FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TONIOK FAVOURITE TO WIN BOURNEMOUTH MARATHON
Bournemouth, October 1st, 2015 - Hometown hero Steve Way is the star name
at this weekend's third edition of the Bournemouth Marathon Festival. The
41 year old who famously went from being a 16 and a half stone smoker to
finishing 10th in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last year is bound to
draw the biggest cheers in Sunday's marathon.
But he is nursing an injury which forced him out of the World 100k
Championships in Winschoten, Holland earlier this month. The Bournemouth
runner was placed third just after halfway, but dropped out with a glute
injury.
Abi Beautyman, Bournemouth Marathon Festival Elite Coordinator, predicts
another "very quick series of road races on the fast Bournemouth route" as
Kenyan David Toniok, winner of the 2014 Edinburgh Marathon, starts out as
the fastest athlete in the field with a best time of 2hrs 10mins and 39secs
over the 26.2 mile distance.
Winner of the first ever Bournemouth Marathon in 2013 Ebisa Merga returns
for the third successive year. After setting the coyrse record 2:16.41 in
204, he was second last year in 2:25.30. The Ethiopian will be looking to
return to the top step of the podium again this year.
Other contenders in the elite men's race include Kenyan Boas Kiprono who
has a best time of 2:12:36 and Latvia's Valerijs Zolnerovics who competed
in the Olympic marathon at London 2012. In the women's race, 2014 winner
Kateryna Stetsenko will attempt to retain her title.
The Ukrainian ran 2:30:58 to break the tape last year. She is set to go
shoulder-to-shoulder again with Joan Kigen of Kenya, runner-up in both 2013
and 2014. British hopes will be carried by the improving Sophie Carter. The
36 year old Londoner ran 2:48:15 at this year's London Marathon and will be
aiming to be the first British woman to dip under three hours at the
Bournemouth Marathon.
Behind the elite athletes, there are three athletes aiming for unique world
records. Ben Smith of Bristol is in the midst of attempting to run 401
marathons in 401 days – Bournemouth is the only marathon he is set to run
twice and he will be nearing the end of his epic challenge at the 2017
race.
Alice Burch of Hampshire is attempting to run 60 marathons in 60
consecutive days for a women's world record. And prolific marathon runner
Steve Edwards from the Cotswolds will be hoping to complete his 700th
marathon in a world-record average of 3 hours 18 mins. Sunday's marathon
will start at 10am, the half marathon begins two hours earlier. The Speed
of Light 5k, Supersonic 10k and Junior Races all take place on Saturday.
For more information & results from the weekend visit www.run-bmf.com and
keep an eye on their Facebook and Twitter pages.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
The Bournemouth Marathon Festival 2015 takes place on 3 & 4 October. The
running festival consists of 6 races - the Speed of Light 5k, Supersonic
10k and two junior races on Saturday 3rd October, and the half marathon and
full marathon on Sunday 4th October.
The Supersonic 10K race will be on Saturday October 3, 2015 and start from
2pm. Starting and finishing near the Lower Gardens, Bournemouth, this
beautiful coastal route heads towards Boscombe before turning back towards
Bournemouth and going around the historical Bournemouth Pier. The race
finishes in the beautiful Bournemouth Lower Gardens.
The Bournemouth Marathon Festival is brought to you by the experienced team
at GSi Events who are also behind the Edinburgh Marathon Festival, now in
its 13th year. The Edinburgh Marathon recently joined the world's elite
road races by becoming the first in Scotland to be officially recognised by
the IAAF, the athletics governing body.
For further details, visit www.run-bmf.com or contact Annette Drummond -
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