By Mutwiri Mutuota
Moses Kigen |
Sunday’s seventh edition was run under temperate conditions before slight rains ushered pedigree athletes Moses Kigen and 2006 winner Irene Jerotich as men and women 42km champions.
Each bagged Sh1.75m for their day in the office, being the winner’s purse of Sh1.5m and an addition Sh250,000 bonus for setting new course records, a remarkable feat considering wet conditions at the end during the race run at punishing high altitude of 5,000m above sea level.
"I had prepared for (Sunday’s) Frankfurt Marathon but things did not well and I decided to register here," Kigen who clocked his personal best of 2:10:12 said.
He lowered the previous 2:10:30 course best by Samson Kikwei Tuiyange last year.
"I was in good form and came for the record and my personal best," Kigen, who won January’s Rock n Roll Marathon in 2:10:36, his previous career high, said.
Early pacesetter, Kibiwott Kwambai took the front men past the 10km mark in 27:51 before a lead pack of 16 surged past the half marathon mark in 1:06. At 30km, five runners, Peter Kiplagat, Joseph Kimeli, Simon Mukum, Nathan Naibei and Kigen setoff in pursuit of top honours.
Two kilometres later, Kigen who had heaved ahead made an impassioned plea to one of the bicycle riding race stewards for water.
Seventh winner
After two snappy gulps, he lowered his head and sprinted clear of the rest to become the seventh winner of the men’s marathon of Stanchart Nairobi. Behind him, marathon debutant, Nathan Naibei (2:11:16), a former steeplechaser led the challengers with Kiplagat (2:11:32), a second placer over half marathon at last year’s race, sealing the podium.
Irene Jerotich. Photos: Stafford Ondego/Standard |
"My performance today was encouraging since what I lacked today was experience running at this distance. The guy who beat me has run full marathon before," Naibei said. In the women’s race, Jerotich who smashed Emma Muthoni’s (2008) previous course best of 2:33:42 in a career top performance of 2:28:57 won the battle of former champions.
The runner-up from last year (2:37:08) thus became the first repeat winner in the history of Nairobi Stanchart following her 2:32:42 winning effort in 2006.
"I was feeling strong today and I’m happy with my PB. I decided to come and run at home and it worked out fine," Jerotich, who was third at this year’s Ottawa Marathon (2:34:28) said.
Jerotich beat the first ever winner of Stanchart Nairobi women’s race (2003), Alice Chelagat (2:30:38) to second with Sharon Jemutai, a World Junior bronze medallist over 5,000m in 2000, came third (2:33:53) on her full debut.
