By John Kwoba

NAIROBI, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Morris Gachaga said Wednesday he is in the best form to defend the Cape Town 12 OneRun championship title on Sunday.

The 23-year old, has shaken off injury problems that bedeviled him last season, and has had a good show in 2018 running in three races. His latest race was a challenging mission to pace Olympic Champion Eliud Kipchoge to his victory at the London Marathon.

Now he will seek to step off the shadows of Kipchoge and focus on making his own niche as he puts his title on the line in Cape Town.

"It is always a challenge to me running in South Africa. It will be my third appearance and I am looking forward to the competition to defend my title," Gachaga said in Nairobi.

"I have good memories of that race and want to do well. If things go well, maybe I can better my 33:27 and lower the world best," he added.

In February, Gachaga clocked an impressive 59.36 in finishing ninth at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in the United Arab Emirates.

In March he competed at the Lisbon Half marathon where he finished third clocking 60:17 and in the process beat race favourites Sammy Kitwara of Kenya and Uganda' s former Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich. This set him the stage to pace-set for Kipchoge in London.

"Of the three races, it was in London that I enjoyed most. The focus was on Kipchoge and I did my part and now it is down to me to defend my crown in Cape Town," he said.

"I have good memories of that race and want to do well. If things go well, maybe I can better my 33:27 and lower the world best."

There will also be Mathew Kimutai, who will be making his debut in the race. Kimutai holds a best time of 43:48, which he clocked in July when he competed at the Kabarak race in Kenya over the 15km distance. Enditem