Kenyan supreme in East London Half Marathon

Eliud Kipserem, 26 years old Kenyan runner took the honours of becoming the first winner of the inaugural East London Half Marathon 2013 held on April 14 at Stratford, London. Eliud completed the gruelling distance on a flat course in 70min 36sec. Eliud hails from Iten, nursery of champions where he grew up with likes of David Rudisha whose superhuman performance at London 2012 Olympic Games is still fresh in our minds.

Second place went to Mark Jefford from North London with a timing of 81min 34sec.

Eliud's compatriot Emily Biwott won the women’s half marathon with a timing of 78min 27sec. Laura Spence took second place in 88min 22sec.

In the Newham College 10K Run, Jamal Mohammed , ex-student of Newham College won the race in 33min 59sec beating twin brothers Thomas Holm and Martin Holm from Norway. Thomas took early lead but Jamal regained leading position after bow flyover turnaround point at 6.5k and then remained in the lead till finish. Runner up winner Thomas took 34min 8sec to complete 10k run. Women's 10k run won by Krystle Balogun from Romford in 43min 59sec.

Earlier, more than 2000 runners representing over 60 different nationalities were flagged off by Olympic legend Tessa Sanderson and Harminder Singh, coach of inspirational 101years old Fauja Singh from West Ham Park in 10k run and Half Marathon category on a beautiful and sunny Sunday morning.

Number of Runners set new personal bests while other raised combined estimated £300,000 fund for charitable causes. Runners were seen donning Spiderman, Marlin Monroe, Cow and various other character outfits.

Award to the winners were given by Tessa Sanderson CBE and Mr. Saleh Harkey, Managing Director, Saudi Petroleum Overseas Ltd.

Event was sponsored by Newham College, Saudi Aramco, Ladbrokes Community Fund and supported by Coca-Cola and St. John Ambulance.

About Tessa Sanderson Foundation

The Tessa Sanderson Foundation and Academy is a charity set up by British Olympic legend Tessa Sanderson CBE. We inspire disadvantaged and vulnerable young and adult people from deprived areas to take up healthy activities nationwide. Our team of skilled sport coaches support and encourage them to improve educational and health situation by offering learning solutions and career guidance. Through our mentoring and support process we create a performance pathway for young people to maximise their potential and life skills. (http://www.tsfa.co.uk)

 

Winners
Newham College 10K Run				East London Half Marathon
Group	Position	Name	Performance	Group	Position	Name	Performance
Boys U-18	First	Andrei Iordache	52:46	Men	First	Eliud Kipserem	01:10:36
	Second	Callum Border	52:55		Second	Mark Jefford	01:21:34
	Third	Dylan Bade	57:16		Third	Tom Hadfield	01:23:01
Men	First	Jamal Mohammad	33:59	Men 40+	First	Mark Jefford	01:21:34
	Second	Thomas Holm	34:08		Second	Tom Hadfield	01:23:01
	Third	Martin Holm	34:35		Third	Steve Desborough	01:25:02
Men 40+	First	Laibi Merequeb	37:30	Men 50+	First	Fidel Ruiz	01:25:27
	Second	Tom Wallace	40:54		Second	Petre Jones	01:36:35
	Third	Silas Spencer	41:05		Third	John Morsley	01:37:15
Men 50+	First	Andrew Maynard	37:42	Women	First	Emily Biwott	01:18:27
	Second	Nick Halliday	44:50		Second	Laura Spence	01:28:22
	Third	Marco Johnston	47:43		Third	Jennifer Simms	01:29:51
Girls U-18	First	M Farinu	01:12:50	Women 35+	First	Justine Albert	01:41:59
	Second	Grace Dillon	01:19:00		Second	Vanessa Hollingworth	01:43:56
	Third	Hannah Dillon	01:25:08		Third	Claire Blakeway	01:43:59
Women	First	Krystle Balogun	43:59	Women 45+	First	Jo Laing	01:32:56
	Second	Eleanor Bedwell	45:37		Second	Caroline Gilmartin	01:51:27
	Third	Heather McLarnon	46:12		Third	Riz Maslen	01:51:52
Women 35+	First	Ashvini Webster	51:52
	Second	Sarah St John Coleman	53:24
	Third	Alison Tuck	54:24
Women 45+	First	Ellen Allen	56:48
	Second	Catherine Apps	58:35
	Third	Clover Slack	59:09