Former World Record holder Joyciline Jepkosgei will headline the 23rd edition of the Cardiff Half Marathon set for Sunday, 4 October while Rome Ostia Half Marathon winner Gideon Kiprotich leads the fastest men’s field ever assembled in the Welsh capital.Download Our MozzartSport App For More NewsJepkosgei (64:13) was the first athlete in history to run under 65 minutes for Half marathon and was first to dip under 30 minutes for 10km, setting the world record for that distance at 29:43 at Prague in 2017.The Kenyan also carries remarkable performances in the classic distance, having won the London Marathon in 2021 and the New York Marathon in 2019.##NAJAVA_MECA_994822##She set her marathon best at 2:14:00 with victory at Valencia in 2025 and more recently finished third at the London Marathon in April.Her closest competition in Cardiff is likely to come from Wede Kefale (65:20) of Ethiopia who is the second fastest on the field, and was third at the Copenhagen Half Marathon, boasting a 10km best of 29:55.Winnie Kimutai (67:03) who finished an impressive second at the Antrim Coast Half Marathon last month, setting her personal best (PB) and overcoming Kefale on that occasion is expected to challenge the duo.Eliud Kipchoge named Dakar 2026 ambassador as he prepares to mentor young athletesEmebet Kebede (69:01), Tigist Tesema (debut) and Scarlet Chebet (debut) are the next fastest entrants. Maya Weigel (70:35) will make the trip from the USA to add further international interest.Meanwhile, home runner Natasha Wilson (69:54) will defend her Welsh Title, six weeks after finishing fifth at the Spar European Championship Marathon in Birmingham.The men’s race will have Kiprotich (58:49) as the first sub-59-minute performer to line up at the Cardiff Half Marathon.His closest competition comes from course record holder Yismaw Dillu (59:23) who returns to the Welsh capital eyeing another spectacular performance.10 lessons Kenyan athletes can learn from Ingebrigtsen’s success formulaThe Ethiopian Athlete was the winner of the Great Ethiopian Run in 2025 and is likely to benefit from kinder weather conditions than he encountered 12 months ago.Both he and Kiprotich could really threaten the course record of 59:23.Vincent Kipkorir (59:30) won the Malaga Half Marathon earlier this year and more recently finished third in Antrim.He will line up alongside Simon Maywa (59:44) whose most notable victory came at the Wizz Air Rome Half Marathon in 2025.Millions Kenyan-born Winfred Yavi is set to earn after historic Asian Games golden hat-trickBoniface Mulwa (60:38) will be in action here and is a training partner of Alexander Mutiso who is a previous winner of the London Marathon.Ugandan duo of Dillon Kipyeko (61:09) and Denis Kiplangat (debut) will be joined on the start line by Jonah Rutio (61:10) of Bahrain and Takato Suzuki (61:45) who will become the latest Japanese Athlete to race in Cardiff.
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