The 2026 Transvulcania Half Marathon was the sixth race of the 2026 Mountain Running World Cup, and saw yet another Kenyan sweep as Ruth Gitonga and Philemon Kiriago emerged victorious in 2:22:50 and 2:07:43, respectively.
The start of the 2026 Transvulcania Half Marathon. Photo: WMRA/Marco Gulberti
Gitonga’s race appeared controlled and confident as she led from the start, opening a safe margin over compatriot Joyce Njeru over the second half of the race. Kiriago, on the other hand, having run in second behind Richard Omaya Atuya (Kenya) for much of the race, won in a late charge and a sprint finish against a fast-closing Anthony Felber of France.
The race kicked off on Saturday, May 9, at 7:30 a.m. local time, 90 minutes after the Transvulcania Ultramarathon. The loosely termed “half marathon” featured 24.8 kilometers (15.4 miles) on a net uphill course, climbing 2,097 meters (6,880 feet) from the Fuencaliente Lighthouse, and descending just 689 meters (2,260 feet), to finish at the El Pilar Recreation Area. It followed Thursday night’s Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer (VK) in the Mountain Running World Cup, which made for a star-studded line-up.
With fairly optimal conditions, the race had all the necessary ingredients for some fast finishing times.
iRunFar is a media partner of the World Mountain Running Association, which is supporting iRunFar’s 2026 Transvulcania Vertical Kilometer and Half Marathon coverage.
Read on to see how it played out.
You can also check out more results from Transvulcania:
- 2026 Transvulcania Ultramarathon Results: David Sinclair and Blandine L’Hirondel Topple Course Records
- 2026 Transvulcania VK Results: Kenyans Joyce Njeru and Richard Omaya Atuya Dominate
2026 Transvulcania Half Marathon Women’s Race
For the women’s race, pre-race favorites included Kenyans Joyce Njeru and Ruth Gitonga, both of whom raced Thursday night’s VK. Njeru had secured a commanding victory in the VK, with Gitonga claiming third.
Ruth Gitonga is focused while running through the high country of the 2026 Transvulcania Half Marathon, where she set a course record. Photo: WMRA/Marco Gulberti
Njeru has become a household name in international mountain running since starting to race in Europe in 2017. So far this year, she has won the 2026 Changping Beijing Classic Up and Down race and finished second in the accompanying Changping Beijing Uphill. Gitonga, meanwhile, won the 2026 world cup season opener, the São Brás Cross Classic Up and Down race in Portugal, and placed second at the 2025 World Mountain Running Championships Up and Down race.
Ruth Gitonga, 2026 Transvulcania Half Marathon champion. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
From the home country, and looking to improve on her third-place finish from the 2025 race, was Spain’s Silvia Lara, with Italy’s Camilla Magliano also there to contend.
Gitonga made the early running into Los Canarios at around eight kilometers look easy, coming through with just over 41 minutes on the clock. Kirsty Skye Dickson (U.K.) — second behind Njeru in Thursday’s VK — was the early chaser, coming through just 12 seconds behind the leader. Just under 30 seconds back from Dickson, Njeru sat comfortably in third. Rounding out the top five were Benedetta Broggi (Italy) and Moana Lilly Kehres (Spain). The lead women were reasonably spaced out at this point, with more than six minutes separating the top 10.
By the 17.5k mark, near the high point of the course, Gitonga had extended her lead to more than three minutes on Njeru, who had moved into second place. Dickson was still in contact with the leaders and came through just under a minute behind Njeru in third. There then followed a gap of some 5.5 minutes to Broggi in fourth, and a further 1:37 to Kehres in fifth.
Over the course of the descent to the finish at El Pilar, the top two continued to distance themselves from the chasers. Ruth Gitonga took the win in 2:22:50. Joyce Njeru took second in 2:25:39, extending her lead on Kirsty Skye Dickson, who finished third in 2:33:21.
Moana Lilly Kehres made up time on the descent to finish fourth in 2:35:17, and Benedetta Broggi rounded out the top five in 2:36:52.
Joyce Njeru after taking second at the 2026 Transvulcania Ultramarathon. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
2026 Transvulcania Half Marathon Women’s Results
- Ruth Gitonga (Kenya) – 2:22:50
- Joyce Njeru (Kenya) – 2:25:39
- Kirsty Skye Dickson (U.K.) – 2:33:21
- Moana Lilly Kehres (Spain) – 2:35:17
- Benedetta Broggi (Italy) – 2:36:52
- Sara Willhoit (U.K.) – 2:38:18
- Lara Hamilton (Australia) – 2:43:48
- Camilla Magliano (Italy) – 2:47:27
- Gabrielle Pilote Fortin (Denmark) – 2:50:28
- Natalie Beadle (U.K.) – 2:50:38
2026 Transvulcania Half Marathon Men’s Race
In the men’s race, it was hard to argue with Kenya’s Philemon Kiriago as the favorite. The two-time Sierre-Zinal winner and 2025 World Mountain Running Championships Up and Down champion got the weekend off to a good start with a second-place finish in the VK. Also expected to run well was his teammate, Kenyan Richard Omaya Atuya, who won the VK two days prior. They would, however, have some experienced locals to contend with for the half marathon, including 2024 Transvulcania Half Marathon winner and 2025 third-place finisher, Spain’s Daniel Osanz. Second in the 2025 edition, Spain’s Sergio Álvarez, who finished seventh in the VK, also returned to defend the podium.
Philemon Kiriago celebrates his win of the 2026 Transvulcania Half Marathon. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
It was Omaya Atuya who set the pace, arriving first in Los Canarios, roughly eight kilometers in, with just under 34 minutes on the clock. Kiriago was right on his heels with a mere six seconds dividing the two, and their teammate Ephantus Mwangi Njeri (Kenya) was right there with them in third. There was a gap of about 90 seconds to the chasing pack, made up of Anthony Felber (France), Linus Hultegård (Sweden), Tyler McCandless (U.S.), Álvaro Escuela (Spain), Daniel Osanz (Spain), Martin Nilsson (Sweden), and Michael Sutton (New Zealand).
By the 17.5k mark at Deseadas, Omaya Atuya was still in the lead with 1:32 elapsed and had pulled away from his teammates, coming through about 2.5 minutes ahead of Kirago and Mwangi Njeri. Another 90 seconds or so separated them from Felber and Hultegård, who held firm in fourth and fifth.
But everything was to change on the final descent to the finish at El Pilar. After patiently holding second for most of the race, Philemon Kiriago took the lead and romped home for the win in 2:07:43. More unexpectedly, Anthony Felber also moved up the ranks to edge out Omaya Atuya for second, and almost caught Kirago too, finishing just four seconds behind the winner in 2:07:47.
Four seconds was a small margin between the first two runners, but there was nothing at all between the next two. Linus Hultegård caught up to Omaya Atuya to nearly tie for third in 2:08:15. Though they had the same finishing time, Omaya Atuya crossed with the tiniest edge on his chaser.
Guillermo Ramos (Spain), having moved into sixth at 17.5k, rounded out the top five in 2:10:28. Most members of the early chase group ended up in the top 10, with McCandless and Sutton finishing in 11th and 15th, respectively.
The 2026 Transvulcania Half Marathon men’s podium (left to right): 2. Anthony Felber, 1. Philemon Kiriago, 2. Richard Omaya Atuya. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
After running with Kiriago for much of the race, Mwangi Njeri withdrew from the race before reaching the finish.
2026 Transvulcania Half Marathon Men’s Results
- Philemon Kiriago (Kenya) – 2:07:43
- Anthony Felber (France) – 2:07:47
- Richard Omaya Atuya (Kenya) – 2:08:15
- Linus Hultegård (Sweden) – 2:08:15
- Guillermo Ramos (Spain) – 2:10:28
- Daniel Osanz (Spain) – 2:11:39
- Martin Nilsson (Sweden) – 2:11:46
- Álvaro Escuela (Spain) – 2:12:58
- Joel Santamaría (Spain) – 2:17:39
- Sergio Álvarez (Spain) – 2:17:56
Philemon Kiriago runs the volcanic highlands on his way to winning the 2026 Transvulcania Half Marathon. Photo: WMRA/Marco Gulberti
