Kenya's Kipchoge targets personal best in Berlin

Nairobi, July 16: Kenyan Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge said his goal is to lower his personal best time ahead of the Berlin Marathon in September.

In what might be viewed as a thinly veiled plan to smash the world record on his fourth attempt at the Berlin Marathon course, Kipchoge said he is keen to lower his personal mark, which is 2:03:05 he set by winning the London Marathon, reports Xinhua news agency.

Although he went on to run 2:00:25 in Italy in a controlled setting, the time has not been ratified by the IAAF.

The 33-year-old Kenyan has won all nine marathon competitions he's entered except in Berlin in 2014.

Those who have succeeded ahead of him include Paul Tergat, Haile Gebresellasie, Patrick Makau, Kipsang and current world marathon record holder Dennis Kimetto. But Kipchoge said his push to lower his marathon running time begins in September during the Berlin Marathon.

"I may not smash the world record but I am preparing to run my personal best [time] in Berlin," Kipchoge said in Kabarak on Monday. "I have enjoyed the season from last year and I hope to make it even better."

This year, Kipchoge was timed at 2:04:17 when he won his third London Marathon in April, having taken a break from the race last year to try to run a sub-two-hour marathon in Italy.

Bad weather and windy conditions prevented Kipchoge from running a world record time in Berlin last year. He clocked in at 2:03:32, missing Kimetto's world record by just 35 seconds (2:02:57).