Faith Kipyegon ran her first-ever road 10K on Sunday and won the thing. The Kenyan legend crossed the line at the Monaco Run in 29:47, taking control of the race before halfway and closing hard over the final two kilometers. Not a bad way to introduce yourself to road racing.
For anyone who somehow isn’t familiar, Kipyegon is the most decorated women’s 1500m runner in history. Three Olympic golds. Four world titles. World records in the 1500m and the mile. She’s the woman who ran 3:48.68 last July — the first woman ever under 3:49 for 1500 meters. She also ran 4:06.42 in Nike’s Breaking4 project, the fastest mile any woman has ever run under any conditions.
And now, apparently, she runs road 10Ks too.
The Race Itself
Kipyegon went out patient. She clicked off a 3:05 opening kilometer and came through 2K in 6:03. Nothing flashy. She sat in the pack and let the race come to her, which is very much her style — she does the same thing on the track before unleashing that ridiculous kick.
She hit 5K in 14:59 and moved to the front. For the next two kilometers she was in full control, passing 7K in 21:00.
Then something interesting happened.
Around 7.5K, which she came through in 22:23, Kipyegon briefly lost her lead. On the track, that almost never happens. Once Kipyegon takes the front of a race, people don’t usually come back past her. But this isn’t the track. This is six miles on pavement in Monaco, and she’d never done it before.
She responded exactly the way you’d expect Faith Kipyegon to respond. She came back through 8K in 24:00 and surged over the final two kilometers to take the win in 29:47. Her second 5K was roughly 14:48 — faster than her first half. A negative split, in her debut, in a race she’d never run before.
That’s just ridiculous.
Putting 29:47 in Context
Let’s be real — 29:47 isn’t going to show up on any all-time 10K road lists. The fastest women are running well under 29 minutes. But judging this result purely on time misses the point entirely.
Kipyegon had never raced a road 10K. She had no experience pacing this distance on tarmac. She went out conservatively, handled an unfamiliar moment mid-race when she lost the lead, and still managed to close faster than she opened. That’s not just a good debut. That’s someone who clearly has the tools to race on the roads if she decides to pursue it seriously.
And winning doesn’t hurt either.
The Track Isn’t Going Anywhere
Nobody should read this result and assume Kipyegon is leaving the track behind. Her 2025 season on the oval was arguably the greatest single year any women’s middle-distance runner has ever had. The world record. The fourth world title — a first for any woman in a distance event. The Breaking4 attempt in Paris. She’s still very much at the peak of her track career.
But Sunday opens a door. Kipyegon is coached by Patrick Sang, the same guy who coached Eliud Kipchoge through his entire marathon career, including the sub-two-hour attempt. If there’s a coach on the planet who knows how to help an elite track runner think about longer distances, it’s Sang.
We’ve watched this kind of transition play out before. Sifan Hassan went from track star to Sydney, Chicago, and London Marathon champion. Letesenbet Gidey moved from track world records to road racing. Tirunesh Dibaba did it a generation earlier. The track-to-road pipeline for elite women is well established at this point.
Kipyegon hasn’t said anything about a half marathon or a marathon. Maybe this was just a fun experiment and she goes right back to chasing 1500m titles. That would be perfectly fine — she’s already the greatest to ever do it at that distance.
But she just won a road 10K in under 30 minutes on her first try, and she closed the race faster than she started it. She’s 32, she’s still getting faster, and her coach built Eliud Kipchoge.
If you’re not at least a little curious about what comes next, you’re not paying attention.
