The 2019 winner of the Pattaya Marathon repeated the feat Sunday as more than 8,000 competed in the city’s two-day race event.
Kenyan Cornelius Kibiwott Chepkok placed first in the July 17 full marathon, but finished nearly three minutes off his 2019 pace after Pattaya changed the course to avoid its roadwork-demolished roads.
Chepkok finished the course – which began this year at the Terminal 21 shopping mall and avoided ripped-up Walking Street, in 2:29:31. In 2019, he won first place in 2:26:48.
In the relatively small field of 1,200 runners for the full marathon, Russian Sergei Zyrianov finished second at 2:30:36 and Thai Weerapong Wongsa third at 2:45:19.
Thailand dominated the women’s full-marathon division, with Nateewan Rattanaphan taking first place in the women’s full marathon with a time of 3:32:08, followed by Chotika Chaitanee at 3:39:36 and Panachol Wangkahad at 3:46:33 hours.
In the half-marathon, where 2,300 left the starting line, Kenyan John Muiruri Mburu, a winner in races across Southeast Asia, took first place with a time of 1:08:25, well off his personal record pace. Ethiopian Kindu Sewmehon at 1:08:30 and Kenyan Alfred Kipchirchir at 1:11:43.
In the women’s division, Laotian Lodkeo Inthakoumman took first with a time of 1:23:14, Thai Ornanong Wongsorn second at 1:26:02 and ironman triathlete Dimity-Lee Duke of Australia at 1:28:33.
Pattaya Mayor Poramet Ngampichet fired the starting pistol on the half-marathon, the last of four races held over two days in which more than 8,000 people registered. About 2,000 of those runners only did a short “fun run”.
Runners had mixed feelings about the new course, which took them uphill over the Bali Hai flyover and up and down Pratamnak Hill. Race results, thus, could not be compared with past years.
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