Fifer Kevin Wallace clocks new personal best at Chicago Marathon

Besides that transatlantic trip, a solo runner did the Glasgow 2 Edinburgh 57-mile ultra event and Fife fielded two men’s relay teams in the first east district cross-country fixture of the season in Livingston.

Sunday’s Chicago Marathon, an Abbott world marathon major event, was the setting for the crowning of a new world champion in a record time over half a minute faster than the prior best.

Kenyan long-distance runner Kelvin Kiptum shattered compatriot Eliud Kipchoge’s previous record of 2:01:09, set at last year’s Berlin Marathon in Germany, with a time of 2:00:35 for the 26-plus-mile course.

The women’s race was won by Dutch runner Sifan Hassan with the second fastest female time in marathon history, 2:13:44, bettered only by the record of 2:11.53 set by Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa in Berlin last month.

Eight Fife AC runners contested the Illinois event and there were also athletes from Anster Haddies, Carnegie Harriers, Falkland Trail Runners and PH Racing Club representing their clubs in the Windy City.

Fife’s Kevin Wallace put in a strong first half, going past the half-marathon mark in 1:23:17 but what was most impressive was that he maintained that pace afterwards, completing the second section in 1:24:45 for a total time of 2:48:02. That was a nine-minute personal best, improving upon his Stirling Marathon time of 2:57 in 2019.

Michaela McLean ran a time of 3:26:05 and Hilary Lalande clocked 3:36:02. Michelle Johnstone finished within five seconds of her PB in a time of 3:43:30.

Experienced marathon pair Alison Sutherland and Laura Muir added a third major to their collection, having run the London and Berlin marathons previously, both clocking 3:46:36.

Andy Lafferty also added another top-class run to his collection with a time of 3:49:06, and Kellyanne Muir collected another landmark marathon medal, clocking 4:43:37.

Closer to home, Kirkcaldy Wizard Stephen Dickson participated in a 57-mile GB Ultras event from Glasgow to Edinburgh via Falkirk. Defying gale-force winds and torrential rain, he achieved a time of 9:23:01 to place 35th out of 296 finishers.

The first east district cross-country fixture of the autumn-winter season took place at Deans Community High School in Livingston on Saturday, with relay teams of three and four running legs of approximately 4km.

Fife fielded teams in the 40-plus men’s masters and senior men’s events.

James Hall ran the first leg of the masters in 15:24, followed by Mike MacDonald with 16:00, Andy Harley with 17:09 and Sean Brown with 17:45 for a combined time of 1:06:18 and 12th place.

In the senior men’s event, Ben Kinninmonth recorded a first-leg time of 13:56, followed by Lewis Rodgers with 13:10 and Graham Keddie, making his Fife AC debut at cross-country, in 23:01.