• Chebet and Aprot, who were among the pre-race favourites, finished fifth and eighth respectively.
•Kamais singled out bad weather as the main challenge in her preparations for the race.
Defending champion Alice Aprot and former World U-20 5000m champion Sandrafelis Chebet will miss this year's All African Games slated for August Morocco after failing to sparkle in the 10,000m during the national trials held at Moi Stadium, Kasarani yesterday.
Chebet and Aprot, who were among the pre-race favourites, finished fifth and eighth respectively as last year's Standard Chartered Half Marathon runner up, Kapsabet-based Irene Kimais defied odds to win the race.
Kimais 22, who will be representing the country for the first time termed her triumph as fruits of the hardwork she has been putting since finishing second behind Valary Jemeli in the Standard Chartered 21k race last year.
She ruled out running under pressure from the revered duo as she had trained with experienced athletes at her backyard and heavily relied on counsel from three-time Berlin Marathon champion Gladys Cherono.
"I build up for this race by running at the Nairobi Marathon and I am glad it has paid dividends. I knew it was a star-studded race but I used the experience of training with senior athletes to overcome the pressure," said Kamais.
"I had self-belief and confidence that I will win the race. I draw inspiration from Cherono, who has been advising me and her words really helped me in the race."
Kamais singled out bad weather as the main challenge in her preparations for the race.
"It has been tough preparing for the race with the current weather which disrupted our training," said Kamais. "The rains hampered my sessions but I thank God I managed to cross the finish line first. It feels good to represent the country for the first time in an international event."
Kamais clocked 32:23.11 ahead of Monica Chirchir (32:28.1) and Caroline Nyaga (32:30.63). Chirchir, who trains at St Patrick's, Iten, was content with the runner up finish and the ticket to represent Kenya in Morocco.
"It was a tough race but I am elated with the second-place finish. I am looking forward to represent the country in the games."
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Korir, Raymond Kibet and Alphas Kishoyian sailed to the finals of the 400m set for today. The trio eased their way to the finals after controlling their semi-final race yesterday.
Korir hit 45.85 while Kibet and Kishoyian came second and third in 46.07 and 46.41 respectively.
They were joined by Joseph Poghisio, Said Ruto and Kennedy Kimeu who were triumphant in semifinal 2.
Poghisio clocked 46.50 while his closest challengers timed 46.74 and 46.76 respectively.