Results for 2016

The race started at the Ayla Oasis project with a large part of the half marathon course being run on the streets of the newly-finished project premises.

The Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF HK) announces that it is working towards resuming the UNICEF Charity Run in the early part of 2017 at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, as a replacement event for the one cancelled on Sunday 27 November 2016. The arrangement has yet to be confirmed and work is in progress for obtaining all the permits and approvals from various government departments, and liaising with partners.

The organising committee of BDMS Bangkok Marathon 2016 has postponed the race from 20 November 2016 to 5 February 2017.

Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge made a triumphant return to racing after his victory in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games marathon by winning in 59:44, while Worknesh Degefa ended Peres Jepchichir’s winning streak writes Phil Minshul.

Ethiopia’s Yigrem Demelash was Kipchoge’s most persistent challenger and matched him stride for stride until 20km at which point Kipchoge edged ahead to a 25m winning margin and a US$27,000 first prize. It had taken only 5km for a compact lead group to emerge — Kipchoge, Demelash and Augustin Choge were paced by John Langat and Ronald Kirui through the first 10km in 28:33 (1:00:14 pace). The lead trio lost their pacemakers after 12km but then increased the tempo enough for Choge’s challenge to falter at 17km. In the final kilometre Kipchoge managed to force a gap but was clearly worried by a possible sprint finish from Demelash and repeatedly glanced back before crossing the line just outside the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Six years earlier Kipchoge had taken the Commonwealth Games 5000m silver medal in the same stadium. Behind him Demelash and Choge both set personal best times.

Ethiopia’s Worknesh Degefa was the fastest woman in the field but the race favourite was World Half Marathon Champion Peres Jepchirchir who was unbeaten over the distance since taking the title last March. Delhi proved to be one outing too many for the Kenyan who had said before the race that she had been suffering from blisters on her feet and a cold in the proceeding weeks. Six runners, led by Degefa with her compatriot Ababel Yeshaneh and Jepchirchir running directly behind her, were still in contention up to 18km. Then Degefa pushed hard and spilt up the pack. A tiring Jepchirchir faded to fifth.

Two relatively new and unknown young athletes were the surprise winners of the 16th edition: Abe Gashahun won in a sprint finish ahead of Kenyan athlete Jorum Lumbasi and women’s winner Foiteyn Tesfaye made a winning debut which surprised better-known names in the race.

Lumbasi became the first Kenyan male to place in the top three since Nathan Naibei finished second in 2005. Four runners entered the home straight locked together and Gashahun only clinched victory in the final few metres.

Gashahun said: “I have competed abroad only twice until now, both times in France. I hope that my win today will give me more opportunities.”

Tesfaye’s winning time was one of the fastest in the race’s 16-year history “This is my biggest race victory by a long way and my first race over 10km” she said.

Following the two elite races around 40,000 participants were set off in two wave starts giving hope for increasing the capacity of the race in future years.

Fifty runners from 17 countries took part, with 15 of them achieving membership of The 7 Continents Marathon Club having successfully completed a marathon distance on all of the earth’s continents.

Oppressive heat and humidity conspired to deny runners any chance of fast times writes Paul Gains. When IAAF President Sebastian Coe fired the starting gun at 07.00 it was already 21C and reached 25C at the finish.

Kenya’s Edwin Kibet Kiptoo proved strongest on the day relegating defending champion Jackson Limo into third place. In the women’s race Tigist Girma was perhaps the only runner to set a personal best with a convincing win against her compatriot Seada Kedir who had won the Beirut race in both 2011 and 2012.

“My target was 2:09 but today you cannot run for time,” said Kiptoo. “From 31–32km I looked back and there were no people behind. I was able to increase my lead to the finish.”

The pacemakers exercised a great degree of caution due to conditions and reached halfway almost four minutes slower than planned. There were nine athletes in contention at that point but Kiptoo ran the second half much faster to undo his rivals.

The women’s race became a solo effort shortly after halfway as 23-year-old Girma dropped the entire field including her designated pacemaker who had been expected to accompany her to the finish.“He ran well until his legs hurt and he dropped back,” said Girma.

More than 43,000 runners of all ages took to the streets for a variety of events from a 1km children’s run to the full marathon. IAAF President Sebastian Coe took part in the 7km fun run along with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

Elisha Kipchirchir produced a surprise win in the ninth edition — to take his first victory at his fifth attempt over the marathon, lowering his PB by three minutes in the process writes Quentin Guillon. Konjit Tilahun took the women’s title by a wide margin.

Led by the pacemakers, about 10 runners hit 10km in 30:42, reducing to seven by halfway (1:05:02).

After the terrorist attack in July, the start had moved from the ‘Promenades des Anglais’ to Allianz Riviera Stadium, making the first part of the course hillier than previous editions with an additional two or three steep climbs.

The last pacemaker, Paul Melly, dropped out at 30km leaving five runners in contention including Kenyans Henry Sugut, Nixon Machichin, Ethiopia’s Azmeraw Mengistu and Kipchirchir. Sugut began to fade at 32km but at 35km, with the other four still together as the pace dropped, Kimutai and Kipchirchir ramped up the pace so that they had dropped the other two by 38km. Kipchirchir began his decisive move with 2km to go and created a gap which he held to the finish.

Konjit Tilahun fulfilled her role of favourite to snatch her first win over the full marathon distance. She passed halfway in 1:18:40 and continued at that tempo to win in a time almost 10 minutes outside her lifetime best of 2:28:11 from two years ago.

South Africa’s Stephen Mokoka won for the third time in four years writes Vincent Wu. He enjoyed a solitary lead in the last 7km to win by nearly a minute although 2:38 shy of his personal best of 2:07:40 when he finished second here last year. Running under cloudy conditions with the temperature ranging from 13C to 18C, a leading group of three men, including Mokoka, Kenya’s Asbel Kipsang and Ethiopia’s Abdi Fufa, paced the race until 30km. Fufa then fell back while Kipsang managed to keep up with Mokoka for another 5km before the South African pulled away.

In the women’s race Roza Dereje held off a strong challenge from Kenya’s Margaret Agai in the last hundred metres to take her second win in the month, having won the HC Andersen Marathon in Denmark 29 days previously.

She trimmed nearly five minutes from her PB in Shanghai. Nine runners passed halfway together but by 35km only Agai and Wude Ayalew were still with Dereje. All three reached 40km together but Dereje then pulled away.

A pack of nine led the race through halfway but was whittled down to three by 35km, with just Agai and Wude Ayalew matching Dereje’s pace. When the trio reached 40km Dereje pulled away. But she slowed and Agai closed the gap to draw level a few hundred metres from the finish. Dereje looked stunned but kept her cool and sped up again to regain the lead.

In 1980 Dublin became the first mass marathon in Europe (a year before London) and this year it became Europe’s fourth biggest marathon — and the fastest-growing.

Weather conditions were perfect for the record field of 19,500: not too hot and no wind or rain.

In the men’s race Dereje Debele Tulu took an early lead and finishing strongly well ahead of his countrymen. The first home-based runner was Sergiu Ciobanu, finishing seventh overall and winning his fourth national title by defeating defending national champion Sean Hehir by over a minute.

The women’s race was much closer and came down to a sprint for the line between Helalia Johannes of Namibia and 2011 winner Ehite Bizuayehu. Johannes edged it by two seconds. The first Irish female finisher and a surprise winner of the national title was Laura Graham who finished ninth overall in a personal best more than six minutes faster than her time in London six months earlier.

Close to 17,000 finished with the slowest of them taking over eight hours. The 2017 edition will be on Sunday 29 October.

Heavy overnight rain gave way to ideal conditions for the eighth edition of the four-lap race with a famously tough uphill finish writes Norrie Williamson.

Benjamin Kiprop and countryman Victor Kimeli ran together to 35km after which Kiprop started to open up a lead which grew to 500m. He finished a few seconds shy of his 2010 winning time and course record. Kimeli maintained second and commented “It was hard going on the hill on the third lap and I could not find the energy to go with Benjamin when he pushed on the down in the city centre.” Yeshumie Ajigu was a clear winner of the women’s race.

Around 7000 runners from 25 countries took part in the event which includes Half Marathon and 10km races. They have grown to become a major festival of running in Jordan’s capital city, with live national television and local and international media. Prince Firas Bin Raad, the patron of the race completed the 10km. Increased numbers of local runners are now participating in the half and full marathon distances.

Priscah Cherono and Julius Rotich dominated their respective fields with Rotich defending his title and Cherono improving her personal best to win by a margin of seven minutes writes Diego Sampoalo.

Cherono began to pull away from Ester Macharia after 10km and built a 16-second lead by 15km extending it to 1:32 at halfway. She maintained her pace across the famous Ponte della Libertà Bridge, passing 35km more than five minutes ahead, and finished unpressed to knock almost 1:30 off her personal best time.

The men set off fast. A group of seven passed 10km in 30:26 but whittled down to four at halfway (1:04:19). Rotich and Titus Masai broke away from Francis Ngare to build a 22-second gap in San Giuliano’s Park around 30km but Adugna Bekele closed the gap to catch Ngare and move into third. Rotich forced the pace across the Ponte della Libertà, reaching 35km more than two minutes up on Bekele and Masai. He began to tire at 40km as he faced the 14 bridges that cover the course’s final 2km but still managed to pull off a comfortable win.

While Daniel Wanjiru improved his best time by almost three minutes to set a new course record Meselech Melkamu had an untroubled win in the women’s race. Sammy Kitwara suddenly picked up the pace at halfway and 10 or so other runners followed him including Wilson Chebet (who won in 2011, 2012 and 2013) and Bernard Kipyego (who won in 2014 and 2015). The race began in earnest at 32km when Kirui, Kitwara and Wasihun closed a 6-second gap to catch up with the lead pack. Wanjiru joined them 2km later. In the Vondelpark, with just 2km to go, he surged ahead: “From 39km I knew I was going to win,” he said.

Philemon Rono survived a pre-race accident to run away from a strong field. The diminutive Kenyan broke free with 5km to go while Shure Demise became the first woman to successfully defend her Toronto title writes Paul Gains.

Rono had suffered an accident with a falling barricade during his warmup and had to consult his management team before he decided to start but within 3km seemed fully recovered. Pacemakers took the group through halfway in 1:03:22 on target to beat Derissa Chimsa’s course record of 2:07:05. But the temperature was 18C at the start and in the second half the humidity proved energy-sapping.

Seboko Dibaba took the lead at about 30km which helped to drop defending champion Isshimael Chemtan but he later explained that: “After 36km my injuries in my groin and my left calf started up. It has been a problem before. I have had two surgeries in 2013 and 2014.”

For much of the women’s race Demise led a pack made up of her compatriots Tadelech Bekele, Ashete Bekere and Fatuma Sado. It wasn’t until the final 5km that she managed to scent victory.