Kiplagat set to return at 3rd Runner\’s World Zandvoort Circuit Run – European Athletics (EAA) – News

The Netherlands' Lornah Kiplagat will make her return to competition this Sunday after being out of action for more than a year, competing on home soil at the 3rd Runner's World Zandvoort Circuit Run.

The 35-year-old world Half Marathon record holder and 2005 SPAR European Cross Country Championships gold medallist was blighted with a knee injury for much of 2009 but, after several months of problem-free training, this week her medical team gave her the green light to go for a test outing.

"This is a spectacular event in Holland so we are really pleased that Lornah chose the Runner's World Zandvoort Circuit Run for her 'debut' after the injury. She'll participate in the Ladies Circuit Run 5km," said a spokeswoman for the organisers Le Champion.

Her last race was the World's Best 10km in Puerto Rico on 1 March 2009.

Kiplagat will be one of more than 12,000 runners in various races at the famous former Formula 1 circuit which nestles next to the Dutch coast.

She will wait and see how her training and races progress in the next few months before thinking about the European Athletics Championships, which will be held in Barcelona through 26 July to 1 August.

In addition to her European Cross Country gold medal, Kiplagat has won three world titles on the road and also took the 2007 World Cross Country Championships short course crown.

Despite her excellent record in the World Cross Country Championships, which includes four top six placings, she chose Zandervoort over this year's edition of the championships, which will be held on Sunday in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz.

The Dutch flag there will be flown by her close relative Hilda Kibet.

"People often write that we are cousins but the truth is we are a little more distant. Lornah's mother's sister is my grandmother," said Kibet, who followed in Kiplagat's footsteps by taking the 2008 SPAR Cross Country Championships gold medal.

The last year has been frustrating for Kiplagat's athletics career but certainly not wasted as she has been able to devote a lot of time to her foundation, which assists women in Kenya, the country where she was born, to overcome disadvantaged circumstances.

She has assisted female school students in Kenya, many from rural communities, find places at higher education institutions, including helping 64 women get scholarships to American universities.

 European Athletics (EAA) – News