NAIROBI, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Victory in the New York Half Marathon on Sunday will be critical to boost the confidence of Kenya's Edna Kiplagat and Joyciline Jepkosgei ahead of their full marathon trophy hunt in April.
Kiplagat, who has competed in all six World Marathon Majors (WMM) in six cities is almost going down the cliff after dominating the 42km distance for over a decade. She will be in Boston to try to win the title for the fourth time.
However, Jepkosgei is shifting gears from the half marathon to a full marathon debut in Hamburg next month as she returns from injury and she exudes confidence that she will weather the storm and carve her own niche at the distance.
"I'm looking to cover moves and make smart race decisions and just really race and engage," said Jepkosgei. "I'm excited to be running my first New York Half Marathon. The field has very good and experienced runners and it will give me a great opportunity to gauge myself ahead of my full marathon debut in Hamburg in April."
The 24-year-old is eager to see how her body will react prior to her full marathon debut.
"Running the full marathon will be a new experience for me, and I don't really know what is in store for me, and the marathon is torturing. I will just want to run and finish the race. I would like to achieve a time of around 2:22 in the marathon. But there is still one month of preparation to come. I have to wait and see how my body reacts to the training. Once I am a week away from the race I will see what kind of form I am in. Then I will determine my final goal," she added.
