FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Elite Athletes Meet & Greet Session
Kelai Geared to Record His Third SCMM Win;
Women Looking for New Course Record
"It's great to be back home" said John Kelai, two time winner of the
Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon at the Elite Athletes media meet & greet
session at the media centre on Thursday.
Besides Kelai, also present was Shami Mubarak from Qatar and women athletes
Irene Mogaka and Rose Kosgei, both from Kenya, along with elite athlete
coordinator Ian Ladbrooke.
Fresh from his Commonwealth marathon win in Delhi, John Kelai said, "the
key difference between Mumbai and Delhi was that in Mumbai virtually the
whole city turns up to cheer the runners on.
In Delhi, due to security, the crowd was restricted to pockets every 10
km." However, he also added that in Delhi it was his own spirit that drove
him on and that motivating oneself is the true challenge. With such a small
window between the Commonwealth Games and the Standard Chartered Mumbai
Marathon, Kelai says that he was back to training in a matter of weeks
after his return from Delhi. Kelai's last visit to Mumbai in 2009 ended in
disappointment as he missed out on a hat-trick of title. This time,
however, he is confident of wearing the winner's crown. He raced
selectively in 2010, winning both the events he competed in, at Netherlands
and at the Commonwealth Games and he is looking forward to kickstart 2011
with a win at the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon on Sunday.
The climate in Mumbai is something that has been a sore point, both
literally as well as metaphorically, especially for those who aren't
acclimatized. Irene Mogaka, on the other hand, said that the climate here
suited her and she was looking forward to a good run this Sunday. Rose
Kosgei echoed Irene's sentiments, while acknowledging her recent injuries
have played a spoilsport to her performance recently. She also added, "If
the weather holds, it is possible that we can set a course record for women
this week," added Kosgei.
Having grown up in a village in Kenya, his former country, Qatari Shami
Mubarak said that while he always enjoyed running as a child, he never
thought he would make a career out of it. In a lighter vein, he also added,
"My school was 7km away from my house so I had to run there and back every
day. Sometimes I would run home for lunch." He maintains a regimen of
running at least 16 km a day, both in the morning and evening. He also
quipped, "Winning a marathon is easy. It is the training that is
difficult."
All the athletes agreed that in marathon running, as in all sports, it is
less about who your opponents for a particular race are, but more about
giving your best and finishing at the top of your form. They also agreed
that in Mumbai the last few kilometers, with all its ups and downs,
including a flyover, were the toughest in the course.
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