The 2009 NJCAA Half Marathon Championship will be the seventh in NJCAA history, and the fifth to be held in the state of Kansas.

The inaugural championship in 2003 took place in Wichita, Kan., and two Kansas schools came away as national champions.  Cloud County Community College capture the men’s title, and this year’s host, Johnson County Community College won its first of three titles.  Led by All-America performances from Amy Gochnour and Nicole Porter, JCCC won its second marathon national championship, and its first title in a half marathon.  Gochnour won the individual title with a time of 1:25:28, nearly one minute faster than the runner-up finisher.  Her win capped an outstanding career that saw her tie Marti Cisper with 11 All-American honors for her career.

Host Butler Community College took advantage of its home course knowledge as both the men’s and women’s team won the 2004 Half Marathon titles.  Butler’s women’s team was led by champion Diane Nukuri, who won the women’s race. The men’s individual champion  was Calvin Fife of Mesa Community College.

The JCCC women's team and Butler men’s team became the first programs to win multiple championships in the event.  Hosted by Spartanburg Methodist College in S.C., JCCC won its second national half marathon championship by edging El Paso Community College for the 2005 title.   Freshman Felicia Fleming and sophomore Esther Mathias led the Lady Cavaliers, finishing third and fifth respectively.  The 2005 individual champion was again Diane Nukuri of Butler, as she became the first two-time individual winner in the championship’s history.   Her time of 1:16:01 set a new championship record, bettering her time of 1:18:50 a year earlier.   Butler’s Joseph Maino won the men’s individual title.

The JCCC women’s team made it back-to-back titles in 2006, this time edging South Plains for the national championship.  Freshman Christa Heideman and sophomore Jackie Jamison backed up their All-American efforts at the cross country championships with All-American efforts in the half marathon, finishing fourth and fifth.  While JCCC won the team title, it was South Plains Mary Bacia who claimed the individual championship in 2006.  On the men’s side, South Plains John Kosgie powered his team to national title with his winning effort.

In 2007, the championships returned to South Carolina, and two new teams captured team championships.  In the men’s race, Iowa Central Community College came out on top, powered individual champion Stephan Dak.  His time of 1:08:21 set a championship record.  The women’s team title was claimed by El Paso Community College, edging three-time champion Johnson County.  Becca Pritchard made her hometown proud, winning the individual title for Spartanburg Methodist College.  

Last year the venue was Shawnee Mission Park in Shawnee, Kan., and the championship featured the largest field in the six year history of the event.  Battling wind chill temperatures in the high teens, the host school of the 2008 championship, Johnson County Community College, captured the women’s team title.  It was the program’s fourth championship in the six-year history of this event. El Paso Community College finished second, and South Plains College was third. Lilian Lagat of Rend Lake Community College was the individual national champion, crossing the finish line in 1:23:28.  JCCC had two of the top six runners in the final standings. Sophomore Temer Yimer placed third with a time of 1:25:08, followed sophomore Francis Gipson with a time of 1:27:10.   Tonya Nero of Colby Community College was runner-up in the half marathon with a time of 1:24:21. Rounding the top six were Samatha Meyerhoff of Mesa Community College (5th-1:28:44) and Gladys Chumba of South Plains College (6th-1:29:12).

Amy Gochnour of Johnson County Community College won the first individual Half Marathon Championship in 2003, leading her team to the team title.

The South Plains College men’s team won its second national half marathon title. Iowa Central Community College finished second and Johnson County Community College placed third.  Texans freshmen Tallam Kipruto, Mitchell Driver and Anthony Pequeno finished third, fifth and sixth respectively to lead their team to the championship. South Plains won its first national half marathon championship in 2006. Kipruto’s time was 1:10:18, followed by Driver at 1:12:40 and Pequeno at 1:13:00. Kipruto was a 10th place finisher at cross country nationals a few weeks ago.  Joshua Sawe of Iowa Central Community College was the men’s individual champion. He finished the 13.1 mile course in 1:09:44.  Finishing a close second to Sawe was Robert Menjo of El Paso Community College. He finished in 1:09:54.  Chris Mason of SUNY-Delhi posted a fourth place finish with a time of 1:11:24.