The 28-year-old who finished second last clocking 2:32:00 last year, won the Mumbai Marathon with a timing of 2:29:02 in the full marathon elite women category
Bornes Kitur Chepkirui
Women's winner: Bornes Kitur Chepkirui (Kenya)
It was a lonely run for Kenyan Bornes Kitur yesterday. The 28-year-old who finished second last clocking 2:32:00 last year, won the Mumbai Marathon with a timing of 2:29:02 in the full marathon elite women category. Ethiopians Chaltu Tafa (02:33:03) and Tigist Girma (02:33:19) finished second and third respectively.
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While running on the hard tarmac surface, Kitur suffered blisters on her feet. But she didn't want to lose out on the golden opportunity of winning the marathon and braved the pain to finish first. Pre-race favourite Ethiopia's Dinknesh Mekash, finished fifth with a timing of 2:36:44. Kitur said: "Due to the tarmac I developed sizeable blisters but I was determined to complete the race. After the 38-km mark, the pain increased but I didn't want to give up. I had no other Kenyan women with me. Thankfully, there was a Bolivian pacesetter till the 30-km mark so I managed to get some help. I had to run alone till the finish line."
Kitur added, "The weather was cool two days prior to the race. Yesterday, it was unfortunately humid and that took a toll on the body. It was really tough during the uphill stretches. I had run last year so I was familiar with the route," she finished.