Chepkirui and Kiptoo reign supreme at the Kapsabet 15 KM Road Race

Two-time Vienna marathon winner Vibian Chepkirui and Vincent Kiptoo are this year’s winners of the Betika Kapsabet 15 kilometres Road Race held at the weekend in Nandi County attracting 500 athletes.

Chepkirui clocked 51:13.4 to narrowly finish first ahead of Viola Chepng’eno and Miriam Chepkoech who finished second and third respectively in the women’s race, with times of 51:13.9 and 51:53.8 in that order.

Kiptoo, on his part, crossed the line in 44:36.5 having broken off from the leading pack early with five kilometres left to go, followed by Benard Kipkemoi and Benard Kipkirui who clocked 45:01.1 and 45:10.0 respectively to round off the podium places.

The winners received KSh250, 000 while second and third-place finishers pocketed Ksh 150, 000 and Ksh 100, 000 respectively. The fourth and fifth-place finishers went home with Ksh 50,000 and KSh.40,000 respectively while the sixth to tenth-place finishers in both the men’s and women’s categories got KSh20,000. This was the second edition of the event.

Speaking after her triumph, Chepkirui said that she used the race to prepare for the 2025 Vienna Marathon set for April 6, 2025 in Vienna, Austria.

“Today’s race was good. My body responded well from when I decided to go all the way. This was my first time taking part in the Kapsabet 15 kilometers Road Race and I can say it was a good platform as part of my training for the upcoming Vienna Marathon in April” she said.

Kiptoo said that although he had been training hard for the race, it was a bit different from the 10 km he is used to: “I am happy to win today. I had trained well for the race though I struggled a bit because 15 km is not the same as 10 kilometres which I am used to. I have been active in the recent cross-country competitions. We appreciate the sponsors and organisers for giving us this platform.”