NAIROBI, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Former Berlin Marathon champion Gladys Cherono has recovered from a muscle injury which saw her fail to defend her title in the German capital last year.

But, when her eyes were starting to train on running in Boston or London, the events were postponed owing to the coronavirus.

She then switched her focus to the Berlin Marathon, but last week the German government canceled all sports events until October.

However, Cherono is optimistic that she will weather the pandemic and be standing at the starting line in a rescheduled London Marathon on Oct. 4 or New York Marathon on Nov. 1.

"The virus has affected our training, but I have not stopped working to improve my fitness," Cherono said on Wednesday from Eldoret.

"My focus is to run one marathon before the year ends and I have no clue if it will be in London or New York. That task is being handled by my manager."

Cherono, who set her best time in Berlin of 2 hours, 18 minutes and 11 seconds in 2018 believes it will be tougher to win whenever competition resumes as most athletes will be fresh and committed.

"There are no competitions so there is no possibility of a burnout. That explains what is happening around the globe, everyone is at home resting as governments battle the spread of Covid-19," Cherono said.

"For now I want to focus on training and let management do the planning on where to run because with the current health situation, it is hard to remain focused and at the same time worry about your health," she added.