Hellen Obiri has opened up on the key reasons for shifting her training base to Kenya as she eyes a third straight Boston Marathon title in April.
Two-time Boston Marathon champion Hellen Obiri feels the hilly terrains in Ngong, Kajiado county will greatly improve her capacity to defend her title in April.
Obiri is back in Kenya to tune up for the Boston Marathon, slated for April 21, where she will be seeking to win a third straight title and join Fatuma Roba as the only runners to have claimed an undisrupted treble following the Ethiopian’s success from 1997 to 1999.
To do that, the 2023 New York Marathon champion believes she will need different kinds of training and has laid out an elaborate 12-week plan that she feels will leave her in great shape for another victory when she finally leaves Kenya for America.
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The US-based star has opted to return home to tune up for her Boston Marathon defence as she seeks to win her third straight title in the American city.
“I am glad to be back home for the first time since June. I will need like 12 weeks to train for Boston, and the training regime and terrains in Ngong will be crucial for my hat-trick campaign,” Obiri told Nation.
“I am ready for Boston, but being ready also calls for working extra hard. I will have to do something extra in training to make things easier for myself, but self-belief is also key to my success.”
The Olympics marathon bronze medalist has done most of her training in the United States since linking up with Colorado-based coach Dathan Ritzenhein and the results have been great, winning three marathon titles, while finishing second and third once.
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Hellen Obiri has highlighted the key differences in training between Kenya and the US.
Obiri had cast her sights on winning a maiden Olympics title in Paris last year but did not make it, having to settle for bronze behind Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa, who won silver, and winner Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands.
“It is rare to win an Olympic medal, so bronze was fine for me on my championship debut marathon even though my target was gold,” she added.
Obiri, who is also a Kenya Defence Forces officer, spared time to meet the Kenya Air Force Commander Major General Fatuma Ahmed, who congratulated her for her marathon exploits.
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Olympic marathon bronze medallist Hellen Obiri is aiming to become the first woman to win three consecutive Boston Marathon titles having signed up for this year’s race.
In Boston, Obiri will be up against formidable opposition with Sharon Lokedi, who run her close last year, Edna Kiplagat, the 2024 third place finisher, Amane Beriso, who finished second to her in 2023, her Ethiopian colleague Yalemzerf Yehualaw, the 2022 London Marathon champion, as well as Kenya’s Sharon Cherop, the 2021 winner in Boston, among her competitors.
