By Jeff George

Let's hope a delayed flight is the only thing that goes wrong for Caroline Kilel this weekend. 

She arrived a day late at the Spa Hotel Thermal, the headquarters for the Mattoni Karlovy Vary Half Marathon, due to difficulty getting out of Nairobi. But the travel hiccup didn't seem to faze her, as you can see in the interview below.



Kilel is the most experienced athlete in the women's race Saturday, as well as the favorite. The one-time Boston Marathon champion owns a personal best of 1:08.16 in the half marathon—the fastest in the field by almost a minute. In fact, she is the only female runner in the race to break 1:09 (which she has done many times). If she can produce another sub-69-minute performance this weekend, she will leave with the course record—unless, that is, one of the young guns is able to beat her.

Kilel's chief competition could come from countrywoman Joyceline Jepkosgei, whose goal is to break 1:09 in this race. She ran 1:09.09 at altitude in Nairobi earlier this year, which indicates her plan is very realistic. Two 1:10 runners are in the field, as well: Bekelech Daba of Ethiopia and Risa Takenaka of Japan. Both have run under 2:30 for the full marathon, and that strength should help with the course's many small elevation changes. The wildcard in the field could be Belarusian Volha Mazuronak, who ran 2:23.54 in London four weeks ago.

Kilel is definitely fit, as evidenced by her 2:27.39 win in Daegu in early April. For Karlovy Vary, she mentioned her strategy would be patience in the early stages, and hopes one of the younger runners will set a quick early pace. Once she gets a feel for the relatively hilly course, Kilel will try to take command.

Travel problems, warm temperatures, a challenging course, and a field of motivated contenders—all these factors are against the veteran, but she has weathered them all in her accomplished career. When it comes time to race, Kilel knows what to do.