Just over a year after the women’s marathon world record was taken into previously unfathomable territory, Ruth Chepngetich has broken through another astonishing barrier with her winning time of 2:09:56 in Sunday’s Chicago Marathon.
With that the 30-year-old from Kenya became the first woman to break 2:10, taking almost two minutes off the previous record of 2:11:53 set by Tigst Assefa from Ethiopia in Berlin in September 2023 – which at the time also utterly obliterated the previous world record of 2:14.04.
Now just 13 months on, Chepngetich has again redefined what was considered possible in women’s distance running, her margin of victory also almost eight minutes ahead of second-placed Sutume Kebede from Ethiopia, who ran 2:17.32. Chepngetich placed 10th overall, only nine men running faster on the day.
The 2019 World champion, Chepngetich had twice won Chicago before, running her previous best of 2:14:18 when winning here in 2022 – but no one had predicted anything close to a time of 2:09:56, which incidentally is the same time John Treacy ran to win the Olympic silver medal in Los Angeles 40 years ago.
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Despite being known as the windy city, Chicago has certainly built a reputation as a super-fast course. This time last year, Kelvin Kiptum from Kenya also ran faster than any man in history, taking over half a minute off the world record with his winning time of 2:00:35. Tragically, Kiptum was killed in a road crash in Kenya just four months later.
Chepngetich breezed through the first 5km in 15:00, then reached 10km in a blazing 30:14. She continued her relentless pace and hit the half-way mark in 1:04:16, the fifth-fastest clocking in history for the half marathon distance, running with male pacers Barnabus Kiptum and Evans Nyakamba Mayaka for almost the entire race
Spurred on by her memories of the 2022 race, when she missed out on the world record by just 14 seconds, Chepngetich powered through the final stages: “I feel so great, I’m very proud of myself, this is my dream,” she said, after grabbing a Kenyan flag at the finish and promptly running back down the finishing straight to embrace the crowd.
“I fought a lot, thinking about the world record. The world record has come back to Kenya, and I dedicate this world record to Kelvin Kiptum.”
A woman breaking through the 2:10 barrier is considered on a par with a man breaking 2:00, never done in a sanctioned marathon event, although Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya did run 1:59:40 at promo event in Vienna five years ago.
Still, it’s only the third time the women’s marathon record has fallen in over 20 years, Brigid Kosgei’s 2:14.04 in 2019 improving the 2:15.25 which Paula Radcliffe ran to win the 2003 London Marathon, before Assefa ran her 2:11:53 last year.
Meanwhile, at the Autumn International Cross-Country at the Sport Ireland Campus on Sunday, Keelan Kilrehill from Moy Valley AC defended his men’s title from last year, making the most of the dry, firm conditions to finish the 8km race in 23:51, with Sean Tobin from Clonmel AC second in 24:16 – and Spain’s Isaac Hirschman-Chandler third in 24:20.
Just turned 24, Kilrehill is building nicely towards the National Cross-Country in Enniskillen on November 17th, the aim there being to secure selection for the European Cross-Country Championships set for Antalya in Turkey on December 8th.
Íde Nic Dhómhnaill from West Limerick AC was also back to defend her women’s title from last year, only this time the 39-year-old Dublin-based schoolteacher and mother of two had to settle for second place, finishing the 6km race in 20:25, with Sophie Tarver from England taking the impressive win in 20:12.
Reigning Irish cross-country champion Fiona Everard from Bandon AC was third in 20:33, likewise building well towards the defence of that title next month, Nic Dhómhnaill also eyeing up selection for the European event after missing out last year due to illness.
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