Geoffrey Kamworor wins Ras Al Khaimah in 58:14, five men under 59
Thirteen years after his first RAK win, Kamworor beat Birhanu Balew by nine seconds; Asmarech Anley won the women's race on her half marathon debut in 1:07:22.
Photograph: Geoffrey Kamworor on his way to a third world half marathon title in Valencia in 2018, by ChiralJon, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsGeoffrey Kamworor won the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in 2013. On Saturday, at the 19th edition on Al Marjan Island, he won it again in 58:14. A group of seven passed 10 km in 27:42. Kamworor, three times the world half marathon champion, broke the race open from there and beat Birhanu Balew of Bahrain, 58:23, by nine seconds. Gideon Rono of Kenya was third in 58:38, Jemal Mekonen of Ethiopia fourth in 58:55 and Samwel Masai of Kenya fifth in 58:59. Five men under 59 minutes in one race.
Kamworor is building towards the London Marathon in April, and said afterwards that from 14 km he knew the race was his.
The women's race went to a debutant. Asmarech Anley of Ethiopia, the 2023 African junior 3000 m champion, had never run a half marathon. She won in 1:07:22, five seconds ahead of her compatriot Melknat Wudu, 1:07:27, with Magdalena Shauri of Tanzania third in 1:07:32, Jesca Chelangat fourth in 1:07:33 and Cynthia Chepkwony fifth in 1:07:35. Thirteen seconds covered the top five.
More than 10,700 runners took part across the 2 km, 5 km, 10 km and half marathon, a record for the event. RAK sells itself as one of the fastest half marathons in the world, and the results sheet does not argue.
Sources: World Athletics; Gulf Today.
