Man on a mission: Kipchumba eyes PB and victory in London

During last year's London Marathon, the world was waiting anxiously for Eliud Kipchoge to defend his title but he faded at the 25-kilometre mark, settling for a disappointing eighth-place finish. 

However, one Vincent Kipchumba managed to stick with the leading pack and eventually finished second in a sprint finish with winner Shura Kitata from Ethiopia.

This shocked many because they didn’t expect a brilliant performance from Kipchumba who had been listed in the London race for the first time. 

He made his debut in a World Marathon Majors (WMM) series race last year. The WMM series races include Tokyo, London, Boston, New York, Chicago, Berlin, Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships marathon races.

This year, Kipchumba has been named in the elite field. He will be teaming up with compatriots, Valencia Marathon champion Evans Chebet who is also his training mate at the 2Running Club and Milano Marathon champion Titus Ekiru.

The Kenyan trio will be facing a star-studded Ethiopian cats that has defending champion Kitata (2:04:49), Birhanu Legese (2:02:48), Mosinet Geremew (2:02:55), Mule Wasihun (2:03:16), Sisay Lemma (2:03:36) and Kinde Atanaw (2:03:51).

However, Kipchumba said he is up to the task and will be eyeing the podium.

“The field is competitive and I know the race will be tough but I believe in my training. I'm looking forward to running a new personal best,” said Kipchumba, who has been training in Kapsabet.

He noted his mistake in last year's race was reacting early which allowed Kitata to outsprint him to the tape.

“It was a good race but I kicked early in the final stretch. Due to my height, Kitata managed to outpace me in the last few metres emerging the winner. This year I have to run a brilliant race and my target is to win,” he said.

Kipchumba said that this year's training was better compared to last year when he prepared for the big race by following a programme sent by his coach Claudio Berrardeli through WhatsApp due to the coronavirus pandemic which forced all camps to be closed across the country.

“My preparation this year is better compared to last year because we have been training as a group which pushes you to the limit unlike when you are training alone. This will help me do better in the race on Sunday,” he added.

Before the pandemic, Kipchumba had a good season in 2019 after winning Vienna City Marathon in April before winning Amsterdam Marathon in October.