Ugandan great Joshua hopes VDHM will be springboard for new road race career

     New Delhi, Oct 18 (PTI) He made his international debut in India way back in 2014 and Ugandan long distance runner Joshua Cheptegei is hoping that the country will yet again provide him the platform for a successful journey in road race after quitting track career recently.
     Cheptegei, who ended his track career after winning 10,000m gold at the Paris Olympics, will be one of the favourites to win the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon race on Sunday.
     The 28-year-old Cheptegei made his international debut in India at the TCS World 10K Bengaluru 2014, finishing second.
     Since then, he has won two Olympic gold medals (5000m in Tokyo and 10,000m in Paris) and three world championships titles (2019, 2022, 2023). He is the current world record holder in 5000m and 10,000m, though he will no longer run on track.
     "I am done with the track and I have announced it after Paris Olympics. I have started a new journey of road race. Just like India gave me a platform for a successful career on track, I hope my transition to road races is good and ultimately successful.
     "I can say I have an emotional connection with India. I want to start something new, a new challenge and what a better place than India where I first ran a race outside Uganda," he told PTI, remembering the 10K race in Bengaluru in 2014.
     Sunday's race will be his first half marathon this year. In fact, he has run just three official half marathon races in his career.
     In 2020, he competed in the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships at Gdynia in Poland, clocking 59.21 seconds, his personal best so far, and finishing fourth. After that, he ran in United Airlines NYC Half Marathon in New York in 2023, clocking 1:02:09 and finishing second.
     During childhood also, Cheptegei has dabbled in many sports and athletics events before deciding on long distance.
     "During my school days, I used to do long, jump, triple jump, high jump and played football. Even ran 3000m steeplechase (in 2013 national championships).
     "I felt did not have the skill of those events, so I left."
     Cheptegei also feels that India's athletics profile has been on the upswing after Neeraj Chopra won the javelin gold in Tokyo Olympics.
     "I know Neeraj Chopra who won javelin throw gold in Tokyo Olympics and another 3000m steeplechaser (Avinash Sable). India has young athletes and in two-three years, it will do better in the top competitions like World Championships.
     "You have so many young athletes wanting to achieve success. I feel India has the running culture. Sometimes, I wonder why big events like World Championships are not happening in India, why not even Olympics. I would love to take part in those events."
     Cheptegei will have a tough fight with Ethiopian Muktar Edris who will be running his second race in Delhi. Edris' personal best of 58:40 seconds is also better than that of Cheptegei.
     "I will looking for the course record. It all depends on the race day, the running group, the pace setters, it can be a fast race. At least, it should be sub 60 minute," he said.
     The Delhi Half Marathon course record is in the name of Ethiopian Amdework Walelegn -- 58:53 seconds set in 2020.
     The 30-year-old Edris was fourth with 59:04 seconds in a fast race in 2020 here while he finished eighth with a time of 1:01:05 in the 2022 edition. He also ran in the TCS World 10K in Bengaluru in 2022, finishing seventh.
     Edris won his last race in September, a 10 mile Dam tot Damloop, Amsterdam, where Cheptegei finished second.
     "For the last one and half years I am carrying a knee problem but despite that I am being able to run and win races. Before that I was having an adductor trouble but that is more or less over."
     In the women's elite race, top contenders are Eilish McColgan of Great Britain, who won 10,000m gold in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, and Cynthia Limo of Kenya who won a silver World Half Marathon Championships way back in 2016.
     The 33-year-old McColgan was in India during the 2009 Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune.
     She is the daughter of Liz McColgan who won 10,000m gold in 1991 World Championships, two-time Commonwealth Games 10,000m champion (1986 and 1990) and winner at prestigious World Marathon Majors in New York (1991), Tokyo (1992) and London (1996).
     "Half marathon is a learning curve for me. But I feel my future in ultimately in marathon. So, I want to enjoy the race on Sunday and run my best," said McColgan who has a personal best of 1:05:43.
     McColgan broke her mother's Scottish 10,000m record in 2022 and emulated her mother by winning the 10,000m at the 2022 CWG.
     The 34-year-old Limo, a mother of two daughters, has a half marathon personal best of 1:06:04 and she last ran the distance in March at United Airlines NYC Half in New York, where she finished fourth with 1:11:54.
     She took seven years off from running due to depression after the loss of her first child. Owen Anderson
     "It is tough to be a top runner while looking after a family, but you have to find a way out," she said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)