Kenyan runner on becoming a major force at her best distance and targeting the only honour missing from her medal collection Olympic gold

Ask Hellen Obiri to identify the biggest lesson she has learned from her marathon experiences to date and the Kenyans answer is short. To be patient, she says.

Much was expected not least from herself of this formidable athlete when she took her first steps over the distance. This is someone who can boast to being the only woman ever to win world titles on the track indoors and outdoors on the track, as well as over cross country.

New York in November of 2022 was the time and the place for her opening salvo and she had been warned by those who had been there, seen it and done it over 26.2 miles.

So many people were telling me: Everybody can start a marathon, but finishing the marathon is now the challenging thing, she says. I thought: No, Im going to win this one. I felt that way in the first few miles, too.

Obiri chose to follow the track instincts which had served her so well and to lead from the front. It might have worked over shorter distances but, after struggling with fuelling, the latter stages bit hard as she came home in sixth in 2:25:49 almost two-and-a-half minutes behind winner Sharon Lokedi. It was a painful learning curve but, looking back, its one the 34-year-old seems glad to have gone through.

Sometimes its important to learn and to understand about the marathon, she says. You cant expect to win your first marathon. Because it was my first one, it was amazing for me, but not how I was expecting to perform.

After being burned by that baptism of fire, Obiri wanted to take some time to think about her next move. Her coach, the American former international distance runner Dathan Ritzenhein, had seen enough, though, to convince her to get straight back on to the starting line.

It did take his powers of persuasion but, eventually, Obiri was announced as a late addition to the Boston Marathon field in spring of last year, five months after that New York debut.

When Dathan said: Now you can do the Boston Marathon. I said: From New York to Boston? No way. But he told me: Now were okay. I actually didnt take enough time to train for it because I was the latest entry. But I didnt want to finish the New York Marathon disappointed then the Boston Marathon disappointed. This time I was ready and I was mentally focussed.

There was no pushing the pace on this occasion. Obiri had learned and now she watched from inside the lead pack, observing, getting a feel for the opposition as well as the challenge. Her cross-country background also proved to be a vital tool for tackling the notorious hills which lie in wait in the latter stages of the Boston course and she chose her moment to pounce, making a crucial move with a mile to go and capturing her first marathon victory.

Her timing was even better in her follow-up act, a return to New York last autumn, when there were echoes of her track career as she kicked with 400m to go to leave Letesenbet Gidey and Lokedi trailing. In doing so she also became the first woman since Ingrid Kristiansen in 1989 to win Boston and New York in the same year.

The great Norwegian never managed to translate that kind of form into an Olympic marathon, but that is where Obiris big ambitions lie for 2024. She will defend her title in Boston on April 15 but her desire to win isnt just about coming first again, its also about strengthening her case with the Kenyan selectors.

It seems astonishing that an athlete who has such a strong championships pedigree and two consecutive major marathons to her name should still not be 100 per cent sure of her place in the Olympic team. She is seeking to remove any semblance of doubt.

Everyones hoping to be in that marathon team, says Obiri, who has two Olympic silver medals from three Games, both coming in the 5000m.

After winning New York I have high hopes but Boston will be my biggest opportunity to show that Im capable to prove to them that Im the best.

Its not entirely coincidental that Obiris marathons to date have come on challenging routes that are more akin to championships racing rather than the flat out speed associated with other majors such as Berlin, Chicago and London.

She was impressed by the world record-shattering performance of Ethiopias Tigist Assefa in the German capital last autumn. [When I saw the result] I felt like we can, she says. When someone runs so well, its also motivating. It makes you think: What can I do? It gives you a challenge.

But Obiri is also well aware of her own strengths and how fierce a competitor she can be  particularly on a route like the one that has been plotted for Paris. Hilly, demanding and technical.

Running Boston and New York, it gives you a lot of confidence to run championships races, she says. I think the Paris course will be even tougher than Boston and New York so I think that will give me a lot of chances. That [Olympic gold] is the only one missing. I want to do everything. Im gonna get that one. I do hope it will be my time.

Should that dream be realised, it would help to lift a nation still reeling from the loss of a runner who had been earmarked for greatness. Obiri is now based in Boulder, Colorado, and still marvels at the quality of the runner-friendly routes and road surfaces upon which she is able to train. It is in stark contrast to the chaotic Kenyan roads, shared by everyone and upon which mens world record-holder Kelvin Kiptum lost his life at the age of 24 in a car crash in February.

He was a young man and breaking the world record in Chicago showed he could do more, says Obiri, her wide smile vanishing temporarily. He could even have run under two hours for the marathon. For Kenya, we lost him from our team when we wanted him most to do [great things] for the country and for the whole world. I dont see anyone capable of running [that fast] any time soon. It will take time for another athlete to come along who can do that. A lot of time, actually.

The grin and positive energy Obiri has been displaying throughout the video call with AW returns when the subject switches to her current home. It was in the latter part of 2022 that she made the move from Kenya to Colorado to work with Ritzenhein as part of the On Athletics Club and was apart from her husband Tom and daughter Tania for months as they waited for their visas.

Obiri had to show patience in that regard, too, and it took the family time to become accustomed to their new life. She is quick to thank the Swiss brand and her team-mates for helping that process to be just about as smooth as it possibly could have been.

It was challenging for us to start in a new country, new environment, she says. And it was during winter time so it was very cold. We knew it would take time to adjust but now everyone is so happy. They dont want to go back to Kenya!

Ritzenhein, whose group also includes the likes of American mile record-holder Yared Nuguse, newly crowned world indoor 1500m champion Geordie Beamish and American 10,000m world record-holder Alicia Monson, has also been a key figure in the successful transition.

The first time I met Dathan, it was amazing, says Obiri. He was so friendly and I was thinking: This is not a coach. I was used to seeing the coach as someone who is pushing the athletes to do something, forcing them to do the workout. But he said to me: This is your workout. If your body doesnt feel like its going to be able to do it, just let me know. So he understands better.

I dont doubt him. He was running so well [as an athlete], then the training group and the athletes he coaches have been running so well, so that gives me the motivation to trust him.

All of these ingredients mean that Obiri heads to Boston with a hunger for victory and an appetite to hone her skills for what she now calls my best distance. The field will be strong but there is no fear on the two-time 5000m world champions part.

Im the defending champion so everyone will be looking to see what I can do and for what Im going to give out, she says. Im so excited. I feel super ready. Im looking to win and Im looking to run even faster.

There are strong ladies, so many strong athletes, but even last year we had strong people. I trust in what Im doing. Im going to run my own race.