Report25 Feb 2019


Road round-up: Godfay breaks Mexican all-comers' record at Guadalajara Half Marathon, Ngeno and Matango triumph in Safi

FacebookTwitterEmail

Afera Godfay Berha winning in Guadalajara (© Organisers)

Last updated: Monday 25 Feb, 17:30 CET

Godfay breaks Mexican all-comers record at Guadalajara Half Marathon

Afera Godfay Berha of Ethiopia broke the women’s Mexican all-comers half marathon record at the 33rd Electrolit Guadalajara Half Marathon, an IAAF Gold Label road race, on Sunday (24).

Godfay, 27, clocked 1:08:53 to break the all-comers mark set of 1:09:07 set by Paula Radcliffe when the Briton won the 2000 world half marathon title in Veracruz.

Kenya's Mathew Kisorio won the men's race in 1:01:48, well inside the course record of 1:02:31 set by his countryman and seven-time winner Julius Kipyego Keter in 2011.

Godfay and Kenyan Joyce Chemkemoi set an aggressive pace from the start, covering the opening five kilometres in 15:58, running five second ahead of Naomi Vaati. By the 10km mark, covered in 32:06, she extended her lead to 22 seconds.

Berha made her decisive move in the next five-kilometre stretch and built a 35-second lead by 15 kilometres, reached in 48:41. She then cruised on to become the second Ethiopian woman to claim victory in Guadalajara since two-time winner Shewarge Alene Amare won in 2010 and 2011.

The 27-year old winner, a 2:23:54 marathoner, came within 22 seconds her half marathon best set in 2016. 

Chemkemoi held on for second in 1:10:06 with Vaati, who clocked 1:10:17, finishing third.

Esmerala Rebollo was the first Mexican across the line, finishing fifth with a new personal best of 1:12:52. Her countrywoman, two-time winner Mayra Sanchez Vidal, finished eighth in 1:13:18.

In the men's race, a group of nine took up a conservative pace early in the contest, covering the first five kilometres in 14:13. Kisorio and three other men upped the pace, reducing the lead group to four as they reached 10 kilometres in 29:06. Then Kisorio found an extra gear, dropping his three remaining opponents as he reached 15 kilometres in 43:42, 34 seconds ahead of his closest rival.

Rhonzas Lokitam Kilimo and Justus Kangogo battled for the two remaining spots on the podium, a war Kilimo won as he pulled away to repeat his runner-up finish from 2018, clocking 1:02:43. Kangogo was next, four seconds behind.

Two-time Olympic finalist and two-time winner Juan Luis Barrios was the first Mexican finisher, taking fifth in 1:03:06.

“This performance is the result of running with great athletes who come to produce a great show," said Barrios, now 35. "They pushed hard and I tried to stay with the leaders as long as possible."

Each winner collected MXN 150,000 for their effort ($7,840). 13,568 runners finished the race.

Javier Clavelo Robinson for the IAAF

 

Records fall as Ngeno and Matanga triumph at Safi Half Marathon

Kenya’s Bernard Kipkorir Ngeno and Tanzania’s Failuna Abdi Matanga reigned supreme at the Safi International Half Marathon on Sunday (24), smashing the course records with respective winning times of 1:01:06 and 1:10:50.

On a day of glorious sunshine on the Moroccan coast, when thousands of runners, young and old, took to the streets of the port city, it was Ngeno and Matanga who coped best with the undulating course.

Ngeno entered the race as favourite for the men’s title, coming off a 59:22 clocking in Valencia last year and victory at the Bomet Half Marathon in Kenya last weekend. “I knew I would win, I’m in good shape,” the 22-year-old said moments after crossing the line in Safi.

 

 
Bernard Kipkorir Ngeno wins the Safi International Half Marathon

 

He coasted through the opening half as the elites left the rugged coastline behind them and ran uphill through the city, the Kenyan allowing compatriot Edwin Koech and Ethiopia’s Gizachew Hailu Negasa to take turns at the front.

However, when Ngeno reached the 15km mark with just Hailu and Koech for company, he made his decisive move. “Nobody was pushing the pace so I went off on my own,” he said. “I said if someone wants to come with me, let’s go. When I saw nobody could follow that’s when I knew I could win.”

Ngeno powered clear of his rivals on the rolling hills, which were reminiscent of those he trains on in Kenya. “I was used to it,” he said. “I’m good at downhills – no one can catch me on downhills.”

He was given a generous reception by the throngs of locals lining the road as he powered up the home straight, crossing the line a delighted champion in 1:01:06, which carved almost two minutes off the course record of 1:03:01 set by Getaneh Molla last year. Ngeno came home 27 seconds clear of Gizachew Hailu Negasa. Edwin Koech rounded out the podium in third with 1:01:41, with local hero Othmane El Goumri of Morocco just missing out, finishing fourth in 1:01:50.

“It was a nice race, a good atmosphere, and next year I will be back,” said Ngeno, who took home 30,000 Moroccan Dirham (EUR 2770/ USD 3141) for the victory. “Next year I will come and reach another level.”

In the women’s race, Failuna Abdi Matanga played her cards a little later to snatch victory, the Tanzanian applying pressure and finally breaking her rivals with just one kilometre to run.

 

 
Failuna Abdi Matanga triumphs at the Safi International Half Marathon

 

Matanga ran with Ethiopian rivals Asnakesh Awoke Mengesha and Hiwot Ayalew for the majority of the race, but a long, gradual uphill in the final kilometres proved the pivotal point in the race. “I was running together with the others and trying to control my pace, then I made my move at 18 kilometres,” said Matanga, who has a best of 1:09:36.

The 26-year-old soon made it a decisive advantage on the downhill run towards the finishing straight, and sprinted to the line amid rapturous applause to take victory in 1:10:50 and smash the course record of 1:13:27, which was held by Meseret Belete Tola.

It proved the perfect tune-up ahead of her next challenge. “I will run the Hamburg Marathon in April,” said Matanga, who believes she can go much quicker at the half marathon. “I liked this race, the organisation was good, the course was good, and I would have liked to run 67 minutes today,” she said. “I think on another day I can run 67.”

Mengesha held on to take second in 1:10:57, an impressive showing in what was her half marathon debut, with Ayalew, a two-time Olympian in the 3000m steeplechase, proving her versatility by rounding out the podium in third with 1:11:01.

Organisers for the IAAF

Leading results:
 
Men -
1 Bernard Kipkorir Ngeno (KEN) 1:01:06
2 Gizachew Hailu Negasa (ETH) 1:01:33
3 Edwin Koech (KEN) 1:01:41
4 Othmane El Goumri (MAR) 1:01:50
5 Mustapha El Aziz (MAR) 1:01:56
6 Faraja Lazaro Damasi (TAN) 1:02:20
7 Ashenafi Moges Weldegiorgis (ETH) 1:03:21
8 Jaouad El Jazouli (MAR) 1:03:24
9 Paul Kibet (KEN) 1:04:09
10 Abderrahmane El Moujib (MAR) 1:04:14 
 
Women - 
1 Failuna Abdi Matanga (TAN) 1:10:50
2 Asnakesh Awoke Mengesha (ETH) 1:10:57
3 Hiwot Ayalew (ETH) 1:11:01
4 Sanae Achahbar (MAR) 1:12:29
5 Salome Jepkosgei Kipruto (KEN) 1:13:15
6 Gladys Chepkurui (KEN) 1:13:31
7 Rkia El Moukim (MAR) 1:13:37
8 Neheng Melida Khatala (LES) 1:16:09
9 Shuba Aman (BRN) 1:16:33
10 Wafa El Gazouir (MAR) 1:21:08