Kaptich eyeing new PB in Frankfurt

Kenya's Selly Kaptich will stand on the start line for the 39th edition of the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon as the fastest woman in the field.

Her best time of 2:21:09 could well be under threat on Sunday morning, given the reputation for Frankfurt’s fast course. 

The 36-year-old believes that there are prospects that she can better her PB on Sunday. 

“Definitely, I have got a good chance of a PB and I am ready for it," said Kaptich who has retained her competitive hunger in her long career. 

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A new PB will add to her impressive career that included an early sign of talent with a gold medal for 3,000m at the World Junior Championships 21 years ago. 

What catches the eye is her ability to adapt to a different running and life culture in general, marked by her becoming a member of a Japanese corporate running club almost 20 years ago.

She has run eight marathons in her career so far with the personal best achieved in finishing third in Berlin three years ago. 

2019 was indeed a watershed for Kaptich as she firstly ran 2:23:53 to finish fourth in Paris, one of the prime spring marathons on the calendar, before running her best time to-date later in the year. 

Her 10-year partnership with Kyudenko Corporate team in Japan has played a huge role in her lengthy career and achievements. 

“It was in 2006 when I received an invitation out of nowhere to go to Japan and become part of this team. They had noticed my results on the road and cross country. Culturally it was very different, both the change in culture and training," she explains. 

Kaptich was gradually allowed to revert to her preferred form of long runs, roaming over the roads and cross country. She reflected that her Japanese colleagues tended to mark out a stretch of road and run up and down it 20 times.

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But her talent was recognized from the start and both sides learned to compromise.

“I learned a lot, both as a runner and as a person. I joined the others in doing office work, learned Japanese, then did some of my training “Kenyan style” but joined the others for speedwork on the track. I also wore a kimono sometimes.”

The partnership lasted 10 years, in which time Kaptich became one of the stars of the Kyudenko team. The company headquarters is in the city of Fukuoka, which until 2021 hosted one of the world’s most historic and prestigious marathons. 

She believes the experience of adapting to such a different environment was beneficial all-round

“I think it strengthened me personally, coping with something so different at that stage in my life was not easy but I had to cope and became stronger for it.”