On the beautiful first Sunday of October, the masses lined the streets to watch 30,000 runners pounding the tarmac in the 2026 Cardiff Half Marathon.
The race, in its 23rd instalment, was a huge success, with a record number of participants from all across the world taking part in the race around the Welsh capital. Spectators were treated to a phenomenal run from Joyciline Jepkosgei, the Kenyan athlete finishing with a time of 1:05:40 — a women’s course record.
Another Kenyan, Gideon Kiprotich, won the men’s race in a superb 59:43, whilst Poland’s Sam Kolek and Briton Mel Nicholls took first place in the men’s and women’s wheelchair events.
The race also played host to some famous faces: notably Welsh football legend Aaron Ramsey and ex-Welsh rugby star Adam Jones.
With several road closures in place, huge crowds gathered to cheer on thousands of tightly packed runners as they set off.
Speaking to Gair Rhydd before the race, Dan, a Cardiff University student, was “buzzing” to start.
When asked about his training, he replied, “hopefully I can pull something out the bag”.
The race started at 10:00 AM, the starting pistol releasing the runners down Castle Street towards the Principality and then Cardiff City Stadium before heading towards Penarth.
From there, runners made their way to Cardiff Bay, passing the Senedd and Millennium Centre before looping north towards Roath Park. A final dash through Cathays brought them to the finish line at Cardiff’s Civic Centre.
In the women’s race, Jepkosgei, a former half marathon world record holder, finished ahead of Ethiopia’s Wede Kefale and Tigist Tesema in second and third.
The men’s race saw Kiprotich take first place, beating out second place Yismaw Dillu, and Jonah Rutio.
Sam Kolek would be the first finisher of the day, taking first in the men’s wheelchair category: his third Cardiff half victory.
Speaking to Gair Rhydd, the Polish athlete said he was feeling “absolutely great” after taking the 2026 title, describing it as his “first performance this year where nothing went wrong”.
“I was ready for the course, I was very focused and very aware of all the difficulties I can bump into, so it was really good,” Kolek said. “I’m coming here next year, because this is one of my favourite venues.”
With extremely high demand for a place to complete, the ballot for next year’s race is open already. Those eager to race will have to wait with great anticipation for the announcement of the ballot results on 22nd October.