A course record that had survived nine years and a dozen fast women’s fields came down on Sunday morning in Cardiff. Joyciline Jepkosgei ran 1:05:39 to break Edith Chelimo’s 2017 mark by 13 seconds and claim the 2026 Cardiff Half Marathon women’s title. On the men’s side, Gideon Kiprotich crossed in 59:34 the morning after turning 25. Kenya swept both titles on what was the biggest Cardiff Half in its 23-year history.
Cardiff Half Marathon 2026: Quick Facts
- Date: Sunday 4 October 2026
- Location: Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Women’s Winner: Joyciline Jepkosgei (KEN) — 1:05:39 (new course record)
- Previous Women’s Course Record: 1:05:52 — Edith Chelimo, 2017
- Men’s Winner: Gideon Kiprotich (KEN) — 59:34
- Men’s Course Record: 59:22 — Yismaw Dillu, 2025 (still stands)
- Half Marathon Finishers: 24,028
- International Participants: 5,700+ from 99 countries (race record)
- Race Status: World Athletics Elite Label; SuperHalfs Series Stop 4 of 6
- Organiser: Run 4 Wales
Joyciline Jepkosgei Breaks the Cardiff Half Marathon Women’s Course Record
Chelimo set the women’s mark at 1:05:52 in 2017 and it held through every edition since. On Sunday, Jepkosgei did not just clip it. She put 13 seconds between herself and a record that had no business still standing given the quality of fields Cardiff has consistently attracted.
The 32-year-old Kenyan was the first woman to break 65 minutes for the half marathon, at Prague in April 2017, and her current personal best stands at 1:04:13 set when she also broke the course record at Barcelona in February 2025. Cardiff adds another course record to a list that is becoming difficult to keep track of. The 2021 London Marathon and 2019 New York City Marathon champion is running as well as she ever has. and nothing in Sunday’s performance suggested she was anywhere near her ceiling.
Ethiopia’s Wede Kefale pushed her throughout and finished second in 1:05:54. That time is two seconds outside the old course record, which puts into perspective just how deep the front of Sunday’s women’s race was. Tigist Tesema, also Ethiopian, was third in 1:07:23.
“I’m so grateful and happy to win this race,” Jepkosgei said. “It was a tough course but I kept fighting so I’m happy to get the victory here. The crowds were some of the most excited I have seen and they were across the whole course, which gave me another level of motivation.”
She heads to Valencia on 6 December to defend her marathon title there. Cardiff was a sharp fitness check six weeks out from the big one, and the check came back very good.
| Pos | Athlete | Country | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joyciline Jepkosgei | Kenya | 1:05:39 ★ CR |
| 2 | Wede Kefale | Ethiopia | 1:05:54 |
| 3 | Tigist Tesema | Ethiopia | 1:07:23 |
| 4 | Winnie Kimutai | Kenya | 1:07:50 |
| 5 | Emebet Kebede | Ethiopia | 1:09:46 |
| 6 | Natasha Wilson | Great Britain | 1:10:34 * |
| 7 | Giovanna Epis | Italy | 1:11:53 |
| 8 | Kayley Price | Great Britain | 1:14:03 |
| 9 | Tracy Barlow | Great Britain | 1:16:05 |
| 10 | Emily Bradley | Great Britain | 1:16:35 |
* Welsh Women’s Half Marathon Championship title. Source: Cardiff Half Marathon 2026 official results via Run 4 Wales and Cardiff Life race debrief.
Gideon Kiprotich Wins the 2026 Cardiff Half Marathon Men’s Race
Kiprotich turned 25 on Saturday. He celebrated on Sunday by winning one of the UK’s biggest road races.
He ran the opening nine miles shoulder to shoulder with Yismaw Dillu, the Ethiopian who won Cardiff in 2025 and still holds the men’s course record at 59:22. From there, Kiprotich pressed and Dillu had nothing to answer with. The defending champion came home in 1:00:18, 44 seconds back, with Kenya’s Jonah Rutio third in 1:01:13.
Kiprotich had previously run 58:49 in Rome in March 2025, but World Athletics lists that performance as not legal for record purposes. Sunday’s 59:34 is his fastest on a fully certified course, and it did not look like a man near his limit.
“It feels great to win this race, there were some hard moments, but I am very happy to win,” he said. “I felt good so I got quicker in the second half of the race and I am happy I could keep the pace to win.”
| Pos | Athlete | Country | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gideon Kiprotich | Kenya | 59:34 |
| 2 | Yismaw Dillu | Ethiopia | 1:00:18 |
| 3 | Jonah Rutio | Kenya | 1:01:13 |
| 4 | Simon Maywa | Kenya | 1:01:37 |
| 5 | Gemechu Tolosa | Ethiopia | 1:01:51 |
| 6 | Takato Suzuki | Japan | 1:02:09 |
| 7 | Arturs Medveds | Latvia | 1:02:21 |
| 8 | Lloyd Sheppard-Brown | Great Britain | 1:03:43 * |
| 9 | Logan Rees | Great Britain | 1:03:57 |
| 10 | Sean Tobin | Ireland | 1:04:36 |
* Welsh Men’s Half Marathon Championship title. Source: Cardiff Half Marathon 2026 official results via Run 4 Wales and Cardiff Life race debrief.
Welsh Championships, Wheelchair Titles and the Scale of Sunday’s Race
Lloyd Sheppard-Brown of Cardiff AC took the Welsh Men’s Half Marathon Championship in 1:03:43 on his half marathon debut, finishing eighth overall. He is 23, recently won the Cardiff 10K and had just returned home after several years in the US. “It’s nice to be back home racing after a few years in America and to win the Welsh title is pretty special,” he said. Natasha Wilson won the women’s Welsh title in 1:10:34, sixth overall on the day.
Poland’s Sam Kolek won the men’s wheelchair race in 53:05, knocking three minutes off his previous best at Cardiff. Mel Nicholls of Great Britain took the women’s wheelchair title in 1:07:04.
2026 Cardiff Half Marathon: By the Numbers
The 23rd edition was Cardiff’s biggest yet. More than 30,000 runners registered across the weekend including Saturday’s junior races, and 24,028 crossed the finish line in the half marathon. A record 5,700+ international participants from 99 countries took part. Around 10,500 runners were working through the SuperHalfs set — which links Cardiff with Lisbon, Prague, Berlin, Copenhagen and Valencia — and more than 700 completed the full series in Wales. The event raised over £4 million for charity, with NSPCC Cymru the lead partner since 2018. The ballot for the 2027 Cardiff Half Marathon is open until 18 October 2026, with entries announced on 22 October.
The Bottom Line
Jepkosgei came to Cardiff with a 1:04:13 personal best and left with a course record. The nine-year-old mark was overdue for the taking and she made it look comfortable enough that you wonder how fast she could go on a more aggressively paced day. She heads to Valencia in December with strong form, a race win in her legs and a very clear sense of what she is capable of over the distance.
The men’s race was a clean display of strength. Kiprotich ran alone from 15 kilometres and won by 44 seconds in a field where the defending champion finished second. He is 25, he ran 58:49 in Rome and he just ran 59:34 on a fully certified course the morning after his birthday. There is a lot more to come.