Running News Daily

Ethiopians sweep women's B.A.A. Half Marathon, Kenyan wins men's race

The 2023 B.A.A. Half Marathon presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund took place today, November 12, starting and finishing within Boston’s Franklin Park. Personal bests and fast times were achieved on a chilly fall day. Preliminary results can be found here. 

In the professional open divisions, Fotyen Tesfay (Ethiopia) and Abel Kipchumba(Kenya) took home the women’s and men’s titles respectively, while Jenna Fesemyer and Hermin Garic, both of the USA, captured the wheelchair division victories. American Paralympian Liz Willisset a world record in the T61-64 division (lower limb impairment) in a time of 1:45:19. Among today’s finishers were more than 600 athletes representing the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Jimmy Fund, raising more than $700,000 to defy cancer. 

Warming up through the early miles, Tesfay and a sizeable lead pack passed 5 miles in 27:10 and 10 miles in 53:17. The race began to intensify as Tesfay, American record holder Keira D’Amato, B.A.A. 5K champion Senbere Teferi, and World Cross Country Championships silver medalist Tsigie Gebreselama covered the hilly course along Boston’s Emerald Necklace Park System.

While it was a pack with 5K to go, Tesfay was all alone entering White Stadium, breaking the tape in 1:08:46. In her Boston debut, Tesfay not only conquered the competition but also the cold temperatures. 

“The pack was so big, but I managed to move ahead of them as I got close to the finish to take the win,” said Tesfay. “This is my first time running a half marathon in Boston and the coldest race I have ever run, so I am very happy to win.”

Teferi (ETH) and Gebreselama (ETH) rounded out the podium in 1:09:00 and 1:09:06, followed by D’Amato as the top American in 1:09:12. 

In the men’s race, Kipchumba was determined to improve upon a ninth place finish a year ago. Running with Australian Olympian Pat Tiernan and defending champion Geoffrey Koech (Kenya) through five miles, Kipchumba began to break away little by little. At six miles it was a seven second lead, then at 10 miles the gap stood 30 seconds. 

Kipchumba’s broke the tape all smiles in 1:01:32 with a hard-charging Tiernan second (1:01:56) and Yemane Haileselassie third in 1:02:17. Sam Chelanga, who won a silver medal in the 10,000m at the Pan Am Games on the track last week, was top American, seventh in 1:02:49. 

“Today was difficult because it was very cold. And as we know, Boston has a lot of hills. But I managed to win the race, so I am happy,” said Kipchumba. “I like the crowds. They cheered me and I got a lot of energy to push the pace.”  

Geoffrey Koech reveals what he is banking on ahead of Boston Half Marathon

Defending champion Geoffrey Koech has disclosed what he will be banking on as he gears up for the Boston Half Marathon on Sunday November 12.

The 30-year-old will be banking on his past victory and mastery of the course to propel him to his second successive victory on Sunday. He had a great build-up towards the race and will hope to execute it well.

He has so far competed in three half marathons where he finished third in two races, Publix Atlanta Half Marathon and Prague Half Marathon. He finished fourth at the Principality Cardiff Half Marathon.

“It feels very nice to be coming back to Boston, knowing that I am the reigning champion. I have trained specifically for this year now that I know the course," he said. 

"Even though the course is challenging, I like it and I think my experience from last year gives me an advantage over those who will be doing it for the first time.

"We have hilly courses around my hometown of Kericho, so I have been adding some tough routes into my training, so my legs are used to it,” Koech said as per the race organisers.

Koech also explained that the fans give him a lot of encouragement and make him confident of winning the race.

He will be hoping that this time around, the fans will also play a huge role as he targets to win the race once again.

“The spectators gave me a lot of encouragement last year and made the course feel a lot easier. It’s so inspiring to be cheered all through the course," said Koech.

"The people of Boston are very friendly and welcoming to me. My goal is to win again this year so I hope I can do that and make the fans happy again.

"I like to run in temperatures between 59-64F and preferably no rain! I wonder what we will get on race day! See you soon, Boston."

Fancy Chemutai to open her season at the Boston Half Marathon

Fancy Chemutai will be opening her season at the Boston 21km after a successful 2022 season.

Fancy Chemutai has been confirmed for the Boston Half Marathon scheduled to take place on Sunday, November 12.

Chemutai will be opening her season at the event because she has not competed in any other race this season. Last season, the Kenyan had a quite busy season since she started a bit earlier compared to this season.

She started off her season in April, with a 13th-place finish at the Adizero Road to Records before heading to the AJC Peachtree Road Race where she finished fourth. Her final race was at the 2022 Valencia Marathon where she finished an impressive fifth.

She heads into the field as the fastest with a Personal Best time of 1:04:54. However, she faces a stern test from her compatriots and Ethiopians who are also ready to rumble.

One able opponent to watch out for is Senbere Teferi of Ethiopia, the 2022 Boston 5K champion and three-time World Championships medallist who will be looking to continue her winning ways in Boston.

Another athlete who poses a threat is compatriot Rosemary Wanjiru, who claimed victory at the Tokyo Marathon earlier this year.

In the men’s field, Abel Kipchumba headlines the start list with a Personal Best time of 58:07. Shadrack Kimining, also from Kenya lines up as the second fastest in the field, and he placed fifth during last year’s edition of the event.

Mohamed El Aaraby (Morocco), Yemane Haileselassie (Eritrea), Pat Tiernan (Australia), and Amanuel Mesel (Eritrea) will bring international expertise.

Defending champion Geoffrey Koech will also be in the mix looking to win back-to-back titles.

Defending Champions, American Record Holders & Global Stars Highlight 2023 B.A.A. Half Marathon Professional Field

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) announced today a star-studded professional field for the 2023 B.A.A. Half Marathon presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. Defending champions Viola Chepngeno, Geoffrey Koech, and Jenna Fesemyer all return, while American half marathon record holder Keira D’Amato will take on the challenging course for the first time on Sunday, November 12. The B.A.A. Half Marathon starts and finishes at Franklin Park and runs along the Emerald Necklace Park System.

“As one of the most competitive half marathons in the country, we’re eager to bring many of the best open, wheelchair, and Para athletes in the world to Boston for November’s B.A.A. Half Marathon presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund,” said Jack Fleming, President and CEO of the B.A.A. “Nearly 9,000 athletes will take to the roads, led by some of the fastest and most decorated competitors in event history.”

In 2022, Chepngeno (Kenya), Koech (Kenya), and Fesemyer (USA) won the women’s open, men’s open, and women’s wheelchair divisions, respectively, while Marko Cheseto and Jacky Hunt-Broersma (both USA) persevered through rain to finish atop the podium in the Para Athletics Division. To repeat the feat, all will square off against a field that includes national record holders and global medalists.

Senbere Teferi of Ethiopia, the 2022 B.A.A. 5K champion and three-time world championships medalist, looks to continue her winning ways in Boston. She’ll battle Tokyo Marathon champion Rosemary Wanjiru, 2019 B.A.A. 10K winner Fancy Chamutai, world cross country silver medalist Tsigie Gebreselama, last year’s runner-up Bosena Mulatie, and two-time B.A.A. Half Marathon second place finisher Cynthia Limo.

Four Americans who competed at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August will toe the line, including D’Amato, Lindsay Flanagan, Susanna Sullivan, and Natosha Rodgers. D’Amato set the national half marathon record of 1:06:39 at this year’s Gold Coast Half Marathon in Australia, and along with Flanagan and Sullivan made up Team USA at the World Championships Marathon. Rodgers raced the 5,000m and 10,000m on the track in Budapest, finishing 14th in the latter event. Rachel Schneider Smith, a 2021 Olympian at 5,000m for Team USA, will be making her B.A.A. Half Marathon debut.

Ten men with sub-61 minute personal bests will line up for the B.A.A. Half Marathon. Abel Kipchumba owns the fastest lifetime best in the field (58:07), while Shadrack Kimining of Kenya, second fastest in the field, placed fifth in 2022. Mohamed El Aaraby (Morocco), Yemane Haileselassie (Eritrea), Pat Tiernan (Australia), and Amanuel Mesel (Eritrea) bring international expertise. The fastest American men’s entrants are Nadir Yusuf (1:03:23), Kevin Koski (1:03:35) and Ryan Cutter (1:03:54) and sub-2:10 marathoner Ian Butler.

Dedham, Mass.-native Brian Reynolds, who set a world record at last year’s B.A.A. Half Marathon in the T62 (lower-limb impairment) category, returns, as does Marko Cheseto (T62) who ran 1:24:54 in 2022. Jacky Hunt-Broersma, last year’s women’s T62 champion, and Liz Willis, a three-time Boston Marathon T62 winner, will compete as well.

In the wheelchair division, Fesemyer set a course record 59:50 in 2022 to become the first women’s wheelchair athlete ever to break one hour in race history. Fellow 2022 women’s wheelchair podium finishers Yen Hoang (second place) and Michelle Wheeler (third) return as well.

James Senbeta and Hermin Garic, veterans of many B.A.A. events, headline the men’s wheelchair field. Garic was victorious at this year’s B.A.A. 10K.

The B.A.A. Half Marathon course runs along the picturesque Emerald Necklace Park System, past landmarks such as the Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Pond, and Franklin Park Zoo, before finishing at White Stadium in Franklin Park. The B.A.A. Half Marathon is a family-friendly event for athletes and spectators of all ages. Free youth events will be offered on race morning within Franklin Park, including races and medals for all. 

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund has partnered with the B.A.A. Half Marathon since 2003 as the race’s presenting sponsor and exclusive charity team. Through this relationship, Dana-Farber runners have collectively raised more than $8 million to support groundbreaking cancer research, and enabled Dana-Farber scientists and clinicians to positively impact the lives of cancer patients around the world. In advance of the 2023 event, 640 Team Dana-Farber athletes have raised $375,000 to date.

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.

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.

World class racing returns to Boston on Sunday with the BAA 10K

The BAA 10K is this Sunday in Boston. The elites—as well as a mass field of nearly 10,000 runners—will race through the streets of the Back Bay neighborhood.

Emily Sisson has her eyes on another American record; she’s been on a tear the past year on the roads. In October, at the 2022 Chicago Marathon, she took 43 seconds off Keira D’Amato’s American record, running 2:18:29 for second place. Three months later, at the Houston Half Marathon, she broke her own American record, crossing the line in 1:06:52. She’s setting her sights on Shalane Flanagan’s 10K record of 30:52, which Flanagan set at the 2016 edition of the BAA 10K.

Also toeing the line is Molly Seidel, who’s been running some shorter races to prepare for a fall marathon. In February, she finished eighth at the U.S. Half Marathon Championships in 1:13:08.

A slew of former Boston Marathon champions are also competing on Sunday. Hellen Obiri, who won April’s race, will line up next to two-time champion Edna Kiplagat and 2015 winner Caroline Rotich. The course record of 30:36 could be up for grabs.

The men’s field is highlighted by 2021 Boston Marathon champion Benson Kipruto, who won the BAA 10K in 2018. American Leonard Korir returns as the race’s reigning champion, taking last year’s win in 28:00—12 seconds off the American record of 27:48 that has stood since 1985. Gabriel Geay, Geoffrey Koech, and Tsegay Kidanu should also be in contention.

Those in the Boston area can catch coverage of the race on WCVB. The BAA Racing App will also provide live updates and results, but there is no stream of the race. The elites are scheduled to start at 8 a.m. ET.

Benson Kipruto shares recipe for success ahead of Boston 10k race

The 32-year-old will be competing at the Boston 10km race on June 25 where he will be up against a strong field.

The 2021 Boston Marathon champion Benson Kipruto has insisted that athletes should embrace teamwork when competing in long-distance races.

The reigning Chicago Marathon champion revealed that if the pack of athletes has a main goal, they should work together and ensure their goal is realized.

“My tip for racing with friends and teammates is if you are competing for a common target, you should help each other to half or even three-quarters of the race.

"From that point, anyone who feels strong should go…this will help the rest of the athletes to react and push to their limits. This might help them to get their personal bests,” he said.

The 32-year-old will be competing at the Boston 10km race on Sunday, June 25 where he will be up against a strong field. He plans to execute the strategy in order to set a new PB time.

The race has attracted defending champion Leonard Korir and Gabriel Geay of Tanzania who will be returning after a runner-up finish at April’s Boston Marathon. He had also previously won the B.A.A. 10K in 2018.

Decorated road racers Edward Cheserek of Kenya and Zouhair Talbi of Morocco will also be fighting for top honours. Geoffrey Koech, the winner of last year’s Boston Half Marathon, will also be competing, as will Callum Hawkins of Great Britain, twice the fourth-place finisher at the World Championships marathon.

Boston champions and U.S. record holders return for 2023 B.A.A. 10K

The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has announced professional fields for the 2023 B.A.A. 10K presented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, to be run on Sunday, June 25 through Back Bay. Among the challengers set to compete are Boston Marathon champions Hellen Obiri (2023) and Benson Kipruto (2021), defending B.A.A. 10K winner Leonard Korir, as well as national record holder Emily Sisson. Complete field lists can be found below.

The B.A.A. 10K presented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital will be the second event of the 2023 B.A.A. Distance Medley, a year-long series featuring the B.A.A. 5K (April), B.A.A. 10K (June), and B.A.A. Half Marathon (November). Registration remains open with limited spots remaining.

“Many fan favorites and global stars return to Boston for this year’s B.A.A. 10K, including Boston Marathoners, American record holders, Olympians and Paralympians,” said Mary Kate Shea, Director of Professional Athletes for the B.A.A. “The B.A.A. 10K course is flat, fast, and –most importantly—fun for our top contenders. We look forward to kicking off summer with a memorable competition on June 25.”

Obiri, a two-time Olympic silver medalist, won April’s Boston Marathon in her Boston debut, and will return to the roads hoping to extend her winning streak. Her 30:15 personal best at 10K is fourth fastest among the field, only trailing Sheila Chepkirui (Kenya, 29:46), Vicoty Chepngeno (Kenya, 30:14), and Joan Chelimo Melly (Romania, 30:14). Chelimo Melly won the B.A.A. 10K in 2017, while Chepkirui placed fourth at last month’s TCS London Marathon.

Korir, the reigning B.A.A. 10K champion, is fresh off a win at the USA 25K National Championships on May 13, and looks to become the fourth man to win back-to-back B.A.A. 10Ks. Sisson, the current American record holder in the marathon and half marathon also will return, joined by Olympic Marathon bronze medalist and former Boston resident Molly Seidel.

Among the international field squaring off are Boston Marathon winners Kipruto (2021), Edna Kiplagat (2017 and 2021), and Caroline Rotich (2015), all of Kenya. Gabriel Geay (Tanzania) will return after a runner-up finish at April’s Boston Marathon, and previously won the B.A.A. 10K in 2018.

Geoffrey Koech, winner of last year’s B.A.A. Half Marathon, will compete, as will Callum Hawkins of Great Britain, twice the fourth-place finisher at the World Championships marathon, plus decorated road racers Edward Cheserek (Kenya), a 17-time NCAA champion, and Zouhair Talbi (Morocco), most recently fifth at the Boston Marathon. From Team B.A.A. are Matt McDonald, Paul Hogan, Jonas Hampton, and Eric Hamer.

Mary Ngugi of Kenya, a two-time B.A.A. 10K winner and two-time Boston Marathon podium finisher, will aim for title number three, as fellow Kenyan Sharon Lokedi, the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon champion, looks for her first B.A.A. event victory. Team B.A.A.’s Annie Rodenfels, third place and top American at the 2023 B.A.A. 5K, will make her debut at the 10K distance leading a full contingent of Boston-based B.A.A. teammates including Bethany Hasz, Megan Hasz, and Jenna Magness.

Hermin Garic, the 2022 B.A.A. 10K winner, returns in the men’s wheelchair division, while Yen Hoang, third place at the 2021 Boston Marathon, leads the women’s wheelchair division. Brian Reynolds and Liz Willis will compete in the T61-64 (lower-limb impairment) division having already earned podium placings at the Boston Marathon in April. Reynolds, a Massachusetts native, set a world best 1:25:46 at the 2022 B.A.A. Half Marathon. Local Para athlete and last year’s T61-64 women’s winner, Adrianne Haslet, will also compete. Additional 2023 Boston Marathon Para division winners Andrew Thorson (T11-T13 vision impairment) and Atsbha Gebre (T45/T46 upper-limb impairment) are racing.  The B.A.A. 10K presented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital has been certified by World Para Athletics as a record-eligible competition, paving the way for Para Athletes to set world and national records this year.

Media members interested in covering the B.A.A. 10K, presented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, may apply for credentials here.

Registration for the 2023 B.A.A. 10K presented by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, is currently open through the B.A.A.’s online platform Athletes’ Village. All participants who enter will receive an adidas participant shirt, unique bib number, and finisher medal. Additional participant information can be found on baa.org. The race will start at 8:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 25 on Charles Street adjacent to Boston Common and Boston Public Garden.

Brigham and Women's Hospital, the B.A.A. 10K’s presenting sponsor and exclusive fundraising partner, will again field a team of fundraising runners. Since 2016, more than 2,100 runners and 180 teams have raised $1.2 million to fuel life-giving breakthroughs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Learn more and register at www.runbwh.org/10k.

Kenyans Roncer Kipkorir and Irine Jepchumba Kimais dominate in Prague

Kenya’s Irine Jepchumba Kimais and Roncer Kipkorir Konga were comfortable winners at the Prague Half Marathon on Saturday (1), winning at the World Athletics Elite Label road race in 1:06:00 and 59:43 respectively.

Conditions were generally good, but the runners faced a strong headwind in the closing stages. Before then, though, the leaders in the women’s race were on for a swift time, having reached 10km in 31:04.

At that point, Kimais ran alongside fellow Kenyans Janeth Chepngetich and Nesphine Jepleting as well as Ethiopian duo Mebratu Tadesse and Zeray Bezabeh.

Kimais pushed the pace over the next five kilometres, covering that section in 15:19, which was enough to drop Chepngetich, the last of her opponents. Her pace slowed slightly in the final few kilometres as the strong winds took their toll, but Kimais held on to win in 1:06:00, the second-fastest time of her career after the 1:04:37 PB she set in Barcelona earlier this year.

“It was not a bad race and the course was good,” said the 24-year-old. “There were just some places I had to struggle with. Together with my pacemakers, we were fighting for the victory, and I am happy for this time.”

Chepngetich finished second in 1:06:42 and Bezabeh completed the podium in 1:07:15.

In the men’s race, six men ran alongside the pacemaker as they passed through 10km in 28:03 with Konga near the front of the pack.

Konga then upped the pace slightly and managed to open up a gap on what had now become the chase pack, reaching 15km in 41:51 with a nine-second lead. He extended that over the final few kilometres and, despite taking a wrong turn near the end, reached the finish a comfortable winner in 59:43.

Uganda’s Maxwell Rotich was second in 1:00:06, five seconds ahead of Kenya’s Geoffrey Koech.

"It's definitely a great result for me, I felt good on the course,” said Konga, who was just five seconds shy of his PB. “I'm very happy for a time under an hour. The wrong turn slowed me down, I could have run faster, maybe some five seconds. The wind was also a problem and slowed me down a little bit.”

Leading results

Women

1 Irine Jepchumba Kimais (KEN) 1:06:00

2 Janeth Chepngetich (KEN) 1:06:42

3 Zeray Bezabeh (ETH) 1:07:15

4 Mebratu Tadesse (ETH) 1:08:45

5 Nesphine Jepleting (KEN) 1:10:04

Men

1 Roncer Kipkorir Konga (KEN) 59:43

2 Maxwell Rotich (UGA) 1:00:06

3 Geoffrey Koech (KEN) 1:00:10

4 Laban Kiplimo (KEN) 1:00:13

5 Kelvin Kibiwott (KEN) 1:00:14.

Olympic Steeple Bronze Medalist Benjamin Kigen And World XC Champ Beatrice Chebet Lead Fields For BAA 5k

Patriots’ Day Weekend will kickoff with exciting competition, as international and U.S. stars take to the roads for the 2023 B.A.A. 5K presented by Point32Health, and the 2023 B.A.A. Invitational Mile on Saturday, April 15.

Among the professional athletes entered in the B.A.A. 5K are reigning champions Charles Philibert-Thiboutot (Canada), Marcel Hug (Switzerland), and Jenna Fesemyer (USA), while recently crowned world cross country champion Beatrice Chebet of Kenya will make her Boston road racing debut. Local Bay State stars Johnny Gregorek and Ellie Shea will compete in the B.A.A. Invitational Mile, a three-lap race starting and finishing on Boylston Street.

“This year’s professional fields blend together experience with up-and-coming stars for the B.A.A. 5K and B.A.A. Invitational Mile,” said Mary Kate Shea, B.A.A. Director of Professional Athletes. “Participants, spectators, and running enthusiasts will get to witness world class competition at shorter distances two days before the 127th Boston Marathon."

International standouts will be at the front of the B.A.A. 5K, led by Kenya’s Benjamin Kigen – an Olympic bronze medalist in the 3000m steeplechase from 2021—and Philibert-Thiboutot, who set a Canadian national record at the 2022 B.A.A. 5K en route to winning in 13:35. Philibert-Thiboutot’s countryman Ben Flanagan, a three-time Falmouth Road Race winner, as well as reigning B.A.A. Half Marathon champion Geoffrey Koech of Kenya, are also entered. Leading the American contingent is Olympian Mason Ferlic, two-time World Cross Country participant Emmanuel Bor, U.S. Road Mile champion Eric Avila, and NCAA All-American Morgan Beadlescomb.

On the women’s side, 2023 World Cross Country champion Beatrice Chebet and bronze medalist Agnes Ngetich (Kenya) will take on World Athletics Championships 3000m steeplechase bronze medalist Mekides Abebe (Ethiopia), all racing the B.A.A. 5K for the first time. The United States will be well represented in the women’s professional ranks, with reigning USA 5K national champion Weini Kelati, defending B.A.A. Invitational Mile winner Annie Rodenfels, 2022 USA Club Cross Country champion Bethany Hasz, Olympian Marielle Hall, and 2022 USATF 10,000m bronze medalist Natosha Rogers all racing. Rodenfels and Hasz are members of the B.A.A. High Performance Team, training in Boston under coach Mark Carroll.

International standouts will be at the front of the B.A.A. 5K, led by Kenya’s Benjamin Kigen – an Olympic bronze medalist in the 3000m steeplechase from 2021—and Philibert-Thiboutot, who set a Canadian national record at the 2022 B.A.A. 5K en route to winning in 13:35. Philibert-Thiboutot’s countryman Ben Flanagan, a three-time Falmouth Road Race winner, as well as reigning B.A.A. Half Marathon champion Geoffrey Koech of Kenya, are also entered. Leading the American contingent is Olympian Mason Ferlic, two-time World Cross Country participant Emmanuel Bor, U.S. Road Mile champion Eric Avila, and NCAA All-American Morgan Beadlescomb.

On the women’s side, 2023 World Cross Country champion Beatrice Chebet and bronze medalist Agnes Ngetich (Kenya) will take on World Athletics Championships 3000m steeplechase bronze medalist Mekides Abebe (Ethiopia), all racing the B.A.A. 5K for the first time. The United States will be well represented in the women’s professional ranks, with reigning USA 5K national champion Weini Kelati, defending B.A.A. Invitational Mile winner Annie Rodenfels, 2022 USA Club Cross Country champion Bethany Hasz, Olympian Marielle Hall, and 2022 USATF 10,000m bronze medalist Natosha Rogers all racing. Rodenfels and Hasz are members of the B.A.A. High Performance Team, training in Boston under coach Mark Carroll.

The 2022 B.A.A. Half Marathon returned to Franklin Park this morning as more than 6,300 athletes completed the 13.1-mile challenging course

At the front of the field, Kenyans Geoffrey Koech and Viola Chepngeno prevailed as men’s and women’s open division champions.

Despite sporadic rain throughout the morning, participants covered the challenging course through Boston and Brookline with smiles and enthusiasm. 

With a ferocious sprint into White Stadium, Chepngeno claimed the women’s open win in 1:10:40, just three seconds in front of Ethiopia’s Bosena Mulatie. Chepngeno, Mulatie and Hiwot Gebrekidan (Ethiopia) ran a majority of the race together, but it was ultimately the B.A.A. Half Marathon debutant in Chepngeno having the best finish of all. 

“I’m happy. So, so happy,” said a smiling Chepngeno. “The rain was cold. But I am happy so much!”

Gebrekidan was third in 1:11:09, with B.A.A. High Performance Team member Erika Kemp finishing as the top American, seventh in 1:12:13. Team USA Olympians Molly Huddle and Molly Seidel placed 12th (1:13:29) and 16th (1:16:22), respectively.

As a pack of a dozen runners led the men’s race through 10K, it was Koech taking the reigns at mile 9. While Tsegay Kidanu (Ethiopia), Zouhair Talbi (Marocco), and Teshome Mekonen (USA) did their best to keep close, it was Koech who stormed out of Franklin Park Zoo in front and wound up winning in 1:02:02. Kidanu and Talbi rounded out the podium in 1:02:10 and 1:02:15, while Mekonen placed fourth in 1:02:28 as the top American finisher. This was Mekonen’s first race as an American citizen. 

“The race was good, I am happy in Boston,” noted Koech, who said he came into the race briming with confidence. When did he know he had victory sealed? “The last 5K, all of the twisting [turns before the finish].”

(From Let's Run) Teshome Mekonen was born and raised in the Tigray region of Ethiopia but has been based in the US since 2020 and gained his citizenship in August (we’ll have more on his story next week on LetsRun.com). Only four Americans have ever run faster than Mekonen’s pb in the half (60:02), and while that time dates from 2018, it’s also worth noting that Mekonen raced Conner Mantz at the NYC Half in March of this year and beat Mantz by a minute.

He’s clearly one to watch for the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials, though his two marathons so far haven’t gone very well (2:22 in New York last year, 2:13 in Ottawa this year). His performance today was solid — though 62:28 is over two minutes off his pb, the hills and rain slowed most of the field. For reference, men’s winner Geoffrey Koech ran 62:02 today but 60:01 at the Cardiff Half in October.

After crossing the finish line in Boston today, Mekonen crossed his arms above his head in a similar gesture to the one made by Feyisa Lilesa at the 2016 Olympic marathon. Mekonen said his gesture was to bring attention to his home region of Tigray, which has been at the center of a civil war between Tigray and the Ethiopian federal government over the last two years. While there was positive news last week with leaders from each side agreeing to a truce, getting humanitarian aid to the area has still been a problem and Mekonen has been unable to communicate with his family and friends in the region.

“In Tigray, still everything is no food, no medicine, no bank, no electricity,” Mekonen said.

Mekonen said right now he’s already started training for his next marathon, which will come on January 15 in Houston.

“My [training] program, everything is marathon [right now],” Mekonen said. “This [race] is like time trial.”

Mekonen said he’s hoping to run 2:08 in Houston and finish in the top three.

Quick Take: Molly Seidel — “I’m just in such a drastically better place than I have been for a long time”

Molly Seidel’s time today of 76:22 was, by her standards, poor — at her best, she can easily maintain that pace for a full marathon. But Seidel was still in good spirits. For the first time in a long time, she feels she is in a good place with her body and her mental health. Today’s race was a chance to lay down a marker of where she’s at right now, but she expects to get a lot faster in the coming months.

“While it’s frustrating to come out and not be anywhere near the front pack, it’s nice knowing that I’m just in such a drastically better place than I have been for a long time,” Seidel said.

It has been a rough year for Seidel. After the high of a bronze medal at the Olympics and American course record in the New York City Marathon last year, Seidel has faced a number of challenges in 2022. She dropped out of the Boston Marathon with a hip injury that wound up as a sacral stress fracture. She has also struggled with disordered eating and was forced to withdraw from the New York Mini 10K earlier this year because she was waiting to receive a TUE for Adderall, which she had been taking to manage her ADHD (she no longer takes the drug). But, thanks to the help of her family, her coach Jon Green, and the rest of her support team, Seidel said she is feeling the best — mentally and physically — that she has for a long time.

The stress fracture sidelined Seidel until October, and even once she resumed training, it was mostly cross-training due to an ankle issue that flared up. But she is back to full training now and says she has hit 110 miles the last couple of weeks.

“I’m like one of those steaks that’s raw and you throw it on the grill and fast-sear it,” Seidel joked.

Quick Take: Molly Huddle’s comeback continues — though it’s different racing now as a mom

Molly Huddle had already raced twice since giving birth to daughter Josephine in April, both at 10 kilometers (33:59 at the Lone Gull 10K on September 25 and 33:32 at the Boston 10K for Women on October 8). Today was another step forward on her comeback and the longest race she’s done so far.

Huddle said her time of 73:29 was slower than she hoped but knew it would be tough after 10 miles — which is exactly what happened. Huddle already has another half lined up in Houston in January and hopes that with two more months of training under her belt, she will be able to feel stronger in that race.

“This [race today] will bring me along, for sure,” Huddle said. “I think the next half will be a lot faster.”

Huddle also thinks she’ll feel stronger once she stops breastfeeding Josephine — she had to pump milk today 20 minutes before her warmup.

Huddle is returning to a faster marathon scene in the United States than the one she left when she took her maternity break. The American record has been broken twice this year and now stands at 2:18:29 to Huddle’s occasional training partner Emily Sisson.

“It’s crazy,” Huddle said. “The women are running so fast and it’s so deep up front. From the 2:18 to 2:22 range, we have a lot of women. I’m just hoping to PR. Mine is 2:26 the last time I ran. That was pre-supershoe era.”

Huddle will be 39 by the time of the 2024 Olympic Marathon Trials and right now would not be among the favorites to make the team — even in her prime, Huddle was always better at the shorter distances on the roads. She admitted she’d need to catch some breaks to have a shot at the Olympic team in 2024 but isn’t completely counting herself out.

“Marathons have a lot of variables, so I’d need a few to go in my favor and against somebody else,” Huddle said. “But you never know. The marathon, I think I have a shot.”

Chepngeno, Tanui lead star-studded field for Boston Half Marathon

Vicoty Chepngeno and Josphat Tanui head the line-up for the elite field for the Boston  Half Marathon set for November 13.

Chepngeno, who is the 2022 Aramco Houston Half Marathon champion, heads the list of fastest female athletes with a personal best time of 1:05:03.

Chepngeno has competed in a couple of half marathons since the year began including Istanbul in March, where she placed fourth in 1:06:58.

Ethiopia’s Bosena Mulatie lines up as the second fastest in the field with a PB of 1:05:46 posted at the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in February, where he wound up fifth.

Also to watch will be another Ethiopian, Hiwot Gebrekidan, who placed fifth in 2:19:10 at the recent Tokyo Marathon. Gebrekidan also finished fourth at the Great North Run in 1:07:22.

Great Britain’s Jess Piasecki and USA’s Molly Huddle are among the top 10 fastest women and will be competing for top honours.

Piasecki and Molly have personal best times of 1:07:20 and 1:07:25 respectively. Other Kenyan women in the race include Cynthia Jerotich (1:06:04), Viola Chepngeno (1:06:48), Vivian Chepkirui (1:08:02) and Mary Munanu (1:11:56).

In the men’s category, Tanui heads the field with a personal best of 59:22, which he posted at the 2017 Ústi nad Lábem Half Marathon top place second.

Another Kenyan, Shadrack Kimining is the second fastest with a time of 59:27. Kimining placed second (1:00:34) at this year’s Rimi Riga Half Marathon back in May.

The Ethiopian duo of Lelisa Desisa and Tsegay Kidanu will also be in the race with the aim of spoiling the Kenyans’ party.

Desisa, the 2019 World Marathon champion, is the third fastest in the field with a PB time of 59:30. On the other hand, Kidanu has a PB of 59:52.  Mexico’s Jose Santana with a personal best of 1:01:11 will also be in contention.

Other Kenyans in the field include Geoffrey Koech (59:36), James Ngandu (1:01:28), Dennis Kipkosgei (1:03:23) and debutant Vincent Kiprop.

Lelisa Desisa, Vicoty Chepngeno, Molly Seidel, Molly Huddle Running 2022 BAA Half

The Boston Athletic Association today announced the professional field for the 2022 B.A.A. Half Marathon, presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, to be held on Sunday, November 13.

Two-time Boston Marathon champions Lelisa Desisa and Daniel Romanchuk return, while 2021 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Molly Seidel and two-time Olympian Molly Huddle lead the American charge. Seven women who’ve run under 1:07:30 and nine men with lifetime bests under 1:01:30 will compete on the roads of Boston.

The B.A.A. Half Marathon will be run for the first time in-person since 2019, beginning and finishing in Boston’s Franklin Park. The event begins at 8:00 a.m. with a field of nearly 9,000 participants. Open registration is already sold out, however entries remain available through presenting sponsor Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund.

Seidel, a former Boston resident, will make her B.A.A. Half Marathon debut as she returns to racing. The 2:24:42 marathoner and former NCAA champion at Notre Dame finished fifth at the 2018 B.A.A. 5K and 10th at the 2019 B.A.A. 10K.

Huddle, a 28-time USA national champion, will race at the B.A.A. Half eight years after placing third in 2014. B.A.A. High Performance team member Erika Kemp –a two-time USA national champion at 20K and 15K— will also compete among the strong American field, fresh off a win at the Boston 10K for Women on October 8.

“The B.A.A. Half Marathon is always a fun fall event, and I’m eager to race again through Boston with hopes of returning to the podium,” said Huddle.

The international women’s contingent is led by 2022 Houston Half Marathon winner Vicoty Chepngeno of Kenya, who owns the fastest lifetime best (1:05:03), though is followed closely by Ethiopia’s Bosena Mulatie (1:05:46). Mulatie was eighth at the 2022 World Athletics Championships 10,000m in Oregon over the summer. Other athletes with world championships experience include Kenya’s Margaret Wangari and Cynthia Limo, and British duo Jess Piasecki and Calli Thackery. Wangari earned a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Marathon, and placed fifth at the B.A.A. Half Marathon in 2018. Limo is the 2016 World Half Marathon Championships silver medalist.

On the men’s side, Desisa, winner of the Boston Marathon in 2013 and 2015, owns a pair of B.A.A. Half Marathon titles from 2013 and 2014, as well as the event record (1:00:34). The Ethiopian fan favorite is also the event record holder (1:00:34), and considers Boston his second home.

“Boston holds a special place in my heart and I’m excited to return again to race in the B.A.A. Half Marathon, where I have had great success before,” said Desisa. “I hope to run very well again!”

Kenyans Josphat Tanui (59:22) and Shadrack Kimining (59:27) have the two fastest personal bests in the field, which includes five men who have run under one hour for the half marathon. Geoffrey Koech, the 2022 Cardiff Half winner, and Ethiopian Tsegay Kidanu, 11th at the Copenhagen Half Marathon, are competing, as is Morocco’s Zouhair Talbi, the third-place finisher at the 2022 B.A.A. 5K. The top American entrant is Teshome Mekonen, who formerly represented Ethiopia internationally, has run 1:00:02, and won this year’s Brooklyn Half.

Daniel Romanchuk, two-time Boston Marathon wheelchair division champion and 2019 B.A.A. 10K winner, looks to win his first B.A.A. Half title, joined by Boston Marathon top-20 finishers Hermin Garic, Dustin Stallberg and Velera Jacob Allen. Jenna Fesemyer and Yen Hoang, both 2021 Paralympians for Team USA, will race as well. Fesemyer won this year’s B.A.A. 5K.

“I’m very much looking forward to racing the B.A.A. Half Marathon for the first time,” said Romanchuk, who finished runner-up at the Chicago Marathon on October 9. “I’ve raced the Boston Marathon, B.A.A. 5K, and B.A.A. 10K, and am excited to add the Half Marathon. I can’t wait to be back in Boston.”

For the first time, the B.A.A. Half Marathon course will be World Para Athletics certified, eligible for world or national records to be set by Para athletes. Marko Cheseto Lemtukei (T62), Brian Reynolds (T62), and Jacky Hunt-Broersma (T64) each have Boston Marathon Para Athletics Divisions experience and are eligible for prize money.

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.

Fast Fields Set For The Publix Atlanta Half-Marathon

After a special pandemic edition in 2021 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the Publix Atlanta Half-Marathon returns to city streets for the 2022 edition on Sunday, February 27.  The race, part of the Publix Atlanta Marathon Weekend organized by the Atlanta Track Club (ATC), will feature an elite field, a $17,000 prize money purse, and a $5,000 bonus pool for exceeding the fastest times ever run in the state of Georgia (1:08:29 for women and 1:03:59 for men).

Leading the women’s elite field will be Kenya’s Viola Cheptoo who, when she competed as a middle distance runner for Florida State University in the NCAA system, went by “Viola Lagat.”  The younger sister of two-time Olympic medalist Bernard Lagat will be running her first race since her dramatic marathon debut at the TCS New York City Marathon last November where she finished a close second to compatriot and Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir.  Her time of 2:22:44 was the third-fastest time in race history.  She’ll be incorporating the Publix Atlanta Half-Marathon into her Boston Marathon training.

“I am looking forward to it,” said Cheptoo who has never been to Atlanta before.  “I want to do well and build a relationship with the community, as I am aware of all the good work done by Atlanta Track Club.”

Cheptoo, who has a half-marathon best of 1:06:47, will face another strong Kenyan, Dorcas Tuitoek, who has run similarly fast: 1:06:33.  These two woman have an excellent chance of bettering the state record which was set by 2021 Olympic Marathon bronze medalist Molly Seidel at last year’s race.

North American athletes will also be represented on the women’s side, including Dakotah Lindwurm of Minnesota Distance Elite (1:09:36 PB), Maegan Krifchin of the Atlanta Track Club (1:09:51), and Canadian Lanni Marchant (1:10:47) a 2016 Olympian and the 2021 Honolulu Marathon champion.

The top entrants on the men’s side are also from Kenya, and both have broken 60 minutes for the half-marathon.  Benard Ngeno (59:07 PB) and Geoffrey Koech (59:36) are the fastest men in the field.  The top North Americans will be Canadian record holder Rory Linkletter (1:01:08 PB), Jonas Hampton of Newtonville, Mass. (1:03:57), and Matthew McDonald of the Boston Athletic Association High Performance team (1:04:48).  McDonald, the tenth place finisher at the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon, formerly trained with the ATC at Georgia Tech.  He now works at MIT in Cambridge, Mass.

The complete elite fields are below with personal best times:

Dorcas Tuitoek, KEN, 1:06:41Viola Cheptoo, KEN, 1:06:47Mary Munanu, KEN, 1:07:54Tsige Haileslase, ETH, 1:08:30Daisy Kimeli, KEN, 1:08:34Dakotah Lindwurm, USA, 1:09:36Maegan Krifchin, USA, 1:09:51Ludwina Chepngetich, KEN, 1:10:34Lanni Marchant, CAN, 1:10:47Leslie Sexton, CAN, 1:11:21Bridget Lyons Belyeu, USA, 1:12:24Grace Kahura, KEN, 1:12:49Janel Blanchett, USA, 1:13:43Anne-Marie Comeau, CAN, 1:14:09Joanna Stephens, USA, 1:14:23

Benard Ngeno, KEN, 59:07Geoffrey Koech, KEN, 59:36Raymond Magut, KEN, 1:00:00Bayelign Teshager, ETH, 1:00:30Bethwell Yegon, KEN, 1:00:57Rory Linkletter, CAN, 1:01:08Mike Cheshire, KEN, 1:03:45Jonas Hampton, USA, 1:03:57Matt McDonald, USA, 1:04:48Chris May, USA, 1:04:50Paul Hogan, USA, 2:15:51 (Marathon)

Kenya’s Philemon Kiplimo and Ethiopia’s Gotytom Gebreslase win Bahrain Half Marathon

Ethiopia’s Gotytom Gebreslase and Kenya’s Philemon Kiplimo claimed victory at the Bahrain Royal International Night Half Marathon – a World Athletics Label road race – when the event returned for its second edition on Sunday (12).

After running 2:20:09 to triumph when making her marathon debut in Berlin in September, Gebreslase achieved another impressive result as she improved her half marathon PB to 1:05:36 in Manama to win by 11 seconds ahead of home favorite Kalkidan Gezahegne – the Olympic 10,000m silver medalist who was making her half marathon debut after breaking the world 10km record with 29:38 in Geneva in October.

The men’s race was much closer, with Kiplimo outsprinting his compatriot Collins Koros to the tape – both athletes recording a time of 1:00:01.

The women’s race had got off to a blistering start, with Gebreslase and Gezahegne both part of a group which passed the 5km mark in 14:53, well inside world record pace. The race also featured Kenya’s former world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich, who had run 1:04:02 in Istanbul in April and won October’s Chicago Marathon in 2:22:31, but she ran to around 17km in Manama and did not finish.

Following the fast start, Gebreslase and Gezahegne maintained their pace through 10km, with the clock showing 29:49 – four seconds off the split recorded by Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey en route to the 1:02:52 women’s half marathon record she set in Valencia in October.

The wind had been behind them during the first half of the race and as they looped back the pace dropped, with Gebreslase passing 15km in 45:47 and Gezahegne following five seconds behind her. Chepngetich’s race came to an end a couple of kilometers later.

Gebreslase had increased her lead to 11 seconds by the finish, with the top two clear ahead of the rest of the field. Sheila Kiprotich secured third place in 1:07:01 and was followed by her Kenyan compatriots Irene Cheptai, who was four seconds back, and Daisy Cherotich, who ran 1:07:11, with a total of 11 athletes finishing inside 68 minutes.

Kiplimo led a Kenyan top five in the men’s race and had formed part of a lead group which followed the pacemakers through 5km in 13:58 and 10km in 27:35.

A seven-strong pack passed 15km in 42:24 and things remained close until the final stages, with Kiplimo edging ahead to deny Koros, and Mathew Kimeli finishing third just three seconds back.

Titus Mbishei finished fourth in 1:00:23, one second ahead of Geoffrey Koech, while Ethiopia’s Jemal Yimer was sixth in 1:00:29.

World Athletics, with assistance from Alberto Stretti

Leading results

Women1 Gotytom Gebreslase (ETH) 1:05:362 Kalkidan Gezahegne (BRN) 1:05:473 Sheila Kiprotich (KEN) 1:07:01 4 Irene Cheptai (KEN) 1:07:055 Daisy Cherotich (KEN) 1:07:11

Men1 Philemon Kiplimo (KEN) 1:00:012 Collins Koros (KEN) 1:00:013 Mathew Kimeli (KEN) 1:00:044 Titus Mbishei (KEN) 1:00:235 Geoffrey Koech (KEN) 1:00:24

Valencia Half Marathon announces the names of the first athletes taking part in its ambitious ‘Elite Edition’

The Valencia Marathon Trinidad Alfonso EDP is organising an Elite Edition marathon and half marathon to be held on 6 December 2020 and it can now confirm the names of the first male and female athletes who will seek to achieve the most ambitious sporting goal possible by trying to set new race records.

in the Valencia Half Marathon Elite Edition, which will also be held on 6 December but without overlapping on the course with the marathon, will include a team of athletes who will seek, in the fast streets of Valencia Ciudad del Running, to approach the world record for both men (58:01) and women (1h04:21).

The Kenyan Rhonex Kipruto, who achieved the world record at 10K (26:24) in the Ibercaja Valencia 10K, is the big favourite to fight for a world-beating time at 21,097.5 metres, along with another runner who has not yet premiered in the half marathon, the Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo (26:41 at 10K). And up to ten more runners with times below 60 minutes augur well for a very fast race. Stephen Kiprop (58:42), Bedan Karoki (58:42), Bernard Ngeno (59:07), Alexander Mutiso (59:09), Julien Wanders (59:13 and European record), Philemon Kiplimo (59:28), Geoffrey Koech (59:36), Gabriel Geay (59:42), Alfred Barkach (59:46) and Kelvin Kiptum (59:53) will be running to beat their best times.

And in the women’s race, distance debutante Ethiopian Letensenbet Gidey, with the world’s best time over 15K (44:20) along with Kenyan Sheila Chepkirui, winner of the 10K in Valencia and Prague, will fight for the best women’s time in history alongside the experience of 2019 winner Senbere Teferi (1h05:32).

For Marc Roig, International Elite Coach for the Valencia Marathon and Half Marathon “we have worked hard in recent months to put together two lists that include the highest-level elite athletes, to break our own records and get as close as possible to the world records for the two distances. Along with these names, there are others to be confirmed that will, without a doubt, make Valencia the biggest race of 2020”.

The Valencia Marathon Elite Edition will also look forward to achieve this ambitious goals.

Recovered Michael Kibet is focusing on the Olympic Games

Ndalat Gaa cross country champion Michael Kibet has set his sights on a ticket to the postponed 2020 Olympic Games after missing out on the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar despite winning the 5,000m race during the national trials.

Kibet and second place finisher Daniel Simiu failed to meet the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) anti-doping threshold for the world show thus derailing their debut at the international stage.

They were replaced by third place finisher Africa cross country junior champion Nicholas Kimeli and and another junior runner Africa 5,000m silver medalist Jacob Krop.

Kibet says the disappoint from last now over and has his eyes set on ensuring that he does everything right to make the national team to Japan.

Kenya last won the 5,000m men's Olympic title in 1988 through John Ngugi and Kibet, who was not born then, feels he has what it takes to deliver.

Born on 3rd September 3, 1999, Kibet wants to become the only Kenyan to win the title since the country debuted at the Games in 1956 in Melbourne, Australia.

“Right now my focus is to run and bring the elusive Olympic Games 5,000m title," said Kibet, following an individual training session in Kericho County.

"It hurt so much to miss the World Championships and especially flying out of the country for the first time in Kenyan colours but that is behind me now."

Last year, he won the Palio Della Quercia 5,000m race, edging out Ethiopia's Mukta Idris in a 1-2 Kenyan podium finish alongside Erick Kiptanui in a meet record of 13:11.08 to better Hayle Ibrahimov's 13:11.34 set in 2012.

“I want to bring the title to Kenya by breaking the jinx. I am sure 2021 will be a great year for me in athletics,” he said.  

With the government directive in gathering, the two times Tuskys cross country champion trains in split groups that also has Geoffrey Koech, Sheila Chelang’at, national cross country champion Faith Koech and Naomi Chepkirui.   

He observes that the disappointments of last year were only bettered by the support he got from family, friends and training mates and has now ensured that he is tested whenever Doping Control Officers visit him. He has so far been tested six times and expects more when the world opens up for sports.

Course and Mexican all-comers’ records under threat at Guadalajara Half Marathon

Kenya’s Geoffrey Koech, Shadrack Korir, Lucy Cheruiyot and Perine Nengampi lead the Kenyan contingent aiming to rewrite the course and Mexican All-comers’ records at the 34th Electrolit Guadalajara Half Marathon, a World Athletics Gold Label road race, on Sunday.

Almost a month after running personal bests under 60 minutes in Houston, Korir (59:27) and Koech (59:36) will now target the course record of 1:01:48, set by their countryman Mathew Kisorio last year. The fastest half marathon run on Mexican soil is 1:01:27 by Simon Biwott in 1999.

Two more Kenyans, Benson Kipruto, a 2:05:13 marathoner, and Cosmas Kipchoge, who boasts a personal best of 1:00:06, are also top contenders for the podium. 

Ethiopia’s Haymanot Alewe will try to spoil a Kenyan medal sweep. A 1:00:26 runner over the distance, the 22-year-old showed his fine early season form with a 28:17 10km in Thailand on 26 January. 

Two-time Olympic finalist and two-time winner Juan Luis Barrios (2015-2016) carries the Mexican hopes in the elite race. He finished fifth in 2019.

In the women’s race, Lucy Cheruiyot is well positioned to threaten the Mexican all-comers’ and course record of 1:08:53, set by Ethiopia’s Afera Godfay Berha last year. The 23-year-old has run faster six times in her career, twice in 2017 when she set her personal best of 1:07:23 and more recently last October when winning the Cardiff Half Marathon in 1:08:20.

Her fellow Kenyan Perine Nengampi, a 1:08:04 half marathoner, will join her in trying to regain the top spot on the podium for the country, but Abeba Gebremeskel, who shows a marathon lifetime best of 2:22:29, will try to keep the trophy in Ethiopian hands. 

Three other sub-70 minute Kenyans, Margaret Agai (1:09:43), Visiline Jepkesho (1:08:12) and Winfridah Moseti (1:08:44) should also feature prominently on Sunday.

Mexico’s Madai Perez, the fastest Spanish speaking woman over the marathon distance (2:22:59), returns to Guadalajara after missing the 2019 edition. The 40-year old has stepped on the podium seven times, including wins in 2003 and 2006.

The 34th edition of the race, powered by Granvita, celebrates Guadalajara’s 478th anniversary of its foundation. A Marathon Parade with 21 sculptures representing the race’s 21 kilometres, will also grace the 34th edition. This urban art exhibit will be displayed throughout a month, before moving to other Mexican cities.

Senbere Teferi breaks Ethiopian half marathon record in Valencia clocking 1:05:32

Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi and world indoor 3000m champion Yomif Kejelcha were victorious at the Medio Maratón Valencia Trinidad Alfonso EDP on Sunday (27), winning in 1:05:32 and 59:05 respectively at the IAAF Gold Label road race.

At yesterday’s technical meeting, pre-race favourite Sifan Hassan was cautious on her chances of breaking the world record. “I don’t know how my body has recovered from the Doha efforts,” said Hassan, who won the 1500m and 10,000m at the recent World Championships.

But right from the start, perfectly paced by compatriot Roy Hoornweg and Morocco’s Yakoub Labquira, Hassan seemed determined to chase the record as she went through the opening 5km in 15:19 with only Teferi and Kenya’s Joan Chelimo for company as the women-only record holder and world half marathon champion Netsanet Gudeta ran eight seconds in arrears.

With exactly 22:15 on the clock, Hassan tripped and fell hard, losing ground on the leaders. Even though the pacemakers didn’t seem to notice her fall, the European record-holder soon re-joined the lead group.

The lead trio reached 10km in 30:43 – still inside world record pace – with Teferi and Chelimo heading the race while Hassan trailed by four seconds, likely hampered by her fall.

Although Hoornweg remained pacing Hassan throughout, Teferi and Chelimo’s leading margin increased to 16 seconds by the 15km checkpoint, which the lead duo reached in 46:16.

Chelimo began to fade shortly afterwards and Teferi went on to win by a clear margin. The 24-year-old reached the finish in 1:05:32, taking 13 seconds off the Ethiopian record she had set in Ras Al Khaimah earlier this year. Hassan, who overtook Chelimo just before 20km, finished second in 1:05:53 with Chelimo finishing third in 1:06:09.

“I’m really satisfied with my performance,” said Teferi, the 2015 world 5000m silver medallist. “In addition to winning the race, I managed to improve my PB so I can’t ask for more.”

On a perfect day for road running (a slight wind and 12C), the men’s race opened according to plan with the main pack passing the opening 5km in 13:55. By the 10th kilometre, the pace had dropped slightly as the leading pack went through that checkpoint in 27:56. By then, only the Ethiopian duo of Jemal Yimer and Kejelcha plus the Kenyan quartet of Benard Ngeno, Albert Kangogo, Leonard Barsoton and Geoffrey Koech remained with winning chances.

Once the pacemakers had dropped out, the leading quintet of Ngeno, Kejelcha, Yimer, Barsoton and Koech passed 15km in 42:09, indicating the course record of 58:18 would remain intact.

Once Koech lost ground, Kejelcha, Yimer, Ngeno and Barsoton fought hard for the victory in the closing stages after passing 20km in 56:15. Kejelcha unleashed a significant change of pace with about 700 metres to go and went on to cross the finish line in 59:05.

Ngeno was runner-up in a lifetime best of 59:07 while Yimer completed the podium after a thrilling sprint finish with Barsoton, both being credited in 59:09, a PB for the Kenyan.

Sheila Chepkirui and Dorcas Kimeli, who finished just half a step behind, were credited with 29:57 performances to become just the second and third women to cover the distance in under 30 minutes at Birell 10k race

Once again, the all-time 10km lists underwent major revision at the Birell Prague 10km, an IAAF Gold Label road race, on Saturday.

In the women's race, both winner Sheila Chepkirui and runner-up Dorcas Kimeli, who finished just half a step behind, were credited with 29:57 performances to become just the second and third women to cover the distance in under 30 minutes. Only their Kenyan compatriot Joyciline Jepkosgei, who set the 29:43 world record on this same course in 2017, has run faster.

In the men's race, Geoffrey Koech fought off Mathew Kimeli in the waning stages to reach the finish line in a world-leading 27:02, equalling the legendary Haile Gebrselassie as the fourth fastest man ever. Kimeli clocked 27:07, to move up to No. 7 all-time.

The women were off to a blazing start, with Chepkirui, Kimeli and Norah Jeruto, better known as a standout steeplechase, reaching the midway point in 14:46, with Fancy Chemutai another second back. 

That group was soon winnowed down to just Chepkirui and Kimeli who fought it out until the closing metres when Chepkirui finally prevailed by about half a second.

"The second five kilometres was very hard," Chepkirui said. "I was fighting so, so hard to win this race."

Jeruto, who beat world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech in the 3000m steeplechase at the IAAF Diamond League stop in Oslo in June, was third in 30:07.

Like the women, the leaders in the men's race set a blistering pace from the outset, with Benard Kimeli leading Geoffrey Koech, Mathew Kimeli, Bravin Kiptoo and Shadrack Koech leading the field through the first five kilometres in 13:23. Another five runners were well within striking distance, just one or two seconds behind.

The pace soon proved too much for most, with just Kiptoo, Geoffrey Koech and Matthew Kimeli left in the hunt after seven kilometres. Koech, the runner-up here last year, powered away over the final kilometre to secure the win.

"Of course there is a lot of space for improvement but still I am very happy with my result,” said the 26-year-old Koech, who clipped 15 seconds from his previous career best.

Kiptoo, 18, was third in 27:12, a world U20 best.

Earlier in the day, organisers of five leading international half marathons --the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon, the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon, the Copenhagen Half Marathon, the Cardiff University Cardiff Half Marathon and the Valencia Half Marathon Trinidad Alfonso EDP-- announced the formation of the SuperHalfs international running series that brings the five events under one banner with the aim of promoting running, tourism and environmental sustainability in the host cities.

Kenyans Geoffrey Koech and Fancy Chemutai lead the fields at the Birell Prague Grand Prix 10km

Fancy Chetumai and Geoffrey Koech will lead the fields at the Birell Prague Grand Prix 10km, an IAAF Gold Label road race, in the Czech capital on Saturday.

On the men's side, the main draw is Koech, who clocked 27:18 in this race last year, the 13th fastest performance of all time, to finish second. More recently the 26-year-old finished fourth at the Prague Half Marathon in April, clocking 1:00:30.

He'll face compatriot Vincent Kiprotich Kibet, who produced a 27:21 run to win in Berlin just over one year ago. Kibet, who turned 20 in March, has shown good form this year too, clocking 27:35 to win in Wurzburg in April and 27:24.09 on the track in July.

But perhaps in most impressive form is 22-year-old Ethiopian Jemal Yimer, who set his 27:54 best on the roads in Prague in 2017 before racing to the African 10,000m title in Asaba, Nigeria, last year. Yimer broke the Ethiopian record in the half marathon in Valencia last October, clocking an impressive 58:33. In July, he finished fifth in the Ethiopian 10,000m trials race for the World Championships in Hengelo, clocking 26:54.39, a lifetime best.

Others to watch include Kenya's Benard Kimeli, the winner of the Prague Half Marathon earlier this year, and Vedic Kipkoech, who improved his 10km best to 27:25 in Valencia in January.

On the women's side, Chemutai, the thrid fastest woman of all time on the roads with 30:06, will be looking to break the event's 30-minute barrier. Chemutai turned in that performance in Prague in 2017 when she chased Joycilene Jeppkosgei who eventually shattered the world record with her extraordinary 29:43 run. Chemutai, 24, impressed in Boston in June, winning a 10km there in 30:36.

She'll face 20-year-old Gloria Kite, who went even faster this year, clocking 30:26 in Valencia in January and currently sits in the No.9 position on the world all-time list. Steeplechase standout Norah Jeruto, who beat world record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech at the IAAF Diamond League stop in Oslo in June, could also be a factor.

Kenyan Caroline Rotich is hoping to do something only one other female runner has done, win both the Boston Marathon and the BAA 10K this Sunday

Kenyan Caroline Rotich will try to accomplish something only one other female runner has done: win both the Boston Marathon and the Boston Athletic Association 10K.

Rotich, who won the Marathon in 2015, came close to the tandem victory last year but finished second in the 10K.

She will have another chance as she joins a multitude of runners on the 6.2-mile course through the Back Bay. The race will start and end on Charles Street, and runners will see Boylston, Arlington, and Babcock streets as well as Commonwealth Avenue along the way.

A total of $48,500 will be handed out in prize money, with $10,000 going to the first-place finishers.

Competing against Rotich will be fellow Kenyan Fancy Chemutai, whose personal-best 10K time of 30:06 stands at the top of the women’s elite field. Other noteworthy runners in this group include 2016 Olympian Betsy Saina, reigning BAA 5K champion Monicah Ngige, and Sharon Lokedi, the 2018 NCAA 10,000 meters champion. Mamitu Daska of Ethiopia, who has twice won the BAA 10K, also will compete.

On the men’s side, two two-time champions of the BAA 10K will compete in Stephen Sambu (2013, 2014) and Daniel Chebii (2016, 2017). Neither has the best personal time in the field, however. That belongs to Geoffrey Koech, whose 27:18 tops the 21-person elite group.

Also running will be Abdi Abdirahman, a four-time US Olympian who finished first in the 40-44 age group at this year’s Boston Marathon.

The TCS World 10K promises to deliver enthralling head-to-head competition at the The 12th edition of the race

Kenya’s Geoffrey Koech and Vincent Kiprotich Kibet finished 2018 as the third and fifth fastest men over 10km in the world last year with 27:18 and 27:21 respectively, both times considerably faster than the Bengaluru course record of 27:44 set by their compatriot Geoffrey Kamworor in 2014.

Koech, the fastest man in the field, hasn’t been in quite the same sparkling form in his two outings so far this year, both half marathons, but is hoping that dropping down in distance will pay dividends. Kiprotich Kibet, meanwhile, won in Wurzburg earlier this year in 27:35.

Ethiopian duo Birhanu Legese and Andamlak Belihu both know what it’s like to win on Indian roads having respectively won the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K and Airtel Delhi Half Marathon in December and October last year.

Legese, second in Bengaluru last year, has also started the year in winning fashion by taking the honours at the Tokyo Marathon in 2:04:48 in March while the 20-year-old Belihu was eighth at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.

Factor in Turkey’s in-form Kaan Kigen Ozbilen, who has already had quick marathon and half marathon outings this year, and Kenya’s ever-competitive two-time world medallist Bedan Karoki, who was second behind Legese at the Tokyo Marathon last month, and the men’s race promises plenty of thrilling high-quality action.

The TCS World 10K Bengaluru 2019 has a total prize fund of US$213,000, with the men’s and women’s winners taking home US$26,000.

British athlete Dewi Griffiths will be running the Houston half marathon

Dewi Griffiths will line up in the half marathon hoping to lay down a marker before making a return to marathon racing later this year.

The Welshman, who ran a fantastic 2:09:49 marathon debut in 2017, had his 2018 season scuppered for the most part due to injury.

Griffiths made a steady return to action in the latter part of the year, building up to a 1:02:55 performance at the Cardiff hosted Commonwealth Half Marathon Championships in October, before ending on a high with a 28:49 10k at the Corrida de Houilles in France.

Among those Griffiths will face are five sub 60 minute athletes, including Kenyan trio Bedan Karoki Muchiri, Bernard Ngeno and Geoffrey Koech, while USA’s Shadrack Biwott and Bernard Lagat are also in the field.

Teen runs the second fastest road 10K ever, Phonex Kipruto clocked 26:46 at the Birell Prague Grand Prix

18-year-old Rhonex Kipruto from Kenya runs 26:46 Saturday evening at the Birell Praque Grand Prix.  This is the second fastest-ever road 10k, while his compatriot Caroline Kipkirui moved to third on the women’s world all-time list. 

Phonex Kipruto – who was third in Prague last year in 27:13 and then ran 27:08 in New York before claiming the world under-20 10,000m title in Tampere – clocked 26:46 for a dominant win. It was a Kenyan top three as Geoffrey Koech ran 27:18 in second and Mathew Kimeli 27:26 in third.

A total of 11 athletes dipped inside 28 minutes. The women’s race was much closer and Kipkirui won in 30:19 ahead of Fancy Chemutai (30:22) and Diana Chemtai Kipyokei (30:23) to complete another Kenyan clean sweep. Running alone with his opponents rapidly dropping back, Kipruto went through 5km in 13:31 before clocking a negative split of 13:15 to take 22 seconds off his PB.

Only his compatriot Leonard Komon has run a faster time with his world record 26:44 set in 2010.