Hellen Obiri Prepares for London Marathon Debut After New York Course Record Win

Hellen Obiri is set to compete in her debut London Marathon on Sunday, pursuing a new personal best time after winning the New York Marathon in a course-record time on November 2, 2025, in New York. The 36-year-old Kenyan runner from Kisii, who resides in Boulder, Colorado, trained in Phoenix for four weeks to prepare for the London Marathon's flatter, faster course with pacers.

Obiri earned a bronze medal in the marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympics and won the Boston Marathon in 2024.

She won silver medals in the 5,000 meters at the 2016 and 2021 Olympics, captured the world cross country championship in 2019, and took the gold medal in the 5,000 meters at the 2019 world championships. Obiri started running as a teenager for Riruta Central secondary school in Nairobi and earned a bronze in the 800 meters at the Military World Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2011.

Sponsored by the sportswear company On, Obiri selected the On racing shoe for the competition, a model designed without laces, manufactured using robotic technology, featuring advanced manufacturing processes, and retailing for $330.

Her coach, Laura Thweatt at the On Athletics Club, finished sixth at the 2017 London Marathon. ' Thweatt added, 'So even though London is a flatter, faster course with pacers, which will all present her with new challenges, she is approaching it the same way. ' The women's marathon world record is 2 hours, 9 minutes, 56 seconds, set by Ruth Chepng’etich in October 2024 at the Chicago Marathon.

Paula Radcliffe set the world record in the London Marathon in 2003 and held it for 16 years. Obiri's daughter Tania turns 11 next month. Obiri's favorite post-race meal is chapati and beef stew.