Kenyan runners sweep men’s, women’s Philadelphia Marathon victories

On a sunny but cool Sunday morning, tens of thousands of people cheered on as some of the top runners in the world competed in the 2023 Philadelphia Marathon.

In the end, it was Kenyans on each of the men’s and women’s sides who took home the win.

Benard Kiptoo Koech, who’s from Eldoret, flirted with the course record, finishing atop the men’s side in 2 hours, 14 minutes, 26 seconds. Mike Chesire set the course record in 2021 at 2:13:28.

Mercy Jerop Kwambai, from Kapsabet, clocked in at 2:30:52 to win the women’s race. Koech and Kwambai each earned $10,000.

For Koech, this was his first marathon win. And it came at an unexpected time as he’s been dealing with tenderness in his knee for the last two weeks.

“When I developed the [injury] two weeks ago, I just [said] ‘OK, this one I’m coming only to run my race,’” said Koech. “So it wasn’t like about winning or wherever.

“I wasn’t expecting anything because I know the field was really competitive. But luckily, I don’t know what happened, unfortunately, they didn’t appear, so I was lucky to win.”

In the second year of the nonbinary category, Kassian Eaton won in 2:35:38, setting a new nonbinary course record, earning $1,000.

» READ MORE: The Philly Marathon has a nonbinary category, but athletes and advocates say efforts fall short

For the Masters category, which is runners 40 and older, Duncan Koech (2:21:30) won for the men, Heidi Peoples (2:38:4) for the women, and Marcus Carmicle (3:35:20) in the nonbinary category, each winning $1,000.

In the WheelChair race, Hermin Garic won for the men after James Senbeta was disqualified for crashing, finishing in 1:46:06. For the women, Michelle Wheeler won her fourth straight Philadelphia Marathon, finishing in 2:04:01. Both Garic and Wheeler competed yesterday as well, racing in the 8K and Half Marathon, and for their wins on Sunday, each got $4,000.

“I just had to make sure I kept my own pace, stay strong and mentally strong, I feel like throughout the run,” Wheeler said. “It was really nice because me and second place [Emelia Perry] worked hard together throughout the entire race, and I think that really helped with getting that final win in the end.”

» READ MORE: The Philly Marathon is apologizing after some runners didn’t get medals Saturday

The weather conditions were favorable. Some said it was a bit cold, and at times the wind picked up near the Schuylkill River. But for the middle of November, there were no complaints.

On the local side, Ethan Hermann (2:17:03), Kylie Lupica (2:41:14), and Will Newman (2:43:00) each won $1,000 for being the top Philadelphian man, woman, and nonbinary finisher, respectively.

Hermann, 23, is originally from Pittsburgh but his father is from Philly. Hermann went to Drexel, and because the Dragons didn’t have a varsity track and field or cross country team, he trained with a track club in Philly.

Sunday was the first marathon of Hermann’s life, and the previous furthest distance he had run was 23 miles. Toward the end, he could feel the toll it was taking on his body.

“I want to say I felt really OK until [mile] 20. I felt good at 21, and then 22, it hit like nothing has ever felt before,” he said. “I just had to keep basically just going from person cheering me on to person cheering me on and say, ‘I can keep running as long as there’s somebody there,’ and that’s all I did for the last four miles.”

Going into the race, Hermann’s goal was to break 2 hours, 18 minutes to qualify for the upcoming Olympic Trials in Orlando. He accomplished that, finishing in 2:17:03, and doing it in Philly made it that much sweeter.

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“It’s incredible,” Hermann said. “I told my friends — this is my first marathon ever — I said, ‘There’s nowhere else I wanted to do it but Philly.’ And everybody out there in the course proved me right. The support was incredible. And just to do it for this city was something I had been dreaming of.”