The 2024 Gyeongju Marathon champion Silas Kiptoo believes training alongside Olympic bronze medallist Benson Kipruto and Berlin Marathon champion Sebastian Sawe has given him the perfect edge to chase victory at Sunday’s Toronto Marathon.
The 27-year-old headlines a formidable Kenyan line-up set to light up the streets of Canada in pursuit of marathon glory.
Kiptoo exudes confidence ahead of the race, aiming not only for the top podium spot but also a new lifetime best.
“I am coming to win. If not, I’ll try to run a personal best,” Kiptoo told race organisers.
His current best over the 42km stands at 2:06:21, clocked during his third-place finish at the Paris Marathon in April, where he followed compatriot Bernard Biwott (2:05:25) and Djibouti’s Ibrahim Hassan (2:06:13).
Kiptoo says sharing a training base with seasoned stars like Kipruto and Sawe has been a massive source of motivation and belief.
“I train with Benson Kipruto and Sebastian Sawe,” he noted.
Kipruto’s marathon resume includes his Olympic bronze from Paris 2024, the Tokyo (2024), Boston (2021) and Chicago (2022) titles.
He is a runner-up from the 2023 Chicago race and had placed third in Boston 2022 and 2023. Sawe, meanwhile, had been in flying form since making his marathon debut in Valencia last year.
His accolades include triumphs in London and Berlin this year. Kiptoo revealed that Kipruto has been mentoring him after having run the Toronto Marathon before.
Kiptoo revealed that Kipruto’s experience in Toronto has also been invaluable in shaping his preparations.
“Benson has been to Toronto before and says the course is good. He ran there in 2019 and was able to run a personal best alongside Philemon Rono,” said Kiptoo.
At that 2019 Toronto race, Kipruto clocked 2:05:13, finishing fourth as Rono stormed to victory in 2:05:00, followed by Ethiopia’s Lemi Berhanu (2:05:09) and Uganda’s Filex Chemongesi (2:05:12).
Kiptoo’s build-up to Sunday’s challenge has been intense and well-structured.
“My training has been okay. I normally run 35km a day, which means about 210km a week,” he revealed.
He added that his preparations have remained consistent with his Paris routine earlier this year.
“It’s the same as Paris. I didn’t make any changes from when I was going there.”
Kiptoo’s marathon resume continues to grow impressively. His Gyeongju triumph last year came in 2:12:35, while he finished runner-up in Geneva 2022 (2:11:32) and Madrid 2023 (2:10:31).
He has also secured podium finishes in Rome 2024 (2:08:09) and Istanbul 2022 (2:11:42) — solid performances that underline his steady rise among Kenya’s new generation of road warriors.
