Kenya's Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot sounded an ominous warning to his rivals in Monday's Boston Marathon by signalling his intent to improve on the punishing pace he set last year on the way to a course record.
Outdistancing the field over the second half of the race, the 22-year-old reached the finish in two
hours five minutes and 52 seconds, shattering countryman Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot's 2006 mark with a personal best. The men are not related.
This year, a young crowd of roughly a dozen men who have all run two hours and eight minutes or faster are eyeing the top prize in the $806,000 event.
"All of these guys are strong, but I am here to show my talent again and I think I can do better on Monday," Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot said.
Near ideal conditions with mostly sunny skies and temperatures peaking around 14 degrees Celsius are forecast for the 115th Boston Marathon.
"This is a fast field but these guys have generally not set their personal bests in Boston," said Bart Yasso, chief running officer at magazine Runner's World.
"So Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, who could run another record pace, might be alone by the time he hits Heartbreak Hill," Yasso added, referring to the race's notorious climb around the 20-mile mark.
Among Kiprono Cheruiyot's chief rivals are Kenyans Geoffrey Mutai, 29, who ran a personal best of 2:04:55 in Rotterdam last yea,r and Gilbert Yegon, 22, who won Amsterdam in 2:06:18 in 2009.
American Olympian Ryan Hall, 28, returns to Boston's gruelling course for a third time and will have experience plus an exuberant crowd cheering him on as he tries to become the first U.S. man to win the title in 28 years.
With a personal best of 2:06:17 in London in 2008, Hall is known to go out fast.
"Nothing annoys me more than jogging at the beginning of the race, so I don't mind getting it going early," he said, while adding that he has no set strategy in mind for Monday. "You have to be flexible."
One the women's side, where the U.S. last won in 1985, Ethiopia's Teyba Erkesso, 28, will seek to defend her title in a race featuring two past champions -- compatriot Dire Tune, 25, and Kenya's Catherine Ndereba, 38, a four-time winner.
American Kara Goucher, 32, whose personal best was 2:25:52, returns after maternity leave in 2010 eager to improve on her third place finish here in 2009.
"I feel like I'm stronger than I've ever been and my training is the best it has ever been," Goucher said as her husband cradled their son nearby.
Olympian Blake Russell, 35, and Desiree Davila, 27, round out the elite American women runners.
The crowds will also be cheering for former Olympic champion Joan Benoit Samuelson, 53, who won in Boston twice and is a sentimental favourite among the 27,000 runners.
"I'd love to run another sub two hours and fifty minutes and if I run sub three hours, I will be satisfied," she said.
Outdistancing the field over the second half of the race, the 22-year-old reached the finish in two
hours five minutes and 52 seconds, shattering countryman Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot's 2006 mark with a personal best. The men are not related.
This year, a young crowd of roughly a dozen men who have all run two hours and eight minutes or faster are eyeing the top prize in the $806,000 event.
"All of these guys are strong, but I am here to show my talent again and I think I can do better on Monday," Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot said.
Near ideal conditions with mostly sunny skies and temperatures peaking around 14 degrees Celsius are forecast for the 115th Boston Marathon.
"This is a fast field but these guys have generally not set their personal bests in Boston," said Bart Yasso, chief running officer at magazine Runner's World.
"So Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot, who could run another record pace, might be alone by the time he hits Heartbreak Hill," Yasso added, referring to the race's notorious climb around the 20-mile mark.
Among Kiprono Cheruiyot's chief rivals are Kenyans Geoffrey Mutai, 29, who ran a personal best of 2:04:55 in Rotterdam last yea,r and Gilbert Yegon, 22, who won Amsterdam in 2:06:18 in 2009.
American Olympian Ryan Hall, 28, returns to Boston's gruelling course for a third time and will have experience plus an exuberant crowd cheering him on as he tries to become the first U.S. man to win the title in 28 years.
With a personal best of 2:06:17 in London in 2008, Hall is known to go out fast.
"Nothing annoys me more than jogging at the beginning of the race, so I don't mind getting it going early," he said, while adding that he has no set strategy in mind for Monday. "You have to be flexible."
One the women's side, where the U.S. last won in 1985, Ethiopia's Teyba Erkesso, 28, will seek to defend her title in a race featuring two past champions -- compatriot Dire Tune, 25, and Kenya's Catherine Ndereba, 38, a four-time winner.
American Kara Goucher, 32, whose personal best was 2:25:52, returns after maternity leave in 2010 eager to improve on her third place finish here in 2009.
"I feel like I'm stronger than I've ever been and my training is the best it has ever been," Goucher said as her husband cradled their son nearby.
Olympian Blake Russell, 35, and Desiree Davila, 27, round out the elite American women runners.
The crowds will also be cheering for former Olympic champion Joan Benoit Samuelson, 53, who won in Boston twice and is a sentimental favourite among the 27,000 runners.
"I'd love to run another sub two hours and fifty minutes and if I run sub three hours, I will be satisfied," she said.
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