Kenyans Joyce Muthoni Njeru and Peter Kipngeno were the winners of Montemuro Vertical, the World Mountain Running Association World Cup in Portugal.
The mountain race held yesterday was achieved by the Kenyans shone at the Castro Daire. Where Njeru won the women’s race beating Finland’s Susanna Saapunki, Italy’s Camilla Magliano, Lorenza Beccaria and Vivien Bonzi and Spain’s Maria Ordonez Marina, Charlotte Cotton of Belgium and talented Portuguese athletes including Rosa Madureira and Joana Soares.
Njeru crossed the finish line moments later to win the women’s race in 1:00:33 followe by Saapunki 1:01:19and Magliano completed the women’s podium in 1:04:23.
In men, Kipngeno beat Henri Aymonod Kenyan Geoffrey Ndungu, Ireland’s Zak Hanna, Marek Chrascina of the Czech Republic, and Italy’s Andrea Rostan, as well as Paulo Gomes, Cesar Costa.
Kangogo won the race in 50:45 having his personal best of 29:22 and a half marathon best of 1:02:42
For the men, Hanna held on to second, finishing in 52:37. Afterwards he explained how he could see Kipngeno ahead of him at many points of the course, but when Kipngeno surged he just wasn’t able to match his pace.
Rostan rounded out the men’s podium with a strong run, finishing in 53:02