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MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - Tens of thousands of runners and walkers took part in Saturday’s 46th annual Cooper River Bridge Run.The annual event is one of the best-known 10K races in the world. Athanas Kioko finished first place for the elite male runners. Kioko set personal bests of 13:09 for the 5k and 27:23 for the 10k. He placed fifth in the 10k at the 2022 NCAA championships and was an All-American at Campbell University.
Cynthia Limo was the first elite female runner to cross the finish line. Limo, 33, of Kenya, is a former world half marathon silver medalist and winner of the 2016 Healthy Kidney 10k. She recorded personal bests of 31:39 for the 10k and 66:04 for the half marathon.
Jose Pulido finished first out of the wheelchair racers with a time of 30:56.
The starting point was on Coleman Boulevard in Mount Pleasant. From there, the course took runners across the Arthur Ravenel Bridge into downtown Charleston and the finish line on Meeting Street. The wheelchair race began at 7:25 a.m.
Runners were called to the starting line at approximately 7:50 a.m. and the main race began at 8 a.m.
Bett, Degefa won last year’s Bridge Run
David Bett took a large lead ahead of the rest of the elite runners in the 2022 race to claim victory. His official time at the finish line was 28:17, which gave a pace of 4:33 per mile.
“I’m happy I won the race and I’m hoping to come back next year,” Bett said moments after crossing the finish line. “From 5K I was feeling very confident, and I said I have to push, push.”
Biruktayit Degefa was the first elite female runner to cross the finish line with a time of 31:23, setting a pace of 5:03 per mile.
Hermin Garic, the man who set a record in 2021′s Cooper River Bridge Run Wheelchair race, broke his own record in 2022 with a finish of 22:34.
With a goal to “Get Over It,” the popular phrase associated with making the way across the Ravenel Bridge and through the course, crowds begin loading up buses early Saturday morning to make their way to the starting line.
Road closures began Friday night ahead of Saturday’s start time. Another wave of road closures began at 4 a.m. Saturday in downtown Charleston, with much of the course closed to traffic by 4:30 a.m.
The Ravenel Bridge’s Wonderway Lane, the pedestrian lane, closed at 6 a.m. Saturday and the bridge itself shut down at 7 a.m.
Roadways are set to begin reopening in Mount Pleasant at around 10 a.m. and the Ravenel Bridge is expected to reopen by 11 a.m. or as soon as Bridge Run participants clear the span.
All downtown roads will open as runners clear that portion of the course.
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