Former world cross silver medallist Bedan Karoki is confident of a good outing when he makes his 42km race debut at the London Marathon this weekend.
A bullish Karoki said he is ready to mix up with the big boys of road racing in Sunday’s prestigious event.
The Japan-based athlete said his training has been intense and was ready for the event.
“Training has been tough. Making the switch from 10,000m to half marathon and now full marathon is not easy but am psyched up and leave everything else to God,” added Karoki.
Karoki said he has been focusing on speed work in these final days ahead of the event.
“I have been focusing on speed work and getting the endurance right for the event. It’s a huge event but I have prepared well,” added Karoki. “I know a good performance there will change my life forever.”
However, he revealed he at times gets butterflies when he thinks about parading among the world’s greatest distance runners despite having a remarkable pedigree both on cross country, track and half marathon.
Meanwhile, a huge pay-day awaits athletes at this year’s IAAF World Relays set for this weekend in Nassau, Bahamas.
Any team who breaks a world record in Nassau will be awarded a USD50,000 (Sh5.1m) bonus by the IAAF.
The IAAF/BTC World Relays have already witnessed five world record-breaking performances.
At the inaugural edition in 2014, a Jamaican quartet clocked 1:18.63 to take down the men’s world 4x200m record while Kenyan teams shattered the standards in both the men’s and women’s 4x1500m.
In 2015, USA teams stamped their authority on the distance medley event by breaking the records in both the men’s and women’s races. All five records still stand.