Joyciline Jepkosgei will be seeking to bounce back from a seventh-place finish at the Boston Marathon when she defends her title at this weekend's London Marathon.
The 2019 New York Marathon champion said she loves the London course unlike Boston, which is 'quite hilly'.
“The course here in London is favourable, very flat and I am looking forward to defending the title I won last year,” said Jepkosgei.
Jepkosgei, who clocked 2:24:43 in Boston, said she has focused on endurance training for the past three months.
"Boston was very tough, physically and mentally, but I have trained and recharged my batteries and can't wait for Sunday,” she added.
Meanwhile, Jepkosgei has revealed she will drop half marathons and focus fully on marathon running going forward.
"Going forward, I want to focus on full marathons. In the past, I could run a half marathon in preparing for a full marathon but that has changed,” she said.
Jepkosgei hopes that the current favourable weather will hold for a good race on Sunday.
“We ran under rainy and chilly conditions last year but the weather is promising this time round. I love it,” said Jepkosgei, who hopes to represent Kenya at the World Athletics Championships next year as well as the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Jepkosgei has been training under Nicholas Koech, whom she termed as a big source of inspiration.
“Nicholas has really supported and encouraged me, especially after Boston. We worked hard in training for the past three months to ensure we come with a win on Sunday," she observed.
Asked if a sub-2:15 run was in her plans, Jepkosgei said: "I can't comment on that. The most important thing will be to cross the finishing line first and do my country proud."
Following the withdrawal of two-time champion Brigid Kosgei, Jepkosgei and Judith Korir will spearhead Kenya's quest for domination.
Korir won this year’s Paris Marathon in April before finishing runner-up in the World Championships in Oregon in July.
She was originally scheduled to be a pacemaker in this year’s London Marathon but has now opted to race the full distance.
