NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 4 – Two-time Los Angeles Marathon champion John Korir believes the sky is the limit for him as he prepares to debut at the Chicago Marathon this coming Sunday.
Korir said he wants to enjoy a lot of success in the World Marathon Majors (WMM) races, which include the Tokyo, London, Berlin, Boston, New York and Chicago marathons.
“My aim is to run fast and set a new personal best in the full marathon. This is my first WMM race and I want to do well. Now that I am in the WMM races, I think this is where my attention will be. I don’t think I will be concentrating on these other races I have been competing in,” the 25-year-old, who boasts a PB of 2:09:08, said.
Korir is enjoying a colourful career in road races thus far, having successfully defended his Los Angeles title in March this year, going one better than his elder brother Wesley Korir who clinched the same in 2009 and 2010.
The younger Korir will be part of the Kenyan contingent at Sunday’s race, others including last year’s third-place finisher Eric Kiptanui, 2021 Valencia Marathon runner-up Bernard Koech and last year’s Boston Marathon champion Benson Kipruto.
Despite possessing less experience in road races compared to his fellow countrymen, the 2018 Louisville Half Marathon champion said he has trained comprehensively and is ready for a dream debut in the Windy City.
“My last race was at the Los Angeles Marathon and compared to others in the race, I have had relatively more time to rest and prepare. All the Kenyans in the race are formidable and favourites to perform well. I am looking forward to running with my fellow Kenyans to ensure that the title returns home. I am equally confident that I can turn in a great result and will be looking to make the podium,” Korir, who finished second on his full marathon debut in Ottawa, Canada in 2018, said.
He added: “The plan is to tail the pacemakers until they drop off and then run my own race. It will be a unique race for me because all the other competitions have not had any pacemakers meaning you had to run your own race at your own pace.”
He credited his training partners for always pushing him to the limit to attain his goals.
“I have with me my teammates, Edwin Kibichi, Vincent Nyamongo and another one we call ‘laptop’ because he is so knowledgeable about computers. We always push each other…on days when I am lazy, they encourage me to keep going and set the pace as to how many kilometres we are going to run on a specific day,” Korir said.
