SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic

Kenyan runner Stephen Ondieki won the seventh annual Hispaniola half marathon in 1hour10 minutes and 4 seconds beating American Scott Strand by a minute.

Dominican Joel Martinez came in third at 1:11:28 here on Saturday in a race, which attracted more than 200 runners.

Dominican Fanny Gonzalez was the fastest female runner crossing the finish line at 1:26:20 while Carmen Martinez of Puerto Rico took the second position. Francisca Contreras of the Dominican Republic took third place.

The Caribbean event serves as a training run for bigger races, such as the Boston and New York marathons.

Ondieki, who received US $1,000 in prize money for his victory, said he felt redeemed after coming in second place last year. "The competition was stiff," he said. "This could become one of the main short marathons in the world."

Marathons are usually 42 kilometers. The Hispaniola event is named after the island the Dominican Republic shares with Haiti.

Meanwhile, the world 10,000 metres Champion, Charles Kamathi and Commonwealth 5000m Champion Sammy Kipketer will take part in the IAAF golden League scheduled for Friday in Brussels.

Associated Press