The 2023 World Half Marathon champion Catherine Reline is set to make her marathon debut at the Abu Dhabi Marathon this Saturday.
Though a debutant, Reline is no novice to the grueling 42km distance. She served as a pacemaker in the 2023 London Marathon, where Olympic champion Sifan Hassan triumphed in 2:18:33, edging Ethiopia’s Megertu Alemu ( 2:18:37 ) and Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir ( 2:18:38 ).
In April 2024, Reline again set the pace in London, this time witnessing Jepchirchir’s record-breaking 2:16:16 run, a women’s only world record.
Reline enters the Abu Dhabi Marathon in strong form. In September, she clinched third place at the Copenhagen Half Marathon, clocking 1:06:09 behind Margaret Chelimo ( 1:05:11 ) and Judy Kemboi ( 1:05:43 ).
Earlier this year, she placed sixth at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in February ( 1:06:49 ) and missed on Kenya’s 10,000m Olympic team at the Eugene Trials with a seventh-place finish ( 30:07.42 ).
Reline’s resume, however, remains formidable including her bronze medal from the 2023 World Half Marathon Championships in Riga, Latvia, where she finished in 1:07:34 behind Jepchirchir (1:07:25) and Margaret Chelimo (1:07:26 ).
She holds a victory from the 2022 Telese Terme Half Marathon in Italy where she clocked 1:07:08. Reline will be in the company of 2023 Beijing marathon champion Vibian Chepkurui.
Chepkurui’s accolades include back-to-back titles from the 2021 ( 2:24:29 ) and 2022 ( 2:20:59 ) Wien marathon. She further holds titles from the Atlanta (1:08:46) and Santa Pola (1 :09:28) Half Marathons.
Completing a strong Kenyan contingent are Aurelia Jerotich, the 2024 Bali Marathon champion, Pauline Narogoi and Lille Half Marathon champion Susan Chembai.
Their main competition will come from Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba, a two-time Olympic 10,000m champion and 2023 Rotterdam marathon runners-up Dolshi Tesfu of Eritrea.
In the men’s race, 2023 Seoul Marathon runners-up Mike Boit will spearhead Kenya’s charge joined by 2018 Istanbul Marathon champion Felix Kimutai.
Kimutai’s Marathon resume includes runners-up finishes in Buenos Aires 2017 and Abu Dhabi 2022. Meanwhile, Boit placed third at the 2019 Guangzhou Marathon clocking 2:08:58.
The duo will be joined by 2023
Daegu Marathon runners-up Stanley Bett, 2024 Riyadh Marathon
champion Wilfred Kigen and 2024
Millan Marathon runners-up Raymond Choge—forming a strong
Kenyan contingent.
