After 2004, Rutto's form dipped considerably and in 2006 he took time away from marathoning due to injury. He has not yet returned to competition, although his personal best still keeps him within the top-20 fastest runners of all time.[1]
He moved up to the marathon in 2003 and won the Chicago Marathon with a record debut time of 2:05:50, making him the fourth-fastest marathoner ever at the time (after Paul Tergat, Sammy Korir and Khalid Khannouchi).[2] This was the fastest-ever time for a marathon debut and remains so[3] – it also remains his personal best time.
He opened his 2004 season with a win at the London Marathon, beating Sammy Korir to the finish by half a minute.[4] He returned to the Chicago course in October and defended his title with a winning time of 2:06:16 – over a minute and a half ahead of runner-up Daniel Njenga. These two times placed Rutto at the top two spots on the season's fastest marathons list for 2004.[5]
His 2005 performances were considerably less successful as he only managed tenth place at the London Marathon, losing his unbeaten record of three straight victories.[6] His fastest time of the year, 2:07:28, was only enough to bring him fourth at the Chicago Marathon.[7] At the 2006 London Marathon he was in tenth place again and appeared in agony at the end of the race.[8]
Rutto took time out from competitive running after a disappointing 2006, due to injury and personal problems.[citation needed]
He trains with Kimbia Athletics and is coached by Dieter Hogen. Rutto is married with three children, Winnie, Dennis, and Dieter (after Coach Dieter Hogen) (as of 2005). His father Kilimo Yano was also a runner, whose personal best at 10,000 metres was 29 minutes.[citation needed] He won the 2014 Mumbai Marathon[9] losing out on the course record by one second and a US$15,000 bonus for it.[10]
