Yet when Mary Keitany starts the London Marathon on Sunday she will be the first runner with a realistic shot at shattering Paula Radcliffe’s world record. “I have my focus on the world record and hopefully with the help of male pacesetters I will be able to shave a few seconds off the time,” said Keitany, who is 5ft 1in. But because the London Marathon have decided to put in male pacemakers we have to try to see whether it is possible. Her confidence is particularly high after setting a personal best of 1:04:55 in the Ras Al Khaimah half-marathon in February. The Chicago marathon champion, Tirunesh Dibaba, who finished second last year, is in much better shape this time.

Source: The Guardian April 18, 2018 18:23 UTC