Ethiopia&rsquo;s Biruktayit Eshetu and Gebo Burka will defend both their titles and their race records in the Blackmores Sydney Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, on Sunday (20).Eshetu will in fact be going for a hat-trick of victories in the 15th edition of the marathon, which is part of the wider Sydney Running Festival, and predicted good conditions offer the winners excellent chances of breaking the records set by Eshetu (2:29:42) and Burka (2:11:18) in last year&rsquo;s event. The race records appear quite modest, but the course is relatively difficult with a couple of significant climbs in the early stages and then several changes of running surface in the later stages as it winds around Circular Quay to the Opera House finish.Nonetheless, with prize money doubled for performances under 2:12:00 and 2:28:00, there is no lack of incentive for the two champions and the rest of the elite field.Eshetu looks the best of the women&rsquo;s field on recent performances. She came to Sydney last year off a personal best in Houston at the start of 2014 and further marathons in Los Angeles, Lanzhou and Eugene, winning the latter. After winning in Sydney, she ran and won in the Chinese city of Xichang, making it three wins from six marathons in 2014.This year has not been quite so demanding. Eshetu again began the year with a personal best in Houston, running 2:23:51 before finishing sixth in Paris. Who knows what she might do off such a relatively restful preparation.Last year&rsquo;s runner-up Jane Kiptoo and the 36-year-old veteran Miriam Wangari represent the Kenyan challenge to Eshetu. Kiptoo began her international career way back in 1999 in the 400m at the first World Youth Championships in Bydgoszcz and has since progressed steadily upwards in distance. Her marathon personal best is 2:31:21 in 2014 and she has a win in Geneva, in 2:35:44, to her name this year.Wangari began the year with a third place in a best of 2:27:53 in Xiamen. The race was won by the 2015 world champion Mare Dibaba in 2:19:52, so that represents good current form for Wangari.Ethiopia&rsquo;s Alemitu Abera Begna has a personal best of 2:23:14, but that dates back to 2012 while China&rsquo;s Sun Lamei has run 2:27:55 but, again, that was in 2012 and her current form is not as impressive.<h3>Burka the hardest to beat?</h3>Gebo Burka was not the fastest of the top contenders in last year&rsquo;s race. Nor is he this year, his 2:08:12 personal best is 34 seconds slower than that of Nicholas Chelimo, of Kenya.However, just like last time, Burka has the current form to suggest that if he does not win, he will be hardest to beat for whoever does. Besides his course record 2:11:18 to win in 2014, the 28-year-old Ethiopian has won marathons in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Istanbul. He has been a little more selective in 2015, his one marathon in Houston at the start of the year earning him a big personal best.Burka was celebrated his birthday on the Thursday before the race. No doubt victory and race record would be highly appreciated, if belated, birthday presents.Chelimo ran his personal best in Eindhoven in 2010. His most recent sub-2:10 outing was in winning in Cologne two years ago and his most recent performance a 2:16:45 in Kosice last year. That makes his form hard to read, but the 32-year-old Kenyan must be respected.Ruggero Pertile (personal best 2:09:53), Cuthbert Nyasango (2:09:52) and Ghebrezgiabhier Kibrom (2:09:36) all have stronger current claims. Pertile, now 41, finished fourth in the IAAF World Championships, Beijing 2015 marathon after doing a lot of the work in the middle stages. Presumably, most of his work since then has been focused on recovery, but with two top-eight finishes in world championships (he was eighth in Daegu in 2011), he looms as a genuine chance.Nyasango also ran in Beijing four weeks ago, finishing 23rd. The Zimbabwean, who coincidently also celebrated his birthday on Thursday, was seventh in the London 2012 Olympic Games marathon and 16th in Daegu. Kibrom ran 2:09:36 in finishing eighth in this year&rsquo;s London Marathon.The 15th Sydney Marathon will set off from Milsons Point, beneath the northern end of the famous Sydney Harbor Bridge, at 7:20am local time.&nbsp; The course will take runners over the Bridge, through Hyde Park, out to Moore Park and around Centennial Park, passing close to the famous sporting venues Sydney Cricket Ground and Randwick Racecourse.The course then returns through the historic Rocks precinct, along Hickson Road and out to Darling Harbor before coming back around Circular Quay to finish at the Sydney Opera House.Len Johnson for the IAAF

Ethiopia’s Biruktayit Eshetu and Gebo Burka will defend both their titles and their race records in the Blackmores Sydney Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label Road Race, on Sunday (20).

Eshetu and Burka back to defend Sydney Marathon titles

No less than 17,000 runners will gather in the Spanish capital on Sunday to take part in the 36th Rock ’n’ Roll Madrid Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, on Sunday.The altitude of Madrid, which is 695m above the sea level, and the undulating profile of its course has meant that the course records remain at a relatively modest 2:10:58 and 2:32:04 but the fields assembled for Sunday provide the prospect of some realistic revisions of these marks.In the men’s race, there will be a crop of Kenyan representatives, including the experienced Thomson Cherogony, who has successively placed first, second and third over the last three years in Madrid. The 34-year-old will be eager to continue making the podium but faces a strong challenge in his bid to regain his title from five men who have run under 2:10, including his compatriot Elijah Kemboi.Kemboi will be running his third Marathon in barely six months following a personal best of 2:07:51 in Kosice for fourth place last October, a race he won in 2011, and then a 2:10:03 time in Mumbai to when finishing second in the Indian race in late January.Abraham Chelanga’s career best of 2:08:43 dates from 2009, but he has been running consistently 2:10 times every year since 2010 and could also be a factor. Watch out also for other Kenyans in the guise of the 25-year-old Nixon Kurgat, the author of a couple of sub-2:09 runs in the 2011 Carpi Marathon and last year in Milan.Into the bargain, Julius Chepkwony ran a personal best of 2:09:09 at last October’s Marathon Eindhoven.However, the fastest ever athlete on the start line on Sunday will be Francis Kiprop, who excelled in Berlin 2009 when he came second in what is still his personal best of 2:07:04. His more recent times have been a little more modest but Spanish athletics fans remember him finishing third in Madrid with 2:11:50 two years ago. The large Kenyan contingent also comprises Mark Tanui, who was fourth last year, and the in-form Robert Ndiwa, who had a fine win in the Verona Half Marathon in 62:03 in February.Nyasango the best bet to beat the Kenyans?Trying to deny Kenyans the top spot there will be a powerful triumvirate of Zimbabwe’s Cuthbert Nyasango, Rwanda’s Robert Kajuga and Erhiopia’s Herpasa Negasa. The latter is only 20 and will be running just his second Marathon after his promising debut earlier this year in Dubai when he clocked 2:10:51.As for Nyasango, the Madrid-based 30-year-old is arguably one of the men to beat as he finished seventh at the London 2012 Olympics Games, where he ran 2:12:08 time. He improved his personal best to 2:11:48 at the Fukuoka Marathon last December.Kajuga will be making his Marathon debut but took part in the Olympics over 10000m and finished &nbsp;12th at the 2012 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Kavarna, Bulgaria, last October.The Spanish challenge will be led by Carlos Castillejo, fresh from his 27:57:92 10000m win at the national championships three weeks ago and Rafael Iglesias, who has a best of 2:10:44.The women’s race includes Morocco’s in-form Malika Asahssah, who has tackled the Half Marathon event no fewer than four times in 2013, topped by personal best of 69:13 in Rome seven weeks ago.Asahssah, now 30, should be challenged by Ethiopia’s two-time Madrid Marathon winner &nbsp;Desta Tadesse, who triumphed in 2010 and 2011 and &nbsp;ran a personal best of 2:31:44 in Mumbai in January. Her fellow Ethiopian, Gezhasting Hunduma Gemeda, will be making her Marathon debut in the 42.195m but has good credentials after finishing third in the Addis Abeba Half Marathon last year.The Russian pair of Alena Samokhvalova, with a best of 2:28:43, and Nina Podnebesnova (2:31:37) could also be in contention while the Spanish hopes will rest on Vanessa Veiga, who has a best of 2:32:57.For the fourth time in a row, an additional 10km race will take place alongside the Marathon and Spain’s former European champions Jesús Espana and Arturo Casado will start as the joint favourites. In addition, a Half Marathon event will be contested for the first time simultaneously to the Marathon and 10km races, leading to an overall figure of over 26,000 entrants on the day.Weather forecasters predict a sunny day with temperatures ranging between 9 and 13 degrees Celsius by the time of the event.Emeterio Valiente for the IAAF

Course records under threat at Madrid Marathon

No less than 17,000 runners will gather in the Spanish capital on Sunday to take part in the 36th Rock’n’Roll Madrid Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, on Sunday.