Kibet looking to defend Marathon title

Moses Kangogo Kibet is preparing to put his 2010 title on the line as the Kenyan returns for the 2011 National Lottery Dublin Marathon this bank holiday Monday.

Kangogo Kibet stormed over the finish line in Merrion Square last year setting a new course record with his time of 2.08.58.

This year, the race for first place will be as hotly contested as ever with a particularly strong field of international athletes and no less than 14 male Kenyan runners.

Ben Maiyo holds the fastest Personal best time (2.07.09) of all the elites who will line out on Monday but Chepkwony Gilbert Kiptoo’s recent form marks him out as a strong contender for pole position as the Kenyan distance runner ran 2.08.33 in Kosice just last year.

The Irish field is strengthened by the presence of a number of Marathon Mission 2012 candidates.

The Marathon Mission Team was set up last year in association with Athletics Ireland to improve the competitive depth in the quality of times being run by Irish Marathoners. Leading the Irish entry is Tallaght's Sean Connolly, whose form of late (2.17.23 at the Rotterdam Marathon) should see him place well.

Andrew Ledwith (Fr Murphy's AC) has performed well over shorter distances during the summer, setting a record time of 50.11 in the Armagh 10 mile earlier this month but the distance of the full Marathon will put his pace to the test.

Aiming to break the 2.20 mark are other members of the Marathon Mission squad- Alan O'Shea, Brian Maher, Greg Roberts, and Joe McAllister.

Leading the women's entry is Shuru Diriba Dulume of Ethiopia who ran 2.28.26 at the Dubai Marathon in 2009. Three Russian athletes have also entered, as has Halalia Johannes of Namibia who ran 2.33.26 for second place in Dublin in 2009.

The Irish women’s race promises to be one of the most competitive yet with three Dundrum South Dublin Athletes, Ava Hutchinson, Linda Byrne and Maria McCambridge, all capable of achieving sub 2.37 - the qualification mark for London 2012.

Siobhan O'Doherty of Borriskane and Lorraine Manning of Raheny Shamrocks should make an impact and not to be dismissed from contention either is Bejiing Olympian and former Irish National Champion in the Dublin Marathon, Pauline Curley.

A record entry of over 14,000 runners will take part in the 32nd edition of the National Lottery Dublin Marathon, the 5th ever Dublin Marathon to take place on Halloween.

Live TV coverage of the race will shown on RTÉ One will also be streamed live on RTE.ie beginning at 9.15am and will continue until 1.35pm. Regular race updates will also be posted on twitter.com/dublinmarathon.