Belarus marathon star to race Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Over the past two years Aliaksandra Duliba has swiftly risen to prominence in international women’s marathon running, becoming one of the most exciting prospects on the planet.

On Oct. 19, the 26-year-old Belarusian will line up in the 2014 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon with an eye on the course record of 2:22:43.

Her marathon experience might be short but she has accomplished much. She will arrive in Toronto as one of the race favourites. In March 2013, she debuted at the Los Angeles marathon emerging with a victory in a time of 2:26:08. That was good enough to earn an invitation to the 2013 Chicago Marathon, where she raced to a fourth-place finish in a new personal best of 2:23:44.

“I came to the marathon distance by accident — and good luck,” she declares. “During the years of 2009-2011, I was basically making my living competing in small races in France and Poland. Twice a year, I participated in the national championships of Belarus and hadn’t even thought about running a marathon. At that time that would be the most ambitious and surreal idea.”

“I realized I was barely making my living from those small races and I was not moving forward,” she remembers. “That was the right time and [my agent] Andrey Baranov approached me saying right away ‘Duliba, it’s time to get serious. You’ve got the potential of a marathon runner. Just stay focused on one distance.’ And, he had the right coach for me.”

The agent introduced her to Ukrainian coach, Igor Osmak, and they began working together in the winter of 2012. One of the first things the coach did was increase her training volume. The partnership continues to pay off. Most recently Duliba finished sixth in the 2014 Boston Marathon in a world-class time of 2:21:29.

Duliba will be accompanied by her fiance, Ukrainian marathoner Vitaliy Shafar, to Toronto. He has a best time of 2:09:37, which he ran in Boston, last April. The pair are living together in Kyiv, Ukraine.

“During warm months we train in Kyiv, actually in the countryside near Kyiv, surrounded by fresh air and beautiful forests,” Duliba explains. “For the winter months we move to southern Ukraine, to the seaside town of Yalta, or go to Cholpo-Ata, in the Kyrgyz Republic. Usually it’s our coach’s decision depending on the specifics of the marathon we train for.”

As a young girl, Duliba showed athletic promise and was enrolled in the Sport School of Olympic Reserve in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, where she specialized in cross-country skiing. A local athletics coach happened to spot her running on the track one day and approached her. Some regional track and field competitions followed and her interest grew.

“I came from a family who had little idea of what professional sport is. At first they didn’t ‘get’ my passion for running and couldn’t understand why I didn’t choose a ‘normal’ job, like an engineer, or a teacher,” she explains. “It’s not that they didn’t approve it, no, they simply felt sorry for me not having days off or holidays, spending all my time training, being on a running diet all the time, not eating fast food, or mayonnaise, or anything fried. They basically thought of it as a temporary hobby of mine.”

Duliba and her coach have decided there will be no competitions prior to the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. They are looking for something special in Canada’s largest city. But she harbours very bold long term dreams.

By Paul Gains, edited from a press release.

“I think the biggest dream of each athlete is an Olympic medal,” she reveals. “It is also mine. But, more realistically, the goal is to make the national Olympic team and represent your country at your best.”

The Toronto record remains 2:22:43 and was set by Ethiopia’s Koren Yal in 2011. If weather conditions are right, and her competition takes the bait, we may well see it beaten by the Belarusian star. And that would be just the next step in this great athlete’s career.