Ruth Wanjiru Kuria (born 11 September 1981) is a Kenyan professional

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 competes in

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 ...

and

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 ...

races. She has a personal best of 2:27:38 hours for the longer distance (set in 2009) and was the 2013 winner of the

Eindhoven Marathon The Eindhoven Marathon ( Dutch: ''Marathon Eindhoven'') is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of 42.195km which is held in the city of Eindhoven, The Netherlands in October. It has been an annual race since 1990 – it was held bie ...

. Wanjiru spent her early career in Japan, running for

Hitachi () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...

, then Second Wind AC and regularly competed on the road circuit there. She represented her country at the 2009

Yokohama International Women's Ekiden The Yokohama International Women's Ekiden held in Yokohama, Japan, was one of the prominent ekiden is a long-distance running multi-stage relay race, mostly held on Road running, roads.Otake, Tomoko. ''One for All.'' Dec. 28, 200The Japan Times ...

Career

Wanjiru gained an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

at Sendai Ikue High School (renowned for sports) as a teenager and moved there to study and improve her running. She was a contemporary of

Samuel Wanjiru Samuel Kamau Wanjiru (10 November 1986 – 15 May 2011) was a Kenyan long-distance runner who won the 2008 Beijing Olympics Marathon in an Olympic record time of 2:06:32; becoming the first Kenyan to win the Olympic gold in the marathon. He beca ...

, the 2008 Olympic champion, at the school. Initially she focused on middle- and long-distance

track running Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

; in her first year in Japan she won the high school title over

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 ...

. Following her graduation she moved in the corporate running system and began competing for

. At that year's Japan Corporate Track and Field Championships she set track bests of 15:43.05 minutes for the

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 ...

and 32:34.71 minutes for the

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 ...

. Her fifth place finish at the Sapporo Half Marathon in 70:15 minutes was another best for the Kenyan.Ruth Wanjiru
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2013-10-26. She improved her track bests further to 15:31.49 and 31:56.21 minutes in 2003. She claimed her first big win at the Sanyo Women's Half Marathon in 2004.Nakamura, Ken (2004-12-25)
Ruth Wanjiru wins Sanyo Half Marathon
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-10-26. She improved her best in the

event two years later to 70:04 minutes at the Miyazaki Women's Half Marathon, placing third. She had two road wins in 2006 at the Kasumigaura 10 Miles and the Shibetsu Half Marathon. She was eighth at the high-profile Miyazaki Half at the start of 2007. In November 2007 she won the Hakusan half marathon before making her debut over the full

distance 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 ...

(marking the start of her competing outside Japan). At that race she successfully transitioned and finished fourth in a time of 2:43:16 hours. She was a little slower at the

Nagano Marathon The Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon () is an annual marathon road running, road race which takes place in mid-April in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Japan. It is an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race competition. The Nagano Marathon has races for both el ...

the next year, finishing tenth. In both 2008 and 2009, she placed third at the Sanyo Women's Half Marathon. Wanjiru began running for Second Wind AC and in 2009 she competed in her first European races. She began that year with a significant personal best at the

Osaka Ladies Marathon The is an annual marathon road race for women over the classic distance of 42.195 kilometres which is held on the 4th or 5th Sunday of January in the city of Osaka, Japan, and hosted by Japan Association of Athletics Federations, Kansai Tel ...

, running 2:27:38 hours for seventh place in a competitive field At the final edition of the

she helped the Kenyan women to second place behind the Japanese. She was runner-up at the Hannover Marathon and Hamburg Half Marathon that year. After a two-year break from the sport in 2010 and 2011 she returned with a third place finish at the 2012 Ottawa Marathon and a runner-up placing at the Ljubljana Marathon. In her two outings of 2013 she was only fifth at the Ottawa race, but had her first major European win at the

. Wanjiru served a 16-month competition ban from January 2018 to May 2019 issued by the

Athletics Integrity Unit The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is a Monaco-based organization founded by World Athletics in April 2017 to combat doping and address other forms of ethical misconduct in the sport of athletics. It operates independently from World Athletics ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wanjiru, Ruth Living people 1981 births Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female marathon runners Sportspeople from Nyeri County