Paul Kipchumba Lonyangata (born 12 December 1992) is a Kenyan

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

who specialises in

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 ...

events. He is a

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

runner with a personal best of 2:06:10 and has won marathons in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He was a bronze medallist at the

World Junior Championships in Athletics The World Athletics U20 Championships is a biennial world championships for the sport of athletics organised by the World Athletics, contested by athletes in the under-20 athletics age category (19 years old or younger on 31 December in the yea ...

in 2010.

Career

His first success in running came over

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

at the

2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to s ...

. He and Dennis Masai used team work to reach the podium, Masai as champion and Lonyangata as bronze medallist. He competed on the European track running circuit in 2010 and 2011 and scored several top three finishes in second-tier level meetings, such as the Palio della Quercia and the Barcelona Meet.Paul Kipchumba Longanyata

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

. Retrieved on 2016-05-19. He began working with Italian coach

Gabriele Rosa Gabriele is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name Surname * Al Gabriele, American comic book artist * Angel Gabriele (1956–2016), American comic book artist * Corrado Gabriele (born 1966), Italian pol ...

and, training alongside another Kenyan Joel Kimurer, he moved towards road running instead after 2011.Paul Lonyangata

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...

. Retrieved on 2016-05-19. He had his first win at the

Tegla Loroupe Peace Race The Tegla Loroupe Peace Race is an annual 10-kilometre road running event which takes place in November in Kapenguria, West Pokot County, Kenya. First held in 2003, the race was created by Kenyan runner Tegla Loroupe to bring together warriors of ...

in 2011. In 2012 he placed in the top ten at the World's Best 10K then had a quick

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 ...

debut of 59:53 minutes at the Berlin Half Marathon. Travelling to the United States, after a fifth-place finish at the

Peachtree Road Race The Peachtree Road Race (branded AJC Peachtree Road Race for sponsorship reasons) is a series of two 10-kilometer runs held annually in Atlanta, once during the first weekend of January and the other on Independence Day. They are held on the sa ...

he closed his season in the runner-up spot at the

Rock 'n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon The Philadelphia Distance Run (PDR) is an annual half marathon road running event which takes place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States on the third Sunday of September. The competition was established in 1978 as the Philadelphia D ...

. A

debut followed at the beginning of 2013 and he was second in a time of 2:07:44 hours at the Xiamen Marathon. This placed him near the world's top forty runners for the year. On his next outing, however, he failed to finish at the

Linz Marathon Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Republic. As of 1 January 2024, the city ...

. His fortunes reversed that September with his first at the distance at the

Lisbon Marathon The Lisbon Marathon or the EDP Lisbon Marathon is an annual marathon held in Lisbon, Portugal in the month of October, established in 1986. The Marathon starts in the beachside city of Cascais and finishes alongside the Luso Portugal Half Marath ...

. He was one second off his best at the

RAK Half Marathon Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon is an annual half marathon held on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. History The first event, in 2007, saw Samuel Wanjiru breaking the list of world records in athletics, world record, but Wanj ...

at the start of 2014 and this preceded his entry to his first major race: the

2014 Boston Marathon The 2014 Boston Marathon took place in Boston, Massachusetts, on Monday, April 21. It was the 118th official running of the Boston Marathon, traditionally held on Patriots' Day. The race is organized by the Boston Athletic Association, and has be ...

. Lonyangata reached the top ten at the Boston Marathon and also finished runner-up at the

Honolulu Marathon The Honolulu Marathon (branded JAL Honolulu Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is a marathon (26.2 miles or 42.2km) in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was first held on December 16, 1973, and it typically takes places on the second Sunday in December. The ma ...

that year. He changed coaching arrangements, moving back to Kenyan to

Kaptagat Kaptagat is a settlement in Uasin Gishu County, in the southwestern part of Kenya. This part of the country, where the two counties of Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet County share a border, is used by the majority of Kenyan professional long-d ...

to work with former runner James Kwambai. Lonyangata married a fellow runner, Purity Cherotich Rionoripo, during this period. He missed most of the 2015 season, but returned in strong form at the

Shanghai Marathon The Shanghai International Marathon ( is an annual marathon in late autumn hosted by Shanghai, China, since 1996. The marathon is categorized as a Platinum Label Road Race by World Athletics. The marathon starts at the '' Bund Bull'' and fini ...

, winning in 2:07:14 hours – a course record. A return at the

2016 Boston Marathon The 2016 Boston Marathon was the 120th running of the Boston Athletic Association's mass-participation marathon. It took place on Monday, April 18 ( Patriots' Day in Massachusetts). Both of the winners were from Ethiopia: the men's race was wo ...

saw him improve upon his finish two years earlier, as he closed the race in fifth position.2016 Boston Marathon Top 20 Finisher
Competitor (2016-04-18). Retrieved on 2016-05-19. In 2019, he competed in the men's marathon at the

2019 World Athletics Championships The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global sport of athletics, athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athleti ...

held in Doha, Qatar. He did not finish his race.

Personal life

Lonyangata is married to Kenyan runner

Purity Rionoripo Purity Cherotich Rionoripo (born 10 June 1993) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. She won the Copenhagen Half Marathon in 2015 in 1:08:29 as well as the Lisbon Marathon in 2:25:09. She won the 2017 Paris Marathon with a time of 2:20:55, and the ...

Personal bests

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000 m sho ...

– 7:39.72 min (2011) *

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...

– 13:08.01 min (2011) *

– 27:21.62 min (2011) *

10K run The 10K run is a long-distance road running competition over a distance of . Also referred to as the 10K road race, 10 km, or simply 10K, it is one of the most common types of road running event, alongside the shorter 5K and longer half ...

– 27:57 min (2015) *

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 ...

– 59:53 min (2012) *

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

– 2:06:10 (2017)

International competitions

Road race wins

: 2011 *

: 2013 *

: 2015 *

Paris Marathon The Paris Marathon () is an annual marathon (sport), marathon hosted by the city of Paris, France. It is the largest running event in France in terms of finishers and is typically among the five largest marathons in the world. The marathon begi ...

: 2017 *

: 2018

References

External links

*
All Athletics profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lonyangata, Paul Living people 1992 births Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male marathon runners World Athletics Championships athletes for Kenya Paris Marathon male winners Taipei Marathon male winners 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen