2011 London Marathon Women's Race Contenders

2011 London Marathon Women's Race Contenders
by Sharon Ekstrom

Jump to: Liliya Shobukhova | Zhou Chunxiu | Irina Mikitenko | Constantina Dita | Askale Tafa | Lornah Kiplagat | Mergia Aselefech | Bezunesh Bekele | Bai Xue | Zhu Xiaolin | Mary Keitany | Edna Kiplagat | Magdalena Lewy-Boulet

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Shobukhova at the 2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon

Liliya Shobukhova
PB: 2:20:25, 2010 Chicago Marathon

Defending 2010 London Marathon Champion and Russian National Record Holder Liliya Shobukhova returns to the field for the third time. Having built her reputation on the track in the 1500m, 3000m and 5000m, she made quite an entrance into the marathon distance when she debuted at the 2009 London Marathon. Having prepared for a 2:27 or 2:25 finish, Shobukhova surprised herself earning 3rd place in 2:24:24.

She followed up that achievement with a victory at the 2009 Chicago Marathon in 2:25:56. While the win was impressive, her strategy in the race was incredible, as she surged then completed the final mile of the race in 4:35 (the fastest mile in the race) - besting veteran marathoners like 2009 London Marathon defending champion Irina Mikitenko, 2010 Houston and Boston Marathon winner Teyba Erkesso and Ethiopian national record holder in the marathon Berhane Adere.

For 2010, Shobukhova returned to London, once again taking on Mikitenko and a strong field of Russian and Ethiopian talent. Duplicating her finish in Chicago, Shobukhova unhampered by rain sped to victory in the last mile of the race (2:22:25), proving herself as a tough competitor who can deliver a devastating finishing kick. Since her DNF in the 10000m at the 2010 European Cup in Barcelona, she has focused on the marathon distance alone. With that being said, she returned to the roads. She bested the field at the 2011 Chicago Marathon; proving that not only does she have the speed, but the strategy and patience to not get carried away by the frantic pace the rabbit and lead Ethiopian challengers failed to maintain. She passed them with a mile to go and took an easy victory in 2:20:25 setting a Russian National record.

Given her fitness levels on race day, if she can once again deliver this fatal blow within the last mile of the race at the 2011 London Marathon, this 10th fastest woman in the world will take her fourth consecutive marathon title. And by the looks of things with her consistent improvements in her four career marathons to date and her drive for faster times on top of securing victory, one can expect Shobukhova to break past that 2:20 mark this spring as she establishes herself as one of the best marathoners in the world.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Chunxiu at the 2010 Guangzhou Marathon

Zhou Chunxiu
PB: 2:19:51, 2006 Seoul Marathon

Zhou Chunxiu, the 2008 Beijing Olympics bronze medalist and 2007 World Champions silver medalist, is still not a familiar name in the racing circuit in Europe or the United States. Despite being the 9th fastest female marathoner of all time and one of the few elites to break the 2:20 mark, she is best remembered for an Olympic training regimen consisting of a marathon per day in altitude. While she races infrequently outside of Asia, with 10 out 20 career marathons finishes faster than 2:26:00 - she remains a threat to any western field she participates in.

This top Chinese runner debuted in the marathon distance in 2003, when veterans like Radcliffe and Ndereba already had a number of marathons under their belts. Chunxiu did not make a name for herself until a personal best finish of 2:19:51 at the 2006 Seoul Marathon. And this reigning Asian Games gold medalist did not become a major threat to world-level competitors until she stole the victory of the 2007 London Marathon in 2:20:38. Chunxiu followed that victory with a silver medal at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, losing to Catherine Ndereba by eight seconds.

Chunxiu chose not to defend her title at the 2008 race, opting to stay in Asia to train for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Her hard work earned her a bronze medal, losing out on silver by a narrow margin of one second to Catherine Ndereba once again. In 2009 Chunxiu returned to the London Marathon for the first time since 2007. While she was an early leader she faded at mile 17 and finished in an unremarkable 12th place (2:29:02). Perhaps she was saving herself for the 2009 World Championships 4 months later. It was an Olympic Games redux, Chunxiu who tends to race only in Asia found herself in one of the deepest women's fields ever battling over a win more tempting than Olympic gold. She was 4th in a 2:25:39 as the Chinese women took places 1, 4 and 5 winning the championship cup for their nation. Two months later she raced the Beijing Marathon taking 4th once again in 2:34:57.

In 2010 Chunxiu had nearly identical performances at the Seoul and Guangzhou Marathons finishing 2nd (2:25:01) and 1st (2:25:00) respectively. If in top form she may well surprise the field at the London Marathon once again.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Mikitenko at the 2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon

Irina Mikitenko
PB: 2:19:19, 2008 Berlin Marathon

Two time London Marathon winner (2008, 2009) and Berlin Marathon champion (2008) Irina Mikitenko returns to the London Marathon field seeking redemption. Fourth fastest female marathoner in the world, this World Marathon Majors Champion and German national marathon record holder boasts a 2:19:19 from the 2008 Berlin Marathon, the last time any woman has run a sub 2:20 marathon finish. Having been the odds-on favorite in the past, Mikitenko's 2010 racing season had broken a string of marathon successes - having won or been runner-up at every marathon she had participated in (2008/2009 Berlin, 2009 London, 2009 Chicago).

A track star with a lengthy history at the 5000m distance, Mikitenko debuted at the 2007 Berlin Marathon finishing in second place in 2:24:51. She won her second career marathon at the 2008 London Marathon (2:24:14), and showed consistency returning to win the 2008 Berlin Marathon that autumn in a personal best of 2:19:19 - breaking the 2:20 barrier which only eight women have ever done. As fourth fastest female marathoner of all time Mikitenko took a second victory of the 2009 London Marathon (2:22:11).

While the latter portion of 2009 was mentally tough for her, Mikitenko withdrew from the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, on her home turf, having missed weeks of training following the death of her father weeks prior to the event. She returned to racing at the 2009 Chicago Marathon only to take second in 2:26:31 to Liliya Shobukova whose surge in the race's final mile guaranteed her the win.

In 2010 Mikitenko, hampered by minor shin injuries and a tough winter season of training which forced her to do marathon training on an indoor 200 meter track, dropped out of the Great North Run (half marathon), had a DNF at the 2010 London Marathon and took 5th at the Chicago Marathon (2:26:40) despite feeling fit and looking to defeat Shobukhova to regain confidence in racing.

The 2011 London Marathon will be the fourth showdown between Mikitenko (formerly of Kazakhstan/USSR) and Shobokhova (RUS) who has stolen the spotlight - race victories and the most recent World Marathon Majors prize purse. But Mikitenko's entry into the race should be proof that she will not let Shobkhova break away from her so easily - not this time.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Dita at the 2010 London Marathon

Constantina Dita
PB: 2:21:30, 2005 Chicago Marathon

In a field rife with veteran marathoners, 2008 Beijing Olympic Gold Medalist Constantina Dita returns to the London Marathon bringing with her over a decade of marathons racing experience. At 41, Dita has worked hard to accomplish a great deal. An aggressive marathoner, Dita's strategy led to many career top ten finishes. Her struggle to compete well in world championship events ended in 2005, a stellar year for the Romanian. Following a second place finish after battling it out against top Kenyan Margaret Okayo at the 2005 London Marathon, she edged out top Kenyan Derartu Tulu to take the bronze medal at the 2005 World Championships, trailing world record holder Paula Radcliffe and former world record holder Catherine Ndereba. Dita won the Half Marathon World Championships later in 2005 and capped off the year with a second-place finish at the 2005 Chicago Marathon in a personal best time of 2:21:30.

A dark horse for the 2008 Beijing Games, Dita blew away the women's field. She charged at top speeds from the start and her competition never followed. This tactic has burned her in the past; but a mixture of timing, strategy and fortitude earned her a gold medal in a field deep with talent.

She ended 2008 in a banner year with a 4th place finish at the Chicago Marathon (2:30:57). 2009 was a disappointing year with a DNF at the London Marathon, an 11th place finish at the inaugural Yokohama Women's Marathon (2:36:06). Many had believed Dita to be on the road to retirement having run her best race at the Olympic Games. In 2010 she ran London Marathon once again to a disappointing 25th place finish in 2:41:12. We are not to sure what Dita has in store for the 2011 London Marathon; but if Dita still has the mileage in her legs, she can once again be a wild card in the field.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Tafa at the 2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon

Askale Tafa
PB: 2:21:31, 2008 Berlin Marathon

Magarsa Askale Tafa of Ethiopia is a marathon specialist with 14 career marathons to her resume. With most of her finishes in the top ten, she began marathoning at age 21 in 2005 with two 3rd place finishes at the Rome and Berlin Marathons (2:32:34 and 2:28:27). She quickly gained experience in her three marathons per year regimen winning the 2007 Milan Marathon (2:27:57) , 2008 Dubai Marathon (2:27:19) and Paris Marathon (2:25:07).

Tafa gained momentum at the World Marathon Major races. And 2008 proved to be a stellar year when she took 3rd in Dubai (2:23:23), 5th in Boston (2:29:48) and 2nd in Berlin (2:21:31) which incidentally was the second fastest women's marathon finish of the year behind Irina Mikitenko's victory and course record at that same race. (And only one woman since has run faster - Lilya Shobukhova a theta 2010 Chicago Marathon).

She hit a roadblock in 2009 and had a DNF at the Berlin Marathon after dropping out near the halfway mark. It seemed she was still not quite there in 2010. At the 2010 Dubai Marathon she took 6th place (2:27:29) at the, 5th place (2:24:39) at the London Marathon, 12 place finish at the Chicago Marathon (2:32:24) - one of her slowest marathons ever. In a russia vs Ethiopia showdown, the initial pace was superfast targeting a sub 2:20 finish - causing eventual victor Liliya Shobukhova (defending champion of London Marathon) to slow along with Tafa before the halfway mark, though they were well with the lead pack rife with top Ethiopian talent. Tafa could not pick up the momentum to follow a recovered Shobukhova who eventually picked off the competition to grab victory.

While Tafa is hardly the fastest in the field, a personal best from the 2008 Berlin Marathon in 2:21:31 is not something to scoff at when anything can happen in the marathon. It will be Tafa's experience in the distance and ability to strategize well in such a deep field that will prove important. She will need everything it takes on race day, as the Ethiopian Athletic Federation is using the 2011 London Marathon as the qualifier for the 2011 World Championships team. And soon they will have to sort through the growing numbers of standout female Ethiopian marathoners once again as the 2012 London Olympics draws near.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Abitova at the 2010 London Marathon

Inga Abitova
PB: 2:22:19, 2010 London Marathon

2010 European Silver medalist in the 10000m, Inga Abitova of Russia at 29 is still coming into her own in the marathon distance. As veteran Russian women who dominated the marathon are beginning to step away from the sport, a new generation of young Russian marathoners have arrived and they are stepping up their performances on a consistent basis. Abitova is one of them.

She began her running career in the 3,000m before turning to the 10,000m and Marathon in 2004 and 2005 at age 23. She debuted in the marathon distance at the 2005 Belgrade Marathon taking victory in 2:38:20, and was a runner-up finish in 2:33:55 at 2006 Mumbai Marathon. She won the European Championships 10,000m also in 2006 and became the 2007 Russian National Champion in the 10,000m.

Abitova ran the London Marathon for the first time in 2007 finishing 9th in an unimpressive 2:34:25; but her focus remained on the track. Abitova was sixth at the 2008 Beijing Olympics 10,000m (behind Flanagan who finished third) and took the silver medal at the 2010 European Championships.

Beginning in 2009, Abitova began to see breakthroughs in the marathon, improving her time to 2:25:55 at the 2009 London Marathon (6th place) and winning the Yokohama Marathon in 2:27:18 which gave her all the confidence she needed. Abivtova returned to the 2010 London Marathon for the third time - this time finishing as runner-up in a personal best of 2:22:19 behind her compatriot Liliya Shobukhova. She followed the performance with a 4th at the New York City Marathon (2:29:17). An early leader, she was unable to hold onto the 4:53 pace at mile 23.

If Abitova has since perfected her strategy, she could very well emerge the winner of London; but as it is impossible to predict the outcome of any marathon. The 2011 London Marathon will be her fourth appearance and Abitova will need to shine in order to stand out in such a deep field.

Photo Credit: MarathonGuide.com - Kiplagat at the 2007 New York Mini 10K

Lornah Kiplagat
PB: 2:22:22, 2003 Osaka Marathon

Lornah Kiplagat, multiple World Champion gold and silver medalist in half marathon and cross country, has an illustrious and versatile professional running career that spans 14 years. Best known for running one of the fastest the half marathon finishes at the 2007 World Road Running Championships in Udine in 66:25, a then world record. This Kenyan born Dutch national also earned the gold and the Dutch National Record. While her marathon abilities are not the highlight of her resume, Kiplagat has 17 marathons to her name. She lays claim to 5 victories - 1997 and 1998 Los Angeles Marathon, 1999 Amsterdam Marathon, 2002 Osaka Marathon, 2005 Rotterdam Marathon.

Kiplagat also has 5 top finishes at highly regarded marathons such as Boston (2000-2:30:12, 5th place and 2001 - 2:27:56, 4th place), Chicago (2000-2:22:36, 2nd place), New York City (2003 - 2:23:43, 5th place a then National Record) and London (2007 - 2:24:46, 5th place). Not bad for someone whose successes have most notably been in varying distances on the track, on the roads from 10K-10mile-20K-Half Marathon-Marathon and in cross country. Although young elites today come to the marathon solely focused on the 26.2 mile distance, it was not unusual for veteran marathoners to have careers built up from track and cross country beginnings.

Now age 36, Kiplagat had not completed a marathon since her 2007 London Marathon, despite a DNF at the 2008 Dubai Marathon. She returns to the London Marathon for the second time, despite once being a pacesetter at the race. Of note: she will be going head-to-head against young Kenyan upstart Mary Keitany, who in early 2011 surpassed Kiplagat's half marathon world record with a 65:50. Could this lead to a speedier first half with these speedsters pulling the rabbits along with the deep field? With her 2007 finish of 2:24:46 and her wherewithal in past competition, Kiplagat has the raw ingredients necessary to give her a competitive edge in such a group of talented women.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Aselefech winning the 2011 Dubai Marathon

Mergia Aselefech
PB: 2:28:38, 2010 London Marathon

Mergia Aselefech is one of the faster marathoners to emerge from a large group of Ethiopian women in the past few years when the marathon distance tended to be Kenyan dominant. Fresh off a silver medal in the half marathon at the 2008 Wold Half Marathon Championships, Aselefech debuted in 26.2 miles at the 2009 Paris Marathon finishing as a runner-up in 2:25:02 before jumping into the limelight with a bronze medal at the 2008 World Championships in Berlin in 2:25:32.

Aselefech had a strong year in 2010 - with personal bests in the 10000m, 10K and most notably the half marathon where she dropped her time to 67:22 at the Ras al Khamaih Half Marathon (3rd place). She then took on the 2010 London Marathon. An early leader, it was Aselefech who made a decisive surge at mile 23 (5:18 pace) to break Russians Liliya Shobukhova and Inga Abitova in the fastest mile of the race; but Aselefech faded to take 3rd in a personal best time of 2:22:38. She went on to run two additional sub-70:00 half marathons.

Aselefech returns to take on 9 women returning from the 2010 field; but not only will it be a redux of Russia versus Ethiopia, top Kenyan and Chinese talent will be on hand. If her victory at the 2011 Dubai Marathon (2:22:45) is indicative of what shape she is in, expect Aselefech to not let the win of London elude her.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Bekele at the 2010 Berlin Marathon

Bezunesh Bekele
PB: 2:23:09, 2008 Dubai Marathon

When marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe mentioned that former track and cross country rival Bezunesh Bekele was one to watch in the marathon distance, we had to take note. Bekele of Ethiopia debuted in the marathon distance at the 2008 Dubai Marathon where she came in 2nd (2:23:09) - the 5th fastest female performance that year. Her next race was a 7th place at the 2008 Chicago Marathon in 2:32:41 which was enough to put her into top elite fields at the time.

While boasting good half marathon times throughout her career, including victories at the 2005 Rotterdam Half and the 2007 Lisbon Half and a 4th place at the 2007 World Championships (68:07), Bekele's sole marathon win came at the 2009 Dubai Marathon in (2:24:02). Aside from a middling 2008 World Championship performance where she placed 16th, she has been unable to break free from a string of 4th place marathon finishes at the 2009 Boston Marathon (2:33:08), 2010 Dubai Marathon (2:26:05) and 2010 London Marathon (2:23:17).

Although Bekele's last race at the 2010 Berlin Marathon was to be an improvement in finishing position with a 2nd place in 2:24:58, she will have to prove that she can be competitive in these top fields. WIth a personal best from her debut three years ago, Bekele is on fresh legs having sat out of the 2011 Dubai Marathon. Perhaps her rematch with gold and silver medalists from the 2007 World Half Marathon Championships (Lornah Kiplagat and Mary Keitany) will be added incentive to race harder. She may just be a wild card at the 2011 London Marathon.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Xue at the 2011 Asian Games

Bai Xue
PB: 2:23:27, Xiamen Marathon

At twenty-two years of age, China's Bai Xue is the youngest world marathon champion from the 2009 Berlin World Championships winning the late morning event in a 2:25:15. With 13 marathons under her belt, surprisingly, Xue debuted in the marathon distance at the 2003 Beijing Marathon at the age of 14! Not to mention at that same race, this teenager placed 8th with a 2:37:07 while the winner Sun Yingie, eleven years her senior, became the third fastest woman in the world.

In 2004, she was still developing in the distance and took 3rd at the Seoul Marathon in 2:42:21. By 2009 Xue had six top three finishes including two victories at Zhengzhou (2007, 2:33:51) and Beijing (2008, 2:23:27). Her success at the 2009 World Championships marked the beginning of a potentially great career especially with the Chinese now racing more in Western Europe and the US.

But leading up to 2010, Xue who still gives strong performances on the track in 5000m and 1000m in Asia has not been as impressive in the marathon. She won her 4th marathon of 2009 - the Beijing Marathon in 2:34:44 - defending her title. Xue then headed to the 2010 London Marathon where she held with the six leaders as they were on track for a 2:22 finish, but fell off pace at mile 19 to finish in 7th place (2:25:18).

Zhu Xiaolin
PB: 2:23:57, 2002 Beijing Marathon

China has another runner of note in the 2011 London Marathon field - Zhu Xiaolin. The name may not ring a bell, but her resume speaks for itself. Xiaolin has a strong background in the 1500m, 5000m, and 10000m distances. In fact she still actively competes in the 10000m, where as other runners who have turned to the marathon distance like defending champion of the London Marathon Liliya Shobukhova have shifted focus. Xiaolin has also been an active marathoner since 2002.

At 18 years old, Xiaolin debuted in a less-than-elite time of 2:51:12 at the 2002 Xialin Marathon National Championships with a 5th place finish. She quickly remedied that with a 3rd place finish at the 2002 Beijing Marathon in 2:23:57 and astoundingly won the 2002 Dailin Marathon (2:42:56) ONE WEEK after her Beijing performance. Her resume also includes victories at the Dailin and Xiamen Marathons and top five performances at 14 of the 18 marathons she has competed in.

Impressed yet? While predominantly racing in Asia, Xialin was 4th at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka (2:31:21), 4th at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games (2:27:16) and 5th at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin (2:26:08). In 2010 she placed 3rd at the 2010 Rotterdam Marathon (2:29:42) and 2nd at the Asian Games in Guangzhou (2:26:35). Continuing the trend of racing outside of Asia, Xialin finished 4th at the 2011 Paris Half Marathon earlier this March. Gaining experience racing against top international fields may be what she needs as she heads to the 2011 London Marathon and perhaps she may be able to work with fellow Chinese marathoner Xue Bai to prove that China is gaining it's place in distance running.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Keitany at the 2010 Berlin 25K

Mary Keitany
PB: 2:29:01, 2010 New York City Marathon

Half Marathon World Record Holder Mary Keitany of Kenya is a decorated athlete from the World Half Marathon Championships in 2007 and 2009 where she won silver (66:48) and gold (66:36) respectively. With twenty nine half marathons to her name and a two year streak of victories in the distance, Keitany has run more sub-67:00 half marathons than anyone. She also gained the African record with her 66:36 finish at the 2009 Great Birmingham race last autumn.

Keitany showed much promise in 2010 - kicking off the year with a win at the Abu Dhabi Half (67:14) and a second place finish at the Worlds Best 10K. She then had a string of victories at the London 10K, the Berlin 25K and Lisbon Half Marathon.

But the Kenyan who exploded onto the long distance circuit had yet to excel in the marathon distance. Her debut at the 2010 New York City Marathon held high expectation. Although Keitany could not hold onto fellow Kenyan Edna Kiplagat's surge at mile 24; she proved herself a force to be reckoned in this debut.

So far in 2011 soft spoken Keitany has run strong earning a world record in the half marathon - 65:50 at the Ras al Khaimah - only two women (Paula Radcliffe & Susan Chepkemei) have run faster having acquired these times over a decade ago (65:40 & 65:44) on slightly downhill courses. Keitany has star potential and we may just ready to see some new blood in the women's marathon distance. At the 2011 London Marathon, she will not only rematch Edna Kiplagat and Inga Abitova, but she will be entering the field as a world record holder. If anything, Keitany will be one to watch as her talents are capable of pushing the field to new limits.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Kiplagat wins the 2010 ING New York City Marathon

Edna Kiplagat
PB: 2:25:38, 2010 Los Angeles Marathon

Edna Kiplagat, silver and bronze Medalist in the 3000m at the 1996 and 1998 World Junior Championships, became a road specialist in the new millennium making a name for herself with victories at highly competitive 10K and half marathon races. While still a newcomer to the marathon distance, at 31 she is still making great strides. Evidence being her win of the 2010 Los Angeles Marathon (2:25:38) and the 2010 New York City Marathon (2:28:20). Focused on the 2011 London Marathon, Kiplagat has only 3 marathons to her resume.

Kiplagat debuted at the 205 Las Vegas Marathon in a 2:50:20 (10th place), not especially a finish expected of an elite Kenyan. She remained on the roads focusing on shorter distances. But 2010 proved to be "her" year as she set personal bests at races such as the Steamboat 4 miler (1st place), Freihofers 5K (2nd place), Peachtree 10K (3rd place), Boilermaker 15K (1st place). Not to mention two marathon victories in a last ditch effort to prove that she can be competitive in the 26.2 mile races.

At the 2010 Los Angeles Marathon, Kiplagat collected the prize purse plus an additional $100,000 bonus in the " L.A. Marathon Challenge" having not been lapped by the top male elites despite being given an 18 minute headstart. Kiplagat was on fire. She headed to the 2010 New York City Marathon where she battled it out against Kenyan Mary Keitany and American Shalane Flanagan to win in 2:25:38.

Kiplagat began the season with two cross country races including the National Championships, she failed to qualify for World Cross Country Championships. She returned to the roads at the 2011 New York City Half Marathon. An early leader, Caroline Rotich had a stronger kick and took victory. Kiplagat was 2nd in a personal best of 69:00. While her distant sights are on the marathon at the 2011 World Championships in August and possibly the 2012 London Olympics, she will need to deliver an incredible performance in London to stay on top.

Photo Credit: Victah Sailer - Lewy-Boulet at the 2011 US Half Marathon Championships

Magdalena Lewy-Boulet is dedicated to the marathon when there seems to be a dearth of American women in the distance or sticking with the distance for the time that she has - a decade. An Olympian who was 2nd to Deena Kastor at the 2008 Olympic Trials in Boston, Lewy-Boulet has had a well-rounded career on the track, in cross country and on the roads. Despite not finishing the 2008 Beijing Olympics Marathon, she has been working hard. In 2010 her efforts paid off with personal bests in races such as the 15K National Championships (3rd place), 20K National Championships (1st place) and the 2010 Rotterdam Marathon (2nd place - 2:26:22).

Her Rotterdam performance shaved 4 minutes off her previous best - 2:30:19 from the 2008 Olympic Trials . Lewy-Boulet ran a 2:28:44 at the Chicago Marathon, not bad since the initial miles of the event were on target for a 2:22 and few women held to the pace. So, at the start of 2011 Lewy-Boulet who is now 37 running stronger than she ever was will be running the London Marathon for the first time.

With an absence of a clear top female marathoner, if the timing is right Lewy-Boulet may use London as the stage for an incredible performance.