Fekadu and Kedir beat the rain in Beirut

Beirut, Lebanon – Under difficult weather conditions, Ethiopians Kedir Fekadu and Saeda Kedir were victorious at the tenth edition of the BLOM Beirut Marathon here today.

The rain and windy conditions did not stop more than 33,000 participants from filling the streets of the city for this IAAF Bronze Label Road Race. However no course records were broken due to the heavy downpours at different points during the race. Ethiopian and Kenyan athletes maintained their dominance of this race.

Taking the lead in the men’s field was Fekadu who clocked 2:12:57, followed by Kenyans Stephen Chepkopol in second place with a time of 2:13:14, and William Kipsang in third with 2:14:53.

In the women’s race, Kedir won with a time of 2:35:08, followed by Kenyan Monica Jepkoech (2:36:20) with Mary Akor of the U.S. in third (2:37:32).

Runners from 96 different nationalities ran the different races: The Marathon, the 42.195 km relay race, a 10 km fun run, a 5 km youth run, and a 1km run with mom and celebrity run. Read more