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WEIGHT WATCHER TO WORLD RECORD HOLDER
Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya runs the annual Ras Al Khaimah half-marathon in the UAE on February 1st, continuing the race’s tradition of being a virtual ‘who’s who?’ of world distance running since Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya won the inaugural men’s event in 2007, the year before his runaway Olympic marathon victory in Beijing.
In contrast to most of her compatriots, Jepkosgei was a late developer, only getting into her stride well into her twenties. Still, since striking top form with a series of records in 2017, she has been a mainstay at the elite end of the ranking lists.
In an era before super shoes and new energy gels, Jepkosgei created as much consternation as Ruth Chepn’getich’s recent sub-2.10 marathon when she broke four world records in one race at the Prague half in 2017. She clocked 30.04 for 10k, 45.37 for 15k, and 61.25 for 20k before finishing in 64:52, the first women’s sub-65min clocking in history. Six weeks later, she returned to Prague, broke through another barrier, and became the first woman to run sub-30 min for 10k with 29.43. Later that year, she improved her half marathon world record by one second in Valencia, thus becoming the first Kenyan to break six world records in a year.
She finished second in the world championships half-marathon in 2018 and won the New York Marathon on her debut at the distance the following year. Eighteen months later, she took five minutes off her time when she won the 2021 London Marathon in 2.17.43, again one of the fastest times in history. She was second in London the following year but has continued to improve into her early thirties. She has placed second and first in the Barcelona half-marathon in the last two years, with 64.46 in 2023 and 64.29 in 2024.
Ras Al Khaimah is one of the smaller emirates in the northernmost part of the UAE. It is a city-state with a population of around 400,000, with evidence of continuous habitation for over 7000 years. Helping its race into the 21st century for the last two decades since Wanjiru, the RAK ‘half’ has attracted world champions and record holders and other Olympic winners such as Tamirat Tola, Paris ‘24 marathon champion, and Peres Chepchirchir, women’s winner at the delayed Tokyo Olympics 2021.
Unlike most, Jepkosgei is one of the few East African superstars who has not nurtured her talent by running to and from school. She was already married and trying to lose weight after the birth of her first child when her husband, Nicholas Koech, a former 800-meter runner, suggested she do that by running. The rest, you know!
