Ruth Wanjiru Kuria (born 11 September 1981) is a Kenyan professional

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 ...

and half marathon races. She has a personal best of 2:27:38 hours for the longer distance (set in 2009) and was the 2013 winner of the

Eindhoven Marathon The Eindhoven Marathon (Dutch: ''Marathon Eindhoven'') is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of 42.195km which is held in the city of Eindhoven, The Netherlands in October. It has been an annual race since 1990 – it was held bie ...

. Wanjiru spent her early career in Japan, running for

Hitachi () is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is the parent company of the Hitachi Group (''Hitachi Gurūpu'') and had formed part of the Ni ...

, then Second Wind AC and regularly competed on the road circuit there. She represented her country at the 2009 Yokohama International Women's Ekiden.

Career

Wanjiru gained an athletic scholarship in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

at Sendai Ikue High School (renowned for sports) as a teenager and moved there to study and improve her running. She was a contemporary of Samuel Wanjiru, the 2008 Olympic champion, at the school. Initially she focused on middle- and long-distance

track running Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

; in her first year in Japan she won the high school title over

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

. Following her graduation she moved in the corporate running system and began competing for

. At that year's

Japan Corporate Track and Field Championships Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

she set track bests of 15:43.05 minutes for the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

and 32:34.71 minutes for the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

. Her fifth place finish at the Sapporo Half Marathon in 70:15 minutes was another best for the Kenyan.Ruth Wanjiru
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2013-10-26. She improved her track bests further to 15:31.49 and 31:56.21 minutes in 2003. She claimed her first big win at the

Sanyo Women's Half Marathon The Sanyo Women's Half Marathon, also known as the Sanyo Women's Road Race ( ja, 山陽女子ロードレース), is an annual road running competition for women held in December in Okayama, Japan. It features both a 10K run and half marathon race ...

in 2004.Nakamura, Ken (2004-12-25)
Ruth Wanjiru wins Sanyo Half Marathon
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-10-26. She improved her best in the half marathon event two years later to 70:04 minutes at the Miyazaki Women's Half Marathon, placing third. She had two road wins in 2006 at the Kasumigaura 10 Miles and the

Shibetsu Half Marathon is a city located in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of September 2016, the city has an estimated population of 19,794 and the density of 18 persons per km2. The total area is 1119.29 km2. On September 1, 2005, the town of ...

. She was eighth at the high-profile Miyazaki Half at the start of 2007. In November 2007 she won the Hakusan half marathon before making her debut over the full

distance at the

Shanghai Marathon The Shanghai International Marathon is an annual marathon in late autumn hosted by Shanghai, China, since 1996. The marathon is categorized as a Platinum Label Road Race by World Athletics. The marathon starts at the ''Bund Bull'' and finishe ...

(marking the start of her competing outside Japan). At that race she successfully transitioned and finished fourth in a time of 2:43:16 hours. She was a little slower at the

Nagano Marathon The Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon ( ja, 長野オリンピック記念長野マラソン) is an annual marathon road race which takes place in mid-April in Nagano, Japan. It is an IAAF Bronze Label Road Race competition. The Nagano Ma ...

the next year, finishing tenth. In both 2008 and 2009, she placed third at the Sanyo Women's Half Marathon. Wanjiru began running for Second Wind AC and in 2009 she competed in her first European races. She began that year with a significant personal best at the

Osaka Ladies Marathon The is an annual marathon road race for women over the classic distance of 42.195 kilometres which is held on the 4th or 5th Sunday of January in the city of Osaka, Japan, and hosted by Japan Association of Athletics Federations, Kansai Tel ...

, running 2:27:38 hours for seventh place in a competitive field At the final edition of the Yokohama International Women's Ekiden she helped the Kenyan women to second place behind the Japanese. She was runner-up at the Hannover Marathon and

Hamburg Half Marathon The Hamburg Half Marathon is an annual road running event held in Hamburg, Germany. It is currently sponsored by . History The race was first run in 1995 in Hamburg Stadtpark and was named the Hamburg-Mannheimer Cup. In 2003, the course was cha ...

that year. After a two-year break from the sport in 2010 and 2011 she returned with a third place finish at the 2012

Ottawa Marathon The Ottawa Race Weekend (also known as Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend for sponsorship reasons) is an annual weekend of road running events held the last weekend of May in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The two-day running event includes se ...

and a runner-up placing at the

Ljubljana Marathon The Ljubljana Marathon ( sl, Ljubljanski maraton) is a marathon organised in Ljubljana by the City Municipality of Ljubljana (MOL). It has been taking place since 1996 and attracts several thousand people each year. History The marathon was ...

. In her two outings of 2013 she was only fifth at the Ottawa race, but had her first major European win at the

.Minshull, Phil (2013-10-13)
Tsegay ends Kenya's 14-year winning streak at Marathon Eindhoven
IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-10-26.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wanjiru, Ruth Living people 1981 births Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female marathon runners People from Nyeri County