NAIROBI, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's William Chebor has warned it will take something special for any of his rivals to shatter his course record when he returns to the New Chinese Taipei City marathon on Sunday.
"Past record stands for nothing. All that matters is current form and I will be ready to run faster time on Sunday. Let them catch me if they can," said Chebor.
In 2016, the Kenyan set the course record in winning the race of 2:13:05, but his recent form hasn't been very well. Of the three marathons the 35-year-old contested last year, his fastest time was 2:16:08, almost eight minutes shy of his best time.
One of Chebor's title rivals in Sunday's competition is Japan's Yuki Kawauchi, who was beaten by him in 2016 clocking 2:14:12.
"It takes more than running fast for one to set a course record. The marathon course is tough and all conditions must be perfect for it to go down. Moreover, I am best placed to break it because I will be running there too," Kawauchi said.
The Japanese has won more that 30 international marathons and placed ninth at last year's World Championships. The Chinese Taipei course will be his third marathon of the year, following victories in Massachusetts, United States in January and Kitakyushu, Japan last month.
Ethiopia's Tsegaye Debele Belda, who finished second last year in 2:17:04, will also return to the New Chinese Taipei City marathon.
The women's course record holder Kim Ji Hiyang of South Korea with a time of 2:34:52 will face off against Kenyan Rael Kiyara Kguriatukei, whose personal best is 2:25:23.
There is also another Kenyan Chemutai Rionotukei and Ethiopia's Tizita Terecha, winner of the 2015 Guangzhou Marathon, in the elite list.
