NAIROBI, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Olympic champion Vivian Cheruiyot is back in training after shaking off a recurrent tendon injury that has kept her off competition for over three months.
Cheruiyot, 36, has only run two races this year, as she finished second at the London Marathon behind compatriot and World marathon record holder Brigid Kosgei and won the Lisbon half marathon back in March.
She was due to a challenge for the Berlin marathon in September, but the injury stopped her. Now Cheruiyot believes she is back in form and will seek a good performance on her sixth marathon career in the Spanish city in Valencia on Dec. 1.
"I am back in training," said Cheruiyot on Friday. "The focus is to gauge the body and see good performance. The injury denied me a big opportunity in Berlin. It was frustrating after a lot of training, the injury flared up again."
The diminutive athlete has been seeking medication in Germany and Kenya and hopes her injury worries are over for the time being.
Cheruiyot will face strong opposition from Ethiopians Roza Dereje and Birhane Dibaba, both of whom have broken the two-hour-20-minute barrier for the distance.
Fellow Ethiopian Zeineba Yimer, who has clocked 65 minutes 46 seconds for the half marathon, makes her full marathon debut.
"At this stage of competition, there are no simple challenges. Everyone enters a race with the hope of winning. However, for me, I run my own race and my strength and inspiration is drawn from what I want to attain," she added.
Cheruiyot remains one of the top marathon women runners in the country and in contention to make the Kenya team to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
However, that will be dependent on her performance in Valencia and then next year in London.
Organizers of the Valencia marathon have also confirmed that the men's race will have former World Indoor bronze medalist Augustine Choge, who will be making his debut in the marathon. Choge had a false start in Chicago last year and pulled out after just 10km.
In Valencia, he hopes to make a new start in his quest to emulate his mentor and training mate World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge. Choge will battle it out with Ethiopians Getaneh Molla (2:03:34), Herpasa Negasa (2:03:40) and reigning champion Leul Gebrselassie (2:04:02).
In total, the men's race features 12 runners, who have run 2:06.00 personal best time and another 22 with a best time of two hours and 10 minutes.
