Kiprotich, Chirchir sweep Ol Bolosat half marathon
By David Macharia, June 16, 2025Debutant Amos Kiprotich and surprise winner Evalyne Chirchir stole the show at the second edition of the Lake Ol Bolosat Half Marathon in Nyandarua County at the weekend after storming to victory in the men’s and women’s 21km races respectively.
Their dramatic finish stunned even seasoned favourites.
Kiprotich, making his debut in competitive half-marathon running, shocked teammate Vincent Kimutai Towett with just 500 metres to go to the finish line at Lake Ol Bolosat, the only highland lake in the country and the only one in the Mt Kenya region.
Towett, who is based at the Run2Gether camp in Longonot, Naivasha, believed the race was his to lose with a kilometre to go and kept checking his watch, until Kiprotich stepped up his pace to win in one hour, three minutes, and seven seconds, taking home the Ksh250,000 top prize.
Towett, the Hamburg Half Marathon winner, finished second in 63:16, while third place went to Shadrack Kipng’etich, who clocked 63:17.
“I had believed I was winning the race, but things changed with 300 metres to go. But I am thankful for the second position,” said Towett.
Chirchir, who finished second in the Plague Marathon last month, said she was surprised to win in Nyandarua.
“Having run a marathon last month, I came here for practice and did not expect to win, so it was a surprise to emerge the winner,” she said.
The winners noted that Nyandarua’s altitude, similar to that of Keringet and Longonot, worked in their favour.
There were shorter races of 10km and 5km for elite and wheelchair athletes, where the winners also walked home with cash prizes.
The race was flagged off by Governor Moses Kiarie Badilisha at the Equator “Zero Latitude” on the Nyahururu-Ol Kalou highway and branched off to the lake at Kasuku trading centre.