THE CONTENDERS
Top Male Contenders
Ketema Negasa ( Ethiopia )
Club : Nedbank Running Club Ethiopia Age : 35 Marathon PB : 2:11:07 ( Cape Town , 2017 ) Last Marathon : 2:12:09 ( Osaka , 2019 )
With the fastest PB in the field , Ketema Negasa is an obvious choice as a top contender , even if he has not raced beyond the marathon distance before . Having come close to that 2017 PB as recently as 2019 , and coming off a year of relatively little racing , the question will be whether he is fresh and race-ready for this challenge . Ethiopia has produced some of the world ’ s greatest long distance athletes , and this is his chance to write his name into the history books .
Shadrack Kiptoo Kimaiyo ( Kenya )
Club : Nedbank Running Club Kenya Age : 28 Marathon PB : 2:12:52 ( Nairobi , 2017 ) Last Marathon : 2:17:36 ( Brescia , 2018 ) /
2:19:42 ( Libreville , 2018 )
While Kenyan athletes dominate the long distance running stage all over the world , they have generally not fared as well in South African ultramarathons . However , most of the local ultras are quite hilly , and the flat 10km looped course may play into the hands of athletes such as Shadrack Kimaiyo . With a 2:12 marathon PB and sub-2:20 times in recent years , he should be capable of maintain the pace needed for a record attempt .
18 NEDBANK RUNIFIED 50KM | 23 May 2021