 2018 winners as they battled through the rain and blustery winds while many of the favourites faltered in the far from ideal racing conditions.

The duo will return to defend their crowns to lead a combined field that has won more than 200 international marathons and includes Olympic and Paralympic medalists, World Championships Marathon medalists and Abbott World Marathon Majors champions.

Yuki Kawauchi heads men’s field

Leading a formidable field of 29 elite men are: 2018 Boston winner Yuki Kawauchi of Japan; 2017 Boston and 2017 IAAF World Marathon Champion Geoffrey Kirui of Kenya; two-time Boston champion and 2018 New York City Marathon champion Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia; 2016 Boston victor Lemi Berhanu of Ethiopia; and 2012 Boston champion Wesley Korir of Kenya.

Chasing the champions are 2:04 marathoners Lawrence Cherono of Kenya, a two-time Amsterdam, two-time Honolulu, Seville and Prague champion; Sisay Lemma of Ethiopia, winner of Carpi, Warsaw, Vienna, Frankfurt and Ljubljana; and Solomon Deksisa of Ethiopia, winner of Mumbai and Hamburg.

The Japanese pair of Hiroto Inoue and Hayato Sonoda also join the team. Inoue won the 2018 Asian Games Marathon and Sonoda was runner up in Beppu-Oita last year.

From Eritrea, 2015 World Championships Marathon gold medalist and 2016 New York City champion Ghirmay Ghebreslassie will be in contention as will countryman Zersenay Tadese, a four-time Olympian, former world record holder in the half marathon and winner of six World Championships titles.

The previously announced American athletes include third place finisher last year, Shadrack Biwott; Olympians Dathan Ritzenhein, Abdi Abdirahman, and Jared Ward; as well as Jeffery Eggleston, Elkanah Kibet, Timothy Ritchie, Scott Fauble, Aaron Braun and Brian Shrader.

Among those making their Boston debuts are several men who ran their personal best times in 2018: Rotterdam winner Kenneth Kipkemoi of Kenya; two-time Toronto champion Benson Kipruto of Kenya; and Beirut winner Mohamed Reda El Aaraby of Morocco.

Also joining the international field is British Olympian Scott Overall and 2:06 Kenyan marathoners Felix Kandie, the Athens and Prague champion; Festus Talam, a two-time Eindhoven winner; and Philemon Rono, a two-time Toronto champion.

11 sub 2:23 women set for Boston

On the women’s elite team, John Hancock has assembled an accomplished field of 22 elite athletes, 11 of whom have personal best times under 2:23:00.

Leading the way is 2018 winner Desiree Linden of the United States; two-time World Championships Marathon gold medalist, three-time Abbott World Marathon Majors series winner and 2017 Boston champion Edna Kiplagat of Kenya; 2015 Boston, Prague and Las Vegas winner Caroline Rotich of Kenya; and 2012 Boston, Hamburg, Toronto, Torino and Singapore winner Sharon Cherop of Kenya.

Challenging the Boston champions are 2:19 Ethiopian marathoners Aselefech Mergia, a London champion and three-time winner of Dubai; Mare Dibaba, the 2015 World Championships Marathon gold medalist, 2016 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist, Chicago Marathon champion, Beijing and two-time Xiamen winner; and Worknesh Degefa, a Dubai champion.

Last year’s second and third place finishers, Sarah Sellers of the United States and Krista DuChene of Canada return to improve their positions. They join Olympic and World Championships silver medalist in the 10,000m, Sally Kipyego of the United States; and previously announced U.S. elites: Jordan Hasay, third at Boston in 2017; Sara Hall, 2017 national champion; Lindsay Flanagan; Becky Wade; and Sarah Crouch.

Photo: Chicago Marathon

Joining them will be a trio of Ethiopians: two-time Olympian Meskerem Assefa, winner of Rotterdam and Frankfurt; Olympian Belaynesh Oljira, 2015 World Championships 10,000m bronze medalist; and Marta Megra, a Toronto champion.

Rounding out the field and new to the Boston course are Olympian Betsy Saina of Kenya, a Paris champion; Olympian Eva Vrabcova of the Czech Republic, the bronze medalist in the 2018 European Marathon Championships; Olympian Aly Dixon of Great Britain; and making her marathon debut is Mary Wacera of Kenya, the World Championships Half Marathon silver medalist in 2014 and bronze medalist in 2016.

Wheelchair fields

In the men’s wheelchair race, defending champion Marcel Hug of Switzerland looks to earn his fifth wheelchair title and is part of a stellar international field featuring 10-time winner Ernst van Dyk of South Africa.

Joining Hug and van Dyk are fellow Boston winners Masazumi Soejima and Hiroyuki Yamamoto (both from Japan) as well as former course record holder Joshua Cassidy (Canada). British stars David Weir and Johnboy Smith; Japan’s Hiroki Nishida, Ryota Yoshida, and Kota Hokinoue; Canada’s Tristan Smyth; and Ireland’s Patrick Monahan round out the international men’s field.

American men’s contenders Daniel Romanchuk, Joshua George, Aaron Pike, James Senbeta, Krige Schabort, and Brian Siemann are all entered as well. Romanchuk won the 2018 New York City and Chicago Marathons.

Manuela Schar of Switzerland returns to the scene of her course record and world best performance in the women’s wheelchair race.

Schar timed a blistering 1:28:17 from Hopkinton to Boston in 2017, becoming the first woman ever to dip under the 1:30 barrier in Boston. She’ll be joined on the starting line by compatriot Sandra Graf; Madison De Rozario and Eliza Ault-Connell of Australia; Margriet Van Den Broek of the Netherlands; Diane Roy of Canada; and Aline de Rocha of Brazil.

Five-time winner and defending champion Tatyana McFadden fronts the American charge, leading Susannah Scaroni, Amanda McGrory, Arielle Rausin, Katrina Gerhard, and Michelle Wheeler.

Full elite men’s field

Full elite women’s field

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Japan’s Yuki Kawauchi is to race the 41st Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 7, organisers have announced.

Kawauchi, who made headlines around the world when he won the Boston Marathon in April, will also be joined by compatriot Suguru Osako, who competed at the 2016 Olympics. Both athletes will have an eye on becoming the first Chicago Marathon champion from Japan since Toshihiko Seko in 1986.

“The announcement of Kawauchi and Osako follows last week’s news of British marathon record holder Farah’s participation, and Chicago’s defending champion Rupp in May.

Before becoming the 2018 Boston Marathon champion amidst freezing temperatures and pouring rain (where he said: ““for me, these are the best conditions possible””), Kawauchi gained global renown for his prolific racing schedule.

He holds the record for the most marathons run under 2:20 (79), he boasts a PR of 2:08:14, he has won more than 30 career marathons and he finished 12 marathons in 2017 alone.

He has raced more than 20 times in 2018, including running the Kuki Half Marathon dressed in a panda suit and setting a course record at the Yatsugatake Nobeyama 71K ultramarathon in May (he won by 30 minutes).

Kawauchi, often referred to as a “citizen runner,” “rebel government clerk” and “emperor of pain,” fits his training and racing in around his full-time job as a government employee, bucking a national trend where most elite runners compete full time on corporate teams. However, following his win at the Boston Marathon, he announced plans to become a professional athlete in spring of 2019, but would stay in his job until then.

RELATED: Why you should love Yuki Kawauchi

To track Kawauchi’s racing schedule, Brett Larner of Japan Running News dedicates a page of his blog to Kawauchi called “The Kawauchi Counter.”

Kawauchi thundered onto the global stage when he placed third at the 2011 Tokyo Marathon. He explained his marathon tactics in a post-race interview this way: ““Every time I run, it’s with the mindset that if I die at this race, it’’s ok.””

Compatriot Osako, based in Portland, OR., will be joining Kawauchi in Grant Park on October 7. Osako is a 2016 Olympian and the Japanese record holder in the 3000m and 5000m.

He competed in the 5000m and 10,000m in Rio after winning both events at Japan’s national championships. He made his marathon debut at the 2017 Boston Marathon, landing on the podium in third in 2:10:28.

At the time, he was the first Japanese man to finish among the top three since Seko won Boston in 1987. He closed out 2017 with an impressive personal best and third place finish at the Fukuoka Marathon, 2:07:19.

Osako hopes to secure an additional bonus in Chicago by breaking the Japanese national record (2:06:11). If he manages that feat, the Japanese Corporate Track and Field Federation will pay him a 100-million-yen bonus (nearly one million U.S. dollars).

““I want to try to break the national record, but the most important thing to me is to be competitive with the other runners,”” said Osako. ““I’’m really excited and proud to run with Mo and Galen. I’m going to enjoy the challenge.””

Japan has a long history of producing some of the world’s best marathon runners, stretching back to the post-war era of the 1940s and 1950s. Japan dominated the global scene in the 1960s (in 1966 alone, 15 of the top 17 marathon times belonged to Japanese runners). As Tokyo looks ahead to hosting the 2020 Olympics, it hopes to see its marathon runners – like Osako – back in the medal count.

Kawauchi and Osako will be joined by strong field of Japanese athletes at the front of the 2018 field including: Ryo Kiname, Chihiro Miyawaki, Tsukasa Koyama, Taku Fujimoto and Yohei Suzuki.

The post Yuki Kawauchi to run Chicago Marathon appeared first on Fast Running.

The 2018 Boston Marathon will go down in history as one of the greatest ever. The reason? It wasn’t about times. Was London Marathon, despite all the hype, just as good? The heat certainly made it more interesting.

Everyone is now obsessed with times and we very rarely get to see any of best athletes really racing one another. In a world with so much data, numbers are becoming the be all and end all. Projects like Breaking2 and races set up with pacers for record attempts and PBs just fail to provide the drama.

When watching a football match when is the most exciting moment? It’s the final 10 minutes of a close game that gets everyone’s heart pumping. A 6-0 drubbing may look good on Match of the Day, but for the live atmosphere, it’s all about the last minute goalmouth scramble.

Why do everyday fans love Mo Farah? It’s certainly not the Quorn adverts, but his ability to win races with an almighty kick. The tactics of Mo Farah in a 5000m or 10,000m track race had entire stadiums on their feet, waiting for the moment when the multiple Olympic gold medal winner would surge to the front.

In today’s world, athletics and marathon running needs to work increasingly hard to avoid being made redundant by E-Sports Championships, so what can be done to make it more exciting to Joe and Joanna Public? Racing should surely be key.

For the sport to remain in good health it needs to be popular to the masses, not just us athletics geeks. How do we get stadiums filled and on their feet cheering? The 100m is a crowd puller because of the suspense, the short time and the unknown. Even in a Usain Bolt ‘time trial’ when he set the world records, the Jamaican had a slow (ish) start. It was always a race.

Both the 2018 Boston Marathon and Commonwealth Games marathon were awesome races. One in blistering heat, the other in wild, wintery weather. Yet it was something they both had in common that will see them live on in the memories of fans. It wasn’t about the times.

Callum Hawkin’s two-minute lead in the closing stages was like going into stoppage time 2-0 and then suddenly losing 3-2. It was distressing to watch, but it was drama. Robbie Simpson was a goalie charging up the pitch to head home a late winner.

Boston was even more exciting. Yuki Kawauchi and Des Linden were the lower division teams up against Premier League opposition in the FA Cup. An early surge from Yuki was met with mockery from the commentators. Yet when both athletes managed to cross the finish line first it made the Boston Marathon magical. Everyone loves an underdog and that race had so many.

Linden held back early on to help compatriot Shalane Flanagan rejoin the lead pack, Geoffrey Kurui made a decisive move and had an ‘unassailable’ lead in the Newton Hills. No one had read the script apparently.

It’s not just the drama on the day either, but the tidal wave effect on social media and the news. Suddenly the world is interested in our sport.

It’s why cross country racing is so enjoyable to watch on TV (when it’s on). Watching Callum Hawkins take on the world at the Edinburgh Cross in 2017 had me shouting at the screen, cheering and willing him to victory.

It wasn’t to be that day, but the world stopped (for me at least) during that race.

So how do we use this?

Well, global warming is creating wilder and more extreme weather so maybe we should stop recycling? Hurricanes during Spring marathon season might see viewing figures go through the roof and imagine the carnage that would do at the front end of the race?

Disregarding our duty to future generations aside, what about adding a few more hills into some of our marathons? Yes, the times would get slower, but the racing would increase.

A marathon PB is what a lot of people are after, but still, Boston is oversubscribed. It might make marathons times less comparable, but certainly, the wider appeal might grow if you chucked in a couple of hills.

What about just doing away with the clock for the leaders? Forget about a lead car with a clock and stop anyone wearing watches. Runners can still go fast and have a good idea of pace, but it might lower our obsession with quick times rather than good racing?

Most major marathons have pacemakers for the lead groups too. What would happen if we removed this element? Without pacemakers the racing is certainly more enjoyable.

If runners all of a sudden had to be tactical from the start, the times would slow for sure, but larger packs might make it to halfway together and the chances of an upset would increase.

In the end, watching Mary Keitany and Tirunesh Dibaba follow pacemakers in London wasn’t the most exciting. It was when Vivian Cheruiyot started to draw them in that the implosion happened. That was racing, not pacing.

When Paula’s record was no longer a viable target in London, Keitany just ended up having two blokes helping her win the race (which still wasn’t enough). That’s surely an unfair advantage in that situation, given that one of the men was the Kenyan’s training partner too.

Without pacemakers who will hit the front out of Kipchoge, Bekele, Farah and Wanjiru? Might others surge and keep everything exciting? Could an underdog hang on at a slower pace and then sprint for the line?

Ultimately it’s about the longevity of the competitive end of running. The public start to become disillusioned and uninterested in the front runners because the story isn’t there. A great race has a storyline.

Look at Dave Wottle in the 1972 Olympic 800m, charging for the line from the back of the field. Kenya versus Ethiopia in Tergat and Gebrselassie. Joan Benoit and Grete Waitz both changing the face of women’s marathoning and then racing at the 1984 Olympics. Anyone of the Cram, Ovett and Coe battles, when they were allowed to race.

Good races have a beginning, a middle and an exciting end

There were rivalries that lasted beyond a single race and the public loved it. Who are our rivals now? No one can stand the pace with Kipchoge, but would that change without pacemakers? It’s not like we need the boxing pantomime of Tyson Fury, but good rivalry brings in fans too.

Would a Twitter spat between Kenya’s best and their Ethiopian rivals get people interested? Would Galen Rupp trash talking Mo Farah after he bettered his 2:06 marathon create some USA and UK rivalry.

Nike and Adidas fighting for the first sub two-hour marathon has everyone listening, but imagine if Hoka One One shoes started appearing on feet at the front of the marathon, could this ignite popularity through a rivalry too?

We don’t want to make athletics or marathoning a circus, but could a small thing, like removing pacemakers or, dare I say it, resetting world records as previously suggested, raise excitement levels?

If we do nothing then we’ll all be watching drone races in 10 years time.

The post Out with the pacing and let’s see some racing appeared first on Fast Running.

Both champions fought the coldest start to the Patriots Day marathon in years, along with the winds and downpour of rain, and while Linden will rightly gain widespread adulation as the first American female winner in 33 years, Kawauchi equally made history as the first Japanese champion since 1987.

That’s not it all though. And while today was “by far the best day” of his life, Kawauchi’s story and list of achievements didn’t start on 16th April 2018.

Here’s what you should know about the marathon cult hero.

Kawauchi is a world record holder, holding the record for the most sub 2:20 marathons ever completed. His 2018 Boston Marathon victory in 2:15:58 brings his tally up to 79.

Most club marathoners would chop their arm off for just one of those.

The citizen runner

In Japan, Kawauchi is known as the ‘citizen runner’ as he refuses to run professionally. He works full-time in a government job and pays for training and racing out of his own pocket.

In a nation that has a huge amount of professional athletes running Ekidens (Japanese relay races) for businesses like Honda and Toyota, the ‘citizen runner’ wants to retain the freedom running gives him.

UPDATE: Shortly after the Boston Marathon, Kawauchi announced he hopes to turn professional in 2019

He has no coach, no training groups. He does it all his own way and with a smile.

The 31-year-old has a personal best of 2:08:14, at the Seoul International Marathon in 2013 and he has run 25 marathons under 2:12.

He has also represented Japan at a World Championships and has a 62:18 half marathon PB. For a ‘part-time runner’, those times are legit.

Suits you sir

It’s not just the multitude of marathons that places the Japanese runner in the public’s heart, it’s the joker within him too.

Setting records for the fastest half marathon in a business suit, a play on his ‘citizen runner’ title – it’s brilliant to see such a character at the front of an event, alongside professional athletes in shorts and singlets.

Earlier this year, Kawauchi also ran his hometown half marathon in a Panda suit, just because he wanted to, and yet finished second in 70:03.

That’s another reason to love this guy.

住宅街をパンダのコスプレで走る川内優輝選手来週はどうするだろう#久喜マラソン pic.twitter.com/iqoXrxWNFP

— 幸手人 (@ap745301) March 25, 2018

He’s also a pure racer and he runs hard. It’s probably why he was able to win in Boston, while so many big names decided a bit of rain was too much for them and dropped out.

Men’s dnf rate worse than women- pic.twitter.com/oBGUWIqruI

— Jon Brown (@jon_brown_) April 16, 2018

Boston aside, highlights already this year include racing a 20km Ekiden in January solo, beating all 103 teams of six.

At the Heisei Kokusai University Time Trials, he ran three separate heats of the 5000m, with times of 14:53.96, 14:36.58 and 14:37.78.

In a few days time, the Boston winner will be back in the office, just like the rest of us. That’s what endears him to the Japanese public. In a world of big bucks sponsorships and full-time athletes, people still want the underdog to win.

The 5ft 7″ runner hit the front early on in Boston, but was written off by commentators. Twitter ‘experts’ joined in the mocking and everyone expected another Kenyan win. This all came not long after we celebrated Callum Hawkins for giving it his best shot at the Commonwealth Games.

However, the late turnaround on the hills of Boston, where Kawauchi rapidly closed in on defending champion Geoffrey Kirui, before going on to take the race with no reply, must surely bring smiles to the faces of all running fans.

He showed no mercy, and we thank you (and Liden) for turning a wet and gloomy day in Boston into something special.

Just what will the Boston champion do next? Whatever he wants to do. Not tied to sponsors or team schedules, it is great to see a runner forging his own path – around his office job of course.

You can read all about the race performance here.

The post Why you should love Yuki Kawauchi appeared first on Fast Running.

To say the weather conditions in Boston were far from ideal for marathon running would be an understatement.

However, despite the rain and blustery winds, the 122nd Boston Marathon delivered with Desi Linden becoming the first American woman to win in 33 years and Japanese working class hero Yuki Kawauchi taking the men’s crown.

After a slow start and athletes wrapped up from head to toe in jackets, hats and gloves, the women’s race saw Ethiopian Mamitu Daska making a break shortly after the halfway point and by the 30k mark had a 24 second lead on Kenya’s Gladys Chesir.

Chesir, who was running in her second marathon, led the chase with USA’s Desiree Linden in close pursuit.

After the 20 mile mark and running up the famous heartbreak hill, Chesir had reduced the gap on Daska to 14 seconds, with 2017’s fourth-place Boston finisher Linden still on their heels.

Over the next two miles, the chasing pair passed the fading Daska, and Chesir looked in control before Linden made a surge of her own to take the lead aiming to become the first American winner since Lisa Larsen Weidenbach in 1985.

Linden, who was still wearing a jacket, continued to increase the gap over the closing miles and eventually crossed the finish line in 2:33:41 to win by over four minutes.

USA’s Sarah Sellers finished in second in a time of 2:44:04 and Krista Duchene of Canada completed the podium in 2:44:20.

New York City Marathon champion and pre-race favourite Shane Flanagan finished seventh in 2:46:31.

The defining moment in the men’s race appeared to be at the 25k point when defending champion Geoffrey Kirui made a big surge and broke away from the leading group, with Galen Rupp and Kawauchi among the chasers.

Kirui, who won gold at the World Championships in London last year, had a 91 second lead at the 35k split and looked to be in cruise control to retain his title.

However, Kirui was slowing and Kawauchi was getting faster, although it was not glaringly obvious to spectators with the howling winds and pouring rain.

With a mile to go the 31-year-old Japanese star, who was running in his fourth marathon of 2018, was only 19 seconds adrift.

He quickly caught Kirui to take the lead and never looked back, crossing the finish line in 2:15:58, over two minutes ahead of his rival.

Amazing Kawauchi, who loves nothing more than long distance running, clocked his 79th sub-2:20 marathon in Boston. No one would have predicted his moment of glory and he is the first Japanese man to win in Boston since 1987.

Kawauchi said afterwards: “I’ve been running for 26 years and this is by far the best day of my life”.

USA’s Shadrack Biwott finished third in 2:18:35 and Chicago Marathon champion Rupp was a DNF.

The post Desi Linden and Yuki Kawauchi battle conditions to win Boston Marathon appeared first on Fast Running.