Kenyans better Ethiopians at Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday, October 4

“When the crowds flow into Queen Street from the suburbs and the hills
And the music of the hour is the music of the tills,
I sometimes gaze and wonder at my fellows passing by
Each one with dreams and passions, each one to toil and die.”

Idris Davies, a Welsh poet, could have been writing about Sunday on the streets of Cardiff, during the half-marathon. While no one literally died, some may have faded toward the finish line.

But it was Kenyans Joyciline Jepkosgei who took 12 seconds off the women’s course record, and Gideon Kiprotich, who won the men’s race with a new lifetime personal best, who were rewarded for their toils.

Women’s race

Jepkosgei ran 1:05:40, erasing the mark of fellow Kenyan Edit Chelimo, who ran 1:05:52 in 2017.

The women’s race was hardly a solo parade. Ethiopian Ede Kefale stayed with Jepkosgei for most of the way before Jepkosgei finally created some daylight around the 16-kilometre mark at Roath Lake Park.

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Kefale held on for second in 1:05:54, with compatriot Tigist Tesema third in 1:07:23.

The 32-year-old Jepkosgei holds a personal best of 1:04:13 from the 2025 Barcelona Half Marathon. She has won two Marathon Majors in London and New York and twice raced the World Half Marathon Championships, taking silver and finishing sixth in Valencia and Gdynia.

Men’s race

Kiprotich had a little more work to do on the men’s side. The Kenyan separated himself from defending champion Yismaw Dillu of Ethiopia by around 15 kilometres and continued to build the gap through the closing kilometres.

He finished in 59:34, 44 seconds ahead of Dillu.

Unfortunately for Kiprotich, Dillu’s course record of 59:22 survived the afternoon by 12 seconds. Dillu was second in 1:00:18, while Bahrain’s Jonah Rutio finished third in 1:01:13.

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So, a course record for the women and no course record for the men. Running remains stubbornly unfair.

There was also Welsh hardware on the line.

Lloyd Sheppard-Brown won the Welsh men’s half marathon title on his debut at the distance, finishing eighth overall in 1:03:43. Natasha Wilson claimed the women’s title, placing sixth overall in 1:10:34.

Kiprotich set a new PB in Cardiff. His previous fastest half marathon was from Rome last year at 58:49, but the course is ineligible for records and standards. The 25-year-old ran 1:00:28 two years ago in Napoli, Italy.

The 23rd edition of the Cardiff Half attracted more than 30,000 registrations across the race weekend. Organizers also reported a record international field, with more than 5,700 runners from 99 countries registered for the Cardiff race.

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