Ngugi wants to slowly unruffle top order
Mary Ngugi crosses the finish line to come home third during the 126th Boston Marathon on April 18, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. She will be among the top guns at Sunday’s London Marathon.
What you need to know:
- Ngugi, who has been training in Nyahururu, Laikipia County, told Nation Sport that she had an incident-free training spell and is hopeful for a good result on Sunday.
With women’s world record holder Brigid Kosgei having pulled out of Sunday’s London Marathon with a hamstring injury, defending champion Joyciline Jepkosgei, debutant Mary Ngugi and World Championships silver medalist Judith Korir will be flying Kenya’s flag on the streets of the English capital.
Ngugi, who has been training in Nyahururu, Laikipia County, told Nation Sport that she had an incident-free training spell and is hopeful for a good result on Sunday.
he finished third in Boston Marathon in April with a time of two hours, 21 minutes and 32 seconds in a race won by her compatriot Peres Jepchirchir (2:21:01) with Ethiopia’s Ababel Yeshaneh (2:21:05) second.
Competing against defending champion Jepkosgei is something that excites Ngugi who is still learning how to attack the major marathon races but who believes she will slowly rise up the pecking order.
Supports female runners
“Competing against some of the great athletes like Jepkosgei and other well established marathoners from Ethiopia has given me more reason to continue training hard because it’s a learning process. I’m looking forward to running well on Sunday,” said Ngugi who is also the founder of the Women Athletics Alliance, a charity that supports female runners from underprivileged backgrounds.
In training, Ngugi — silver medallist at the 2014 World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen — has been covering between 180 and 200 kilometres weekly which is essential for an athlete preparing for a marathon.
“After the Boston Marathon, I took small break before embarking on my training. This is my life and any other marathoner’s regime.
“For you to run well in a race, you have to prepare for at least three months and that involves a lot of things,” she noted.
“My training programme was the same (with Boston’s) and I didn’t change anything…
“I believe I will be able to register good results after the 42km mark and I just want to ask my fans to pray for me as I go for this assignment,” said Ngugi, a bronze medallist in the 5,000 metres at the 2006 World Under-20 Championships at Beijing’s Chaoyang Sports Centre.
