Kemoi and Jerotich win the 2019 Broad Street Run

While most in the area were enjoying a day off from work, Daniel Kemoi was in his office, which happens to be wherever the next race is. And, just like his bib number might have predicted, he finished first in Sunday’s 40th Blue Cross Broad Street Run.

Kemoi cruised through the second half of the 10-mile run, crossing the finish line in 47 minutes, 24 seconds to win his second consecutive Broad Street race. His time last year was 45:44.

“This is my job, so I must do it," Kemoi said. "I started running in 2012. This is like work. So, you come, you run, you go back, and come again. It’s a job.”

Kemoi fell behind by the third mile, where he was 10th, but climbed up to fourth place by the halfway point with a pace of 4:37. By the seventh mile, he was first, where he remained the rest of the race.

Susan Jerotich ignored the cold and rainy conditions to finish with the top women’s time of 54:43. She was in 21st at the three-mile mark before reaching second at the seven-mile mark. Jerotich cut her total pace by six seconds in the last three miles, averaging 5:28 per mile.

Grace Kahura of Boulder, Col., was the first American woman and third female overall to finish. Immediately after her was Samantha Roecker, the first Philadelphia woman finisher.

Michelle Wheeler, the first women’s wheelchair finisher and second overall, crossed the finish line in 35:05, calling her performance “a warmup.”

Considering Wheeler’s race history, Broad Street barely scratches the surface of her past experiences. Last Sunday, she was part of Team USA at the London Marathon, finishing in 2:03:37, which was 14th for women and 44th overall.

“I do all of the major marathons," Wheeler said. "I actually made the world team and went to the London Marathon, just got back. We’ve done like four marathons in the course of a month and a half. So, this is like a warmup for the rest of the season.”

Tony Nogueira continued his dominance in the wheelchair division, winning for the seventh consecutive year, according to the Broad Street Run’s official website. Nogueira’s biggest victory came in 2014, when he won by 10:17. His closest race was last year, where he edged Alinco Omojola by 2:39.

Billed by organizers as the largest 10-miler in the nation, Sunday’s race featured 40,000 runners. The first Broad Street Run took place in 1980 with 1,500 runners starting at Broad Street and Somerville Avenue and ending in the old JFK Stadium.

Sunday’s race started at Broad Street and West Fisher Avenue in North Philadelphia and ended about one-quarter mile inside the main gate of the Navy Yard, at the southern end of Broad Street.

The course records, held by Patrick Cheruiyot (2007, 45:14) and Catherine Ndereba (1999, 53:07), were not threatened. But that didn’t matter to Kemoi and Jerotich, who each walked away with $3,000 in prize money.

The race benefits the American Cancer Society and other local charities.

For complete race results, go to philly.com or broadstreetrun.com.