Shane Williams, Gareth Thomas, Adam Jones and Allan Bateman were among the familiar faces from Welsh rugby who took part in the Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday, with Williams smashing his own personal record.
Thousands of runners descended on the Welsh capital for the event, which also featured former footballer Aaron Ramsey, now manager of Oxford United, who posted the quickest time of the sporting celebrities on show.
Williams beats previous best
Williams bounced back from his disappointment at the Ironman Wales event last month, where he was forced to withdraw due to a blown-out bike tyre, to record an impressive time of 1:29:56, running for Velindre Cancer Charity.
That was almost four minutes quicker than his previous record time of 1:33:37, which he set last year.
Thomas, Bateman and Jones finish
Thomas, a regular competitor in this race, crossed the finish line with a time of 1:50:09, while former Wales centre Bateman clocked in at 2:15:40.
Bateman played his last game of rugby aged 61 earlier this year and was running in memory of his daughter Naomi, who passed away from cancer aged just 34.
Ex-Wales prop Adam Jones completed his first ever half-marathon at 2:34:10. The 45-year-old was raising money for St David's Hospice Care and Prostate Cymru.
Kenyan double at the front
The three-time Grand Slam winner only took up running after going through the popular Couch to 5K programme, which he believed would help improve his fitness. After progressing from 5K to 10K, he committed to the Cardiff Half, with Sunday's race the furthest distance he has ever run.
The men's race was won by Kenya's Gideon Kiprotich, who fought off 2025 champion Yismaw Dillu to finish top of the pack with a time of 59:34.
In the women's event, Joyciline Jepkosgei added to her titles from the London, New York and Valencia marathons by taking 12 seconds off Edith Chelimo's course record, which had stood since 2017. Her time of 1:05:40 was also enough to complete a Kenyan double.
“I'm so grateful and happy to win this race,” said the 32-year-old Jepkosgei. “It was a tough course but I kept fighting so I'm happy to get the victory here.
“I enjoyed it out there but there were some hills, especially near the end, which made it tough, but coming down the last straight and getting the win was special.
“The crowds were some of the most excited I have seen and they were across the whole course, which gave me another level of motivation. I will enjoy this win now and recover.”
