Are you Team Kipchoge or Bekele? Team Jepchirchir or Hassan?

The stage is set for the epic battle of distance running greats from the two countries that have dominated the marathon in modern times, Kenya and Ethiopia.

Of these, Eliud Kipchoge stands out as the only marathoner who has broken the two-hour barrier for the marathon, albeit in a non-official event in Vienna in 2019, with a time of one hour and 59:40 minutes.

He ran his official personal best in Berlin in 2022, with a time of 2:01:09.

When Kipchoge broke the two-hour threshold in Vienna, he achieved what sports scientists thought was humanly impossible. It was hailed as a watershed moment in the pursuit of human limits.

Unfortunately, the only other Kenyan athlete who could have could have broken the two-hour threshold in an official event, Kelvin Kiptum, died early this year due to a car accident.

The 24-year old bagged the official world marathon record of 2:00:35 during last year’s Chicago marathon.

That leaves Kipchoge with just one formidable challenger — his oldest rival in the person of Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia.

They’ve been dueling since 2003 when both represented their respective countries at the 5000-meter event in Oslo, Norway. Bekele narrowly won over Kipchoge but later that same year, Kipchoge took his revenge and edged out Bekele in another 5,000-meter event in Paris.

However, Bekele would outpace Kipchoge in at least 12 more races in the next 10 years over short distances. Thereafter, both athletes moved over to the marathon distance and that was when Kipchoge began to shine. Kipchoge has won 15 of the 18 marathons he’s joined, including the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and Rio Olympics in 2016. Should he win at Paris this year, he will break the record set by Ethiopian Abebe Bikila (the original barefoot marathoner) and German Waldemar Cierpinski who both had won two Olympic marathon gold medals.

Bekele, on the other hand, nearly broke Kipchoge’s 2018 Berlin marathon record, missing it by a mere two seconds, with a time of 2:01:41 in 2019.

Bekele is now 41 years old while Kipchoge is 39. This might be the last dance for both great athletes.

The competition is equally fierce on the women’s front.

Sifan Hassan is an Ethiopian-born Dutch runner who is set to make a historic triple attempt by racing in the 5,000 meters on 2 August, 10,000 meters on 9 August and marathon distance on 10 August.

She did a similar attempt during the Tokyo Olympics where she won gold at both the 5,000 and 10,000 meter events and bronze at the women’s 15,000.

She is the only woman athlete who has garnered a medal in three separate athletics events in the Olympics. She also has London and Chicago marathons under her belt.

Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir is the defending champion, having won the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which was marked by unusually warm weather.

She also currently holds the fastest women only (no male pacers) world marathon record, having finished the 2024 London marathon in 2:16:16.

The marathon route will be scenic but challenging starting from the historic Hôtel de Ville to Versailles passing through well known landmarks like the Louvre, Grand Palais and the Eiffel Tower, among others.

The route will have a net downhill of only 2 meters and a gradient of 13 percent. This may be especially challenging for the mass participants, especially if there will be areas covered by cobblestones.

For the first time in Olympic history, the marathon event has been opened for mass participation so that even recreational runners could join.

While the mass participants will be running at night (while elites will race in the morning), they will be passing through the exact same route that the elite runners will follow.

So my team is neither Kenya or Ethiopia.

I will be cheering for Team Philippines, especially my bestie, Amparo Villamor Haynes and WeKenRun Teammates Sarah Delantar and Kurt Patrick Enriquez who will be among the approximately 20,000 mass participants on 10 August.