Olympic Silver medalist, Hellen Obiri once again showed her masterclass prowess after emerging victorious in the just concluded Great North Run in a time of 1 hour 7 minutes 42 seconds. The race which was held today morning in Newcastle, England featured another Kenyan, Sharon Lokedi who clocked a time of 1:09.53 while Britain's Ellish McColgan, daughter of the great Liz McColgan timed 1:07.48 for second place with Charlotte Purdue third in 1:08.49.
For 11 years, Hellen Obiri has been a force on the track with two world championships and two Olympic silver medals, among other accolades, to her name. On Wednesday, the Kenyan long-distance runner closed that chapter of her career with a second-place finish in the 5,000 meters at the Diamond League final in Zurich. Her transition currently looks to be decent having gotten her first win since the big career switch.
The men's race was won by Briton Marc Scott in a time of 1 hour 1 minute 22 seconds with Kenya's Edward Cheserek claiming second place in 1 hour 1 minute 31 seconds as Galen Rupp of the USA took third place in 1 hour 1 minute 51 seconds. About 57,000 people took part in the 40th edition of the world's largest half marathon after it failed to take place in 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic.
Four NHS workers; a cardiologist, an occupational health worker and two nurses were invited to start the race in recognition of the health service's efforts during the pandemic.