Britain’s leading marathon man goes No.3 on the UK all-time rankings for 13.1 miles with 60:01 in Italian race

Emile Cairess directly missed out on the one-hour barrier as he ran a near half-minute PB of 60:01 at the Napoli City Half Marathon on Sunday (Feb 25). In his very first race of the year and using a strapping on a damaged right-hand man after a current training fall, the 25-year-old went No.3 on the UK all-time rankings behind Callum Hawkins’ 60:00 and Mo Farah’s 59:32.

With the British Olympic Association certainly poised to call both Cairess and training partner Phil Sesemann in the group for the Paris Games, they will do so in the understanding that he remains in the kind of his life.

In a race won by Brian Kirui of Kenya in 59:26, Cairess lost contact with the leaders in the last kilometres to end up 4th.

After an effective stint of training in Iten, Kenya, in current weeks, Cairess gotten here in Italy in terrific shape and going for Farah’s nationwide record. Unlike Josh Kerr, however, who removed Farah’s 2 miles world indoor finest at the Millrose Games this month, Cairess discovered Farah’s half-marathon mark a little beyond him.

Napoli City Half Marathon

“Today was a good step forward for me and I’m pleased with how I committed to the race,” Cairess informed the organisers. “It’s annoying not to have actually rather gone under the one-hour barrier, which was a huge focus for me, however it shows I’m in good condition at this phase in my training.

“We hit 10km in 27:58 and 15km in 42:05, but the last 5km I got detached and was on my own, but I’m happy with how I continued to stay engaged in the race and closed the last section well. The Olympics are a major target this year, and my training is therefore focused on the marathon, so this is a good indicator towards that.”

Emile Cairess

With 6000m runners from 70 countries in the race, Kirui won by 19 seconds from fellow Kenyans Antony Kimtai (59:45) and Bernard Biwott (59:47).

Not just is the course picturesque – with the Bay of Naples on one side and Vesuvius in the background on the other – however it can likewise now claim being Italy’s fastest half-marathon. In 2022 Yeman Crippa ran an Italian males’s record of 59:26, whereas this weekend Sofiia Yaremchuk equated to the Italian ladies’s record of 68:27 as she completed runner-up to Angela Tanui of Kenya, who ran 67:04.

Angela Tanui

“The race was easy at the beginning but then there was a bit of wind that slowed me down. However, I am satisfied, this is my new personal best,” stated Tanui.

Yaremchuk included: “It’s a wonderful emotion, Naples is always in my heart and brings me luck. The people are wonderful, the cheering of the crowd took me to the finish line with the Italian record. The race went very well, the preparation we did in Kenya paid off, it is a performance that gives us hope for the future, when we fly to Paris for the marathon.”

Sofiia Yaremchuk

Carlo Capalbo, president of the arranging business Napoli Running, stated:”I am the happiest man worldwide with 6000 individuals here at our gorgeous race. Today we had the complete bundle, we equated to the males’s race record, equated to the brand-new Italian ladies’s record. Naples as the very first city that holds them both.

“There were too, lots of crucial individual bests, such as that of the winners, both male and female, and the last times of the winners were of the greatest requirement.

Brian Kirui

“These feelings are the outcome of a great deal of work. If I return to 6 years back, when running dropped in Rome… Commitment, determination, partnership, resources and a pinch of luck, today I can’t wait any longer.

“I want to thank all the institutions, the volunteers, my collaborators, the runners, the public for the trust they have placed in participating in this event, today all together we have written a new chapter in the history of this wonderful world of road running.”

Results here.