Elite Kenyan marathoner arrives for Perth Running Festival

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 9 Oct, 19:31 · Archive

Kenyan runner Dominic Ngeno has arrived in Perth to compete in Sunday's marathon, aiming to break the course record of 2:16:43.

Kenyan marathoner Dominic Ngeno, 29, arrived in Perth on Thursday night to compete in Sunday's Running Festival Marathon, one of the world's major marathon events. With a personal best of 2 hours 6 minutes set in Paris in 2025, he is chasing the Perth course record of 2:16:43, set by Kenya's Paul Eyanae in 2024.

Ngeno said the course suits his running style. 'Looking at this course I say it's good for me. If I can run nice, I can break the course record here,' he said. He plans to push a pace of 3 minutes and 5 seconds per kilometre from the 25-30 kilometre mark. Ngeno recently withdrew from the Gold Coast Marathon at the 30 kilometre mark with a calf strain but said he has recovered.

His main challenger is Japanese runner Ryoma Takeuchi, 34, who arrived with Ngeno. Takeuchi has a personal best of 2:08:20 from a fourth-place finish at this year's Gold Coast Marathon. Takeuchi said he would attempt to match Ngeno's pace to the 30 kilometre mark before deciding his strategy.

The marathon field of 5,500 runners, part of a sold-out event of 18,500 competitors across all distances, will be the largest ever staged in Western Australia, with entries from 58 countries.

How it is being reported

• Telethon 2026: Perth Running Festival Marathon brings elite Kenyan athlete Dominic Ngeno to WAKenyan marathoner Dominic Ngeno learnt to run in Kenya’s high-altitude Rift Valley and has run some of the toughest courses in the world.Perth Now · 9 Oct, 19:00
• Telethon 2026: Perth Running Festival Marathon brings elite Kenyan athlete Dominic Ngeno to WAKenyan marathoner Dominic Ngeno learnt to run in Kenya’s high-altitude Rift Valley and has run some of the toughest courses in the world.The West Australian · 9 Oct, 19:00

In this story: Dominic Ngeno · Ryoma Takeuchi · Perth · Kenya · Paris

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