Two-time New York Half Marathon champion Abel Kipchumba is brimming with confidence as he prepares for the Boston Marathon, which will take place in 12 days.
The 129th edition of the Boston 42km race is expected to feature nearly 30,000 participants in the second race of the Abbott World Marathon Majors series.
Kipchumba heads to Boston fresh off a successful title defence at the New York Half Marathon last month, where he blazed through the streets in 59:09 to retain his crown. He outpaced American duo Conner Mantz (59:15) and Hillary Bor (59:55).
The 31-year-old first made his mark in New York in 2024, when he clocked 1:00:25 to win on debut, leading Morocco’s Zouhair Talbi (1:00:41) and Eritrea’s Yemane Haileselassie (1:01:37) to the podium.
Besides defending his title, Kipchumba used this year’s New York 21K as a stepping stone to Boston.
“I was using the New York Half to train and prepare for the Boston Marathon,” Kipchumba said post-race.
He believes New York has given him enough confidence as he gears up to secure his first podium finish in the 42km distance.
“I have a lot of confidence going to Boston. I will go and try my best and see what happens,” he added.
Despite his brilliance over the half marathon, Kipchumba’s marathon journey has been far from smooth.
Since his debut in Berlin in 2019, he has struggled to crack the marathon code.
In his debut, he clocked 2:09:39, finishing 10th in a race where Ethiopians Kenenisa Bekele (2:01:41), Birhanu Legese (2:02:48) and Sisay Lemma (2:03:36) dominated the podium.
His next attempt saw him finish 12th in Prague 2021 (2:15:31) before a fifthplace finish in Berlin 2022, clocking 2:06:49. Eliud Kipchoge (2:01:09), Mark Korir (2:05:58) and Ethiopia’s Tadu Abate (2:06:28) claimed the podium in that race.
His most recent outing in New York last November saw him settle for eighth in 2:10:39.
Despite his turbulent outing in the marathon, Kipchumba boasts the 10th fastest time in the half marathon with a time of 58:07 set during his triumph in Valencia 2021.
This, he believes, will propel him to greatness as he aims for his first marathon podium.
Kipchumba is leaving nothing to chance as he gears up for Boston. “This year I have done lots of long runs as compared to last year before I competed at the New York Marathon,” he stated.
Kipchumba is, however, under no illusions about the task ahead. “Boston is a very tactical race and hard. The weather there may change at any given time. In Boston, anyone can emerge victorious,” he noted.
Boston is known as a challenging race primarily due to its hilly course, particularly the infamous Newton Hills and Heartbreak Hill, which come at a crucial point in the race when runners are already fatigued.
Kipchumba will line up against an elite field, including two-time Boston champion Evans Chebet (2022 and 2023), reigning Chicago Marathon winner John Korir, 2024 Valencia Marathon runner-up Daniel Mateiko and Berlin Marathon silver medallist Cybrian Kotut.
Their main challenge will come from Ethiopia’s defending champion Sisay Lemma, two-time Boston winner Lelisa Desisa and 2019 world marathon champion Asefa Boki.
