Keitany aiming for Radcliffe world record in London

LONDON: Kenya’s Mary Keitany will look to achieve a “lifetime goal” when she tries to topple Paula Radcliffe as the quickest woman ever to run a marathon with a fourth victory in London on Sunday.Keitany lowered British heroine Radcliffe’s women-only record of two hours, 17 minutes and one second last year.But the quickest that Radcliffe ever ran a marathon was when she posted a time of 2hrs 15 mins 25 secs in winning in London in 2003.However, for much of that marathon Radcliffe was running alongside men, so the time was classified as a “mixed race” women’s world record by the International Association of Athletics Federations, who also recognise a women’s only record.It is Radcliffe’s ‘mixed’ marathon record that the 36-year-old Keitany is now desperate to beat and she will even have male pacemakers to aid her quest on the streets of London this weekend.“To run 2:15 is really something else,” Keitany said Wednesday.“But I will try to follow in the footsteps of the legend, Paula, on Sunday.”

from The News International - Sports https://ift.tt/2qM2kOE