Jepchirchir, Kibet to lead stars in Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon

Peres Jepchirchir and Bernard Kibet are expected to grace the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon on Saturday, February 24, 2024.

Jepchirchir, the Olympic women’s marathon champion, and Kibet, last year’s winner, are some of the high-profile stars that are expected to contest in this year’s edition.

Three world half-marathon titles and being the only woman to simultaneously hold the Olympic, New York, and Boston marathon titles are some achievements that will boost Jepchirchir’s ego going into the race. Her best time remains the then-world record of 65 minutes, 6 seconds.

Meanwhile, Kibet, a 13-minute, 5000-metre runner, enters the race as one of the favourites. His victory in 2023 was achieved after clocking 58.45, which put him in the top ten for the year.

RAK has established itself as one of the fastest half-marathons on the international circuit. The race is run around the spectacular seaside circuit on the gorgeous promontory of Marjan Island.

Meanwhile, Race Director and Pace Events Chief Executive Officer Peter Connerton is confident that the race will be very competitive, especially with the entry of Jepchirchir and Kibet.

“We were honored and enormously gratified to be invited by the Ras Al Khaimah tourist authorities to organize an event like the RAK half-marathon. We feel it’s a reflection of the success we’ve had with the Dubai Marathon since 2000.

“We’ve added a 10k to the RAK program since we’ve seen how successful the shorter event has been in Dubai, either as a challenge in its own right or as a stepping stone for runners on the way to a half or full marathon.

“Peres Jepchirchir and Bernard Kibet are the first of many leading names we shall be announcing for the RAK ‘half’ in the coming weeks,” Connerton said as per RunBlogRun.