Ndambiri 7th in RAK Half Marathon

by Brett Larner

Japanese 10000 m all-comers record holder Josephat Ndambiri (Kenya/Team Komori Corp.) ran the 4th Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon Feb. 19th in the U.A.E. In his first major half marathon in five years, Ndambiri, who last spring ran 26:57.36 for 10000 m and was 5th in the 2007 World Championships 10000 m, finished 7th overall in the competitive field in a PB of 1:01:08. Ndambiri ran the first half of the race with the leaders, covering 10 km on pace for a 59:30 before slowing to over 3 min/km between 15 and 20 km. Geoffrey Mutai (Kenya) won the race in 59:43, while Ethiopian-born Elvan Abeleygesse (Turkey), a double medalist on the track in the Beijing Olympics, took a no-surprise win in her half marathon debut, clocking 1:07:07.

For complete results click here. Ndambiri's splits are available here.

(c) 2010 Brett Larner
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