Joyce Chepkirui was the fourth-place finisher at the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon, just missing the podium after clocking in at 2:29:08.
She lowered her half-marathon personal-best to 1:06:18 at the Prague Half-Marathon in 2014, improving her previous best—which she set on the same Prague course in 2012—by 45 seconds. Chepkirui’s husband, Erick Kibet, helped to pace her to the course-record time.
Chepkirui finished second at the United Airlines NYC Half in both 2015 and 2016. In the latter, she missed out on first place by just eight hundredths of a second to American Molly Huddle in a photo finish.
In May 2015, she defended her UAE Healthy Kidney 10K title in Central Park, claiming victory in a 32:33 sprint finish. The previous year, she had run away from the field, overcoming humid conditions to win by 23 seconds in 31:17, an event record.
In the fall, Chepkirui ran a six-minute marathon best to win the TCS Amsterdam Marathon, breaking the tape in 2:24:11. In spring of 2016 she was third in the Boston Marathon, her highest ever placing in an Abbot World Marathon Majors event.
