Sawe offers insights into his Marathon debut in Valencia
Reading Time: 3min | Fri. 29.11.24. | 10:12
The 28-year-old is not short of inspiration in Valencia as he looks to walk in the footsteps of the late Kelvin Kiptum who won the 2022 race in 2:01:53, the fastest debut in history.
“I am ready,” Sebastian Kimaru Sawe has declared ahead of his marathon debut in Valencia on Sunday 1 December.
The world half-marathon champion carries a blistering 58:05 personal best in the half marathon, a time he set in Copenhagen back in September, and will look to build on that as he races the classic distance.
Up against a star-studded field led by defending champion Sisay Lemma and veteran Kenenisa Bekele among others, Sawe tells Mozzart Sport he is under no pressure and will run his race.
“My training went well and I am eager to race in Valencia. I have been there before for the half-marathon, running 58:29 which gives me confidence ahead of Sunday,” he offered.
He singled out endurance past the 35km mark as his area of concern, but in a quick rejoinder says he has done his best to prepare for that and is banking on a good start to give him the momentum for a perfect finish.
“I go up against very experienced marathoners and are only focused on a perfect race execution. I do not have a time target, this being my debut, I just want to run well,” he added.
The 28-year-old is not short of inspiration in Valencia as he looks to walk in the footsteps of the late Kelvin Kiptum who won the 2022 race in 2:01:53, the fastest debut in history.
Bekele, a triple Olympic and five-time world track champion, is the third fastest marathon runner in history, with his personal best of 2:01:41 set back in Berlin five years ago.
The 42-year-old also created in history at last year’s Valencia Marathon, after he became the first athlete aged over 40 to run a sub-2:05 marathon, clocking 2:04:19.
At this year’s London Marathon, Bekele lowered that mark by four seconds, before going on to finish 39th for Ethiopia in the Olympic marathon in Paris.
On paper, Lemma is the one to beat once again. Last year, the 33-year-old clocked 2:01:48 in his victory, going fourth on the all-time list over 26.2 miles behind Bekele, Eliud Kipchoge, and the late Kiptum.
He also secured the Boston Marathon crown back in March and is a two-time major marathon champion, after his victory in London three years ago.
Double Tokyo Marathon champion Birhanu Legese and the 2021 Berlin Marathon winner Guye Adola will also be ones to watch.
Away from the formidable Ethiopian challengers for Sawe, he also has his compatriots adding to the depth of the field.
He will take on 58:26 runner Daniel Mateiko who achieved his half marathon best in Valencia back in 2021 but is yet to finish a full marathon, Mathew Kimeli, and Hillary Kipkoech, a pacesetter in 2023, whose half marathon PB of 59:22 was achieved here last year.
