Running News Daily

Cardiff Half Marathon: Vincent Mutai and Mestawut Fikir win 2023 titles

Vincent Mutai and Mestawut Fikir clinched victory in the 2023 Cardiff Half Marathon.

Kenyan Mutai out-sprinted course record holder and compatriot Shadrack Kimining to win the men's race in one hour and 35 seconds on a humid day.

Ethiopian Fikir had the edge in a close finish in the women's race, with just a second splitting the top three.

Josh Hartley and Martyna Snopek won the wheelchair races as the event celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Meanwhile more than 27,000 club and amateur runners also covered the 13.2 miles (21km) course.

Former winners Kimining and Geoffrey Koech returned to the Welsh capital in a strong field in the men's race that was decided in the final straight.

Both were in the lead group that completed the first 10km in 28:29 before 28-year-old Mutai showed the stronger kick.

He said: "I feel good. This was my first time running this course, it was a bit challenging, but it was really enjoyable and now I am a winner so I am so happy and very surprised."

Former women's race winner Beatrice Cheserek also returned and led early on, but the Kenyan was dropped before a three-way sprint for the line.

Fikir beat fellow Ethiopian Aminet Ahmed and last year's runner-up Viola Chepngeno to add the Cardiff title to the Antrim Coast Half Marathon two months earlier in 1:08:13.

Bridgend's Adam Bowden and Beth Kidger of Brighton Phoenix earned Welsh half-marathon titles.

Bowden beat Meirionydd's Rhodri Owen and Pontypridd Roadent Adam Bull while Kidger - ninth in the overall women's race in her first half-marathon - edged out a strong Welsh contingent including Anna Bracegirdle and Olivia Tsim.

"I was on my own at the start because I was trying to be sensible with the pace as this is my first real half marathon," said Kidger.

"The fact it's mainly flat really helped and I definitely want to do more half marathons in the future."

Hartley was tipped as the athlete to beat in the men's wheelchair race despite the presence of former winners Tiaan Bosch and Richie Powell. And so it proved as the Coventry Godiva Harriers athlete led from start to finish - crossing the line 10 minutes ahead of second-placed Bosch.

Snopek - who won the Great North Run's wheelchair race in 2018 - won the women's wheelchair race.

"I ran my own race the whole way through and stuck to my plan," said Hartley.

"It was my first time racing here, the atmosphere was really good and the conditions were a nice surprise."

The race is a member of the SuperHalfs, a global series of the world's most prestigious half-marathons including races in Lisbon, Prague, Copenhagen and Valencia.

(10/02/2023) Views: 373 ⚡AMP

A battle of former winners expected at Sunday's Cardiff Half Marathon

The 20th edition Cardiff Half Marathon takes place on Sunday with strong fields assembled for the men's and women's races.

A battle of titans is expected at the 20th edition of the Cardiff Half Marathon scheduled for Sunday, October 1.

Shadrack Kimining leads the men’s field with a Personal Best time of 59:27 and will be returning to Cardiff looking to chase the course record. He has sweet memories of the event since it’s where he made his international debut with victory back in 2016.

His last trip to Cardiff came in 2019 where he lost out to Leonard Langat in the closing metres to finish second in 59:32.

Last year’s winner Geoffrey Koech (59:32) will also be returning, looking to better his winning time of 60:01. Koech has since won the prestigious Boston Half Marathon and more recently finished third at the Prague Half Marathon in April.

Benard Biwott (59:44) who won the Santa Pola Half Marathon and Wesley Kimutai (59:47) who finished second at the prestigious Rome Ostia Half Marathon in March will also be competing.

Challenging the Kenyan charge will be Hicham Amghar (59:53) of Morocco who will be looking to dip under the magical 60-minute barrier for a third time this year having finished fifth at Ras Al Khaimah in February with 59:53 and again in Istanbul finishing second in 59:58.

David Kimaiyo is an exciting debutant owing to his 10km best of 27:26 set at Castellon in February.

Bereket Zeleke (62:27) was fifth at the World U20 Cross Country Championships running for his native Ethiopia and made his debut for the distance in Antrim finishing 10th.

Further International interest sits with Morocco’s Omar El Harrass (61:55), Japan’s Takuya Kitasaki 61:51), and debutant Ben Eidenschink from the USA who was sixth at the US Cross Country Championships in 2022 and has a 10,000m best of 27:51.

Mestawut Fikir (66:44) of Ethiopia heads the start lists for the women’s race following her runaway victory at the Antrim Coast Half Marathon last month.

Her compatriot, Betelihem Afenigus (66:44) sits just two seconds slower on paper and won the popular Venlo Half Marathon earlier this year.

Challenging the Ethiopians will be defending champion Beatrice Cheserek (66:48) who will be familiar with the course and as a fierce competitor will be looking to retain her title on Sunday. So far this year Cheserek has won three half marathons, in Santa Pola, Riyadh and Tallinn.

Viola Chepngeno (66:48) was the runner-up last time and is another athlete who has been extremely busy over the last 12 months, along with Koech, also winning in Boston and lowering her P.B. for 10km to 31:05 in France this April.

Dorcas Kimeli (67:10) became the third fastest in history over 10km with 29:57 at the Birrell Grand Prix in Prague in 2019 and has previously raced in Cardiff back in 2017.

Costa Rican Record Holder for the Half Marathon and for the Marathon, Diana Bogantes-Gonzalez (73:08) will be in action in Cardiff, along with Marcela Joglova (73:46) of the Czech Republic.

Jenny Nesbitt (72:54) will head the Welsh contingent joined by Caryl Edwards (71:18), Anna Bracegirdle (73:21), Olivia Tsim (73:38), and Beth Kidger (76:27).

Further British Athletes of note include Olympian Sonia Samuels (72:19), Cambridge Half Marathon Champion Verity Hopkins (73:35), and Kirsteen Welch (74:42) of Exeter Harriers.

Josh Hartley (49:06) is the outstanding entry in the Men’s Wheelchair race, joined by 2018 Champion Tiaan Bosch (51:14) and multiple Cardiff winner Richie Powell. Martyna Snopek (63:02) is a previous winner of the Great North Run and will be racing in Cardiff on Sunday.

(09/29/2023) Views: 308 ⚡AMP
by Abigael Wuafula

Geoffrey Koech won the men's elite race at the Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday

The Kenyan just failed to beat the hour mark, crossing the line in 1:00:01, with Gizealaw Ayana second and fellow Ethiopian Chimdessa Gudeta third.

Beatrice Cheserek secured a Kenyan double by winning the women's race in 1:06:48 ahead of compatriot Viola Chepngeno and Ethiopian Zewditu Aderaw.

Mel Nicholls won the women's wheelchair race in 1:00:19, with Richie Powell taking the men's title in 1:08:44.

"The course is good. It feels good to win here and I pushed really hard. This is my fastest performance in Cardiff," said Koech, the pre-race favourite.

Cheserek was delighted after adding the Cardiff title to the Gothenburg Half Marathon she won last September: "This was my first time in Cardiff. The support was fantastic and helped me to work hard."

Swansea Harrier Dewi Griffiths was the best placed elite British man in eighth (1:04:15), with Cwmbran's Natasha Cockram (1:13:12) claiming seventh among the women.

"After the first 400m, I realised this is why I love this race," said Griffiths. "You get so much support as a Welshman all the way around and the crowds really kept me going when it got tough."

The 19th edition of the event in south Wales coincided with the running of the 2022 London Marathon, with an estimated 25,000 runners taking part in the Welsh capital.

Cockram had planned to compete at the London Marathon but a bout of Covid altered her plans.

"There was no way I was going to be marathon ready so soon after Covid," she said. 

"Obviously today was a lot slower than back in March but I'm happy to come out here and win the domestic part of the race. There were some fast girls up at the front but happy with that at the end of a 100-mile week.

"I love returning here - it's home and the crowds are amazing. It was all a bit of a rush, I only decided on Friday to come but I am so glad I came."

The Cardiff Half Marathon course records are held by Kenya's Leonard Langat, who ran 0:59:30 in 2019, with compatriot Edith Chelimo setting a fastest women's mark of 1:05:52 in 2017.

(10/02/2022) Views: 795 ⚡AMP

Cardiff Half Marathon will be postponed for third time due to coronavirus

The Cardiff Half Marathon has been rescheduled to a new date in 2022, in its third postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic.

It was due to take place in the capital on October 3, but organizers have announced it will now run on March 27 2022.

Organizers Run 4 Wales say the decision has been made over "uncertainty" on social distancing rules.

Explaining the decision, R4W chief executive Matt Newman said the organization "has been working closely with the Welsh Government and Cardiff City Council to understand the potential timeline for the safe return of events in Wales, including the Cardiff Half Marathon."

He continued: “Whilst the vaccine rollout in the UK continues to provide cause for optimism, the situation in Wales remains uncertain, with the Welsh Government currently setting a maximum outdoor event capacity of 4,000, including event-related spectators.

“At present there are also no plans to relax the two-meter social distancing rules, which provides significant operational challenges for mass-participation event organizers.

“Due to this uncertainty and in agreement with Cardiff City Council, circumstances dictate that we must now postpone the 2021 CHM to the spring of 2022. The health and safety of race participants, their supporters, event volunteers and the Run 4 Wales staff team is at the forefront of our decision making and we hope that everyone understands the reasons for this decision."

(07/01/2021) Views: 902 ⚡AMP
by Reem Ahmed

2020 Cardiff Half Marathon postponed again, until October 2021 due to coronavirus pandemic

The Cardiff Half Marathon - already postponed from this October to next March - has been put back again.

The next edition of the race will now take place on Sunday, October 3, 2021.

Organizers had hoped to hold two half-marathons next year - the postponed event in March and then another as usual in October.

However, they say rising Covid-19 cases and new lockdown restrictions mean it will not be possible to hold an event like this in March.

The initial decision to move the race from October 2020 to March 2021 had been taken in June.

The next two races will now be in October 2021 and October 2022.

Organizer Run 4 Wales said it had been closely monitoring the ongoing coronavirus situation and the guidance issued by the Welsh and UK governments, whilst making arrangements to try and deliver a Covid-secure event in the spring of 2021 but that this was no longer a viable possibility.

"We had watched with optimism over recent months as lockdown restrictions had eased and successful pilot events across the UK have demonstrated that it is possible to safely deliver mass-participation events," said a statement announcing the latest postponement.

"It is now clear, however, against a backdrop of rising cases, freshly imposed lockdown restrictions and a turbulent winter period ahead that it will not be possible to deliver an event of this size and scale by March of next year."

Run 4 Wales now plans to deliver a number of smaller events with additional hygiene and social distancing measures in place, as it builds to the return of the Cardiff Half Marathon in October 2021.

"The health and safety of our runners, volunteers, event team and the wider population is of the utmost importance to us. We have therefore been working closely with the Welsh Government and other mass participation event organizers across Wales and the UK to chart a safe return to events."

Since its foundation in 2003, the Cardiff Half Marathon has become the UK's third biggest race after the London Marathon and the Great North Run.

It typically sees more than £4m raised for charities and last year 27,500 runners and 100,000 spectators attended the race.

(10/27/2020) Views: 1,192 ⚡AMP

The Cardiff Half Marathon scheduled for October 4 has been postponed until 2021 due to the coronavirus

Organizer Run 4 Wales says holding it in just four months' time "really isn't feasible" and the event will instead take place on 28 March next year.

Since its foundation in 2003, the event has become the UK's third biggest race after the London Marathon and the Great North Run.

Last year 27,500 runners and 100,000 spectators attended the race.

The 2019 Cardiff Half Marathon saw men's winner Leonard Langat from Kenya finish the 13.1 mile course in a new record time of 59 minutes 29 seconds.

"There's still uncertainty about what the autumn looks like," Run 4 Wales chief executive Matt Newman told BBC Sport Wales.

"The prognosis is not very good at the moment and it looks like [mass] events are going to be one of the last things to come back when the world starts to settle down.

"Whilst we could have left this for 12 months and come back in the autumn of 2021, we wanted to give participants an option to come in March which we feel is long enough away for the world to start to come back to some sort of normality."

The Cardiff Half had been due to take place on the same day as the rearranged London Marathon. As it stands that event is still due to go ahead.

The Newport Wales Marathon - already postponed from April to October - has been pushed back again to a new date of 18 April 2021.

Newman is hopeful that postponing the Cardiff Half will allow organisers to hold an event "virtually as normal" next spring, but admits Run 4 Wales is preparing for some restrictions to still be in place.

"We're getting lots of information about how the running community across Europe is looking to stage events," he said.

"There's a lot of creativity going on about different waves, different start times, putting in place all sorts of safe practices.

"But right now it's a little bit early to explain all the options, as we're still hopeful that by the spring of 2021 some of the restrictions we have at the moment are relaxed."

The Cardiff Half Marathon typically sees more than £4m raised for charities and the hope is that only delaying the event will mean these good causes will not miss out on vital fundraising.

Next year will see two half marathons take place in the Welsh capital, with the autumn event still scheduled for 3 October 2021.

(06/04/2020) Views: 1,249 ⚡AMP
by Tom Brown

Leonard Langat won the Cardiff Half Marathon clocking 59:30, taking 73 seconds off the course record for the IAAF Silver Label road race on Sunday

Langat produced a strong sprint finish to pip fellow Kenyan Shadrack Kimining, the winner in Cardiff in 2016, by a mere two seconds.

Langat’s winning time of 59:30 was just 12 seconds shy of his lifetime best, while long-time race leader Kimming was rewarded with a 10-second PB to finish second in 59:32.

There was a group of 10 athletes in the leading pack at 5km (14:06) and this was cut to four by 10km (28:05). Kimining led for much of the next 10 kilometers as he led Langat and defending champion John Lotiang through 15km (42:15) and 20km (56:34).

Kimining tried to push up the steep incline coming off Roath Park Lake up to Cathays Cemetery, but Langat refused to be shrugged off. He stayed on the shoulder of his rival before making his move coming down the finishing straight.

“I was feeling comfortable behind Shadrack and I pushed on in the final 500 meters,” said Langat. “I kept the pace up right to the finish because I was feeling so strong.

“I always feel strong when I am running happy and that is down to the fantastic training group I have in Kenya. This is a wonderful course and I am sure that someone could run faster than 58 minutes on it in the future.”

“I am happy to have run a PB and I think this is one of the fastest courses on which I have ever run,” said Kimining. “It is a bit like the event in Ras Al Khaimah.”

There was also a dramatic finish in the women’s race as Kenya’s Lucy Cheruiyot and Ethiopia’s Azmera Abreha ran side by side down the finishing straight, with another Kenyan, Paskalia Kipkoech, not far behind.

In the end, Cheruiyot’s strength carried her to victory, although both she and Abreha were given the same times, 68:20. Kipkoech was a further five seconds behind in 68:25.

(10/08/2019) Views: 1,722 ⚡AMP
by IAAF

Cardiff Half Marathon announced High quality field for this year´s event

Former IAAF World Cross Country Champion Japhet Korir (60:08) will headline in Cardiff. The Kenyan athlete was the youngest ever senior Champion when he took the global crown in Bydgozsz in 2013. His P.B. came as he finished fourth in Lille two years ago, running just a second slower for fourth at the Hague in 2018.

Wilson Chebet (59:15) is the fastest athlete on paper. He has a 2:05.27 best for the Marathon set when winning in Rotterdam in 2011. He then set the course record in Amsterdam in 2013 and finished second in Boston in 2014. He was also sixth at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships at Birmingham in 2009.

Leonard Langat (59:18) ran his lifetime best when finishing second at Roma Ostia in 2016 and more recently finished second at the Hague with 59:41 last year. He has also recorded top five finishes in Barcelona, Istanbul, Gothenbourg and Yanzhou.

Shadrack Kimining (59:42) was the winner in Cardiff back in 2016 at what was his first race outside of his native Kenya. Kimining has made something of a breakthrough this year, going under the hour mark for Half Marathon with a 59:42 clocking at the Ras Al Kaimah Half Marathon in February. John Lotiang (60:08) is another former Cardiff winner (2017) who will be in action in Cardiff.

Teshome Mekonnen (60:02) has come agonisingly close to the hour mark in the past and will hope to dip under in Cardiff. He was the fourth Ethiopian scorer at the IAAF World Championships in Cardiff in 2016.

Kennedy Kimutai has run 27:38 for 10km on the road and will be making a well anticipated Half Marathon debut in Cardiff.

The women’s race will be equally as competitive this year as athletes chase the course record of 65:51 set by Edith Chelimo in 2017.

Paskalia Kipkoech (67:17) is another global medallist coming to Wales. She claimed bronze at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 2012, with recent form including a 67:38 clocking in February.

Kipkoech is familiar with Cardiff after finishing seventh at the IAAF World Championships here in 2016 and was a member of the Gold medal winning team on that occasion.

Lucy Cheruiyot (67:23) was fourth at the 2019 Sportismo Prague Half Marathon one place behind Lydia Mathathi (67:51) who is next fastest for Cardiff.

Azmera Abreha (69:55) is an exciting prospect owing to her performances in the Marathon which includes second at the 2018 Shanghai International Marathon and a 2:21.51 best for the distance. She is joined by fellow Ethiopian Birhan Mihretu (69:33).

(09/27/2019) Views: 1,814 ⚡AMP
by Tom Craggs

Jack Rayner of Australia and Uganda’s Juliet Chekwel win at the Cardiff Half Marathon

Rayner took pride of place as he beat off a Ugandan and Kenyan challenge in the race of his life to take the men’s title in a 1:01:01. That gave him a seven-second cushion over Fred Musobo, with a second Ugandan in third a further nine seconds back. Uganda took the team title with Australia second. In the women’s race, Uganda’s Juliet Chekwel took the title in 1:09:45 with Australia’s Celia Sullohern coming home in the silver medal position in a six-minute PB time of 1:11:04. Uganda won the team event and Australia second. “I knew it would be tough after looking at the start list because a lot of them had run 62, 61 and even 60 minutes," Rayner said. "I knew I was in at the deep end and I’d have to do something special to win." “I felt I could run a lot faster than my PB and I did that. It is just amazing and it makes the win even better than this is the first time they’ve held the Commonwealth Championships.” Looking down the list of competitors the night before the race, the 28-year-old Juliet Chekwel admitted she was unsure if she could win the title. But she dominated the race from the one-kilometre mark to win by a massive 79 seconds. (10/08/2018) Views: 1,583 ⚡AMP