OTTAWA, Canada, January 9- Cherangany MP and winner of the 2012 Boston Marathon, Wesley Korir, will run the Ottawa Marathon, an IAAF Silver Label Road Race, on May 25.
Aside from his Boston victory in 2012, Korir has twice won the Los Angeles Marathon and has finished in the top five at the Chicago Marathon on four occasions.
After contesting 11 marathons on US soil, this will be his first race over the classic distance outside of the USA.
“Every year we strive to attract the best field possible,” said Manny Rodrigues, the elite athlete coordinator at Ottawa.
“That Boston Marathon champions are choosing to run here shows how great this race is and that we have built a top-notch elite athlete program. We’re thrilled to welcome Wesley to the Ottawa Marathon this year.”
Korir, who is married to Canadian runner Tarah McKay-Korir, said that a Canadian race has been on his radar for some time.
“Canada has been my training base and my second home for the last couple of years,” said the 31-year-old.
“Having this opportunity to compete on Canadian soil is what I have been longing for. My goal in Ottawa is to win.”
After a successful track career at the University of Louisville, Korir soon moved to the roads and finished fourth at the 2008 Chicago Marathon, despite not being entered as an elite runner.
Following his back-to-back victories at the Los Angeles Marathon in 2009 and 2010, he scored a dramatic win in the heat at the 2012 Boston Marathon.
He followed that with a personal best of 2:06:13 at the 2012 Chicago Marathon.
Outside of the sport, Korir has also made headlines, successfully running for Kenyan Parliament and co-founding the Kenyan Kids Foundation, an organisation that focuses on improving education and healthcare in the runner’s native country.
Korir has competed in Ottawa once before, finishing second to course record-holder Deriba Merga in the Ottawa 10km, another IAAF Silver Label Road Race.
The Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend is the only running event in the world to boast two IAAF Silver Label events.
