Patrick Makau and Pauline Wangui winners again in The Hague

Press Release

The Hague (The Netherlands) -Sunday March 14th - Patrick Makau and Pauline Wangui know how it is to win in The Hague. On a rather windy and cool (8 degrees CT) day the Kenyan man and woman came back to win the 36th edition of the CPC Run The Hague- Half Marathon. Makau won the race in 2008 and his compatriot Wangui was the fastest woman for the third successive year. Patrick Makau outsprinted Ethiopian Eshetu Wendimu winning in 59:51 beating his last opponent in the final long sprint by one second. Three other runners also broke the barrier of 60 minutes. They were: John Mwangangi (59:56 pb), Eric Ndiema (59:57) and Robert Kipchumba (59:58).

From the beginning a large group of fifteen runners passed the 5 kilometres marker in 14:27/14:28 led by pre-race favourite Makau, who had already eight half marathons under sixty minutes under his belt. This split time looked no pillar to built a sub sixty minutes finish time. In the second 5000 metres however the pace went with a 14:11 second five kms. At that point the leading group was down to eleven with: Makau,  Wendimu, Mwangangi,  Ndiema, Kipchumba, Kipyego, Arile, Mbithi, Kisang, Terer and Kosgei. Under the pressing of the John Mwangangi the pace was high and a group of  seven passed the 15 kms marker in 42:56 (with a third 5 kms in 14:19) having lost  Mbithi, Kisang, Terer and Kosgei. Between 15 and 20 kms Arile lost contact with the leaders. At 20 kms the group of seven was still very close together with Mwangagangi still in front with passing to 20 km marker in 57:16. In the final kilometre  Kipyego could not keep up with the leaders. In the final stretch to the finish on the Malieveld the well expirienced Makau (http://www.cpcloopdenhaag.com/Makau) won a long sprint with Ethiopian Wendimu.

The women's race was not such a close affair as the mens one. Pauline Wangui won her second race in a week's time in the Netherlands. Last Sunday the 25 year old Kenyan won  the 20 kilometres of Alphen in a personal best of 1:06:21 also. Till ten kilometres Wangui had compatriot Irene Jerotich by her side. But half way Jerotich could not follow any longer. In the second part of the race Wangui took 41 seconds on her nearest opponent.

 

 

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