Korir wins Ottawa Marathon in personal best, Coolsaet finishes eighth

There were three runners under 2:10 on Sunday morning at the Ottawa Marathon, but Kenyan Albert Korir took the title in 2:08:03, a 15-second personal best. Second place went to Abera Kuma of Ethiopia in 2:08:14 and third place to Tsedat Ayana, also of Ethiopia, in 2:08:53.

The 2019 edition of the @OttawaMarathon is won by ?? Albert Korir!! #RunOttawa2019 #IAAF pic.twitter.com/Erh1gDq1T1

— Ottawa Marathon (@OttawaMarathon) May 26, 2019

Korir had an amazing day in Ottawa, despite the humidity. The runner smashed his personal best through the half-marathon, coming through 21.1K at 1:03:36 in tenth place before slowly moving up.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpWzwQrhVNR/

RELATED: Hannah and Coolsaet are Canadian headliners for 2019 Ottawa Marathon

Canadian Reid Coolsaet finished eighth in 2:17:37, which was four minutes shy of his goal of 2:13. The race broke apart early, but Coolsaet had anticipated this. He initially ran with Guelph’s John Mason, but Mason fell off pace around 35 minutes. Coolsaet ran the remaining hour and a half on his own. Coolsaet was initially scheduled to race the Hamburg Marathon in April, but due to illness he rescheduled his spring marathon to Ottawa.

Great interview. Conditions for a #Marathon matter!

— Steve Fleck (@stevefleck) May 26, 2019

RELATED: What a decade of marathoning has taught Reid Coolsaet

The world championships in Doha this fall are on Coolsaet’s radar. “Worlds would actually be a great setup for the Olympics. If you finish well at worlds the points could qualify you for Tokyo. It will be very hot in Doha, which will be good training for Tokyo as well.”

This is getting weird. Today was the 3rd time in my career I’ve run the exact same time (in 14 marathons).
2:17:37 (2018 & 2019)
2:11:24 (2013 & 2015)
2:10:55 (2011 & 2016)

— Reid Coolsaet (@ReidCoolsaet) May 26, 2019

Full results can be found here. Women’s results to follow.