Rosemary Wanjiru knows that only another World Marathon Major win can elevate her status as one of Kenya’s best marathoners.
That’s been fuelling her in training over the past four years, since she focused her attention on the road.
After the disappointment of not making the team to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, she switched to the road fully in 2022 after spending much of her career as a 5000m runner.
Wanjiru chose the favourable Berlin course for her debut that year, finishing second. After several months blighted with injuries, she will start only her fifth marathon this Sunday, 21 September in Berlin.
“This will be my second time running here in Berlin,” she said on Thursday (18 September) at the pre-event press conference in Berlin.
“My marathon journey started here, and I ran a good time…So I know the course very well.”
In her debut marathon Wanjiru clocked 2:18:00, which was under the previous course record of 2:18:11, that the winner Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa shattered, with a time of 2:15:37.