NAIROBI, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Olympic 5,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot is leading a strong Kenyan lineup at the Lisbon half marathon as part of her preparations for the London marathon title defense in April.
Cheruiyot, who has not raced since September, said she is keen to gauge her fitness and improve on areas that will boost her chances of retaining the title in London.
"It has been five months since I run, but I have been focusing on training. But Am certain of myself and want to see how I will fare on in a competitive race," said Cheruiyot on Saturday.
The 34-year-old will be running her fifth marathon in London in April, but said her main focus now is how she will deal with a strong Kenyan line up at the Lisbon half marathon on Sunday.
"I certainly know we have strong team lining up in Lisbon. We are all leaving in one flight to Portugal, but we will be enemies on the course. However, it is not about the caliber of opposition that is the problem, my own competitor is myself. I always want to challenge myself," she added.
