Hellen Obiri has studied race videos from the London Marathon. She’s talked at length with her coach, who has competed along the scenic course.
So in some ways, the decorated Kenyan runner's London debut on Sunday feels like any other race. And just like every other race she's in, Obiri will be a favorite — she won the New York Marathon in a course-record time in November — and she could make a run at setting the world record along the fast and flat
route.
The time to beat stands at 2 hours, 9 minutes, 56 seconds, which was turned in by Ruth Chepng’etich in October 2024 at the Chicago Marathon. This course is well-suited for a fast time, too, as Paula Radcliffe set the world record in London in 2003 and held it for 16 years.
To prepare for a speedy performance, Obiri left the elevation and hills of Boulder, Colorado, for four weeks to train in the warmth and relative flatness of Phoenix.
“When you trust the progress, anything can happen,” said the 36-year-old Obiri, who is from Kisii, Kenya, and now resides in Boulder. “But for me, I’m looking forward to just running a good race.”
It's another step toward her loftier ambitions — gold at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. That particular medal is pretty much the only thing missing from a running career that began at 14 and has taken her around the world.
To think, she wanted to be a basketball player. That’s why she still shoots jumpers in the gym — when she’s not training, of course.
“I said to myself when I was young, ‘I need to work hard. I need to be the best in the world,’” said Obiri, who is sponsored by the sportswear company On. “That’s what I’m doing right now, trying to be the best in the world.”
Her accomplishments show her running versatility. She captured the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the marathon, along with winning the Boston Marathon earlier that season. She's also a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 5,000 meters (2016 and 2021). In 2019, she was the world cross country champion and the gold medalist in the 5,000 at the world championships.
This weekend, there's a chance to not only win in London but a shot at the world record. That’s why she’s closely examining footage of the course and chatting with Laura Thweatt, her coach at the On Athletics Club.
“Hellen is a true competitor and she is honestly looking at London very much the same way that she looks at any other race,” said Thweatt, who finished sixth at the 2017 London Marathon. “She loves to test herself against the very best and she is a great tactician with a very high race IQ.
“So even though London is a flatter, faster course with pacers, which will all present her with new challenges, she is approaching it the same way. But she is excited to test her limits.”
Obiri views each race that way. Always has, since she was a teenager and started running for the Riruta Central secondary school in Nairobi. She burst on the international scene in 2011, earning bronze in the 800 meters at the Military World Games in Rio de Janeiro.
A career path was launched.
“Every race is like a stepping stone to a new dream of running well," said Obiri, whose favorite postrace meal is chapati (Kenyan flatbread) and beef stew.
Every so often, she will head to a basketball court close to her house and shoot around.
“Just for fun,” she said. “Sometimes you need to, outside of running, see what other sports feel like.”
Her daughter is following in her athletic footsteps. Not by running, though, but through tennis. Tania, who turns 11 next month, is showing promise on the court. Obiri said she doesn't play.
“But I do take her to the tennis court, sometimes I can just watch, to see how she plays," Obiri said. “We are trying to make her understand the importance of sports. We encourage her. Maybe in the next few years she can be like Serena Williams.”
Maybe, after Sunday's race, Obiri's on another podium — and maybe marathon's newest world-record holder. She's just taking things one step at a time.
“This is the right moment to try and run the faster course, see how fast I can go,” Obiri said. "This is a great opportunity for me.”
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