NN MISSION MARATHON AT TWENTE AIRPORT (SUNDAY 18th APRIL): ELIUD KIPCHOGE AND MANY OTHERS CHASING TOKIO OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION.

Posted by Héctor Rubio on April 16, 2021 in trail running spain | Leave a comment

MISSION MARATHON AT TWENTE AIRPORT (SUNDAY 18th APRIL): ELIUD KIPCHOGE AND MANY OTHERS CHASING TOKIO OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION. World marathon record-holder Eliud Kipchoge will headline a top-class international field – many of whom will be chasing Tokyo Olympic qualification marks – at the 2021 elite-only NN Mission Marathon in Enschede, Holland on Sunday (April 18).

Photo: NN Running Team

NN MISSION MARATHON ORIGINALY PLANNED IN HAMBURG

The race was originally set to take place in Hamburg on April 11, however Covid restrictions forced the race organisers – NN Running Team, Hamburg Marathon and Global Sports Communication – to postpone the event and secure a different location. Thankfully organisers of the Enschede Marathon helped out to organise a specially designed eight-lap course at Twente Airport, which will be closed to the general public, to ensure the race would go ahead.

NN MISSION MARATHON: 18th APRIL IN TWENTE AIRPORT

Dubbed ‘the fastest way to Tokyo’ – the race, which has attracted more than 50 elite athletes from 20 countries, will provide a much-needed opportunity for athletes to bank an automatic Olympic standard for Tokyo, which stands at 2:11:30 for men and 2:29:30 for women.

Eliud will look to mount a successful defence of his Olympic marathon title in August having already been selected as part of the Kenyan team for Tokyo. However, the 36-year-old will hope to return to winning ways in Enschede after he suffered a rare marathon defeat in his most recent outing in October’s London Marathon.

Photo: NN Running Team

Among his chief rivals in the men’s race will be 2012 Olympic marathon champion Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda, who boasts a PB of 2:06:33, and Eliud’s training partner, the vastly experienced Kenyan Laban Korir (2:05:54). Look out too for the second fastest man in the field – Filex Chemonges (2:05:12) of Uganda.

In the women’s race, former New York Marathon podium finisher and 2016 European half-marathon champion Sara Moreira of Portugal (2:24:49) will expect to be prominent. Kenya’s NN Running Team athlete Gladys Chesir (2:24:51) is another to be respected while Mexican veteran Madai Perez (2:22:59) is the fastest in the women’s field.

The NN Mission Marathon will be screened live. Check where you can watch here: https://www.nnrunningteam.com/news/2021-04-08-where-to-watch-nn-mission-marathon/

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