Boston Marathon test for Kiplangat

The memories of Kiplangat crossing that finish-line at Heroes’ Square after conquering the course over the Seine River in the Hungarian capital are still fresh in memory.

At the Olympic Games last summer, Kiplangat arrived in the French capital Paris seeking to claim and hold all three marathon titles at a go, only to be beaten by a tedious course - ending up 37th.

Honestly, the man nicknamed ‘Pastor’ Kiplangat put in effort in four road races in 2024 and he never made a top-10 finish in three of them, including the 2024 Tokyo Marathon in Japan.

After overcoming some hamstring problems, a mental block and a long travel, Kiplangat today will hope to get some redemption when he lines up among the elite men’s field for the 129th Boston Marathon in Massachusetts, USA.

“Last year was not good for me, I have come back to check on my body,” a pretty relaxed Kiplangat said in an interview upon arrival on the East Coast.

The Boston Marathon is a highly-billed World Marathon Major (WMM) event. Just a handful of elite running Ugandans have raced a WMM in the USA.

At the peak of their prowess, Stephen Kiprotich and Jackson Kiprop did the New York Marathon in 2013 and the former returned to it in 2014, accompanied by Harbert Okuti. Stephen Kissa raced at the 2022 Chicago Marathon in Illinois.

Kiplangat, who is a two hours, five minutes and nine seconds performer, is privileged to be the first renowned Ugandan to debut in Boston. Boston takes place every third Monday of April - on Patriots’ Day and conditions can oscillate in extremities from too hot or snow.

Temperatures are expected to be at 13°C and the race is familiar for its tricky ‘Heartbreak Hill’ - a half-mile stretch at a gradient of five percent between 20th and 21th mile.   

Sometimes, a bounce-back in a marathon career only requires race during the race. “My preparation was okay. Boston is a hilly course, I have prepared very well, and that’s why I am here,” added Kiplangat.

“It’s without pacers. The field is very strong,” Kiplangat’s coach Addy Ruiter said. “Victor must survive the first 35km and wait till the hills are coming. So he must anticipate what others are doing and how his body is responding,” he added.

 The field comprises defending champion Ethiopian Sisay Lemma who will face six men who challenged him to the finish-line 12 months ago. And that includes two-time champion Kenyan Evans Chebet, Americans Conner Mantz and Clayton Young.

 There’ll also be Lemma’s country-mates Lelisa Desisa, 2013 and 2015 winner in Boston, and two-time 5000-metre world champion Edris Muktar who is making his full-marathon debut.

 Other Kenyans John Korir and Cyprian Kotut can’t be overlooked either. Kiplangat’s result will serve as a pivotal benchmark for discussion before he bids to defend his title at the Tokyo World Championships in September.

BOSTON MARATHON

Date: Usually the third Monday of April (Patriots' Day)

Location: Eastern Massachusetts, ending in Boston

Distance: Marathon

Established: 1897 (128 years ago)

2025 Edition: 129th

Course records: Men: 2:03:02 (2011) by Geoffrey Mutai (KEN) | Women: 2:19:59 (2014) by Buzunesh Deba (ETH)

 UGANDAN IN ACTION - MONDAY

Ugandan in action: Victor Kiplangat

Race Time: 4:37pm (Elite Men’s Race)

KIPLANGAT AT A GLANCE

Full Name: Victor Kiplangat

Date of birth: Nov 10, 1999

Major Events: Half-Marathon, Marathon

Personal Bests: 59:26 (21km), 2:05:09 (42km)

Coach: Addy Ruiter

Manager: Jurrie van der Velden

KIPLANGAT’S MARATHON CAREER

Nov 7, 2021: Istanbul Marathon, 1st (2:10:18)

Apr 24, 2022: Hamburg Marathon, 4th (2:05:09)

Jul 30, 2022: XXII Commonwealth Games, 1st (2:10:55)

Feb 26, 2023: Osaka Marathon, 2nd (2:06:03)

Aug 27, 2023: Budapest World Champs, 1st (2:08.53)

Mar 3, 2024: Tokyo Marathon, 15th (2:07:44)

Aug 10, 2024: Paris Olympics, 37th (2:11:59)