Everything is ready in Lisbon for another edition of the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon, the fastest half marathon in the world, scheduled to Sunday March 17th, 2024.
For this year, the Portuguese race will have another stellar elite field, with the Kenyan Brigid Kosgei as the main contender. Former marathon world record, Kosgei, 30, will be in Lisbon to prepare the upcoming London Marathon and has plans to run fast in Portuguese soil.
“I want to say thanks for the race organizers. I’m really happy to be here again. I wanted to run this race because I want to test my speed for London Marathon in April. I come here to see how my body respond. I’m feeling good, I’m happy, did a good preparation. The course is very fast and I hope to have a good race on Sunday. If the weather is good, I will try to break my personal best in half marathon”, said the 30 year-old Kenyan, who has a personal best of 1:04:49.
Right by her side was the American Leonard Korir, third in the last month’s US Olympic Marathon Trials. In that race, Korir achieved the needed spot in the podium, but not the time to guarantee the place in Paris. That’s why he choose Lisbon to race, to try to run a fast time, and maybe to break the American record (59:43).
“I heard so many good things about the race, I heard that it’s super fast. There were some guys that run fast here, like Jacob Kiplimo. I wanted to run something faster, and I told myself ‘let me try to go to Lisbon’. I heard the organization is very good, the course is very nice. I just want to see if I can run a quick time, to see how my body feels before running a marathon in the near future”, said the 37 year-old American.
Besides Kosgei and Korir, EDP Lisbon Half Marathon will have some strong contenders, all of them with their sights on the €150.000 bonus for new world records. The times to beat are 57:31, set by Jacob Kiplimo in this same race in 2021; and 1:02:54, set by Letesenbet Gidey in the same, but in Valencia.
Event schedule and broadcast (March 17th)
10:05h – EDP Lisbon Half Marathon
10:45h – Vodafone 10K
Note: Lisbon time (GMT)
Live on RTP1, RTP Internacional and RTP Play (available worldwide).
