By OUR CORRESPONDENT
Timothy Kibet and Ruth Gitonga triumphed at the inaugural Longonot Trail Challenge held in Naivasha on Saturday.
Kibet crossed the finishing line in 1:02:04 to win the men’s race. He beat Saoli Selelo to second place in 1:01:05 while Ephanthus Njeri completed the podium finish in 1:04.06.
The fourth place went to Cornelius Yatich who finished in 1:04:10 and Kipsang Cheboi returned home third in a time of 1:04.20. “It was a tough race on a very tough course. I fell down but I recovered to win the race,” said Kibet who trains with Milimani Runners.
In the women’s category, Gitonga upset fancied Philaris Kisang to win the race. Gitonga crossed the finishing line in 1:14:50 while Kisang came home second in 1:15:25.
Joyline Chepng’eno finished third in 1:16:45 with Valentine Ruto coming home fourth in 1:16:51 and Gloria Chebet fifth in 1:17:38. Kisang finished third in the Mountain Running World Cup.
Speaking after the race, Gitonga who trains at Run2gether training camp said: “It was a tough race because I have never trained for Mountain Running. I normally train for track. It was my first Mountain Running race,” said
Kisang said: “The race had a lot of challenges. We trained here some time ago but the course changed a bit. I expected to do better than number two but I’m contended with the second place finish.”
Winners received Sh200, 00 with first runners up went home with Sh100, 000. Top 10 runners received cash awards.
The race was organized by Athletics Kenya and Run2gether. More than 400 athletes participated in the event which is the first ranked event by World Mountain Running Assocoiation.
World Mountain Running Association President Tomo Surf graced the event.
