Cardiff Half: Wilson defends Welsh title as Kiprotich leads elite field

Natasha Wilson will defend her Welsh title at the Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday 4 October, with Gideon Kiprotich leading the men’s entry list on personal bests and Joyciline Jepkosgei heading the women’s field.

A faster entry does not guarantee a record

Kiprotich’s listed best is 58 minutes 49 seconds, making him the first sub-59-minute runner to enter the Cardiff Half, according to the organiser. Returning course-record holder Yismaw Dillu has run 59:23.

The gap between those times is 34 seconds, calculated from the organiser’s figures. Kiprotich’s personal best comes from a different race: it is not a Cardiff result or a prediction. Vincent Kipkorir, with 59:30, and Simon Maywa, with 59:44, are also entered.

The Welsh title races

Wilson’s listed best is 69:54. Olivia Tsim is the next-fastest Welsh woman on personal bests at 73:37, while recent Kidney Wales CDF 10k winner Kayley Price is also due to compete. In the men’s race, Dan Nash is the fastest Welsh entrant on paper. Lloyd Sheppard-Brown, also a winner at the recent Cardiff 10k, makes his half-marathon debut.

Jepkosgei heads the women’s international field with a 64:13 best, ahead of Wede Kefale’s 65:20 and Winnie Kimutai’s 67:03. Those are entry-list benchmarks, not finishing times for Sunday.

Wheelchair race and how to watch

JohnBoy Smith, the 2022 Commonwealth Games marathon champion, is entered with a 43:34 personal best. Returning 2025 winner Callum Hall has a 46:15 best, while Mel Nicholls also returns. The organiser describes this as its fastest wheelchair entry to date.

The wheelchair race starts at 9.57am on Sunday, followed by the main race at 10am on Castle Street. The event is sold out, with no on-the-day entries. A livestream will be available on Run 4 Wales’ YouTube channel, and a highlights programme is scheduled for S4C, S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer on Monday 5 October.