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AFTER a good show at the Old Mutual Westgate half marathon last weekend, the pair of Canisious Nyamutsita and Betha Chikanga are hoping to leave a mark at the Copenhagen half marathon when they take part, for the first time, in Demark, on September 16.
Nyamutsita and Chikanga are scheduled to leave for Denmark on September 11.
Their coach Collen Makaza expressed satisfaction with the way their preparations have been going.
But he noted they still need to work towards improving Nyamutsita’s time after he won the Westgate half marathon in 1hr 6mins 33s.
“I think we have done quite a lot in our preparations and we took advantage of the Westgate half marathon to gauge where we are.
‘’We have been working on speed in order to match Kenyans and Ethiopians, who are top contenders in the race.
“After our local race, the Westgate half marathon, they have gained confidence. I am happy with the way we have prepared, we have been specialising on speed and Betha ran 35minutes, which is good.
“However, Canisious’ time was slow comparing with the times at the upcoming race because the winner ran 58minutes.
‘’So, he still needs to work because there is a big difference looking at his time, there is a big difference,’’ said Makaza.
Makaza, a seasoned long distance runner himself, said they were looking at posting good times since the two athletes are competing in the event for the first time.
“The Copenhagen half marathon is one of the big races in Europe. Our athletes are going there for the first time, so they are down at the bottom in terms of the rankings.
‘’But we are expecting good times from them, we are not focusing on positions but the times. So that’s our target going into this race,” said Makaza.
Chikanga, who came out tops in the 10km race at the Westgate event, said she is almost there.
“I am supposed to work on the last seven kilometres and my finishing. My time is good because if you complete 10km in 32 to 35 minutes it’s fine because it means you will manage in the 21km. .
“My wish in Demark is to run 1hour 8minutes or 1hour 10minutes and below,” said Chikanga.
Online Reporter