Cynthia Jerotich Limo (born 18 December 1989) is a Kenyan female

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 competes mainly 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 ...

competition. She has the silver medallist at the

IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The World Athletics Half Marathon Championships is a biennial international half marathon competition organised by World Athletics. The competition was launched as the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1992 and held annually until 2010. It ...

in 2016. Her

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 ...

personal best of 66:04 minutes, set in 2016, ranks her as the fourth fastest woman ever for the distance.

Career

Limo had her first successful locally at the 2009 Baringo 15K, where she placed third. The following year she ran 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 ...

, but was far down the field, finishing 46th. It was on the roads of France that she began to establish herself as a high calibre runner. She had top three finishes at the 2010 Nancy Half Marathon and

20 Kilomètres de Paris The 20 Kilomètres de Paris (''Paris 20 km'') is an annual road running competition over 20 kilometres which takes place on the streets of Paris, France in October. First held in 1979, the race attracts top level international competitors ...

. She continued to focus on French races in the two subsequent years. Her first win came at the 20 Km de Tours in 2011 and in 2012 she marked her progress with a win at the

Humarathon The Humarathon is an annual half marathon road running event which takes place between Ivry-sur-Seine and Vitry-sur-Seine in France every Easter Weekend (usually April). First held in 1986,Civai, Franco et al (2012-04-16)Humarathon Association of ...

half marathon in a best of 70:06 minutes and a win at the Paris 20K in 65:36 minutes.Cynthia Cherotich Limo

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

. Retrieved on 2016-03-26. Limo gave her first sub-70-minute performance to win at the 2013

Rabat Half Marathon Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...

. She finished in top two of all her road races that year, bar a third-place finish at the Humarathon. She won the Saint Denis Marathon and was runner-up at the Paris 20K and the

Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale The Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale is an annual half marathon which follows a course from Marseille to Cassis in France during the last weekend in October. It has the silver label of the IAAF Road Race Label Events and is thus among the ...

. She moved on from the French circuit in the 2014 season, starting with a win at the Madrid Half Marathon then a highly successful tour of American races which included numerous podium finishes, among them wins at the Steamboat Classic,

Garry Bjorklund Half 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. The ...

and runner-up finishes at the Crim 10-Miler and

Boston Half Marathon Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...

, setting a new best of 68:24 minutes at the latter. She had her first win on home turf at the Baringo Half Marathon in November. The 2015 season proved to be the year in which Limo moved into the global elite of half marathon running. She made the top three at the

Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon is an annual half marathon held in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. History The first event, in 2007, saw Samuel Wanjiru breaking the world record, but Wanjiru himself set a new world record only a month later in ...

and her best of 67:02 minutes ranked her as the fifth fastest woman in the world that year. She was the Hy-Vee half marathon winner associated with the

Drake Relays The Drake Relays (officially the Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom) is an outdoor track and field event held in Des Moines, Iowa, in Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University. Billed as ''America's Athletic Classic'', it ...

, was runner-up in Boston and at the Luanda Half Marathon, then topped the field at the

Delhi Half Marathon Airtel Delhi Half Marathon (ADHM) is an annual half marathon foot-race held in New Delhi, India. Established in 2005, it is both an elite runner and mass participation event. It is an AIMS-certified course and is listed as a Gold Label Road Rac ...

. Her success in American continued with wins at the

Cooper River Bridge Run The Cooper River Bridge Run is a one-way road running event across the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge held in the cities of Mount Pleasant and Charleston in South Carolina, on the first Saturday in April (had been first Sunday of April in 1978, first ...

Lilac Bloomsday Run The Lilac Bloomsday Run, also known as Bloomsday, is an annual timed road race in the northwest United States, held on the first Sunday of May since 1977 in The course length is 12 km (7.456 mi). The run has had over 38,000 participants every ...

and second-place finishes at the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler,

Freihofer's Run For Women Freihofer's Run for Women is an annual five-kilometer road running competition for women that is usually held in late May or early June in Albany, New York, United States. First held in 1979, the race has grown into a sizable event that holds IAA ...

and

Utica Boilermaker The Boilermaker Road Race is a USATF-certified foot race and wheelchair race held annually in Utica, New York, United States. Although local recreational runners are the majority of entrants, the race is highly competitive, with internationa ...

. The

Houston Half 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 wit ...

was Limo's first race of 2016 and a duel with

Mary Wacera Ngugi Mary Wacera Ngugi (born 17 December 1988) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in road running events. She holds personal bests of 66:29 minutes for the half marathon, 30:50 minutes for the 10K run, and 2:27:36 for the marathon. As a ju ...

led to very fast times, with Limo in second place at 66:41 minutes meaning she moved up to eleventh on the all-time list for women's half marathon. A month later she improved even further to 66:04 minutes at the Ras Al Khaimah race – a time which made her the third fastest woman ever for the distance. She gained selection for the 2016 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships as a result – her first international call-up – and was among the favourites, alongside Ngugi. In the race held in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

the five-woman Kenyan team formed the majority of the early leaders. After the halfway point only Limo, Ngugi and

Peres Jepchirchir Peres Jepchirchir (born 27 September 1993) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who competes mainly in road running competitions. She won the gold medal in the women's marathon at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Jepchirchir was the champion ...

remained. Limo was beaten in a

sprint finish In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...

by the less experienced Jepchirchir. The trio earned the Kenyan women the team title and Limo helped complete a podium sweep with Jepchirchir and Ngugi.Mulkeen, Jon (2016-03-26)
Report: women's race – IAAF/Cardiff University World Half Marathon Championships Cardiff 2016
IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-03-26.

International competitions

Road race wins

: 2016 *

: 2015 * Parkersburg Half Marathon: 2014 *

: 2014 * Baringo Half Marathon: 2014 * Madrid Half Marathon: 2014 * Saint Denis Half Marathon: 2013 *

: 2013 *

half marathon: 2012 * Annecy Half Marathon: 2012 * Paris-Versailles Road Race: 2012 * 20K de Paris: 2012 *

12K: 2015 *

10K: 2015 * Steamboat Classic 4-miler: 2014 * Buffalo 4-Mile Chase: 2014

Personal bests

10K run 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

– 31:08 min (2015) *

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 ...

– 66:04 min (2016)

References

External links

*
All Athletics profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jerotich Limo, Cynthia Living people 1989 births Kenyan female long-distance runners 21st-century Kenyan women