Kenya's Levy Matebo Omari will start as the man to beat while an impressive women&rsquo;s field will chase a 16-year-old course record at the Vienna City Marathon on Sunday (10), the 33rd edition of the IAAF Gold Label Road Race.
Omari, the fastest man in the field at 2:05:16, will be under pressure not only by a training partner but also by a quartet of debutants who are coming to the Austrian capital hoping to spring a surprise. But Omari, who clocked his career best when finishing second at the 2011 Frankfurt Marathon, said he&rsquo;s ready to face that challenge.
"From 2012 onwards I suffered from some stomach problems during training and when competing," he said. "I am well prepared now and I hope there will be no problems on Sunday. If the weather will be good then I want to run 2:06 which would be a good start for this year."
On paper, Omari&rsquo;s training partner Robert Chemosin is closest, courtesy of his 2:08:05 debut from Warsaw one year ago.
"It was raining there, so in better conditions I hope to run faster," said the 27-year-old Chemosin, who also has a pair of sub-60 minute half marathons to his credit.
Fellow Kenyan Suleiman Simotwo also hopes to improve both on his 2015 fifth place finish in Vienna and on his personal record of 2:08:48 set in Frankfurt, which was also last year.
"Last time in Vienna I had some stomach problems in the final part of the race. I know that the Vienna City Marathon is a very nice race and I hope to further improve here. It might help that one of my training partners, Raymond Choge, is in the race as well."
Choge is one of four debutants who are expected to challenge for top honours and while he&rsquo;s largely unheralded, compatriots David Kogei (personal best of 59:46) and Francis Lagat (1:01:28) bring solid half marathon credentials to the start line.
Ethiopia's Merkebu Birke, another debutante in Vienna, has a half marathon best of 1:00:41.
"Sunday will be a big day for me," said Kogei, who ran as a pacemaker in Vienna last year. "I know quite a bit of the course, which could be helpful.&ldquo; Kogei was also the chief pacemaker for last year&rsquo;s Berlin Marathon, assisting eventual winner Eliud Kipchoge for 29 kilometres. "This was a good step towards my marathon debut."
<h3>Eticha&nbsp;and Shone targeting women's course record</h3>
While the race organisers aren&rsquo;t expecting an assault on the 2:05:41 men&rsquo;s course record, the 2:23:47 mark set by Italy&rsquo;s Maura Viceconte in 2000 might be within reach in the women&rsquo;s contest.&nbsp;
Among those leading the charge will be Ethiopia's Fantu Jimma Eticha, who clocked a personal best of 2:26:14 in Dubai last year and came close in January after finishing third in Xiamen in 2:26:53.
"For me it is more important to achieve a personal best than to win," she said. "I am well prepared and I know that Vienna usually offers very good conditions for racing. So my aim is to run 2:23."
Four other women will likely follow a similar pace, including fellow Ethiopian Guteni Shone, the fastest in the field at 2:23:32 set in Houston last year where she finished second.&nbsp;
Kenyan Doris Changeiywo is also upbeat on the eve of her second marathon. The 31-year-old won her debut in difficult conditions in Singapore last December, clocking 2:44:26, but is expecting a much quicker run this weekend.
"I found it quite tough to adapt to the marathon after running cross country and track before," said Changeiywo, who has a 1:08:49 half marathon personal best. "In Singapore I just wanted to finish, nothing else. It was very humid there. Now in Vienna it is about running much faster. I will go with the Ethiopians on Sunday."
Others to watch include Meseret Kitata (PB 2:27:17) of Ethiopia who is targeting a sub-2:25 run and &nbsp;her compatriot Ruti Aga who will be making her debut. The 22-year-old improved her half marathon best to 1:08:09 in Houston in January and more recently won the Lisbon Half Marathon in 1:09:19.
"I know that the climate here is good for marathon running," commented Aga. "And of course Haile Gebrselassie ran in Vienna - so that is why I decided to run my debut here."
Jorg Wenig (organisers) for the IAAF

Vienna spotlight on men’s favourite Omari and a women’s course record assault.

Vienna spotlight on men’s favourite Omari and a women’s course record assault

Levy Matebo Omari of Kenya will start as the man to beat while an impressive women’s field will chase a 16-year-old course record at Sunday’s Vienna City Marathon, the 33rd edition of this IAAF Gold Label Road Race.

Canada&rsquo;s capital plays host to another spectacular weekend of racing as the Ottawa 10k and Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon take place on Saturday (23) and Sunday (24) respectively.This year the Ottawa 10k became an IAAF Gold Label Road Race &ndash; the only 10km road race in the country to be so honoured &ndash; and will also serve as the Canadian 10km Championships. A year ago Kenya&rsquo;s Mary Keitany returned to competition here after maternity leave and set a course record of 31:21. The course is flat and fast, traversing the beautiful Rideau Canal, and a handful of athletes have set their sights on Keitany&rsquo;s standard.World half-marathon champion Gladys Cherono heads up the women's field. The Kenyan has a 10,000m personal best of 30:29.23, while her best on the roads is 30:57.The Kenyan was also the 2012 African 5000m and 10,000m champion and in January she made her marathon debut, finishing second at the Dubai Marathon with a stunning time of 2:20:03. Confident and eager to run in Canada for the first tim,e she has declared her intent to beat the record.First place is worth USD $8000 with a bonus for a course record and Ottawa offers a gender bonus of USD $2000 US as well.&nbsp; The elite women will be given 3:25 head start and the first runner to cross the finish line, male or female, collects this bonus. Keitany accomplished the feat a year ago.Foremost among Cherono&rsquo;s rivals are fellow Kenyans Lineth Chepkurui, who has a 30:45 personal best, and the 21-year-old Peris Chepchirchir who has run 31:34 for the 10km distance and has strung together some impressive races on the road and cross country over the past 12 months. <h3>Marchant leading the local challenge</h3> Leading Canadians enticed by the promise of a national title include Canadian marathon record-holder Lanni Marchant, with a best of 2:28:00, and Natasha Wodak who set a Canadian 10,000m record of 31:41.59 across the border at the Payton Jordan Invitational last month.Marchant also ran a personal best of 31:46.94 in the same race, indicating her winter training camps in Kenya and Flagstaff, Arizona, have paid dividends.&nbsp; Aside from the national title at stake, both Canadians are capable of getting on to the podium and earning additional cash.The men&rsquo;s course record, set by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Deriba Merga at 27:24 in 2009, seems a bit out of reach for this field but the race will surely be highly competitive.&nbsp; David Kogei, last year&rsquo;s runner-up to Wilson Kiprop, will face fellow Kenyan Amos Mitei, who ran a 27:42 personal best achieved in the thin air of Nairobi a year ago.Compatriots Nicholas Bor (27:38 PB) and Simon Cheprot (27:41) should make it at least a four-sided race.<h3>Birhanu the men's marathon favourite</h3>Sunday&rsquo;s Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, should benefit from a slight course change. A short hill, midway through the race, has been eliminated and so the organisers have high hopes that Yemane Tsegay&rsquo;s 2014 course record of 2:06:54 &ndash; which is also the Canadian all-comers&rsquo; record &ndash; can be broached.Leading the charge is Tsegay&rsquo;s former training partner Girmay Birhanu, although Ottawa will mark his fourth marathon in seven months. Like Tsegay a year ago, Birhanu won the Daegu Marathon in April before coming to Ottawa and defying conventional logic. Sporting a personal best of 2:05:49 from the 2014 Dubai Marathon, he represents a real threat to the record. Dadi Yami will provide ample competition having run 2:05:41 at the 2012 Dubai Marathon and more recently finishing fourth at the 2015 Seoul Marathon in 2:08:05. There is the Kenyan duo of Alfers Lagat (2:07:11 2014 Eindhoven Marathon) and Peter Kirui (2:06:31 2011 Frankfurt Marathon).Much will depend too on how well the Ethiopians adjust to the seven-hour time zone difference as well as a late arrival in Ottawa. They received their visas only this week so they were due to arrive on Friday after travelling from Addis Ababa.A year ago Tigist Tufa set a women&rsquo;s course record of 2:24:31 and then, of course, went on to win the London Marathon last month. Competing for the top women&rsquo;s honours in Ottawa this year will be Ethiopia&rsquo;s Meselech Melkamu. In April she won the Daegu Marathon. With a personal best of 2:21:01 from the 2012 Frankfurt Marathon, as well as a collection of World Championships medals on the track and in cross country, she is the class of the field.Waiting in the wings, should Melkamu falter, are fellow Ethiopians Abebech Afework (2:23:33 2015 Dubai) and Yeshi Esayias, a two-time Ottawa marathon champion, and the 35-year-old Kenyan Agnes Kiprop. Last year Kiprop finished a disappointed third in Ottawa, complaining of running two marathons too close together. If she has learned from her mistake, there is every possibility she could challenge her own personal best of 2:23:54 and return to the podium.The races will be live streamed on <a href="http://www.runottawa.ca/" target="_blank">www.runottawa.ca</a>Paul Gains for the IAAF

Canada’s capital plays host to another spectacular weekend of racing as the Ottawa 10k and Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon take place on Saturday (23) and Sunday (24) respectively.

Canada’s capital Ottawa to host spectacular weekend of road racing 

With dozens of elite runners set to compete at the Ottawa 10K on 23 May, organisers of the IAAF Gold Label Road Race believe it could end up being one of the fastest 10km races in the world this year.World half-marathon champion Gladys Cherono leads the entries. The world 10,000m silver medallist is aiming to beat the 31:21 course record, set last year by Mary Keitany.Cherono, who has a 10km PB of 30:57, could even threaten the Canadian all-comers&rsquo; record of 31:05, set by Angela Chalmhers in Vancouver in 1996 and unofficially bettered on a slight downhill course in the same city by Isabella Ochichi in 2006 with 30:55.The women&rsquo;s race in Ottawa starts about four minutes earlier than the men. The first athlete, man or woman, to cross the finish line receives a $2000 bonus.Ethiopia&rsquo;s Ruti Aga, who finished second in Ottawa last year in 32:20, will return to the race. The 21-year-old won the African junior 5000m title in 2013 and has a 10km PB of 31:35.Kenya&rsquo;s Peris Chepchirchir will be another formidable contender. The 22-year-old won a handful of top-level road races in France last year, including a 10km victory in Houilles in a PB of 31:34.Canadian marathon record-holder Lanni Marchant and Rotterdam Marathon third-place finisher Krista Duchene will both contend the national 10km title.Last year&rsquo; second-place finisher David Kogei returns to the men&rsquo;s race, looking to go one better than in 2014 when he clocked 28:06 to finish runner-up to Wilson Kiprop. Kogei is in good form too, having smashed his half-marathon PB with 59:46 earlier this year.Ethiopia&rsquo;s Tilahun Regassa boasts faster PBs than Kogei over the half marathon (59:19) and 10km (27:32) and will be making his Canadian debut.Kenya&rsquo;s Nicholas Bor and Amos Mitei both have PBs faster than 28 minutes and will also be expected to challenge for the win.Switzerland&rsquo;s Tadesse Abraham will be looking to add the national 10km record to the one he holds over the half marathon (1:00:42).Eric Gillis will aim to defend his national 10km title within the men&rsquo;s race. He will be joined by a strong field of domestic competitors, including Kelly Wiebe, Canada&rsquo;s top-placed finisher at the recent IAAF World Cross Country Championships.&ldquo;The combination of being a Gold Label event and hosting the National Championship has led to the deepest 10km field that I have seen on Canadian soil,&rdquo; said elite athlete coordinator Manny Rodrigues.&ldquo;We have six men ranked in the top 25 for road running right now, and we have the top runners from seven countries. The depth is incredible.&rdquo;Organisers for the IAAF

With dozens of elite runners set to compete at the Ottawa 10K on 23 May, organisers of the IAAF Gold Label Road Race believe it could end up being one of the fastest 10km races in the world this year.

Vienna spotlight on men’s favourite Omari and a women’s course record assault

Canada’s capital Ottawa to host spectacular weekend of road racing

Cherono leads deep fields at Ottawa 10K