Hadis and Kosgei Win Richest Half Marathon in the World

By Adam Kopet

Race organizers for the Bahrain Night Half Marathon collected a star-studded field for the inaugural event, aided by a prize purse that included $100,000 for the first-place finisher. Abadi Hadis of Ethiopia and Brigid Kosgei of Kenya won the competition, which stands as the richest half marathon in the world.

RESULTS

The men's race included world record holder Abraham Kiptum of Kenya who ran 58:18 at the 2018 Valencia Half Marathon, as well as 11 other men who had run under an hour.

Setting off after dark, the lead men, a pack of 20, reached 10K in 29:07. That put them on 1:01:25 pace, making it clear no one would be earning the $30,000 world record bonus.

At 15K, the pack had dwindled to nine men, with Hadis leading the way in 43:15. Kiptum had dropped out.

The trio of Hadis, Jemal Yimer of Ethiopia and Bernard Ngeno pushed the pace over the final six kilometers. After averaging over 14 minutes were 5K, the pace increased to near 13:30 pace.

Entering the final 100 meters, it appeared that Yimer would come away the winner. However, he mistook a line on the road about 40 meters from the finish line and stopped, thinking he had won. Hadis sprinted past him to cross the line first in 59:42. Yimer recovered to finish second in 59:45. Ngeno was third in 59:47. Yimer's mistake cost him $75,000, the difference between first and second place prize money.

The women's race was made up of a smaller elite field. At 10K, six women, including Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya, Netsanet Gudeta of Ethiopia and Kosgei, all of whom have strong credentials at the half and full marathons, were part of the lead pack, paced by two men. Their time of 31:32 put them on 1:06:32 pace.

However, by 15K, the lead women's pack was down to three. Chepngetich, Gudeta and Kosgei passed the marker in 47:19, running that five-kilometer split in 15:47.

From there, the race to the finish was on. Gudeta was the first to crack. Then it was Chepngetich, leaving Kosgei to run the final stage of the race alone. She averaged 14:53 5k pace over the last six kilometers, crossing the finish line in 1:05:28. Chepngetich was second in 1:06:09 and Gudeta finished third in 1:06:49.