2016 Boston Marathon lead women at mile 19

Valentine Jepkorir Kipketer (born 5 January 1993) 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 in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

who specialises in the

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 shortcut ...

and

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 ...

distances. She has won marathons in Mumbai and Amsterdam and represented her country 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 ...

. She has personal bests of 2:23:02 hours for the marathon and 1:08:21 hours for the half marathon. Kipketer first emerged in

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 cou ...

competitions: after a fifth place at the 2008 Eurocross at the age of fifteen, in 2009 she came third at the Discovery Cross Country Championships in

Eldoret Eldoret is a principal town in the Rift Valley region of Kenya and serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. The town was referred to by white settlers as Farm 64, 64 and colloquially by locals as 'Sisibo'. As per the 2019 Kenya Population ...

and was the North Rift Valley junior champion. Her international career began in 2010 in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

: she ran a

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 s ...

best of 16:22.83 minutes at the

FBK Games The FBK Games is an annual track and field event at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Stadion in Hengelo, Netherlands as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings. It was first organized in 1981. Its name honours Fanny Blankers-Koen, who won four gold m ...

, came third at the 4 Mijl van Groningen and was in the top ten at the

Zevenheuvelenloop Zevenheuvelenloop (''Seven Hills Run'' in English) is an annual 15 kilometres road running race held in Nijmegen, Netherlands. It was first organised in 1984 and has grown to be one of the largest road races in the Netherlands;van Hemert, Wim & T ...

. Her breakthrough came the following year with her transition into

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 ...

events. She won the major

Berlin Half Marathon The Berlin Half Marathon is a major endurance event held annually in early spring in Berlin, Germany. Besides the runner's main race, the event includes a race for inline skaters, wheelchair athletes and handbikers. All athletes use the same co ...

race in 70:12 minutes. A runner-up finish at the

Zwolle Half Marathon Zwolle Half Marathon is an annual half marathon road running event held in Zwolle, Netherlands, in June. The race was first held in 2001 and attracts both amateur and professional runners. Over 3000 people took part in the 2008 edition of the race. ...

preceded another prominent victory 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, in early September. First organised by the Association de Promotion des Événements Lill ...

, where her winning time of 68:21 minutes (ranking her eleventh in the world that year). She dipped under seventy minutes again at the New Delhi Half Marathon, but this was only enough for seventh in a very competitive field. She opened 2012 with a win at the Lotto Cross Cup de Hannut. Her only other outing that year was a debut over the

distance – she was leading at the half way point but faded in the second half, ending fifth with a time of 2:28:02 hours. Kipketer won her first marathon race at the beginning of 2013, taking the title at the

Mumbai Marathon The Mumbai Marathon (known as the Tata Mumbai Marathon for sponsorship reasons by Tata Group), is an annual international marathon held in Mumbai, India, on the third Sunday of January every year. It is the largest marathon in Asia as well as th ...

in a personal best of 2:24:33 hours. Although she was only fourth at the Berlin Half Marathon, she was selected for the

. She faltered on her international debut, dropping out of the World Championship marathon. The

Amsterdam Marathon The Amsterdam Marathon (branded Tata Consultancy Services, TCS Amsterdam Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon (42.195 km) in Amsterdam in the Netherlands since 1975. The road running, road race has a IAAF Road Race Label Eve ...

saw a revival in her fortunes as she won the major race with a new best time of 2:23:02 hours, although she expressed disappointment at not having run faster.Chebet breaks Amsterdam course record with third victory in a row
IAAF (2013-10-20). Retrieved on 2013-10-24.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kipketer, Valentine Jepkorir Living people 1993 births Kenyan female long-distance runners Kenyan female marathon runners 21st-century Kenyan women