Brighton Marathon 2015 Results: Men and Women's Top Finishers

Elite runners from far and wide took to the British seaside on Sunday, as the Brighton Marathon gold medal went up for grabs. 

In an entertaining men’s race, Kenyan runner Duncan Maiyo reigned supreme, crossing the finish line in two hours, 10 minutes and 14 seconds to record a victory at the first time of asking outside his homeland.

Brighton Marathon revealed Maiyo’s impressive victory as he crossed the line:

Although relatively unknown, the 24-year-old, who trains with the likes of Micah Kogo, Mark Kiptoo and Mike Kigen, was a threat from the offset while battling the vicious Brighton elements.

However, even the wind couldn’t halt the Kenyan’s progress, as he crossed the line ahead of countrymen Dominic Kangor Kimwetich and Mutai Kipkemei.

Kimwetich, who won the Brighton title back in 2013, was looking to take back his crown and got off to a good start on his mission to do so.

The 25-year-old led the pack as the race ticked over the halfway mark, and by Mile 18, they were setting a staggering pace—per Brighton Marathon:

The very next mile, though, the elite men were running directly into Brighton’s unrelenting breeze, which knocked a good few seconds off the clock.

Even so, the time was still fantastic, and as the race entered its climax, Kimwetich and Kipkemei made their move.

The duo were battling it out for top spot with Maiyo lurking behind, but there was nothing they could do when the eventual champion charged ahead.

He held a 50-metre lead from Mile 20 onwards, and although Kimwetich did all that he could to catch him, he just didn’t have the legs—Brighton Marathon revealed the tense final moments of the race:

A time of 2:10:14 wasn’t quite course-record pace, but given the conditions, it was a phenomenal performance from Maiyo.

The way that he struck to take the lead was both executed and timed to perfection, and his joyful expression as he crossed the finish line told the story. ITV’s Malcolm Shaw revealed that Maiyo set a personal best in Brighton:

Meanwhile, in the women’s race, Pennina Wanjiru took the gold medal after an excellent run of two hours, 34 minutes and 25 seconds—per Brighton Marathon:

Wanjiru cut an exhausted figure as she crossed the finish line after a gruelling tussle with the pack in the early stages, but once she edged in front, there was only going to be one winner.

Clear of runner-up Lishan Dula by all of 30 seconds, Wanjiru showed grit, determination and intelligence to claim the Brighton gold.

Likewise did Maiyo, on a day where the tricky conditions could have gotten the better of the best runners in the business.

For the men’s champion, this could well prove to be the start of a highly successful spell.

His form in Kenya has been superb, and now that he’s battled his way to the top of a podium on foreign soil, the opportunities are endless.