The New York Half Marathon promises to revive old rivalries and open new battlefronts when elite athletes compete on the streets of New York on March 5.
Fresh from her commanding victory in Sirikwa Classic World Athletics Cross Country Gold Tour, Agnes Jebet Ng’etich heads to the race full of the confidence of a youngster who has steadily built a reputation as one of Kenya’s most exciting distance runners.
Agnes Jebet Ng'etich wins senior women's 10km race in 2026 Sirikwa Classic on Saturday at Lobo Village in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.
Photo credit: Pool
Throw in defending champion Sharon Lokedi, and her great rival in the marathon, Hellen Obiri, and you have a field teeming with world-class talent. Whereas Lokedi and Obiri are familiar opponents in distance running, Ng’etich will take the battle to the duo when she competes in New York Half Marathon for the very first time.
When she triumphed in the senior women’s 10km race in Sirikwa Classic on February 14 in Eldoret, Ng’etich declared that she was competing in the race to gauge herself ahead of New York Half Marathon, never mind that she had just competed in the January 10 World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Florida, where she won a gold medal.
“I’m genuinely excited. New York Half Marathon has an energy that is unlike anywhere else, and running through the city for the first time will be a special experience. What has made this year’s race even more meaningful is that (race organisers) New York Road Running team, the race organisers, came all the way to Kenya to visit me at my home and training base in Kechei Centre to see how I live and prepare for races. That visit motivated me deeply and made me even more eager to get to New York and give everything I have on that course,” Ng’etich told Nation Sport on Friday.
Kenya's Sharon Lokedi crosses the line to win the women's elite race at the 129th Boston Marathon on April 21, 2025.
Photo credit: Reuters
“Competing with experienced athletes like Lokedi and Obiri will shape my career positively because they have been on the road for some time. I’m totally focused on the race. I’m also aiming at lowering my personal best in New York,” said Ng’etich.
Ng’etich is currently the second fastest athlete over the distance, with a personal best time of 1 hour and 3.04 seconds from the 2024 Valencia Half Marathon. Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey is the fastest runner over the distance, with 62:52 she clocked at the Valencia Half Marathon in 2021.
Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey poses with the clock after setting a new women's 5,000m world record of 14 minutes 6.62 seconds. in Valencia, Spain on October 7, 2020. Gidey on June 8, 2021 broke the women's 10,000m world record.
Photo credit: Pool | NN Running Team
Lokedi won the title last year in 1:07:04 ahead of USA’s Fiona O’Keeffe (1:07:46) and Great Britain’s Calli Hauger (1:07:49).
Obiri, a multiple world champion on the track and now a major force in road running, brings experience, tactical awareness and a fierce finishing kick, and this was witnessed when she met Lokedi at the Boston Marathon in April last year. Lokedi outsprinted Obiri to win the race.
Kenya's Hellen Obiri crosses the line to win the women's elite race at the New York City Marathon on November 2, 2025.
Photo credit: Reuters
Obiri exacted her revenge when the pair met again in the New York Marathon on November 2 last year, relegating Lokedi to second place after winning in a course record time of 2:19:51. She lowered the earlier record of 2:22:31 set by her compatriot Margaret Okayo in 2003.
Reigning Boston Marathon champion Lokedi has proven her strength over longer distances and continues to grow in confidence and consistency.
The clash presents a fascinating generational duel in youth and momentum against experience and lineage.
The New York Road Runners CEO, Robb Simmelkjaer, who is in Kenya to meet former New York Marathon champions, said his team loves the competition between Lokedi and Obiri, who are inspiring the next generation of road runners.
“We love Kenyan athletes, and the two Lokedi and Obiri are the most incredible athletes, and we have seen them battling it out, and next month they will be clashing again, and we are looking forward to that because it’s a healthy competition even as Lokedi is eyeing to defend her title.
“During our visit to Kenya, we managed to visit Lokedi’s home, and we had a good time with her and her family, just sharing her journey in athletics, and we got to know their background better, even as we see them competing in our races,” said Robb.
For Ngetich, it is another opportunity to test herself against the very best, while Obiri and Lokedi, it is a chance to reassert dominance as they prepare for their marathon races in April.
Lokedi will be defending her Boston Marathon title on April 26, while Obiri has opted to compete at the London Marathon, which, for her, is a flat course and most likely seeking to run her personal best in the distance.
