World leader Violah Jepchumba has her sights set on the course record at theBirell Grand Prix, while compatriot Daniel Chebii will chase his third victory in Prague today. Jepchumba has fond memories of the Czech capital. Earlier this year, the 25-year-old won the Prague Half Marathon in 1:05:51, making her the third-fastest half-marathon runner in history. She also moved to third on the world all-time list for 10km in that race, after passing that checkpoint in a world-leading 30:29. Her time is a Czech all-comers’ record and just eight seconds shy of Paula Radcliffe’s world record for the distance. In her fi rst 10km race since her Prague triumph, Jepchumba— who won this year’s Istanbul and Gothenburg half marathons—will now have the opportunity to chase an even faster time, and the course record of 30:55 looks set to come under serious threat. Jepchumba might have the fastest PBs of the fi eld, but one advantage her opponents have is experience. Gladys Cherono was the world’s fastest marathon runner of 2015,clocking 2:19:25 to win in Berlin.
