Misoi’s steely nerves earn him millions in Africa’s richest marathon

Newly-crowned Nairobi City Marathon champion Brimin Misoi says he had to be mentally strong after he fell down in the initial stages of the 42km men’s race.

Misoi clocked 2:08:30 in the first place as Richard Rop (2:09:17) and Daniel Yator (2:10:15) finished second and third respectively.

"I fell down at the 5km-mark and had to pull myself back up and run a good race. After 54 minutes of the race, I developed self-belief that I could win and decided to take charge of matters," the 2019 Standard Chartered Marathon champion said. 

It has been a season of disappointments so far for Misoi who admits this was playing on his mind even as he was chasing the Sh6 million prize money. 

"At the Eldoret City Marathon, I was forced to drop out at the 40km-mark because the course was not so friendly to me. At last year's StanChart Marathon, I finished eighth because the course was a bit tough. This time I heard about the Nairobi City Marathon on the radio and decided to come and try my luck," Misoi said. 

Similarly, Rop admitted that the marathon was a chance for him to redeem himself after failing to complete the Eldoret City Marathon due to a nagging injury. 

"I had to fight for myself because I was struggling with an injury during the Eldoret City Marathon. I wasn't able to finish that race but I am happy about the way things have panned out today. It is a reward for the hard work I have put in the training, including doing long runs of at least 30km per day," Rop said. 

In the women's full marathon, Agnes Barsosio ran a dominant race to emerge victorious in 2:24:45  as Shyline Jepkorir (2:29:04) and Sharon Jemutai (2:29:37) came second and third respectively. 

Despite the financial windfall from her win, Barsosio was quick to warn upcoming runners not to be enticed to transition to road races in the infancy of their careers. 

"You see like me...I started out running in the 800m and then graduated to the 5000m. Even when I graduated to the road races, I did not move immediately to the full marathon but started with the half marathon first. So I would advise young athletes not to move quickly to road races," the 39-year-old said. 

She described the Nairobi Expressway as perfect, expressing her delight at interacting with fellow Kenyans during the race.

"It was a wonderful opportunity and feeling to see them waving at us as we were running. The course was also great and allowed us to post some really fast times," Barsosio said. 

In the men's half marathon, Vincent Ng'etich took top honours in 1:00:04 as Charles Muneria (1:00:48) and Geoffrey Kipyegon (1:00:49) finished second and third in a closely -contested race. 

The women's race was equally a fierce battle as Kenya Defence Forces' Irene Kamais timed 1:09:15 to win the top gong, ahead of Sophy Jepchirchir (1:10:00) and Emily Chebet (1:10:21). 

The marathon, also known as Uhuru Classic, was flagged off by President Uhuru Kenyatta and First Lady Margaret Kenyatta. 

The Cabinet Secretary says the race stands out among others due to its unique course and potential to market Kenya as a tourism destination.