Peter Chebii repeats as Prairie Fire men’s half-marathon champion
When Peter Chebii starts a race, his goal is to cross the finish line, even if he is in some pain.
Chebii, 32, won his second straight Prairie Fire half marathon on Sunday morning with some discomfort.
“I was getting some cramps back here in my hamstring,” Chebii said. “It starting hurting at one point, I think about two miles, but I wanted to keep pushing forward. There was no looking back for me. I wanted to finish the race.”
Chebii won Sunday with a time of 1 hour, 10 minutes, 34 seconds. He 2016 win was in 1:07:42, so the injury played a part in Sunday’s slower time.
“I wasn’t extremely happy with my time, but I was able to start pulling away from the pack at about the one-mile mark,” Chebii said. “My time wasn’t as good as last year, but with me hurting I was pleased with it.”
The popular question to Chebii after his win was about 2018.
“I plan on coming back next year,” Chebii said with a laugh. “I really like this race and it’s nice to have a lot of runners from around the country come in for it. I think that shows that this is a good race and a lot of good runners.”
Chebii will begin training for upcoming races in Montgomery, Ala., and Fort Worth.
Almost 21 minutes later, Sarah Heer neared the finish line and looked to the left at the clock.
Heer, a 22-year-old from Olathe, finished in 1:31:31 to win the women’s division. A Hutchinson native and graduate of Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Heer is in her senior year at MidAmerica Nazarene in Olathe.
“I’m extremely happy to win it,” Heer said. “I was trying to qualify for nationals, but I had to get under an hour and 30 minutes. I was happy with my splits, but think I just started to slow down towards the end.”
Heer was congratulated by her sister, Anna, at the finish line.
“I really liked this race,” Heer said. “I like how the course was set up and it was pretty flat with little hills and it was wide, so I liked that.”
Heer was happy with the win in her first Prairie Fire race and said she’ll more than likely be back to defend next year.
“This was my second half marathon this year,” Heer said. “It’s nice to be able to run in these in college, because you can see how you stack up with a lot of other elite runners around. I think I’ll run in a few more this year in hope to qualify.”
MEN
1. Peter Chebii, Wichita, 1 hour, 10 minutes, 34 seconds; 2. Austin Lavin, Glendale, Ariz., 1:12:09; 3. Tristan Irish, Salina, 1:13:47; 4. Mike Just, Andover, 1:18:34; 5. David Kellier, Wichita, 1:19:54; 6. Ryan Hackett, Garden City, 1:22:08; 7. Leroy Allen, Wichita, 1:23:45; 8. Matthew Hadsall, Wichita, 1:25:02; 9. Jackson Moore, Andover, 1:25:08, 10. Will Graff, Enid, Okla., 1:25:36.
WOMEN
1. Sarah Heer, Olathe, 1:31:31; 2. Elyse Bigler, Wichita, 1:33:12; 3. Anastasia Diamond, Wichita, 1:35:53; 4. Abigail Stevens, Wichita, 1:35:58; 5. Stephanie Cundith, Wichita, 1:37:05; 6. Sheryl Collins, Wichita, 1:39:38; 7. Veronica Vu, Wichita, 1:41:55; 8. Ashley Stevenson, Wichita, 1:42:52; 9. Kelsey Henson, Emporia, 1:43:11; 10. Leslie Woods, Wichita, 1:44:30.
This story was originally published May 7, 2017 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Peter Chebii repeats as Prairie Fire men’s half-marathon champion."