Bernard Kiprop Koech (born 31 January 1988) 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 endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

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 ac ...

events. He has a personal best of 2:04:53 hours for the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , 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 are also wheelchair div ...

and 59:10 minutes for the half marathon. He represented Kenya at the

2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013) () was an international athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Initially, Russia won the most gold medals to top the table for the first time since 200 ...

Career

Koech began to make an impact on the Kenyan national

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

circuit in his late teens. He was fourth at the Tuskys Wareng Cross Country in November 2009, then achieved a win at one of the Athletics Kenya meets at the start of 2010, beating Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop and steeplechase world record holder Saif Saaeed Shaheen. He failed to build on this at the

Kenyan Cross Country Championships The Kenyan Cross Country Championships is an annual cross country running competition that serves as the national championship for Kenya. It is organised by Athletics Kenya and has permit race status from the International Association of Athletics ...

, finishing outside of the top fifty.Bernard Koech
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2013-10-23. After missing the 2011 season he re-emerged as a road specialist. He was eighth at the

Discovery Half Marathon Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

in January and his outing at the Paris Half Marathon established him firmly in the elite, as he placed second with a time of 1:00:06 hours. He was a little slower at the

CPC Loop Den Haag The CPC Loop Den Haag (abbreviated for ''City-Pier-City Loop'') is an annual half marathon competition held in the Hague, Netherlands, every mid-March. The inaugural edition was held in 1975 and featured a 14.5 km course. This was extended to ...

a week later but ran under an hour at the following month's

Nice Half Marathon The Nice Half Marathon (french: Semi-marathon international de Nice) is an annual road running competition over the half marathon distance (21.1 km) held in April in the city of Nice, France. It is organised by the Azur Sport Organisation, wh ...

, winning that race in 59:57 minutes. He dropped his personal best further at the

Lille Half Marathon The Lille Métropole Half Marathon ( French: ''Semi-Marathon de Lille Métropole'') is an annual half marathon foot race which takes place in Lille, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located i ...

, where he was runner-up to Ezekiel Chebii with a run of 59:10 minutes. He ended the year as the fifth-ranked half marathon runner in the world. Koech's debut over the

distance came at the start of 2013. He successfully translated his half marathon abilities to the longer event at the Dubai Marathon as he finished in 2:04:53 hours in fifth place (eight seconds behind winner Lelisa Desisa). This instantly raised him into the top twenty fastest marathon runners ever. As a result, he was selected to compete at the

in the marathon – his brother

Bethwell Birgen Bethwell Birgen (born 6 August 1988) is a Kenyan middle-distance runner. His personal best of 3:30.77 minutes for the 1500 metres ranks him among the top fifty ever for the event, while his indoor best of 3:34.65 minutes is among the top twenty. H ...

was also chosen for the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

. He only had two further races prior to the event: first he won the

Lisbon Half Marathon EDP Lisbon Half Marathon is an annual international half marathon competition which is contested every March in Lisbon, Portugal. It carries IAAF Gold Label Road Race status. The men's course record of 57:31 was set by Jacob Kiplimo in 2021, whi ...

with a run of 59:54 minutes. After that he won the

Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Half Marathon The Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon is an annual marathon foot-race held in San Diego, California. Established in 1998, it is the original race in the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series. The event includes a half marathon.Cruz, Dan (2010-06-07)Limo ...

with the fastest time ever run in the United States (58:41 minutes – the fourth fastest ever for the event – although this was not an official record as the course was downhill). Despite being one of the fastest entrants into the World Championships marathon and sticking with the pace up to the 30-kilometer mark, he dropped out after that point and did not finish his first championship race. October's Amsterdam Marathon was his third marathon race that year and this time he managed to finish, placing third with 2:06:29 hours.No wind worries for Chebet as he seeks Amsterdam Marathon hat-trick
IAAF (2013-10-18). Retrieved on 2013-10-23.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koech, Bernard Kiprop Living people 1988 births Kenyan male long-distance runners Kenyan male marathon runners