As we inch closer to this weekend’s Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, Sunday’s Tartan Ottawa International Marathon professional athlete field is shaping up to be one of the best in the event’s 50-year history. On Tuesday, the race revealed a prestigious late addition to the men’s field: 2021 New York City Marathon champion Albert Korir of Kenya.
Korir, who owns a personal best of 2:06:57 from his second-place finish at the 2023 NYC Marathon, returns to the nation’s capital aiming to lower that mark and challenge the course record of 2:06:04, set by Ethiopia’s Andualem Shiferaw in 2022.
The 31-year-old Kenyan has had previous success in Ottawa, having set a then-personal best of 2:08:03 to win the race in 2019. Since then, Korir has become one of the top tactical marathoners in the world, winning the New York City Marathon in 2021 and finishing as runner-up in both 2019 and 2023. Korir was slated to run last month’s Boston Marathon, but had to withdraw before due to an ankle injury.
Korir joins a stacked men’s field that includes Canada’s Rory Linkletter, fresh off a marathon personal best of 2:07:02 for sixth place at the 2025 Boston Marathon. In a recent YouTube video, Linkletter said his goal heading into Ottawa is to put himself in a position to win. “It’s hard not to be objective [heading into Ottawa], given the context, but I want to walk away from the race feeling I did everything I could to execute.”
Also lining up is American CJ Albertson, who looks to build on his seventh-place finish at the 2024 Chicago Marathon, where he ran a personal best 2:08:17. Like Linkletter, Albertson also ran the 2025 Boston Marathon five weeks ago, placing 14th in 2:10:16.
Although the Tartan Ottawa International Marathon is officially sold out, spectators are encouraged to line the course to see this world-class field, or subscribe to the Run Ottawa YouTube channel to catch the race live from Canada’s capital.
