Ethiopia’s Lemlem Hailu and Kenya’s Grace Loibach Nawowuna head an outstanding women’s elite field for the 2024 tRUNsylvania 10K on Sunday 22 September.
The tRUNsylvania 10K forms part of the fourth edition of the famous Brasov Running Festival, which will also feature the European Road Mile the previous day on 21 September.
Hailu, the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships 3000m gold medallist, has only had four road races over all distances in her career but is quickly adapting to the surface and has the credentials on the track – including a sub-30 10,000m – to suggest she is due for a big revision of her relatively modest 10km best of 31:23.
Loibach Nawowuna, who is still only 20, made a huge breakthrough in 2023 which saw her finish fourth at the World Cross Country Championships and run 29:47.42 for 10,000m on the track, making her the third fastest woman of the year in this event.
She has followed this up in 2024 with a series of consistent performances including winning two high-quality 10km races in Lille, France and Boulder, USA earlier this year.
The field also includes two women who have run under 30 minutes for 10km on the roads this year, the Kenyan duo of Janeth Chepngetich and Loice Chemnung. They are the fastest two women in the field on 10km times and are currently sixth and ninth on the 2024 world list.
Another five, including Loibach Nawowuna, have 10km personal bests of under 31 minutes.
In addition, there will be a lot of interest in the performance of Ethiopia’s 20-year-old Godu Mulat Tekle who may only have run 32:40 for 10km at altitude on home soil but who won the Berlin half marathon in 66:53.
The tRUNsylvania 10K is a World Athletics Elite Label Race and the only road race of this status in Romania. It takes place over a super-fast three lap course in the modern Coresi district of Brasov.
The leading women’s runners are (with their 10km personal bests):
- Janeth Chepngetich (KEN) – 29:55
- Loice Chemnung (KEN) – 29:57
- Grace Loibach Nawowuna (KEN) – 30:27 (29:47.42 10,000m)
- Yeshanesh Asmarech Anley (ETH) – 30:31 (downhill)
- Christine Njoki (KEN) – 30:37
- Nelvin Jepkemboi (KEN) – 30:41
- Judy Kemboi (KEN) – 30:48
- Lemlem Hailu (ETH) – 31:23 (29:59.15 10,000m)
- Daisy Jepkemei (KAZ) – 31:39 (30:52.43 10,000m)
- Gladys Kwamboka (KEN) – 31:54
- Lili Anna Vindics-Tóth (HUN) – 31:54
- Stella Rutto (ROU) – 32:04
- Lemlem Nibret Alemu (ETH) – 32:20
- Godu Mulat Tekle (ETH) – 32:40 (66:53 1/2 marathon)
“We have a three-lap course that is very quick and has been designed to produce fast times as well as allow fans to get close up and experience the thrills of watching world class runners in action. With the field we’ve assembled I think we can expect some performances this year that will make an impact on the world all-time list,” commented Race Director Daniel Santa.
The women’s course record in Brasov is held by Kenya’s Sheila Kiprotich who ran 30:07 in 2022.
Details of the tRUNsylvania 10K men’s elite field – announced on 2 September – which features Paris 2024 Olympic 5000m silver medallist Ronald Kwemoi and tRUNsylvania 10K defending champion Weldon Langat, can be found here.
The Brasov Running Festival 2024 takes place against the spectacular backdrop of the Carpathian Mountains and close to the centre of the historic and picturesque Transylvanian city which can date its origins back to the 13th century.
Both the tRUNsylvania 10K and European Road Mile will be streamed live via the Brasov Running Festival YouTube channel.
Meet The Authors
Yomog Meje is a former Nigerian junior athlete and the Associate editor at Athletics Africa.
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