Kenya’s Chumba Headlines Xiamen Marathon
- By Duncan Larkin
- Published Jan. 4, 2013
- Updated Jan. 4, 2013 at 10:16 AM UTC
He has run five marathons under 2:10.
This Sunday, the 11th edition of the Xiamen Marathon in China kicks off. Expected to be in the front from the beginning is Kenya’s Dickson Chumba.
The 26-year-old has a good record with the race, taking second last year in an impressive 2:08:21. He also has a key marathon victory under his belt: the Marathon Eindhoven last year, in which he ran a personal record (2:05:46).
All told, Chumba has logged six marathons since he started running them in 2010. Of the six, five of them were sub-2:10.
Also in the mix is 36-year-old seasoned veteran Peter Kamais, who returns to China to defend his title. Kamais, who has only completed five marathons in his career, owns the course record in Xiamen (2:07:37).
Eunice Jepkirui leads the field for the women. Last October, the 28-year-old Kenyan ran 2:21:41 in Amsterdam, which was only her second career marathon.
As a teenager, Jepkirui was a middle-distance runner and competed in the inaugural IAAF World Youth Championships back in 1999.
For More: IAAF
FILED UNDER: News / Race Coverage TAGS: Dickson Chumba / Eunice Jepkirui / Peter Kamais / Xiamen Marathon
Duncan Larkin
Duncan Larkin is the news editor at Competitor.com and a freelance journalist who’s been covering the sport of running for over five years. He’s run 2:32 in the marathon and won the Himalayan 100-Mile Stage Race in 2007. His first running book, RUN SIMPLE, was released last July.