Kenya’s Peter Some headlining Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Although his training is going exceedingly well for the upcoming Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Peter Kimeli Some was not quite himself this week. The winner of the 2013 Paris Marathon, in a superb personal record of 2:05:38, took the news that his beloved Manchester United had lost their English Premier League opener quite hard.

“I like football very much and my favourite team is Manchester United,” the Kenyan marathon star explains. “My favourite player is Wayne Rooney. I hope the Dutch coach Louis van Gaal will bring Man United back to the title in England and hopefully to be the best team in the world.”

Some has experienced the ups and downs of his football team over the years, mostly by watching the side on satellite television at his home. But there’s no getting away from the fact his focus is otherwise exclusively on running well in Toronto. The race, for the seventh consecutive year, is an IAAF Silver Label race and he knows he will face a
formidable field.

The course record of 2:07:05, set a year ago by Ethiopia’s Derissa Chimsa, is one target but he is also aware that the fastest time ever run on Canadian soil is 2:06:55. That standard was recorded by another Ethiopian, Yemane Tsegay, in Ottawa last spring.

“I have the plan to run a new course record in Toronto,” he declares confidently. “And that’s why it will be very important that the weather conditions are good and that there will be strong and stable pacemakers. And of course, also, a victory is important for me.”

Some remembers the Paris race very well. Against a very strong field he took roughly three minutes off his personal best to stun the favourites.

“It was a strong field in the Paris marathon,” the 24 year old concedes. “Several athletes in the field had already run a sub 2:06:00 time. When I started in Paris, at that moment, my best time was 2:08:33, which I ran in the Frankfurt marathon. But I knew I was in really good shape so I was not fearing any athlete.”

Like many of his countrymen, Some used his winnings wisely, choosing to build himself a new three-bedroom bungalow in Kapsabet, which he shares with his wife Kangogo Cheburet and their one-year-old daughter Sheerlen Jebet. He continues to plant vegetables and look after his cows and chickens when he is not busy training or recovering.

“I run at least 25 kilometres per day. But in my long runs I go farther. Depending on my program, I run sometimes 40 km, sometimes 35 km, sometimes 30 km and sometimes 25 km.”

Quite apart from the high altitude of the Great Rift Valley where he lives and trains, genetics must play a part in his success to date. His father was Some Muge, the bronze medallist at the 1983 world cross-country championships.

“Unfortunately, my dad passed away when I was 8 years old. My mother encouraged me to run and she always watched and inspired me when I was running in training or races.”

Some has, in the past, represented Kenya on the world stage which in itself speaks volumes of his ability. A year ago he finished ninth in the 2013 world championship marathon in the muggy conditions of Moscow. There he ran 2:11:47. But city marathons can be quite lucrative. Indeed, victory in Toronto would earn him $20,000, while a course record would be worth an additional $35,000.

“Athletes who ran the Toronto marathon already have told me that it is a good marathon with a flat course and with good weather conditions,” he says. “I really hope the conditions will be OK this year again.”

Edited from a press release by Paul Gains.