Cyprian Kotut trains in Kapsabet, Nandi County on September 23, 2024. He will compete in the Berlin Marathon on September 29.
The 2016 Paris Marathon champion, Cyprian Kotut of Kenya, will run only his second World Marathon Majors (WMM) race on Sunday when he lines up on the streets of Berlin, with a strong resolve to win.
The WMM is a series of six of the largest and most renowned marathon races in the world. Berlin Marathon which will be run on Sunday is one of the six races in the WMM Series.
Already, three WMM races have been held; Tokyo Marathon (March 3), Boston Marathon (April 15) and London Marathon (April 21).
Three more - Berlin Marathon (September 29), Chicago Marathon (October 13) and New York City Marathon (November 3) - are yet to be held.
The 32-year-old, who won the 2016 Paris Marathon title in a time of two hours, seven minutes and 11 seconds, is banking on three months of preparations to cause a major upset in Berlin.
It is the sort of preparation that guarantees him physical and mental fitness as he prepares to take on some of the best athletes in the world.
Cyprian Kotut during the interview in Kapsabet, Nandi County on September 23, 2024. He will compete in the Berlin Marathon on September 29.
“My training has been injury-free, and my target is to run a good race, and improve my personal best. I’m in good shape and I thank God I don’t have any injury concerns. What remains is to execute what I have been doing in training in the last three months,” Kotut told Nation Sport yesterday at his 2Running Athletics Camp in Kapsabet, Nandi County.
In April, he ran his first WMM race, the Boston Marathon, and finished ninth in 2:10:29.
He has a personal best time of 2:04:34 he clocked at the Amsterdam Marathon last year, when he finished second.
The athlete, who was inspired to join athletics by his elder brother, former London Marathon champion Martin Lel, said he has done more workouts and speed sessions to better prepare for Sunday’s race.
“Berlin Marathon is associated with a fast course, so I trained differently from what I did for Boston Marathon. I will run on a flat, fast course, so more speed sessions and workouts made sense,” he said.
He has learnt invaluable lessons in distance running.
“My season didn’t start well because when I arrived in Boston, I was in good shape but I later learnt that race has no respect for anybody. Marathon races require experience. For first timers, it can be a little bit tricky……I came back and sat down with my coach Claudio Berardelli to plan for the next race, which come this Sunday. Let’s wait and see how things will unfold,” added Kotut.
The other Kenyans in the men’s field are Justus Kangogo, Philemon Kipchumba, Samwel Mailu, Stanley Kurgat, Josphat Bout, Mathew Kipkosgei and Stephen Kiprop.
He says an injury that kept him out of competition in 2017 tested him to the limit. And just when he thought that he was coming back to competition in 2019, Covid-19 pandemic struck.
His career started to pick up in 2022, and he is grateful for support from Gianni Demadonna Management.
“My management supported me all along especially when I had an injury, which I am grateful for. At one time, they almost flew me out of the country for treatment but thank God I got healed and I started training again,” he said.
