Alfred Kipkemoi and Janeth Chepngetich claimed victory at the Tinderet Barng’etuny Mountain Run National Championships in Nandi County on Saturday.
Kipkemoi emerged as the winner of the senior men’s 14km race with a time of 1:09:04, finishing ahead of Ken Koros (1:09:33) and Richard Omaya from South Nyanza (1:09:35), who took second and third place, respectively.
The win marked a strong comeback for Kipkemoi after narrowly missing out on a podium finish in his previous race, where he clocked 1:02:28 to finish fifth at the Bilbao Half Marathon in Spain last October.
In the senior women’s 14km race, African Games 10,000m champion Janeth Chepngetich extended her winning streak with a commanding victory.
The 26-year-old crossed the finish line in 1:23:18, with Mercy Chemutai (1:26:48) and Run2gether’s Mirriam Chepkirui (1:28:04) securing second and third places, respectively.
This victory marked an ideal start to what promises to be a busy year for Chepngetich, who had an impressive 2024 season, making the podium in every race she competed in, except for the national trials for the Paris Olympics.
Her most recent performance was a second-place finish in the Standard Chartered 10km race in November, where she clocked 30:56.
Saturday’s race served as the opening leg of the Magical Kenya Trail Series, organized by Athletics Kenya and the Kenya Tourism Board.
Attendees included race patron Tinderet MP Julius Melly, Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot, Sports PS Peter Tum, and Athletics Kenya president Lt Gen (Rtd) Jack Tuwei.
The winners of both categories received Sh500,000 and a heifer, while the second and third-place finishers walked away with Sh200,000 and Sh100,000, along with a heifer and sheep, respectively.