Running News Daily

Soi eyes Bogota Half Marathon course record on Sunday

The 2008 Olympic 5,000m bronze medalist Edwin Soi will on Sunday attempt Geoffrey Mutai's Bogota Half Marathon 1:02:20 course record.

Mutai, a two-time New York Marathon champion set the time at the 2011 edition followed by Ethiopia’s Deriba Mergat (1:04:49) and Wilson Chebet (1:04:57).

Soi believes the competitive field and favorable weather conditions make the record within reach.

“I believe the competitive field assembled this year and favorable weather make it possible to go for the record,” Soi remarked.

He will be joined by compatriots Philemon Kiplimo, the 2022 Prague Half Marathon champion, Cali 10km Road race champion Ezra Tanui and Yangzhou Half Marathon champion Edward Koonyo.

The Kenyans will face stiff competition from Venice Marathon champion Solomon Mutai of Uganda, 2023 Belgrade Marathon champion Chakib Lachgar of Spain and 2022 Hannover Marathon champion Hendrik Pfeiffer of Germany.

“I did not do so well in the race last year. With my preparations this year, I am confident about running well and achieving my target,” added Soi.

He clocked 1:04:55 for third place, trailing Tanui (1:04:50) and Morocco’s Omar Chitachen (1:03:50).

“I have run here three times, winning once. I want to add another win this year,” he revealed.

Soi claimed his first title in 2022 in 1:05:27, ahead of Uganda’s Andrew Kwemoi (1:05:29) and Daniel Muindi (1:06:45).

Napoli City Half Marathon champion Angela Tanui will seek to reclaim her crown in the women's edition.

“I was not 100 per cent ready last year. My preparations before the race were not good either,” Tanui noted.

Tanui placed fifth in 1:16:31 in a race she was bested by Daisy Kimeli (1:15:12), Ethiopia’s Anchialem Haymanot (1:15:34) and Colombia’s Angie Orjuela (1:15:40).

She won the title in 2022 in 1:13:29 with Veronicah Wanjiru (1:15:26) and Ecuador’s Rosa Chacha (1:16:43) trailing.

“I am ready this year. My preparations have been good,” she said.

Tanui will face defending champion Kimeli and the Ethiopian duo of Aberu Ayana, the Lisbon Marathon champion, and Frankfurt Marathon champion Buzunesh Getachew.

(07/27/2024) Views: 324 ⚡AMP
by Teddy Muley

Top athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia, Spain, Germany and Ecuador will take part in the Bogotá Half Marathon

There are just over 1 week left until the next edition of the Bogotá Half Marathon takes place, a race that takes place year after year in the capital of Colombia and brings together thousands of athletes from different parts of the world. For 2024, the participation of great international athletes is expected.

The mmB, in its two distances (10 and 21 kilometers), will be run on Sunday, July 28. And less than a month from that date, it was confirmed that six star long-distance runners, from different countries and continents, will be competing.

“World-class runners from Kenya, Ethiopia, Spain, Germany and Ecuador appear on the second long list of elite foreign runners who will visit the Colombian capital to compete in the Bogotá Half Marathon on Sunday, July 28,” the organization announced.

Kenya will be represented by Gladys Kwamboka, recent gold medallist in the 10,000-metre race at the African Athletics Championships, and Philemon Kiplimo, champion of the Boston, Bahrain and Prague half marathons. South America will be represented by Ecuadorian Paula Bonilla, current national champion in the 10,000-metre race.

The participation of the German Esther Pfeiffer, winner of the 2022 Koln Half Marathon and the 2023 Koln Marathon, and the Spaniard Chakib Lachgar, first in the Belgrade Marathon and second in the Azkoitia Half Marathon, was also confirmed. The group of star long-distance runners who will run in Bogotá is completed by Asefa Boki (Ethiopia), current champion of the Xiamen Marathon.

“In this way, the confirmation of foreign elite athletes for the Bogotá Half Marathon is progressing, which this year has a new home, since the Hilton Bogotá Corferias will be the official venue of the race,” concluded the mmB.

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(07/16/2024) Views: 333 ⚡AMP
by Valentín Beato

Daisy Kimeli reigns supreme at the Bogota Half Marathon

Kenya’s Daisy Kimeli and Morocco’s Omar Ait Chitachen have reigned supreme in the women’s and men’s races respectively at the Bogota Half Marathon.

Kimeli, 28, was in the leading pack from gun to the 19th km mark where she unleashed a finishing kick to cut the tape in 1:15:13 ahead of Ethiopia’s Anchialem Haymanot who clocked 1:15:36. Colombia’s Angie Orjuela shone on home soil and sealed the podium in 1:15:43.

Defending champion Angela Tanui, who had entered the race with the hope of successfully reclaiming the title but unfortunately missed out on a podium finish. She was leading for the better part of the race but faded as the race intensified.

In the men’s race, Chitachen was in a class of his own as he also controlled the better part of the race before sprinting to the finish line. He crossed the finish line first in 1:03:51.

The Kenyan duo of Ezra Tanui and Edwin Soi finished second and third in respective times of 1:04:50 and 1:04:56.

Soi, the defending champion, had also made a return to the streets of Colombia with the hopes of winning back-to-back titles but unfortunately, the field was too strong for him.

He was also looking comfortable in the leading pack but Chitachen reacted before him and he was forced to settle for third place.

(07/31/2023) Views: 740 ⚡AMP
by Abigael Wuafula

Defending champions Angela Tanui and Edwin Soi to return to Bogota Half Marathon

Tanui and Soi won last year’s edition of the Half Marathon in style, clocking 1:13:29 and 1:05:27 respectively.

Defending champions Angela Tanui and Edwin Soi will return to Colombia for the Bogota Half Marathon on Sunday, July 30.

Tanui and Soi won last year’s edition of the Half Marathon in style, clocking 1:13:29 and 1:05:27 in the women’s and men’s races respectively.

Soi is the fastest in the men’s field with a Personal Best time of 1:00:24 and he will be opening his season at the event. He will enjoy the company of compatriot Daniel Muteti who is also among the top entries.

On his part, Muteti will be lining up as the third fastest in the field and so far, this year, he has only participated in two Half Marathons. He opened his season with a 12th-place finish at the Nationale-Nederlanden Warsaw Half Marathon before winning the Cereales Angel Lima Half Marathon.

The Kenyan duo will face a stern test from Morocco’s Omar Ait Chitachen who will be lining up as the second fastest in the field. Chitachen has competed in three races so far. He opened his season with a 16th-place finish at the Osaka Marathon.

He then proceeded to the Xiamen Marathon where he finished third before winning the Rabat Half Marathon.

Another threat will come from Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma. The 32-year-old Ethiopian has competed in two marathons so far this season. He started off with the Tokyo Marathon which he unfortunately did not finish and then later went for the Prague Marathon where he finished second.

In the women’s field, Tanui will be joined by compatriot Veronica Wanjiru who has also recorded good times over the 21km distance since the season started.

Wanjiru finished fourth and third at the Publix Atlanta Half Marathon and the San Blas Half Marathon respectively.

The Kenyan duo will be up against the Ethiopian duo of Zenebu Fikadu and Anchialem Haymanot who will be looking to give them a run for their money.

(07/28/2023) Views: 693 ⚡AMP
by Abigael Wuafula

27-year-old Ethiopian Tamirat Tola won the Bogota Half Marathon clocking 1:02:34

Bogota Half Marathon turned 20 years old and crowned as champions Ethiopian Tamirat Tola in the men's branch, with a figure of 1:02:34, and Kenyan Ruth Chepngetich in the women's branch, with a time of 1:10:39. In the male branch, the best Colombian was Miguel Amador, in the tenth position with 1:08:00.

The competition, as usual, was run with more than 42 thousand athletes enrolled in the male and female categories and in which only 9% of the competitors are professionals.

"I hope to return to this Half Marathon, the height makes it demanding but I want to go back for the record. I am very happy. I really like marathons, I took advantage of my speed and took advantage," said Tamirat Tola, after his victory.

Meanwhile, Ruth Chepngetich said that, "I am very happy and I felt the support of the people on the street. I want to go back and I liked being in Bogotá."

The Ethiopian runner was the dominator of the race, but could not beat his best mark and was close to Geoffrey Mutai's record with 1:02:20. However, the African adhered to his record the bogota half marathon victory, next to the World Cup in London 2017 and the Half Marathon of Prague and Dubai in 2017.

It should be noted that Tamirat Tola has been an expert in cross-country racing throughout his career. The Ethiopian was world runner-up in 2017 in the marathon test and also participated in the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016, at which time he won a bronze medal in the 10,000 meters, being surpassed by the British Mo Farah, winner of the Gold and Kenyan Paul Tanui.

(07/29/2019) Views: 2,338 ⚡AMP

Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya and Ethiopia’s Mare Dibaba are ready to compete at the Bogota Half Marathon

The favorite in the Bogota Half Marathon women’s race is Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya, who started the year with a win in the Dubai Marathon, setting a course record with the No. 3 performance of all-time, 2:17:08. And just three months before that she shattered the course record at the Istanbul Marathon with a 2:18:35 performance.

Those performances elevated the Kenyan to No.1 in the IAAF’s world rankings in the marathon. Also an accomplished half marathoner, Chepngetich won the Istanbul Half Marathon this April in another course record, 1:05:30, making her the 11th fastest woman of all-time to rank her No.3 currently over that distance.

The main challenge to Chepngetich is likely to come from Ethiopia’s Mare Dibaba, the marathon bronze medalist at the Rio Olympic Games and world champion over the distance in 2015. Also expected to feature at the front of the race are 2:21:37 marathoner Visiline Jepkesho of Kenya, recently announced as a member of the Kenyan squad for the Worlds Championships (along with Chepngetich), and Helalia Johannes of Namibia, who is undefeated in six major international competitions, all of which have seen her lower her own national records at 10km, the half marathon and full marathon distances.

Unlike the women’s race, the men’s competition doesn’t have one overwhelming favorite, and instead should see a tight battle between several evenly-matched competitors. The Ethiopian delegation is led by 20-year-old Betesfa Getahun of Ethiopia, the defending men’s champion, who last year became the youngest champion in the race history.

Next to him will be Feyisa Lilesa, the silver medalist at the Rio Olympic Games marathon and a former winner of this race and Tamirat Tola, a silver medalist in the 2017 World Championships marathon and a bronze medalist in the 10,000m in Rio.

The Kenyan challenge to this Ethiopian trio will be led by Lawrence Cherono, a 2:04:06 marathoner and the No. 5 athlete in the world presently at that distance. He is joined by two strong half marathon specialists, Wilfred Kimitei (59:40) and John Lotiang (1:00:09).

And rounding out the likely lead pack are Eritrean Samuel Tsegay, a past silver medalist at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, and Ugandan Abdallah Mande with a 1:00:14 lifetime best whose strong current form was illustrated by a 27:22 10,000m run just eight days ago.

(07/26/2019) Views: 2,468 ⚡AMP
by iaaf

Ethiopian´s Netsanet Gudeta takes impressive victory in Bogota

Ethiopians Netsanet Gudeta and Betesfa Getahun produced convincing victories at 19th edition of the Bogota Half Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label road race. Gudeta dominated the race through the high altitude streets of the Colombian capital, winning by more than four minutes in 1:11:34, but falling short of the 1:10:39 course record set by Susan Chepkemei back in 2004. It was nonetheless a strong performance by Gudeta given Bogota's setting at 2600m above sea level, and the day's sunny, hot and windy conditions. This was the 27-year-old's third half marathon victory in as many races over the distance this year, following up her 1:06:11 women's-only race world record at the World Half Marathon Championships in Valencia in March, and a dominating 1:07:30 run in Olomouc, Czech Republic, five weeks ago. A turning point in the race came just before the five-kilometre mark. Brigid Kosgei of Kenya, the winner last year, took a tumble and fell to the ground. Gudeta forged on on her own from there to finish unchallenged. Kosgei was second in 1:14:40, with Degitu Azimeraw of Ethiopia third in 1:14:51. (07/30/2018) Views: 2,117 ⚡AMP