This is Justin Lagat’s story of the RAK Half Marathon on 14 February 2026. Jeffrey Kamworer won his second race here, the first being in 2013. Asmarech Anli won on his RAK debut. This story is from us senior writer for Kenya For @RunBlogRun, Justin Fitet.
The man of all surfaces. Jeffrey Volunteers
It was another glorious day Jeffrey Volunteer and: Asmarech Anli, and their fans because they won 2026 RAK Half Marathon men’s and women’s titles respectively.
Showing remarkable confidence, Kamvoror positioned himself behind the two leaders soon after the start, signaling his intention to race fast.
After covering the first 5 km in 13:50, Kamvoror appeared a little impatient and tied with the leader Kipsaisak. He soon leaped forward, increasing his speed and causing the pack to thin out behind him.
Five men crossed the 10km mark in 27:42 as Kamworor maintained a relentless pace.
Only with Ethiopia Balev Birhanu giving company to three Kenyans, Volunteer, Gideon Ronon and Samvel Masai, The pace seemed to slow slightly as a pack of four runners formed. But Jemal Mekonen, who was behind the leaders, closed the gap again.
With around 14km to go, Kamworor injected speed again and fellow Kenyan Masai was the first to drop back.
After 15km, which he covered in 41:25, Kamvoror switched to a different gear and pulled away from the rest, who then followed him in single file. The man of all surfaces, a three-time world half-marathon and three-time world cross-country champion, continued to extend his lead by keeping his eyes on the front and running his race.
With 1km to go, Ballew kicked hard and looked to be closing the gap, but Kamworor may have forgotten that as he went on to win the race in a world-leading 58:14, eight seconds ahead of Ballew. Rono finished third in 58:36.
When a race packed with some of the world’s top elites begins at a relatively slower pace, the closing stages often build into a fast and thrilling climax.
It the women crossed the 5km mark at 16:32which was a slightly modest pace compared to the men, with a larger group of women remaining in the lead pack. The leaders then crossed the 10km mark in 32:45 with a huge pack of 15 runners.
The pace picked up a bit as they neared the 12km mark. By the time they reached the 15km mark, which they passed in 48:26, the lead group had dwindled to just five runners. This package consisted of: three Ethiopians–Melknath Voodoo, Aselef Cassie and Asmarech Anli–two Kenyans — Jeska Chelangat and Cynthia Chepkwoni – and one Tanzanian –Magdalena Shauri.
It 2023 African Under-20 Champions In the 3000m, Enley used his track speed to break away from fellow Ethiopian Voodoo to emerge victorious as he broke the tape. 1:07:22. Voodoo ran 1:07:27 ahead of Chelengat who clocked 1:07:32 to complete the podium.
