Mary Akor of the United States took third in the women’s event.
Kedir Fekadu didn’t let the weather get in his way last weekend. The Ethiopian braved the rain and wind to win the Beirut Marathon on Sunday. The race, which comprised 33,000 participants, was an IAAF Bronze Label Race.
Feduku’s winning time was 2:12:57. Second place went to Stephen Chepkopo in 2:13:14. The final spot on the podium was awarded to William Kipsang (2:14:53).
In the women’s race, Saeda Kedir prevailed with a 2:35:08. Second and third went to Monica Jepkoech (2:36:20) of Kenya and Mary Akor of the United States (2:37:32) respectively.
The race was entirely an international affair with runners from 96 countries taking part.
But the weather come race day presented special challenges for organizers. There was wind; there was rain, and there was even hail at times on the course.
This year, organizers staged a new event: a 1K celebrity race. According to the IAAF, the event was called “Break a Negative and Run” and had been designed to create a positive sports environment in the face of unrest in the region.
