Kenya’s Dorcas Tuitoek lived to the race expectations as she broke the race course record of the Atlanta Half Marathon that was held on a brightened drizzly Sunday (27) morning in Atlanta, Georgia.
Tuitoek came to this race as the fastest runner on paper with a time of 1:06.33 that she got at the 2019 Istanbul Half marathon where she had finished in second place.
The 25 years-old battled her fellow country-mate, Mary mananu and Viola Cheptoo Lagat who happens to be the sister to Bernard Lagat, who is a five-time Olympic medalist and who is also the 2018 Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race Champion. Cheptoo was also the runner-up at the 2021 New York City Marathon where she ran the third fastest time in the race history of 2:22.44.
But things did not go as Cheptoo had planned as she found herself trailing behind the two with Tuitoek taking an early lead and building a gap of 22 seconds at 10km mark over Munanu as she pulled away forging ahead to erase the previous course record of 1:08.29 that had been set by Molly Seidel last year with a new course record of 1:08.22 and was followed two minutes later by Munanu who took the second position.
“It was great day. I prepared well to run the hills,” Tuitoek said to the press.
Lagat who comes from a family of runners that includes sister Mary Chepkemboi,Lagat and Robert Cheseret settled in third place with a time of 1:10.47.
Top American woman was Dakotah Lindwurm who finished in fourth place with a time of 1:12.27.
Tuitoek pocketed a cool prize purse of $17,000 for the win with an added bonus of $2,500 for breaking the course record.
LEADING RESULTS
21KM WOMEN
- Dorcas Tuitoek (KEN) 1:08.22
- Mary Munanu (KEN) 1:10.00
- Viola Cheptoo (KEN) 1:10.47
Facebook Comments