Thousands of runners take part in Cardiff Half Marathon

About 30,000 runners were expected to have taken part in the Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday which saw a new record broken.

Kenya's Joyciline Jepkosgei - the first athlete in history to run under 65 minutes for a half marathon - set a new women's course record with a time of 1:05:40.

Kenyan Gideon Kiprotich won the men's race in 59:43, while the men's wheelchair race was won by Poland's Sam Kolek and Mel Nicholls won the women's event.

Widespread road closures were in place to accommodate the 13.1 mile (21km) route, after the race started on Castle Street at 10:00 BST.

With high demand for the event, it sold out after going to a ballot for the first time last year, and no on-the-day entries were available.

The 23rd edition of the race saw participants - including Wales football legend Aaron Ramsey and ex-Welsh rugby star Adam Jones - run past landmarks including the Wales Millennium Centre and the Principality Stadium.

Cardiff Half is part of the SuperHalfs series, along with Lisbon, Prague, Berlin, Valencia and Copenhagen.

Runners are challenged to complete the six races to earn a SuperMedal.

The event also holds a World Athletics Elite Road Race label and featured competitors from Kenya, Ethiopia, the USA, Australia and the Netherlands.

Former world record holder Jepkosgei's first place finish in Cardiff saw Ethiopian pair Wede Kefale and Tigist Tesema second and third.

The men's race saw Kiprotich win ahead of 2025 winner Yismaw Dillu, with Bahrain's Jonah Rutio claiming third spot.

Former Arsenal and Cardiff City midfielder Ramsey told BBC Wales there had been some "tough parts coming up those hills" but "all in all, a good day".

"What a day," he said. "The fans are amazing, got me through bits, and seeing some family and friends as well was nice."

Ella Jennings, who runs with Les Croupiers club in Cardiff, ran the half marathon for the sixth time on Sunday and said it had been "unbelievable" this year.

"Every year, I don't know how it gets better," the 26-year-old said.

"This time, the support was unbelievable. There's nothing like it," she said. "Living up the road, to be able to run pretty much past your house, it's just insane."

Albert Mussche, from the Netherlands, said he was trying to complete the SuperHalfs series.

"Last year I ran Valencia, it was amazing," he said.

"Cardiff is the second one. It was beautiful, the crowd was amazing."

Wales' ex-prop Adam Jones also competed, and said before the event he would be relying on crowd support to carry him through the final stages of race.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, Jones said he decided to take up running after gaining weight and feeling unhappy with his fitness.

"I just put a on a bit of weight last year and I was heavy... I kind of looked at myself and thought, I need to do something about this," he said.

"I thought I'll do the Couch to 5K, I'll have a crack at that, see how that goes. Enjoyed it, got to 5K, sense of achievement, all that sort of stuff.

"Then I thought I'll do a 10k. So I kind of googled out the Cardiff Half Marathon and it was sort of long enough in the distance, the kind of challenge that I thought, yeah, I'll have a go."

Jones said he felt physically ready.

"I think I was good at peace with myself as a rugby player, so I'm hoping I can take that into this," he added.

The ex-Welsh rugby player said he was looking forward to the experience, adding: "I think for the first half marathon I just want to get round, really."

Transport for Wales said it had added extra train services and had increased capacity to key rail routes into Cardiff to prepare for thousands of runners and football fans expected in the city on Sunday.

The park-and-walk facility often used by runners at Cardiff City Football Stadium on Leckwith Road had already sold out. However, there are a number of car parks available throughout the city, with spaces allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

A map of all the road closures over the weekend can be found here.