Boniface Kongin, Kwambai excel at Hastings Half Marathon

By SHAMLAL PURI in London

Kenya’s rising star Boniface Kongin romped to a dominant victory in the 30th Hastings Half Marathon in the Sussex seaside town of Hastings on Sunday.

Amidst wild cheers from hundreds of spectators, the 24-year-old breezed round the challenging 13.1-mile course in a time of 1:04:18 — the fastest since 2007 — to win by well over three minutes from Blackburn Harriers & AC talent Ben Fish, The Hastings Observer reported.

The event was dominated by Kenyans as compatriot Richard Murithi was third in 1:09:04, while Hastings AC runner Jeff Pyrah produced a challenging performance to come fourth and win the Sussex title. Pyrah was the first of four Hastings AC competitors in the top 16.

Gladys Kwambai was the women’s champion in 1:16:42, beating her Kenyan compatriot Linah Chirchir by 43 seconds.

All four Kenyan runners are part of the Team Run-Fast Sports Management stable, a global management company for elite athletes, which has produced many Hastings winners in the past years.

A number of past champions took part to help the Hastings Lions Club-organised event celebrate a landmark occasion, including Eamonn Martin, who was the last British man to win the London Marathon in 1993 — just weeks after triumphing in Hastings.

In all, around 4,500 runners entered the popular race, many of them raising funds for their chosen causes, including those in Africa. They were cheered on by the usual excellent turnout of spectators all around the course.

Conditions were pretty good for running with sunny intervals and only a fairly gentle but chilly breeze, although some of the late finishers may have got caught in a downpour of hail.