• He doesn't expect the weather to pose much of a problem even though it is hotter than at his training base back home.
• Bekele's legendary rivalry with Kipchoge is expected to dominate the headlines, especially if the two stay in contention deep into the race.
Image: HANDOUT
Two-time Olympic Marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, Benson Kipruto and Alexander Munyao have a daunting task at the Paris Olympic Games as they battle to ensure the title remains in Kenya.
Kipchoge is in the hunt for an unprecedented third title after ruling Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016.
Munyao expects an interesting race, different from the city marathons they are used to.
Though he reckons the course will be challenging, he finds consolation in that no athlete will be exempted.
"I have never run here, just a tour. It's a hilly course, thus a tough one. But all of us will go through it. If it's a challenge, it will be for all of us," he said.
"We have prepared well as a team and even have a strategy in place as we seek to put in a good performance."
He doesn't expect the weather to pose much of a problem even though it is hotter than at his training base back home.
"It's a bit hot but we have acclimatised to the conditions, having arrived here on Tuesday. We have been training at the Ile des Vannes Stadium, about a kilometre from the Olympic Village," he said.
He has faith in his compatriots but on Kenya retaining the title, he said: " Only God knows."
" Everyone has prepared well to give a good representation of their countries," he added.
" Even though the Ethiopians are our biggest rivals, we can't afford to underrate anyone. This is the Olympics and everyone is psyched up in the hunt for a medal."
Munyao heads to Saturday's race buoyed by a superlative display while winning this year's London Marathon, where he timed 02:04:01 ahead of Ethiopian great Kenenisa Bekele (02:04:15) and United Kingdom's Emile Cairess (02:06:46).
Despite an indifferent season, where he finished 10th at the Tokyo Marathon in 2:06:50, Kipchoge cannot be written off.
He was four minutes behind another Paris favourite, Kipruto, who clocked 2:02:16, the fastest time this year.
Like Munyao, Kipruto is making his Team Kenya debut but has a proven record on the roads having won at Boston Marathon (2021), Chicago Marathon (2022) and Tokyo Marathon (2024).
Bekele, 42, remains the toughest challenger for the Kenyan trio.
His legendary rivalry with Kipchoge, 39, is expected to dominate the headlines, especially if the two stay in contention deep into the race.
Apart from the two Olympic gold medals, Kipchoge has two world titles, in track and cross country. Bekele has three Olympic track titles and five world gold medals over 5000m and 10,000m.
Kipchoge won the last meeting between the two, at the 2018 London Marathon.