Sarah Kiptoo Cheriwoi (born 1989) is a Kenyan-born

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 in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

who is the winner of the 2014 Casablanca International Marathon as well as the 2013 and 2016

Grandma's Marathon Grandma's Marathon is an annual road race held each June in Duluth, Minnesota, in the United States. The course runs point-to-point from the city of Two Harbors on Scenic Route 61 and continues along Lake Superior into the city of Duluth. Th ...

, the 2017

Philadelphia Marathon The Philadelphia Marathon (aka the Philadelphia Independence Marathon) is an annual marathon sporting event held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the third Sunday of November each year since 1954. The Philadelphia Marathon ranks among the top t ...

and several other American road races.

Professional career

Before winning the Grandma's Marathon in June 2013 (and setting a new course record), Kiptoo ran and won several half marathons (as well as 5K and 10K road races) in the Netherlands, Finland, France, and England, while also finishing third at the Helsinki Marathon and top-10 in the Reims à Toutes Jambes,

Madrid Half Marathon Madrid Half Marathon is an annual half marathon arranged in Madrid, Spain. Organised by the Marathon Sports Association, it is held at the beginning of April and in 2012 it attracted more than 13,000 runners. The 2020 edition of the race was postp ...

Prague Half Marathon The Prague Half Marathon (known as the Sportisimo Prague Half Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual half marathon road running event which takes place in Spring on the city streets of Prague, Czech Republic, first held in 1999. It ...

and

Great Bristol Half Marathon The Great Bristol Half Marathon is an annual road running event held on the streets of Bristol, UK. The route is at sea level and starts on Anchor Road outside We The Curious. Participants make their way toward Hotwells before heading under th ...

. She took the 30,000-runner

Indianapolis Half Marathon The 500 Festival Mini-Marathon (also known as the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual road half marathon usually held the first Saturday in May in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The race began in 19 ...

woman's win in 2013 as well, clocking a 1:12:26. In May 2013, she was in Cleveland, Ohio, for the Cleveland Rite Aid Marathon. With a time of 2:33:42, Kiptoo won the race while lowering her personal record by more than 10 minutes. She won the race again in 2014. Her first

in 2013 showed her aggressive running style and characteristic fast start. She had trained in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label= Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. The name “S ...

, and arrived at the shores of

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh w ...

ready to push the pace. She left

Everlyne Lagat Everlyne Lagat (also known as ''Evelyn Lagat''; born December 2, 1980) is a retired long-distance runner with multiple marathon wins. Lagat has nine siblings, all of which ran competitively in some fashion, including her brother, Olympian Bernard ...

and clocked 1:11:31 at the half marathon mark, then kept the speed high to break

Firiya Sultanova Firaya Rifkatovna Sultanova-Zhdanova (russian: Фирая Рифкатовна Султанова-Жданова; born April 29, 1961, in Tyukovo, Tatarstan) is a retired female long-distance runner from Russia. She set her personal best in the w ...

's course-record time from 2003. Kiptoo finished in 2:26:32 and won $20,000 along with a new

Toyota Corolla The is a series of compact cars (formerly subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has been one of the best-selling cars ...

. She returned to the race in 2014, finishing third. In 2015, she was leading, but Jane Kibii passed her in the last mile. But when she arrived on a humid June day in 2016, things were different. She drank fluids copiously and kept looking over her shoulder to find Clara Santucci and Serkalem Biset Abrha. They wouldn't catch her—she broke the tape in first place with a 2:33:28 finish. She also ran the California International Marathon in 2013 after the

Houston Marathon The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently ...

canceled due to inclement weather. In the

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

race, she dueled with Paige Siemers, Jeannette Faber and

Pasca Cheruiyot Pasca Jerono (née Cheptanui Cheruiyot; formerly Pasca Myers, born July 27, 1986) is a Kenyan-born American middle- and long-distance runner best known for winning the 2014 Grandma's Marathon in 2:33:45. Early career Myers grew up in Marakwe ...

to finish second in 2:31:23, as Rebecca Wade finished first with a course record of 2:29:21. In 2016, she returned to the race in top form. She started in the lead pack and continued to pull ahead of some of the top runners in the nation by winning in 2:31:20, outpacing Stephanie Bruce and Lauren Jimison. She raced the Big Sur Half Marathon and won back-to-back victories in 2013 and 2014, clocking her personal best half marathon time (1:11:21) in the first win. In 2014, she was a top competitor at the

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

Half Marathon Championships. In 2016, Kiptoo was making headlines in her hometown. She took first in the Santa Fe Thunder Half Marathon, winning in 1:15:52 (she had finished second in 2013 and 2014). In 2017, Kiptoo arrived in Philadelphia with another New Mexican runner, Boniface Kongin. The two would lead men and women in the chilly, windy morning at the

, with Kiptoo finishing in 2:38:13. She returned in 2018 to finish third as Serkalem Biset Abrha set a course record. In October 2019, Kiptoo and hundreds of other runners had great conditions at the start of the Duke City Marathon in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Wearing her purple Grandma's Marathon T-shirt, she won the race and set her sights on returning to the Philadelphia Marathon. Kiptoo was back in Kenya after the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

hit, but returned to Duluth for the 2021 Grandma's Marathon. She faded out though, and did not finish. Kiptoo has finished 1st in over 25 races domestically and internationally, winning more than $150,000 in prize money.

Personal life

Kiptoo has 10 siblings. She is the only elite runner in her family. She has two children (as of 2014). Kiptoo lives and trains in New Mexico with th
AmeriKenyan Running Club
In the mid-2010s, she worked with agent Scott Robinson.

Achievements

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiptoo, Sarah 1989 births Living people