Anne Kosgei wins in Venice (© Lorenzo Sampaolo)
Venice will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its famous Marathon on Sunday 24th October. The Venice Marathon, a IAAF Silver Label, has already broken the record of entries with 7000 runners expected to toe the starting-line in front of the Villa Pisani in Strà. The organizers already announced in May that the available bib numbers were sold-out last spring.
To celebrate the special 25th anniversary the course will pass through Piazza Ferretto in Mestre and the worlwide famous St. Mark’s Square in the heart of Venice.
This year the Venice Marathon also incorporates the Italian Marathon Championships. Two of the best runners from the “old guard” of Italian Marathon running Danilo Goffi, 1998 European Championships silver medallist and 41-year-old Migidio Bourifa, seventh at the European Championships in Barcelona, will vie for the national title.
Goffi, who was not selected for the Italian team for Barcelona, will be looking for a revenge in the race which put him in the spotlight in 1995 when he won his first major marathon in 2:09:28 beating among the others future Olympic marathon champion Stefano Baldini. Goffi will return to one of his favourite races where he also finished second in 2004 in 2:09:55.
Bourifa will be looking for his third Italian title after Rome 2007 and Treviso 2009.
The race for the win will be an African affair. Fast times are difficult to achieve on the tough course where the race famously reaches its climax on the 13 bridges but the race is expected to be another exciting battle between Kenya and Ethiopia.
Peter Some Kimeli, winner at the Roma-Ostia Half Marathon in 2010, Paul Samoei Kimeli, second in Venice in 2009 and William Chebon, winner at the Udine Half-Marathon last September, will take on Ethiopian Tujuba Megersa Beyu, who clocked a 1:00:16 lifetime best in the half-marathon.
The battle between Kenya-Ethiopia will also mark the women’s race. Favourites should be Kenyans Anne Keptanui Berwerwe (PB 2:28:22) and Elisabeth Cheruyiot Chemweno (PB 2:28:55). The Ethiopian challenge is led by Shuru Diriba Dulume (2:28:26) and Makda Harun Haji, who returns to Venice where she ran 2:29:56 last year.
Not to be written off will be Kenyan Eveline Kemunto Kimewy who will make her debut in the marathon but has already run five times under 1:10 and boasts a PB of 1:08:39 over the half-marathon distance. Veteran Marcella Mancini and reigning National marathon champion Laura Giordano will fight for the Italian title.
The Venice Marathon will continue to promote its solidarity project “Run for Water-Run for Life” with the contribution of Africa Mission during the 25th edition. To mark the special anniversary a third drinking water well was dug in Uganda thanks to the money raised through the selling of bib numbers.
Diego Sampaolo for the IAAF
