Before winning the
Grandma's Marathon in June 2013 (and setting a new course record), Kiptoo ran and won several half marathons (as well as 5K and 10K road races) in the Netherlands, Finland, France, and England, while also finishing third at the
Helsinki Marathon and top-10 in the
Reims à Toutes Jambes,
Madrid Half Marathon,
Prague Half Marathon and
Great Bristol Half Marathon. She took the 30,000-runner
Indianapolis Half Marathon woman's win in 2013 as well, clocking a 1:12:26. 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. She won the race again in 2014. 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. 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. She also ran the
California International Marathon in 2013 after the
Houston Marathon canceled due to inclement weather. In the
Sacramento race, she dueled with
Paige Siemers,
Jeannette Faber and
Pasca Cheruiyot to finish second in 2:31:23, as
Rebecca Wade finished first with a course record of 2:29:21. 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. In 2014, she was a top competitor at the
USATF Half Marathon Championships. 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). In 2017, Kiptoo arrived in Philadelphia with another
New Mexican runner,
Boniface Kongin. The two would lead men and women in the chilly, windy morning at the
Philadelphia Marathon, with Kiptoo finishing in 2:38:13. She returned in 2018 to finish third as
Serkalem Biset Abrha set a course record. 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. 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. Kiptoo has finished 1st in over 25 races domestically and internationally, winning more than $150,000 in prize money. ==Personal life==