The stellar field assembled for the 2016 TCS Amsterdam Marathon did not disappoint, producing a new course record and the top-8 finishers all breaking the 2:07:00 barrier, with another two going sub-2:08:00 and another three going sub-2:10:00. Only the 2012 Dubai Marathon has had more sub-2:07 and sub-2:08 finishers in marathon history. In that setting, Marius Kimutai was part of a 14-member lead group that passed the half way point in 1:03:19. With a strong second half covered in 1:02:28, Kimutai steadily advanced through the field, and in the last 5 km segment moved from 6th to 3rd, with his finish time of 2:05:47 establishing a new personal best by over 3 minutes. The top-6 finishers in Amsterdam all moved into the ’16 marathon world top-20, with winner Daniel Wanjiru (2:05:21) in 10th, runner-up Sammy Kitwara (2:05:45) in 13th and Kimutai in 14th. Having joined the Personae group less than a year ago, Kimutai’s drastic improvement is illustrated with his previous personal best of 2:09:14 (’15 Rennes), which ranked him 101st on the ’15 marathon world chart.
Other noteworthy road performances by Personae athletes in September and October so far have included Alice Aprot Nawowuna at the Tilburg 10 km (1st in 31:34 personal best / ’16 world no. 14); Elijah Kemboi at the Kosice Marathon (2nd in 2:09:24); Bornes Kitur at the Cologne Marathon (1st in 2:32:16); and Samuel Kalelei at the Metz Marathon (2nd in 2:11:48). Finally, several Personae athletes had outstanding performances at the Utrecht 10 km, led by winner Bashir Abdi (28:31 personal best), runner-up Abraham Cheroben (28:32), and 4th placer Andrew Lorot (28:34 personal best). Also in Utrecht, Milcah Chemos continued her comeback from serious injuries in 2014 and 2015, finishing 3rd in a personal best 33:42.