The Baringo Half Marathon is an annual

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ru ...

competition for men and women over the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish, or shortcu ...

distance which takes place every December in Baringo,

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. The programme previously had a 15 kilometres race for women, but this was extended to a half marathon in 2011.Macharia, David (2011-11-06)
Jepkurui dominated Baringo Half Marathon
IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-11-07. The race was established in 2001 by

Paul Tergat Paul Kibii Tergat (born 17 June 1969) is a Kenyan former professional long-distance runner. He became the first Kenyan man to set the world record in the marathon in 2003, with a time of 2:04:55, and is regarded as one of the most accomplished l ...

, a former

marathon world record World records in the marathon are ratified by World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport of athletics. The late Kenyan athlete Kelvin Kiptum set a men's world record time of 2:00:35 on October 8, 2023, at the 2023 Chicag ...

holder, who was born in the local area. Tergat hoped that the race would unearth and nurture high quality runners in the area. It tends to attract around 500 (mostly Kenyan) runners, among them a number of world-class road racing athletes.Macharia, David (2006-01-07)
Shami defends Baringo Half Marathon title

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

. Retrieved on 2009-12-22. The course of the road race features many curves and multiple uphill and downhill sections.

Mubarak Hassan Shami Mubarak Hassan Shami (, born Richard Yatich on December 1, 1980) is a Kenyan-born Qatari long-distance runner. He specializes in half marathon and marathon races. Biography Shami won the Baringo Half Marathon, a race inaugurated by Paul Tergat, i ...

became the first runner to defend the title, and Agnes Kiprop became the first woman to win the competition twice consecutively. The race received greater commercial support in 2009, attracting sponsorship deals with

Safaricom Safaricom PLC is a listed Kenyan mobile network operator headquartered at Safaricom House in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the largest telecommunications provider in Kenya, and one of the most profitable companies in the East and Central Africa region. T ...

and the National Social Security Fund. Around 300 runners took part in the 2010 men's half marathon race. The men's event was changed to a 20 kilometres road race in 2006 and 2007, but it returned to its original half marathon format in 2008 with the 20 km races not considered to be within the editions of the race.Macharia, David (2008-12-06)
Loritam and Kiprop take Baringo road race titles

. Retrieved on 2009-12-22.

Past winners

Key:

References

{{Athletics in Kenya Half marathons Athletics competitions in Kenya Recurring sporting events established in 2001 Baringo County Sport in Rift Valley Province 2001 establishments in Kenya