Former winners, National and Area Champions and exciting debutants will contest the 21st edition of the Principality Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday 6 October.
Kenyan’s Benard Ngeno and Cosmas Boi will be chasing fast times somewhere underneath the course record of 59:30 in the men’s race ,with Ireland’s first five-time Female Olympian, and twice European Cross Country Champion, Fionnuala McCormack in action in the women’s contest.
The race is the penultimate offering in the 2024 Superhalfs Series and holds a prestigious World Athletics Elite Road Race Label as well as hosting the Welsh Half Marathon Championships annually.
Benard Ngeno (59:07) is the fastest athlete on paper owing to an impressive lifetime best set at the Trinidad Alfonso Half Marathon in 2019, finishing second at the world’s top race over the distance.
Cosmas Boi (59:29) comes to the city following a solid block of training that indicates a new PB could be possible. Perhaps his greatest accolade to date was a victory at the 2023 Stramilano Half Marathon.
Patrick Mosin (59:31) was the winner of the 2023 Lille Half Marathon, but more notably third at the Prague Half Marathon that was won by the current World Half Marathon Champion Sebastian Sawe in April.
Bravin Kiptoo (59:37) is the 2019 African U20 Champion over 10,000m showing winning pedigree and then finishing as the third placer at the Birrell Grand Prix later that year.
Antony Kimtai (59:45) was the winner at Stramilano for 2024 and the runner-up at Napoli Half Marathon setting his PB a month earlier.
Vincent Kigen (59:48) was second at the Seville Half Marathon in January and again at the Malaga Half Marathon in March.
Vincent Mutai (60:20) will make a third trip to the city as last year’s surprise winner and with a second place at the Cardiff Cross Challenge from November to his name.
Kento Nishi (61:09) of Japan, Ethiopian Man Enyew Nigat (61:17) and Tanzania’s Josephat Gisemo (64:27) will add further international flavour to a mainly Kenyan front of the field. Nishi is a 2:08:11 Marathon man, Nigat was seventh at the Yangzhou Half Marathon earlier this year and Gisemo was the runner up at the 2024 Generali Geneva Marathon.
Ben Connor (60:55) is the fastest British man and tackles the Cardiff course for the first time. Connor is the sixth fastest Briton in history and has shown recent fitness with an impressive second place at the re-scheduled English National Cross Country Championships in September.
Paulos Surafel (61:21) was 11th here last year and returns since re-setting his PB at the Ghent Half Marathon in March.
Tewelde Menges (63:49), Jonathan Collier (64:37) and William Bryan (64:58) are the remaining British athletes who have dipped under 65 minutes in the past.
Ciaran Lewis (65:17) is the fastest Welshman in action but is likely to face stiff opposition to the National title from Dan Hamilton (65:57) and Dan Nash (66:16).
Twice European Cross Country Champion Fionnuala McCormack (69:32) will make her Cardiff debut on Sunday. McCormack claimed her titles at Valenje, Slovenia in 2011 and at Budapest in 2012. Since then, the Wicklow woman has become the second fastest Irish athlete in history over half marathon and over the full marathon distance. She became the first female Irish athlete in history to compete at five Olympic Games’ in Paris this Summer.
Nelly Jepchumba (67:00) is the fastest entrant and was the winner at the Rio De Janeiro Half Marathon in August and the winner at the prestigious 2021 Madrid Half Marathon.
Miriam Chebet (67:14) was the runner up at the Istanbul Half Marathon and notably the winner at the Ibiza 10K in 30:40.
Ethiopian Anchinalu Dessie (67:30) is yet another winner of the Stramilano Half Marathon in action here and was fourth at the Valencia Ibercaja 10K in 2022 with 31:01, an event that has recently been acknowledged as the World’s top annual road race.
Caroline Nyaga (67:36) is an exciting late edition to the race and will be chasing a huge new lifetime best. Nyaga is the 2022 African Champion over 10,000m and has a best over 5,000m of 14:30 set finishing fifth at the Diamond League final in Brussels last month.
Daisy Kimeli (68:34) was the winner at the 2019 Trabzon Half Marathon and Adane Anmaw (69:47) was third at the Yanzhou Half Marathon.
Perhaps the most exciting prospect in the women’s race however, is Grace Nawowuna (Debut) who will make her debut here, but was fourth at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst in 2023 and has a 29:47 best for 10,000m. Nawowuna is likely to chase the early pace with Nyaga.
Polish Athletes Monika Jackiewicz (70:39) and Sabina Jarzabek (72:42) will be making the trip to Cardiff. Jackiewicz has previously claimed Polish titles over the Half and full Marathon and Jarzabek has held the same honour over 5K and 10K.
Olivia Tsim (73:38) claimed Bronze medals at the Welsh Half Marathon Championships here in 2022 and 2023. The Pontypridd Roadent will be in racing action after giving birth this summer.
Alaw Evans (75:00) was the winner of the Cardiff 10K last year and is likely to be contesting for the Welsh title this time.
Australia’s Isabelle Pickett (75:36), Charlotte Taylor (75:46) and Ellen Feringa (75:54) of Philadelphia Runners Track Club are next fastest.
Callum Hall (46:15) heads the fields for the Wheelchair race on the men’s side owing to his outstanding personal best and is also the 2023 winner of the Yorkshire Marathon. Former winners Sam Kolek (49:55) of Poland and South African Athlete Tiaan Bosch (51:14) also return.
2018 Commonwealth Para-Triathlon Champion Jade Hall (49:50) will be in action in the women’s event and has more recently taken the Great North Run title.
Mel Nicholls (53:39) is the 2022 winner at Cardiff and will return this October.
