Elite runners of the Chicago Marathon 2011

Elite men

MOSES MOSOP
The Kenyan, 26, ran his first marathon earlier this year in Boston and finished with the second-best time ever recorded, though the results were unofficial due to the ineligible layout of the course. Mosop, who raises cows on his farm back home when not running, hopes to best his time of 2:03:02 on Chicago’s regulation course.

RYAN HALL
Hall, the top American in this year’s race, finished fourth in Boston with the fastest time ever run by someone from the United States. He finished tenth at the 2008 Olympics, but he figures to represent his country well on home turf.

BAZU WORKU
This 21-year-old from Ethiopia is widely recognized as the marathon’s junior world-record holder, though this title is unofficial. Worku impressed last year in Berlin, where he became the youngest runner ever to finish in under 2:06.

EVANS CHERUIYOT
Hailing from Kenya’s Rift Valley, Cheruiyot—who doubles as a trained mechanic—has already won once in Chicago, in 2008. After a brief slump, he has rebounded in 2011 with his second-place finish in Dubai earlier in the year.

MARILSON GOMES DOS SANTOS
This Brazilian is South America’s most prominent marathoner, and though he’s been competing since 1997 he hasn’t lost his ability, setting a personal best time of 2:06:34 in London in April.

BERNARD KIPYEGO
Another Kenyan competitor, Kipyego made the transition to marathon running just last year. He set his personal best of 2:07:01 at his first race in Rotterdam, and finished second at this year’s Paris Marathon.

BEKANA DABA
Daba, an Ethiopian, just made his marathon debut near the end of 2010, but dazzled this past January in Houston, where he set a Texas record with a time of 2:07:04. He finished four minutes ahead of his nearest challenger, even after taking a bathroom break mid-race.

ATSUSHI SATO
Sato holds the half-marathon record in Japan and rarely races outside of Asia. He last raced in Chicago in 2005 but since then has improved his best time by almost 12 minutes.

JOSHUA CHELANGA
Chelanga’s last win was in Seoul in 2007, but the Kenyan brings more than 13 years of international competitive experience and a personal best time of 2:07:05 to Chicago (talent that runs in the family—his younger brother Samuel won the NCAA Cross Country championships for Liberty University in 2009 and 2010).

WESLEY KORIR
Rounding out the top ten is its fifth Kenyan, though Korir raced in America as a student-athlete at the University of Louisville. Born poor in Kenya, his distance-running ability won him a college scholarship to the States, where he won back-to-back Los Angeles Marathons in 2009 and 2010.