NAIROBI, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Seoul Marathon champion Amos Kipruto of Kenya is on a mission to amend fall on debut at Amsterdam marathon last year as he returns to claim what he missed on Oct. 15.
Kipruto may not be the fastest in the elite list, but the Kenyan has shown his potential since launching his career in the Dutch capital a year ago.
Kipruto's marathon career took off from Amsterdam and this year he is competing for a place on the podium. He won this year's Seoul Marathon in 2:05:54, improving his personal best by more than two minutes.
"I want to return to where I started and see what medal I can get. I still have a lot to learn in marathon and winning is part of what I have to get used to," said Kipruto.
Organizers of the Amsterdam marathon believe the course record could fall with Ethiopians Tesfaye Abera, Kipruto, Edwin Kiptoo and Zane Robertson able to run faster. The Dutch capital race holds a course record of 2:05:21.
With a personal best of 2:04:24 set when winning last year's Dubai Marathon, Abera is the fastest of the four.
The 25-year-old Ethiopian sits at 13th on the world all-time list and, having also won the Hamburg Marathon last year, he is keen to add the Amsterdam crown to his string of victories.
However, Kenya's Edwin Kiptoo played an important role in setting the pace in Amsterdam last year, so is familiar with the course.
With a half-marathon personal best time of 59:26 and having finished fourth at the recent Dam tot Damloop, Kiptoo has reason to feel optimistic ahead of his marathon debut.
New Zealand's Zane Robertson will also be making his much-awaited marathon debut. The 27-year-old who lives in Kenya holds national records at 10,000m (27:33.67) and the half marathon (59:47).
Dutch Olympian Abdi Nageeye will also be taking part. Besides seeking to improve his personal best of 2:09:34, he will also be looking to beat Kamiel Maase's national record of 2:08:21.
Meanwhile, Wilson Kipsang's manager Arien Verkade has said the conditions forced him to drop out of the Berlin Marathon.
"He felt very cold and could not run properly anymore. It was probably because of rain. Problems started at 25km," he said.
Verkade said Kipsang's stomach "was not the problem" even though he was seen being sick shortly after dropping out at the 30km mark and added he could contest another marathon before the end of the year.
