Cali intends to start a marathon story from heaven
For an inaugural event, the Cali Marathon (Maratón de Cali) in Colombia is going to hit the ground running on Sunday morning. With a half dozen national record holders, two sub 2-04 men and a sub-2:20 woman, the City of Salsa is going to see a festival of fast running. The Cali Marathon is a World Athletics Elite Label Road Race. Given that Cali is one thousand metres above sea-level, there won’t be ultra-fast times, rather an opportunity to see some great contests, which many major marathon organisers now realise is the order of the day, dispensing as they have with pacemakers.
Nonetheless, times are still the best pre-race indicator. And looking to translate his statistical superiority into victory in the men’s race is Gabriel Geay of Tanzania, national record holder for both half-marathon (59:18) and marathon (2:03:00), backed up with a second place in Boston 2023. Similarly, Helalia Johannes of Namibia, multiple national record holder including the marathon (2:19:52) and former Commonwealth champion (2018) is favourite in the women’s race.
Geay in particular faces some highly experienced marathon opposition, even if some, like double world champion and Olympic silver medallist Abel Kirui (2:05:54) are probably past their best. Not so his Kenyan compatriot Ronald Korir, who ran 2:04:22 in Berlin 18 months ago. Likewise, compatriots Boniface Kiplimo (2:05:04) and Eric Kiptanui (2:05:47).
Cali, also known as the Branch (office) of Heaven is the latest stop on Dennis Kimetto’s farewell tour, which he characterised as a ‘comeback’ when we last encountered him at the Dubai Marathon in mid-January. At 41 years of age (not as old as Kirui), the former world record holder (2:02:57 in 2014) acquitted himself well in the UAE, staying with the leading pack until halfway and finishing in 2:14:56. It will be interesting to see if he copes as well at 1000 metres altitude as some of the elite south American runners who live and train at altitudes just as high if not more so than the western highlands of Kenya whence Kimetto hails. As it happens, the fastest south Americans are all lowlanders; Jorge Castelblanco of Panamá (2:09:24), Joaquim Arbe of Argentina (2:09:36) and Derlys Ayala of Paraguay (2:10:11), all national record holders.
Johannes’ opposition in the women’s race comes mostly from East Africa, Jackline Sakilu of Tanzania (2:21:27), Emma Ndiwa of Kenya (2:25:14), Adenench Mekonnen of Ethiopia (2:26:01), and leading south American Rosa Chacha, the Ecuadorian record holder with 2:26:34. Johannes performed poorly in the Olympic Marathon in Paris, but said at this morning’s press conference: ‘An injury prevented me running my best there (Paris), but my training for Cali has gone well; I’m hoping for a win’.
Geay said, ‘I’m happy to be in Cali again. I haven’t seen the course yet and the weather is much more humid than I’m used to, but I’ll do my best to win on Sunday in a good time’. What is pretty certain is that he and others will break the best of the only marathon run in Cali before – the Pan-American Games championship in 1971, won by Olympic champ to be (the next year), Frank Shorter of the USA in 2:22:40.
The Maratón de Cali is the brainchild of local boy made good Luis Felipe Posso, who went to the US on a scholarship decades ago and is now one of the world’s leading athlete managers. He is also event coordinator for, among others, the marathons of Sydney and Osaka, and the half-marathon in Colombia’s capital city, Bogotá. At the Cali event launch press conference he promised to assist local mayor Alejandro Eder in the latter’s objective to restore Cali to pride of place in the organisation of major sports events on the Pacific coast. Posso’s contacts have already won the cachet of a World Athletics elite label for Cali and status as a ‘feeder’ event for next year’s Boston Marathon. So intent was he in promoting his home city, Posso relocated from Florida to Cali for the majority of the last year. ‘My dream is to make the Cali Marathon, my home town race into the biggest and best in South America,’ said Posso.
The marathon and adjacent 15k race (and mini-maratón, 4.2k) are expected to draw over 10,000 athletes for this inaugural event with over 2500 foreign entrants. Posso certainly hasn’t stinted on the elite entry with over 50 top class men and more than 20 elite women, the sort of numbers which put many an established marathon to shame.
More information is available online at: https://maratondecali.co/en
Please note: You may use the attached photo, showing Gabriel Geay during the press conference in Cali, only in conjunction with this news release and with the following credit: Sailer / photorun.net
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