Thousands of runners and spectators took to the streets of the Welsh capital for the 21st edition of the Principality Cardiff Half Marathon.
It was the event’s biggest yet with more than 29,000 people signed up to take part across the junior races on Saturday and Sunday’s main event – including elites, fancy dress runners and those running to raise money for charity.
The event attracted a strong elite field with both Patrick Mosin and Miriam Chebet completing a Kenyan clean-sweep in the Men and Women’s races.
The 24-year-old Mosin surged away from 2023 champion Vincent Mutai to take his title before his compatriot Chebet smashed her personal best to claim first place.
“It was tough out there but I tried my best and I’m so so happy to win the race,” said Mosin. “I feel so happy, the fans were amazing motivation. I am happy with how I ran as this is my first time here; I wasn’t too far off my PB in these conditions.”
Chebet added: “I had great competition pushing me and the support really kept me going around a good course.”
It was a family affair in the elite wheelchair race as husband and wife Callum and Jade Hall battled it out across the streets of Cardiff. It was Callum, of County Durham, who eventually came out on top in 55:05, but Jade claimed the Women’s title in 57:57.
He said: “I had a feeling my wife Jade was going to win the race, so I had to step up and win otherwise I never would’ve lived that down. She would have had the medal hanging up in the garage and I thought, we can’t have that!
But it wasn’t just those who secured a podium position who claimed victory, as Cowbridge breast surgeon, Zoe Barber, also managed to secure herself a Guinness World Record.
She was running to be the fastest female to complete a half marathon dressed as a cartoon character. The record to beat was 1:53:26 and Zoe, dressed as Belle from Beauty and the Beast claimed the title with a finishing time of 1:41:57.
She said: “I’m so chuffed. It was hard as it was pretty warm running in the costume, but the support was incredible and every time I felt myself flagging I heard another ‘Go Princess Belle’ and it gave me that extra push.”
The theme for the event this year was ‘A Race For Everyone’ and was an opportunity to celebrate the diversity of the city. This year’s 100 Club was a reflection of that with members from groups including Oasis Cardiff, Newport Live, Cardiff Muslim Runners, the Mwslima Running Club and Slimming World. And the Principality Rainbow Roundabout was also back for the second year, a collaboration between Principality Building Society and Pride Cymru, adding a boost to runners in between miles 10 and 12.
The highest ever number of internationals also took part this year – with over 3,000 entrants coming from overseas.
Almost 200 runners were expected to complete their final race in the SuperHalf Series – a collection of half marathon races including Lisbon, Prague, Berlin, Copenhagen, Cardiff and Valencia – to earn themselves a SuperMedal.
Matt Newman, Chief Executive of event organisers, Run 4 Wales, said: “This year has seen the highest number of participants take part in the event and we’d like to thank all of our sponsors, charities and volunteers for their support.”
The Cardiff Half Marathon will return for 2025 on Sunday 5 October. A First Release of 5,000 tickets will launch next week, with an Early Bird saving of £15 versus general entry.
