NAIROBI, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Ruth Chebitok says she has gained enough experience in road running and will be eyeing her third win in as many races when she lines up for the Toronto Marathon on Sunday.
The half marathon specialist won her first 42km race in March, when she triumphed against the odds at the Barcelona Marathon in 2:25.49. She followed that with another victory in July, when she became the first Kenyan woman to win the Gold Coast Marathon, crossing the line in a course record time of 2:24:49, taking 45 seconds off the record set by Abelech Afework in 2017.
Now her attention turns to the Toronto Marathon, her third race of the year.
"I feel strong and have recovered after my win in Gold Coast. I have run two races and won but it is down to training," said Chebitok on Friday in Nairobi.
In Toronto, Chebitok will be up against Amane Beriso, defending champion Marta Megra of Ethiopia, two-time Commonwealth medalist Jessica Trengove and Canada's own Krista DuChene, who earned a spectacular third place finish at the Boston Marathon.
"I'm both surprised and satisfied with the outcome. I consider myself a half marathon specialist but after such a positive experience in Australia and Spain, I'm sure I'll tackle the marathon with more confidence. I might have run even faster in Gold Coast but my pacesetter Tom Payn suffered an injury halfway the race but I held on and completed a great run," said Chebitok.
The Kenyan believes that one more win will force the selectors to consider her for the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
But her immediate priority remains Toronto, especially against Beriso, who is the fastest on paper with a personal best of 2:20:48, recorded when the Ethiopian finished second at the 2016 Dubai Marathon.
"The Toronto race is a big deal for me because I feel that would be a big win," Beriso declared. "So my first goal is winning the race and showing myself that I am capable."
Uganda's former Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich heads the pack in the men's race. Kiprotich, who trains in Kaptagat together with current Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, will battle Kenya's two-time Toronto Marathon champion Philemon Rono for the 24,000 USD purse.
Kiprotich and Rono can expect some stiff competition from New Zealand's Jake Robertson, who debuted with a national record of 2:08:26 earlier this year.
