Results for 2014

Over 2000 runners converged on the southern Jordanian city of Aqaba for the Half Marathon and associated 10km and 4.2km kids race. The event is attracting an ever-increasing number of foreign tourist-runners keen to experience the many nearby attractions that include the ancient city of Petra, the tranquil wind-carved beauty of Wadi Rum with its connections to Lawrence of Arabia, Red Sea diving and more within the highly stable and secure borders of Jordan.

Defending champion, Ra’fat Zboun used cool running conditions to best effect on the flat fast course, opening up a lead of 500m over Ayman Suradi. Bashar Raheel ensured a domestic clean sweep. Sudan’s Hanouya Hasballah completely dominated the women’s race, leaving her nearest contender 20 minutes behind.

“We are proud of the success the marathon has achieved in organization, participation and media coverage. The Marathon will continue to spread the message of a healthy lifestyle and the art of volunteering,” confirmed HRH Princess Dana Feras, who deputized for HRH Prince Feras Bin Raed, the chair of the Run Jordan Board.

Over the past four years the event has initiated an awareness and participation in road running. Most growth has been in the 10km, with the first 7km run through the idyllic new Ayla Golf and Residential resort.

Patrick Makau shrugged off almost two years of injury woes and racing disappointments to win the 68th edition writes Ken Nakamura. His time was two minutes slower than he had predicted but he professed himself happy with his performance. Breaking away from Mongolia’s Ser-Od Bat-Ochir at 38km Makau became the fourth successive Kenyan to win the race and recorded his 5th victory in 11 marathon attempts.

In excellent conditions, with the temperature at 8C, 30 runners passed through 5km in 15:16 before the pace picked up to average 3mins/km up to halfway (1:03:37). Pacemakers then dropped out and the remaining runners slowed before local runner Masakazu Fujiwara pushed on at 23km but the leading group was still 20-strong and it was only after 30km (1:31:10) that they broke apart as Bat-Ochir kicked ahead. Makau and Raji Assefa had pulled back to him as all three passed 35km in 1:46:23. The persistent Bat-Ochir tried again at 37km, but although momentarily ahead Makau chased and passed him before reaching 40km. Assefa finished strongly to also come past Bat-Ochir who nonetheless posted a personal best and new national record, improving his own mark by 10 seconds. Fujiwara finished fourth and as first Japanese home staked a claim for a place in the Beijing World Championships next summer.

Kenneth Mungara, 42 years old, used his experience to show a clean pair of heels to runners 20 years younger. He stayed with the lead group only until 10km before taking off to eventually finish two and a half minutes clear. Singapore’s hot and humid conditions kept times slow – over five minutes slower than the course record of 2:11:25 set by Luke Kibet in 2008. Mungara also won in 2010, and has won nine of the 15 marathons he has run since 2007 following his late competitive debut in his mid-thirties.

Waganesh Amare was only entered at the last moment, as a replacement. She turned up the night before, barely slept due to the 05.00 start, but coped with everything her rivals could throw at her, and then took a minute off them in the final 3km.

Haile Gebrselassie had done the rounds as the race ambassador in the previous few days, and found conditions in the 10km too hot – and humid – to handle. As the temperature topped 30C he lost out in the final stages to the Kenyan pair of Solomon Keter and Thomas Maritim.

Runners from 30 countries participated.

Guye Adola, whose previous best was a third-place finish at the World Half Marathon this year in 59:20, set a new course record. World record holder Florence Kiplagat won the women’s race with a strong final 400m in what was a slow, tactical race.

A large group of men passed through 10km in 28:06 and continued to run together for much of the race. It was only in the final few kilometres that Adola and World Half Marathon Champion Geoffrey Kamworor forced an advantage over the others. Adola, who has only emerged internationally in the past year, managed to reverse the result from their earlier encounter in Copenhagen.

The women’s race developed in a similar manner but at a relatively slow pace and with more runners left in the mix at the end. Kiplagat, who had earlier forecast a 69-minute time for herself on account of not yet having recovered from the Chicago Marathon six weeks before, nevertheless had the legs to win with a furious final 400m.

The first eight men broke 59:30, and the first six women finished within six seconds of each other. Behind them 10,000 others flooded across the finish line.

Azmeraw Bekele made it two wins out of two with his victory, repeating his success of 2010. Wude Ayalew went one better, becoming the first three-time winner in the event. Her previous victories came in 2008 and 2009. Times were among the slowest in the race’s 14-year history but the current course includes three tough climbs in the second half of the race, held at an altitude of 2600m. As last year, the non-availability of the traditional race venue in Meskel Square meant that the race finished almost on top of a hill at the Jan Meda racecourse.

As many as 23 men stayed together well beyond halfway (reached in 14:13) before starting to break up on the first hill in the seventh kilometre. Passing 7km in 20:22, Bekele looked comfortable at the front of the group. 8km was reached in 23:33 as the steepest hill on the course loomed. Bekele opened a 15m lead on Adugna Takele (second last year) and Azmeraw Mengistu. Approaching 9km Mengistu came past Takele and momentarily took the lead on entering Jan Meda for the final 600m off-road section. But Bekele re-took the lead with 400m to go.

The first move in the women’s race came just after 6km when defending champion Netsanet Gudeta, Ayalew and Gebeyanesh Ayele started to break clear. Ayele dropped back at 7km leaving Ayalew to fight it out with Gudeta on the final hill from 8km back up to the finish. Ayalew made a decisive move 1500m out and maintained her six-second advantage to the finish. Ayalew’s first win in 2008 was a breakthrough leading on to national team selection for the Beijing Olympics and a bronze medal at 10,000m at the 2009 world championships.

Further back, Olympic triathlon champion Alastair Brownlee (GBR) finished in about 40 minutes. Behind the elite competition around 35,000 participants took part in the race which had been jointly started by four of Ethiopia’s Olympic champions (Haile Gebrselassie, Derartu Tulu, Kenenisa Bekele and Meseret Defar) together with Kenya’s world marathon champion Edna Kiplagat. Kiplagat was impressed with what she saw: ”I like the way everyone is having fun. Many are walking, some are jogging, but they are all enjoying it. We need something like this in Kenya.”

Ethiopia’s Fikadu Girma and Mulahabt Tsega triumphed in a race started by Ethiopian running legend Haile Gebrselassie, writes Phil Minshull. Girma posted the second fastest men’s time ever in Beirut, while Tsega, in her marathon debut, broke the old course record by more than two minutes. Former record holder and two-time winner Seada Kedir came in third.

A three-man Ethiopian trio of Girma, Abdela Godana and Legese Adungna went through 20km in 1:01:53. With Morocco’s Mohammed Blal and another Ethiopian Damte Taye just 20m behind the course record of 2:11:14 looked vulnerable. It was still possible at 30km, with Girma and Godana running together and Blal 24 seconds back, but the pace slackened. Godana led Girma, who had been unwell between 32-33km, by 15 seconds at 35km,. But both were concentrating on their own race rather than the clock, and Girma recovered from his stomach problem to catch Godana at 38km and then go ahead.

Pre-race women’s favourite Zemzem Ahmed dropped out at about 10km but four women: Tsega, Kenya’s Monica Jepkoech, two-time former winner Kedir and a third Ethiopian Makida Abdela, went through 20km together in 1:11:11. From 25km Tsega and Koech started to go away from the other two, and after 34km Tsega started to drop Koech. Jepkoech finished 1:35 down but was still inside the old course record and took more than two minutes off her personal best.

Organisers estimated there were approximately 37,500 participants from 94 different countries in the marathon and a variety other races on the day.

Ten years after Stefano Baldini won the gold medal in the Athens Olympic marathon the course record of the Italian was finally broken: It was the unheralded Kenyan Felix Kandie who did it and caused a big surprise in the “Athens Marathon. The Authentic” on Sunday. In warm weather conditions with temperatures in the sun well over 20 Celsius during much of the race Kandie clocked 2:10:37. This was 18 seconds faster than the course record and an improvement of his personal best by more than five minutes. Baldini had won the Olympic gold with a time of 2:10:55 albeit in really hot conditions. The double Athens Marathon winner Raymond Bett was second in 2:12:34 while Josphat Chobei completed the Kenyan podium with 2:15:38 for third place.

It turned out to be a Kenyan day in Greece. The top three women were all from the east African country as well. While the race was much closer in the end than the men’s event, records were out of reach for the women. Naomi Maiyo won with 2:41:06, defeating defending champion Nancy Rotich who followed in 2:41:29. Linah Chirchir took third with 2:42:41.

A record number of 13,000 runners entered the Athens Marathon, which is run on the original course of the 1896 Olympic Games. Athletes started in the town of Marathon and finished in the Panathinaikon Stadium in the heart of the capital.

Only the first ten kilometres run near the coast are relatively flat in this classic race. After that point in the small town of Nea Makri, where thousands of spectators lined the course, a tough uphill section with many ups and downs begins. As soon as the first steep section was reached, runners from the big leading group started to fall back or even drop out. Eight athletes were left in the lead when the half way point was passed in 65:52. Shortly before the highest point of the course – almost 250 metres above sea level – came a decisive move. When the two pacemakers dropped out right after 30k, Felix Kandie pushed the pace. Only Raymond Bett was able to follow him while Julius Korir and Josphat Chobei quickly lost ground.

With ten kilometres to go and the course now descending towards Athens it looked as if Bett was beaten. But the Athens winner of 2010 and 2012, who held the event record holder with a time of 2:11:35, managed to close a gap. In response Kandie continued his relentless pace, covering the 5k section from 30 to 35k in 14:52. Bett was finally beaten shortly after the 35k mark while Kandie ran the next 5k even faster with 14:49. His reward was the course record as well as the Athens title.

“I felt strong and my body responded well after the half way mark. Firstly my goal was to make the podium. But when I was in the lead with Raymond Bett I did not fear him, I wanted to win,” said 28 year-old Felix Kandie, who entered the Athens Marathon with a personal best of 2:16:12 from Sydney in 2012. Other credentials hardly suggested that he would be the man to break Baldini’s record. Kandie has a half marathon best of 62:46. “I am very happy, it is a big pleasure to run this race and win on the historic course.”

There was late drama in the women’s race. After a half marathon split of 1:20:23 three runners were still in a group at 35k: Naomi Maiyo, Nancy Rotich and Kidist Fiseha Tedla. While the Ethiopian struggled in the final section and was overtaken by Linah Chirchir in a fight for third place, Rotich took the lead. But with the 40k mark in sight Maiyo came from behind and overtook her fellow-Kenyan. “Although I felt an injury I thought I would be able to hold on and win,” said Rotich. But the defending champion had to settle for second.

25 year-old Maiyo, who has a PB of 2:40:12 from Barcelona earlier this year, was 23 seconds ahead of Rotich in the Panathinaikon Stadium. “This was the hardest road race I have run so far,” said the Kenyan after she finished in temperatures of around 25 Celsius in the old Olympic arena. While many of the elite runners dropped out in the tough conditions she was rewarded with a win. “To be first in Athens is an inspiration for my future career,” said Maiyo.

Stephen Mokoka and Tigist Tufa both improved the course records, by 18 seconds and 75 seconds respectively, writes Mirko Javala. Mokoka became only the second man to defend his title in Shanghai. The 29-year-old South African powered away from Ethiopia’s Abreham Cherkos and Kenya’s Stephen Chemlany in the final kilometres. Mokoko has run seven career marathons – four of them being in Shanghai. Tigist Tufa became the fifth successive Ethiopian women’s winner. She has lowered her personal best by 19 minutes in just 20 months. From 2:40:45 early in 2013 she improved to 2:29:24 in New York last year before cutting almost eight minutes from her best in 2014.

The marathon, introduced in 1996, has previously been run in early December but it has been moved forward by a month to afford cleaner air, as it becomes more polluted in December.

Despite the rain that appeared in the late stages of the race more than 4000 runners finished the Porto Marathon smashing the previous participation record in Portugal.

Workneh FikreSerbessa from Ethiopia was the first non Kenyan to win in Porto but he won in a very demanding race as he only become leader of the group in the final kilometres. The Portuguese race favourite Rui Pedro Silva with a very steady and controlled rhythm made a great come back from fifth position at 30km to second in the finish line.

Marta Tigabea Mekonen didn’t feel much pressure from her rivals after she drew away over the second half of the race. The Portuguese debutant Luisa Oliveira finished second and the Kenyan Abigael Jelagat third.

In the three different competitions, Marathon, 16k and Mini Marathon more than 13,000 runners participated from 51 countries reinforcing the international feature of Porto Marathon.

For the first time Dublin Marathon attracted a field of over 15,000 runners, including more than 4,000 from outside Ireland. In all, 47 countries were represented.

The event featured a Viking theme to mark the 1000th anniversary of the Battle of Clontarf (now a suburb of Dublin). The Vikings who had founded the city in the 9th century were defeated there and expelled from Ireland in 1014. But the Scandinavian hordes were back for this 35th edition, with many running in Viking battledress. This time the citizens of Dublin gave them a warm welcome.

The course is a single loop, relatively flat, starting and finishing in the city centre. Three waves, 10 minutes apart, ensured a smooth start for all runners.

Phoenix Park, Europe’s largest urban park, is home to wild deer as well as Dublin Zoo. Runners go right through the middle of it between 5-10km.

In near perfect running conditions Eliud Too (Kenya), a surprise late entrant, won a close men’s race while Esther Wanjiru ensured a Kenyan double by defeating last year’s champion Maria McCambridge by a similarly narrow margin. McCambridge had the consolation of running a personal best at the age of 39.

The Lord Mayor’s Medal was presented to 83 years young John Collins, who ran his 30th consecutive Dublin Marathon this year. Mark Ennis of SSE Airtricity made a presentation to Tony Mangan, who took the last step of his incredible 50,000km run around the world when he crossed the finish line in Dublin. Another Guinness world record was set when 30 members of the Hughes family from Westport, County Mayo, completed the marathon.

In 1980 Dublin hosted the first mass participation marathon in Europe. London followed suit in 1981. The Dublin Marathon was the brainchild of one man, the late Noel Carroll, Irish 800m Olympian and Public Relations Officer of Dublin City Council. From modest beginnings it has grown to become one of Europe’s biggest marathons. The 36th edition will be on 26 October 2015.

Thousands of spectators basked in sunny but still favourable running weather while cheering more than 20.000 runners in the three different events writes Tomo Sarf. In the process they generated a great sporting atmosphere. For the first time the Marathon runners were doing only one lap, which extended the course to cover all the most scenic parts of the city – with the finish in the old city centre. The men’s winner, Ishmael Bushendich, equalled the course record and proved the new course just as fast as the old one.

With this 19th edition Ljubljana demonstrated that it is fast becoming one of the must-do road races in Europe, and much greater numbers are anticipated for the 20th anniversary event in 2015.

Ethiopia claimed a winning double at the 29th edition, but the times were slowed by strong winds writes Diego Sampaolo. The women’s winning time was the slowest ever, 17 minutes adrift of the course record.

The men also set off at a very restrained pace. Robert Ndiwa, who was pacing to 25km, passed 10km in 31:17. Ketema Mamo closed him down at 15km, pullling away from the chasing group of three. The race then continued at a modest pace: reaching halfway in 1:05:52 and 25km in 1:18:08. Mamo was alone in the lead after 25km and and continued to pull away.The 20-year-old went through 30km in 1:31:50 before crossing the 4km Liberty Bridge, which links Mestre to Venice. The effort took its toll on Mamo in the last section of the course, which is the hardest part of the race. Runners cross 14 bridges in the final 3km before passing through the Piazza San Marco and by the Palazzo Ducale to reach the finish in the Riva dei Sette Martiri. Mamo reached 40km in 2:07:01 but, visibly tired, ran the last 2.2km at four-minute pace – although his victory was never threatened. Former Italian national marathon champion Giovanni Gualdi moved through the field in the closing stages to take second.

In the women’s race training partners Gedefa Motu Megersa and Konjit Tilahun broke away from the rest of the field early and led through halfway in 1:21:14. Tilahun went ahead at 25km and ran alone for 17km to win by a huge margin of almost 12 minutes. Megersa struggled in the final stages but held on to second place.

For much of the race Aberu Kebede looked set to break the course record (2:21:01 by Meselech Melkamu in 2012). She reached 35km in 1:56:38, after having been on her own from halfway, but she tired over the final 4km to finish over a minute outside the record. It was her third fastest time and her sixth win (of 13 marathons run).

Sharon Cherop was together with Kebede and Melkamu (who dropped out at 30km), reached halfway in 1:10:35 but she had no answer when Kebede upped the pace shortly afterwards. Ashetu Bekere trailed by 85 seconds at halfway within a group of four, but came through strongly to slice almost three minutes off her previous bes.

Last year’s Kenya’s Mark Kiptoo was outsprinted in the last few hundred metres, but this time turned the tables on his younger rivals. A lead pack of 14 (excluding the pacemakers) went through halfway in 1:02:32 as requested by the race organisers but there was some very uneven running during the first half of the race, with the first 10km covered in a very quick 29:24 but slowing down after 15km (44:13) which carried over into the second half of the race. Twelve runners reached 30km in 1:29:14 but between 30-35km, several dropped back, including last year’s winner Vincent Kipruto and the highly-rated Ethiopian junior Tsegaye Mekonnen. Six were still in contention at 35km (1:44:21). By 40km only four remained but Tebalu Zawude lost contact soon after to leave Kigen and Yegon heading the 38-year-old Kiptoo by a few metres. Kiptoo used his track speed (12:54 5000m) to kick past his countrymen as the first six finished within 40 seconds of each other. In ninth Arne Gabius debuted with 2:09:32, the first sub-2:10 time by a German since 1990 and the third fastest by a European this year.

Jordan’s Olympic marathoner Methqal Abu Draes won the sixth edition held on the four lap City centre course that finishes at the 6000 seater Roman Amphitheatre built in 166AD. Abu Draes sat in the lead group of five in the early stages, but pulled away from countryman Fathi Aldyat with 30km completed. Mohammed Mohammed had been in contention to halfway, but then fell off the pace. Sarah Kebaso was out on her own for the entire race, but ran a consistent pace to set a new course record time. Sudan’s Hanoyea Hasballa, in second, only moved up to the marathon distance when flight problems delayed the remainder of the elite field delayed.

A half marathon using two laps of the same course was introduced for the first time. Including the mass 10km race over 8500 runners took to the roads to experience the beauty and history of the Jordanian Capital and to raise funds for the run for a cause charity project.

Ethiopia’s Girmay Birhanu and Fatuma Sado were winners of the 34th edition writes Mirko Jalava. Birhanu, fastest in the field and race favourite, became the third successive Ethiopian man to win the race. By contrast, Sado was the first overseas women’s winner since Great Britain’s Debbie Noy back in 1991.

Starting from Tiananmen Square there were seven runners in the men’s lead pack after 10km and two fewer by 15km as Kenya’s Samwel Maswai led with a 44:55 split. Ethiopian trio Birhanu, Abebe Degefa and Debebe Tolossa along with Kenya’s Eliud Kiplagat Barngetuny were running just a stride behind Maswai. Maswai weakened but was replaced by Solomon Bushendich and the five-man group reached reached 30km in 1:31:39. After 35km (1:47:53)
Birhanu and Degefa broke free and quickly opened up a big gap. They remained together until the last 500m when Birhanu kicked clear.

Fatuma Sado grabbed her fourth in 10 marathons. In third, 21-yearold Gong Lihua won the Chinese title in personal best with the world junior best holder (2:22:38 in 2008) Zhang Yingying rather short of that form in fourth.

The race has won unwelcome notoriety as many of the estimated 30,000 participants – although none of the elite field – were running with face masks to combat a blanket of smog which had descended. The marathon’s organizing committee said late on Saturday that postponing the event would be difficult because of all the planning that had gone into it, and asked competitors to understand, which generally seemed to be the case. The environmental conditions deteriorated on Sunday morning sufficiently for Beijing’s environmental centre to issue a warning suggesting children and the elderly stay indoors.

It was unseasonably warm but that did not stop 2,331 participants completing the various race distances (42km – 33km – 21km and 21km+21km Relay) along the shores of Lake Maggiore in the Piedmont Region.

The Marathon and 33km start and finish in Verbania Pallanza while the 21K start in Verbania Pallanza and finishes in Stresa.

Transportation for all participants is provided free of charge using panoramic ferryboats very much appreciated by everyone.

The absence of African elite athletes made for a more unpredictable race, won by an Austrian, Christian Robionmore difficult to predict winners.

At the end Austrian, Christian Robin, who was enthusiastic about the landscape said he would come back – but on holiday.

The 33km distance started and finished in Verbania Pallanza for the first time, using the same gantry as the Marathon.

Abraham Cheroben ran a world leading time and set a Spanish all-comers record, leading three others under the hour.

He is the ninth successive Kenyan winner of the race, which has acquired a deserved reputation for fast times thanks to its flat course through the historic city centre and port area. Runner-up Kenneth Kipkemoi also set a personal best. Cheroben and Kipkemoi move up to equal fifth and 13th on the world all-time list. Asked about the possibility of tackling a marathon sometime soon, Cheroben said: “My only goal in the near future is to break the half marathon world best."

The leading group went through 5km in 13:57 and the pace even speeded up slightly in the second 5km so that an all-Kenyan quartet of Cheroben, Kipkemoi, Matthew Kisorio, and Titus Mbishei passed 10km in 27:40. Kisorio pushed the pace in the middle stages but Cheroben always looked comfortable and just before 15km he started to pull away, extending his advantage all the way to the line.

Two-time world cross-country champion Emily Chebet won the women’s race in a course record after going quickly to the front with just Joyce Chepkirui for company. The pair went through 5km together in 15:37 and 10km in 31:40,10 seconds ahead of the chasing group. Chebet made her move halfway into the the race and by 15km she had a lead of 26 seconds over Chepkirui and Margaret Muriuki, who had caught the flagging Chepkirui. Chebet, Cheroben, then turned in an outstanding final 6km to finish more than a minute in front of Muriuki, while Chepkirui slumped to fourth.

More than 10,500 runners finished.

A new record of 26,700 runners participated in all events, 5260 of them in the marathon coming from all Canadian provinces, 42 US states and 50 other countries. An innovative You Tube broadcast was livestreamed all over the world with commentary by Eurosports’ Tim Hutchings.

The men’s field had targeted the course record (Derissa Chimsa’s 2:07:05 from last year) and although they remained committed at halfway the cold temperatures and blustery wind eventually forced a slowdown, but one which included some exciting racing. Pacemakers took the leaders through halfway in 1:03:15 but the pace slowed as they turned uphill along the Bayview extension. When they dropped out at 30km Kenya’s Peter Some surged ahead with Patrick Terer alongside him.

Then, with only 4km to go, Laban Korir and Tariku Jufar came into view and flew past the leaders. Korir later said that a pain in his calf had slowed him, but in the final kilometre he ran away from Jufar to claim the win: “After 30km I felt something tender in my legs so I decided to set my own pace and that was okay but I was looking back and saw Jufar was behind me. I was worried because I knew he had won some races and I thought he might beat me.”

Mulu Seboka of Ethiopia, the 2008 Toronto winner, emerged victorious in the women’s race in a new personal best time. Although she crossed the line with her usual broad smile she collapsed shortly afterwards and was taken to the medical tent. Through the latter part of the race it was her friend and compatriot Amane Gobena, the 2009 winner, who had offered the biggest challenge but she faded in the last 5km to finish fourth. “The weather was a problem and because of that I didn’t make a good time,” said Seboka, “But still it was okay. For sure if the weather is better I can get a better time.”

Canadian women’s record holder Lanni Marchant went out very hard aiming to beat the record she set a year ago (2:28:00) but at 27km her calf cramped in the cold conditions. She went on to finish a creditable seventh. The other leading Canadian marathoner, two time Olympian Eric Gillis was on Canadian record pace through the first 25km but also succumbed to the cold, although like Seboka he set a new personal best: "I am 34 and still running my best time, and enjoying it. Feels good,” he said afterwards.

3500 runners (1000 women and 2500 men) took to the streets and avenues of the metropolitan area in the XXX edition supported by people cheering along the entire route.

The 15th edition attracted a record number of 6500 runners in the marathon, of whom 6326 finished. Women’s winner Irene Chepkirui Makori set a new event record on a first-timer friendly and interesting new course which included the INEA Stadium – one of the Euro 2012 football venues. 1500 children took part in accompanying races and 20,000 people visited the Poznan Sports Fair Expo. A Volvo V40 Cross Country car went to the winner of the marathon lottery and one runner won a weekend stay at the Stockholm Sheraton – sponsored by the Poznan Sheraton.

A record 40,802 runners crossed the finish line in Grant Park under ideal weather conditions with men’s winner and Eliud Kipchoge and runners-up Sammy Kitwara and Dickson Chumba all going sub-2:05. Rita Jeptoo easily defended her title, breaking away after 35km to win in a time almost five minutes slower than she ran last year.

The men’s race opened with a world record chase a pack of 11 went through halfway in 1:02:11. Pre-race favorites Eliud Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) following the leaders in what grew into a tactical race. Kipchoge, Kitwara and Chumba stayed together until Kipchoge made his final move at 40km. Jeptoo was simply unbeatable in the women’s race as she put in a 16:37 5km split from 35-40km to float away from her opposition. Early leader Amy Hastings topped the US field in fifth, matching her personal best.

The 90th anniversary edition was celebrated with the second fastest winning time in the history of the event. 2010 winner Gilbert Chepkwony started his solo run for home after 30km and missed his personal best only by 10 seconds.

Helped by by pacemakers Matthew Kimutai and Albert Matebor, and by the good weather (11.5C, no wind, cloudy), the leaders passed halfway in 1:04:20. While other sub-2:10 runners faded, only Brighton 2013 winner Dominic Kangor hung on to finish second, two minutes behind Chepkwony. “In 2010 we were three runners together until the end. It was tougher today as I was alone after 30km and felt cold” said Chepkony. Defending champion Patrick Korir finished fifth.

Katarina Beresova helped to pace the women’s race and in doing so won the half-marathon in new personal best (second fastest ever Slovakian). A trio of African runners followed her through in 1:13:40 but the favorite, Lydia Rutto, pushed ahead of the Ethiopian duo Lemelem Hachem and Halima Beriso after 35km to win comfortably, 26 seconds outside her personal best. She had missed her flight in Nairobi and arrived a day late but said that it did not influence her result.

Slovak marathon titles went to Boris Csiba 2:29:03 (11th overall) and title defender Ingrid Petnuchova 2:51:15 (4th overall, her 6th title). Over all races and categories there was a record entry of 10 000 runners from 45 countries.

Attending this 90th anniversary celebration of the oldest marathon in Europe were special guests Hansjorge Wirz, European Athletics Association president and AIMS President Paco Borao.