In May 2013, she was in
Cleveland, Ohio, for the
Cleveland Rite Aid Marathon. With a time of 2:33:42, Kiptoo won the race while lowering her personal record by more than 10 minutes.[10] She won the race again in 2014.[11]
Her first
Grandma's Marathon in 2013 showed her aggressive running style and characteristic fast start. She had trained in
Santa Fe, New Mexico, and arrived at the shores of
Lake Superior ready to push the pace. She left
Everlyne Lagat and clocked 1:11:31 at the half marathon mark, then kept the speed high to break
Firiya Sultanova's course-record time from 2003. Kiptoo finished in 2:26:32 and won $20,000 along with a new
Toyota Corolla.[12]
She returned to the race in 2014, finishing third. In 2015, she was leading, but
Jane Kibii passed her in the last mile. But when she arrived on a humid June day in 2016, things were different. She drank fluids copiously and kept looking over her shoulder to find
Clara Santucci and
Serkalem Biset Abrha. They wouldn't catch her—she broke the tape in first place with a 2:33:28 finish.[13]
She raced the
Big Sur Half Marathon and won back-to-back victories in 2013 and 2014, clocking her personal best half marathon time (1:11:21) in the first win.[6][16]
In 2014, she was a top competitor at the
USATF Half Marathon Championships.[17]
In 2016, Kiptoo was making headlines in her hometown. She took first in the Santa Fe Thunder Half Marathon, winning in 1:15:52 (she had finished second in 2013 and 2014).[18]
In October 2019, Kiptoo and hundreds of other runners had great conditions at the start of the
Duke City Marathon in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Wearing her purple Grandma's Marathon T-shirt, she won the race and set her sights on returning to the Philadelphia Marathon.[23]
Kiptoo was back in Kenya after the
COVID-19 pandemic hit, but returned to Duluth for the 2021 Grandma's Marathon. She faded out though, and did not finish.[24][25][26]
Kiptoo has finished 1st in over 25 races domestically and internationally, winning more than $150,000 in prize money.[27]
Personal life
Kiptoo has 10 siblings. She is the only elite runner in her family. She has two children (as of 2014). Kiptoo lives and trains in New Mexico with the
AmeriKenyan Running Club. In the mid-2010s, she worked with agent Scott Robinson.[12][13]
^
abc"Sarah Kiptoo Jeriwoi". Monaco: World Athletics. 2022.
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^"Sarah Kiptoo".
Professional Athlete Biographies(PDF). St. Paul, Minnesota: Twin Cities in Motion. 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
^Woods, David (2 May 2014). "2013 women's 500 Festival Mini champ Sarah Kiptoo back to defend Saturday". The Indy Star. Indianapolis, Indiana: USA Today Network.
^
abNowacki, Jon (22 June 2013).
"Kiptoo shatters course record". Duluth News Tribune. Duluth, Minnesota: Forum Communications.
Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
^
abWeegman, Rick (18 June 2016).
"Kiptoo shatters course record". Duluth News Tribune. Duluth, Minnesota: Forum Communications.
Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
^Kawahara, Matt (9 December 2013). "Temperatures Low, Spirits High: Kenyan's Sprint Shakes Competition". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California: The McClatchy Company. pp. A1, C1, C9.
^Billingsley, Mark (5 December 2016). "Oyugi bests training partner, last year's champ, with late kick". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California: USA Today Network. pp. 1A, 3A, 8C.
^"Half Marathon set for Sunday". The Californian. Salinas, California. 14 November 2014. pp. 12A.
^"Santa Fe's Kiptoo on Top". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Santa Fe, New Mexico: Tom Cross. 19 November 2016. pp. B1.
^Sharp, Corey (20 November 2017). "Two New Mexicans are champs in Philly". The Philadelphia Daily News. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Media Network. p. 48.
^"Runners top marathon". The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Lee Enterprises. 20 November 2017. pp. A3.
^"Male, female winners set course records". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia Media Network. 19 November 2018. pp. B1, D12, D38.
^Shaw, Clay (18 November 2018).
"Yae, Abrha Top Philly Marathon". Runner's Gazette. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
^Newell, Patrick (21 October 2019). "Howe, Kiptoo race to top Duke City Marathon". The Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico: Journal Publishing Company. pp. B1.
^Kevin, Pates (19 June 2021). "Marathon Mainstays Unwavering In Pursuit". Star Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. pp. C5.
^Ken Young; Andy Milroy, eds. (10 February 2022).
"Sara Kiptoo". Mattole Valley, California: Association of Road Racing Statisticians.
Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.