Joyciline Jepkosgei broke the Cardiff Half Marathon course record on Sunday 4 October, winning the women's race in 1:05:40. The Kenyan lowered the mark of 1:05:52 set by Edith Chelimo in 2017 by 12 seconds, and Gideon Kiprotich completed a Kenyan double by taking the men's title in 59:34.
Jepkosgei made her decisive move around Roath Park Lake with about three miles remaining. Wede Kefale of Ethiopia finished 14 seconds back in 1:05:54, also inside the previous record, with her compatriot Tigist Tesema third in 1:07:23. Jepkosgei is also on the elite list for the Valencia Marathon on 6 December, where she is the defending champion, and this result is an encouraging marker ahead of that race.
In the men's race Kiprotich pulled away from the defending champion Yismaw Dillu of Ethiopia at around the nine-mile mark and won by 44 seconds. Dillu was second in 1:00:18, and Jonah Rutio of Bahrain took third in 1:01:13. Dillu's course record of 59:22 survives, with Kiprotich's winning time 12 seconds outside it.
There was also plenty to celebrate among the Welsh runners. Lloyd Sheppard-Brown won the Welsh men's title on his half marathon debut, finishing eighth overall in about 1:03:42, and Natasha Wilson took the Welsh women's title in 1:10:34, placing sixth overall. Domestic depth of that kind is a reminder of how strong the Cardiff elite field has become.
This was the 23rd edition of the event, which attracted more than 30,000 registrations across the race weekend and a record international entry of over 5,700 participants from 99 countries. Cardiff has steadily built a reputation as one of the fastest and best-supported half marathons in the United Kingdom, and a women's record in the 23rd year shows the course is still capable of producing top-level times.