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Reigning 5000m champion Hellen Obiri will lead a galaxy of Kenyam stars to the 16th edition of the N Kolay Istanbul Half Marathon in Turkey on Sunday. She will be one of the five women who feature personal bests of sub-67:00.  

Obiri finished second in last month’s Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in the United Arab Emirates after clocking a personal best time of 64:22, an overall improvement, behind race winner Ethiopia’s Girmawit Gebru. With this personal best Obiri is now the fifth fastest half marathon runner of all time. 

“I am so happy to be returning to Istanbul. I ran my half marathon debut in this race last year and I hope I can improve both my position and my time on this occasion,” Obiri said. During the 2021 edition, world marathon champion Ruth Chepngetich won the race in a world record time of 64:02 (mixed gender), a time that was later lowered by Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who clocked 63:44 before her compatriot Letesenbet Gidey further set a new record of 62:52.  

Yalemzerf emerged second during the race clocking 64:40, while Obiri was third after timing 64:51.  Kibiwott Kandie won in the men’s category clocking 59:35 ahead of his compatriots Geoffrey Kamworor (59:38) and Roncer Kipkorir (59:46). She has gained quite some experience in half-marathon running since her debut. 

The 32-year-old, who now focuses on road running, won the Great North Run in Newcastle last September with 67:42. She will face a stiff challenge from Ethiopians Tsehay Gemechu who won last year’s Copenhagen Half Marathon with a strong PB of 65:08. The 23-year-old has an impressive half-marathon record with four wins out of five races. 

Hawi Feysa was runners-up behind Tsehay Gemechu in Copenhagen in September, when she clocked 65:41 in her debut half marathon. Nigsti Haftu and Bekelech Gudeta are the other two Ethiopians who will try to challenge Obiri. 

While Haftu has a PB of 66:17 Gudeta ran a personal record of 66:54 when she was seventh at the N Kolay Istanbul Half Marathon a year ago. In the men’s category, Rodgers Kwemoi and Daniel Mateiko will headline the start list, the duo is among the ten fastest half marathon runners of all times. 

Kwemoi who was making a debut in the 21km race in the Ras Al Khaimah half marathon in the United Arab Emirates last month came second in 58:30 as Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo emerged victorious in 57:56 as Mateiko on the other hand came a distant sixth in 58:45. 

Kwemoi is the second-fastest athlete at the moment with a personal best of 59:16. He ran this time in his debut half marathon in Valencia last year. 

Mateiko achieved a breakthrough in 2021. First, he broke the one-hour barrier in Copenhagen with 59:25, then he improved by almost a full minute to 58:26 when he was third in Valencia.