Kenyans rule in one of hottest Miami Marathons, as heat level put race on ‘high alert’

George Onyancha, the Kenyan who won the Life Time Miami Marathon on Sunday for the second year in a row, was mesmerized as he ran along the ocean in South Beach and watched what he called “steam’’ rising from the surf. On one of the hottest race days in 22 runnings, the humidity measured 94-percent at the 6 a.m. start and temperatures rose from 73 to 84.

‘’The steam made it hard to breathe,’’ said Onyancha, 30, a maize, tea and banana farmer who earned $4,500 by successfully defending his title in 2 hours 17 minutes 34 seconds – 51 seconds faster than his 2023 victory.”I kept going because I knew the competition was coming.

“I’m so happy to win because it was so hot.’’

The men’s runner-up was Luke Kibet, 40, of Kenya in 2:21:19.

In a much tighter race, fellow Kenyan Leah Rotich, 34, took the lead in the last half mile to defeat 2023 winner and countrywoman Damaris Areba, 28, by 12 seconds.

Rotich, sweat pouring down every inch of her reed-thin frame, won in 2:41:39 and also earned $4,500. She said she finally “dropped” Areba because “I was kind of nervous and wasn’t sure if I was going to win or if she was going to close the gap.

“At 41K it’s a little hilly and I saw she was a little bit more hurting. I thought, ‘If I take the lead on the hill, that will be a killer.’’’

Three of the four winners in the marathon and half marathon and all six top medalists in the marathon are from Kenya.

The half marathon men’s winner: Solomon Kagimbi, 36, of Kenya, in 1:04:29.

Kagimbi, who said he dreamed on Saturday night that he would win, took the lead at the 3K point, and “kept pushing’’ as the others caught up a few times. He said it was his “fastest race in America.’’

“It was flat,’’ Kagimbi said of the course, “but it was hot.’’

So hot that race organizers on Saturday evening sent out an email to all participants, warning them that the “event alert system level’’ was yellow, meaning “less than ideal conditions.’’

“Slow down/Be prepared for worsening conditions,’’ advised the yellow alert.

‘High alert’

The event rose to “high” alert — “potentially dangerous conditions’’ — by 9 a.m. Sunday, as race organizers sent alerts to runners and posted them on social media. Aide station flags immediately switched from yellow to red.

“It was among the hottest marathons we’ve ever had for sure,’’ said race director and co-founder Frankie Ruiz, who greeted the final handful of runners at 2 p.m., telling each one: “This one counts more.”

Added Ruiz: “The runners that did finish today deserve to be congratulated extra and celebrate even more.’’

Fortunately, the barely discernible breezes rose somewhat during the race, providing a bit of relief as the sun scorched the competitors from 49 states and 75 countries.

Ruiz said that by 3 p.m. there were 26 transports to local hospitals, “mainly dehydration,’’ compared to 16 last year. “We had a busier Baptist Medical tent at the finish line where medical incidents are treated.’’

Thousands of excited runners took off in the darkness on Biscayne Boulevard outside the Kaseya Center — more than an hour before sunrise — to begin the event.

The 26.2-mile full marathon and 13.1-mile half marathon event, with a combined field of 18,000 registrants, proceeded together on the same route – over the MacArthur Causeway, down Ocean Drive in South Beach, past the Miami Beach Convention Center, over the Venetian Causeway and back into Miami near Bayfront Park. The full marathon continued into the Brickell and Coconut Grove areas before ending at Bayfront.

‘Inspiring’

Dario Ivanovski, 26, of Macedonia finished second in the half marathon in 1:05:17. He said he is the Macedonia record-holder for every distance from the 1500 meters to the marathon, and reveled in his first visit to the United States. “All my life I dreamed of coming to the United States and running with the best people,’’ Ivanovski said. “The course was inspiring — beautiful.’’

The half marathon women’s winner: Joselyn Brea Abreu, 29, of Venezuela, in 1:15:51, nearly five minutes ahead of Egris Mailyn Arias Rodriguez (1:20:53) of Venezuela.

Abreu, who within three miles of the start was running with a pack of men, acknowledged the hot conditions but said they were “perfect’’ for her. “A lot of humidity and very warm,’’ she said in Spanish, “but those are the conditions I like for running. My hydration was perfect and I felt comfortable.’’

Women’s marathon winner Rotich said she loved the dense, vocal crowds.

“Go, Leah! Go Leah!” Rotich said she heard repeatedly, as the fans — especially abundant from Miles 10 to 13 — were extremely vocal. “I was overjoyed when I crossed the finish line.’’

Men’s marathon victor Onyancha, who lives in Kisii in Southwestern Kenya, said he bought a piece of land with his earnings last year and will eventually build a home for his family.

Onyancha is married to Dolphine, a fellow runner who will give birth to their first baby, a boy, next month. He is temporarily training in Grand Prairie, Texas, but will return to Kenya for the birth of his son.

“Maybe I’ll name him ‘Miami,’ he said.