Jane Kibii (born March 10, 1985) 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 competes in

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 ...

races and other

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. She is from

Moiben Moiben is a settlement in Moiben Constituency, of Uasin Gishu County of Kenya's former Rift Valley Province Rift Valley Province ( sw, Mkoa wa Bonde la Ufa) of Kenya, bordering Uganda, was one of Kenya's eight provinces, before the Kenyan ...

. Kibii has won the

California International Marathon The California International Marathon (CIM) is an annual road marathon () held in Northern California since 1983. The net downhill course starts at Folsom Dam and ends at the State Capitol in Sacramento. The race is organized by the Sacrament ...

, the

Twin Cities Marathon The Twin Cities Marathon (TCM) is an annual Marathon (sport), marathon in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area which normally takes place the first weekend in October. The race is often called "The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in America" due to ...

(twice), and

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. The ...

along with several other top 10 finishes in major marathons. Kibii has also won several competitive half marathons, and dominated fast "SacTown" 10 mile race in

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

. Her lifetime prize winnings total more than $100,000.

Early life

Kibii started running at age eight, from home to school in a daily commute. She joined the cross country and track teams in her Kenyan hometown and won her first race in Uganda, taking home $200, an amount of money she had never seen at that point in her life. Kibii splits her time between Kenya and Auburn, California, with her daughter. She has been open about the challenge of being a professional runner and a single parent. She gained a unique sponsorship as a professional runner: a solar panel company, BioLite, sponsored her as she sought to get electricity in her rural home in Kenya. She has saved most of her earnings from competitive running to build her parents a home in Kenya. She is also sponsored by BioLite which is lighting, cooking, and energy products (solar lighting) for off the grid communities and camping.

Career

After competing in track during high school in Kenya, Kibii transitioned to longer runs and moved to the United States. In 2009, she won the Carlsbad Half-Marathon from 2009 in a time of 1:12:33. Her first marathon was in the same year: the

Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon The Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon & 1/2 Marathon is an annual marathon foot-race run on the Las Vegas Strip and in parts of the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada. The race was one of the oldest marathons in the United States, having been run between 1 ...

. She finished fifth in 2:40:12. She continued her training and began getting faster. She returned to Carlsbad and won the half marathon again, in 2010 and 2011. Also in 2011, she finished fourth place at the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Half Marathon with a time of 1:10:25. In 2014, Kibii raced the

and finished second. In 2015, she won the

Bay to Breakers Bay to Breakers is an annual footrace in San Francisco, California typically on the third Sunday of May. The phrase "Bay to Breakers" reflects the fact that the race starts at the northeast end of the downtown area a few blocks from The Embarc ...

12K. In a breakthrough, she raced

in the summer. She kept ahead of Lindsey Scherf and passed

Sarah Kiptoo Sarah Kiptoo Cheriwoi (born 1989) is a Kenyan-born long-distance runner who is the winner of the 2014 Casablanca International Marathon as well as the 2013 and 2016 Grandma's Marathon, the 2017 Philadelphia Marathon and several other American roa ...

in the last mile to win in 2:32:06, netting $11,500. In 2016, Kibii won the San Diego Half Marathon in 1:14:47. She also raced the

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, which had more than 10,000 runners registered. She won in a (then) personal best time of 2:30:01. She returned in 2017, and she defended her title. In 2017, Kibii finished 2nd in the Los Angeles Marathon. In 2018, she repeated her win in the

12K. In 2019, Kibii finished second at the

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Half Marathon, fifth at Los Angeles Marathon and first in the SacTown 10 Mile race for the fifth year in a row. At CIM, she lined up as the favorite and crossed the finish line with a new PR: 2:29:31. In 2020, the

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

Running Association named Kibii the 2019 Athlete of the Year. She went on to place 3rd in the Los Angeles Marathon (2:36:04), one of the last major races to run before 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 identif ...

canceled or postponed races across the world.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kibii, Jane 1985 births Living people Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female marathon runners