NAIROBI, Kenya, October 27 – Eldoret’s Ronald Kurgat was all smiles on Sunday morning after winning the men’s 42km at the Standard Chartered Marathon, 12 years after he first competed in the annual marathon.
Kurgat clocked 2:13:05 to emerge top, ahead of Dominick Kipkurui (2:13:13) and Peter Kwemoi (2:13:14) who finished second and third respectively.
The 38-year-old described the win as the prize of persistence, in all the years he has featured at the Standard Chartered Marathon.
“It was a tough race; looking at the list of competitors…all of them are tough but I encouraged myself to give all my best and I am happy to have won. I have been working hard in preparation for this road race…shuttling between Eldoret and Nairobi,” Kurgat said.
The two-time Jerusalem Marathon champion first ran in the Standard Chartered Marathon in 2012 during which he finished fourth after clocking 2:11:08.
Reflecting on his history in the race, Kurgat admitted a special connection with the event.
“With the Standard Chartered Marathon I would say I have a special connection to it that I can’t explain. I always find myself coming back to compete here. I have learnt a lot of lessons over the years,” he explained.
Blessing in disguise
Meanwhile, Kipkurui is grateful to have missed out on this year’s Istanbul Marathon after slots for the competition were filled up.
“I had wanted to compete in Istanbul but my manager told me there was no space so I had to be content with this marathon. The last time I competed in this road race was in 2022 when I ran in the half marathon but this year I decided to move to the half marathon. Everything went well as per today’s race although the weather made it a bit tough,” the 28-year-old said.
It was Kipkurui’s second podium finish this year, having clocked 1:04:38 to win the Izmir Half Marathon in Turkey on September 8.
