Barely a fortnight after he came out of a two-year doping ban, Kenya's former world cross country silver medallist Mathew Kisorio won the 11th Ndakaini Half Marathon held on Saturday.

Kisorio, who won the event in a time of 1:04.50, is the highest profile Kenyan athlete to have admitted taking banned substances after he tested positive for using anabolic steroid during the Kenyan national championships in June 2012.

"It has been a very difficult two years full of ups and downs when I was serving the ban," Kisorio said during post-race interview in Murang'a, central Kenya.

"My next race is the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon in October prior to scouting for a road race overseas before the end of the year," the 25-year old said.

He said the weather was favorable and had prepared well and was ready for the battle ahead of him.

Hosea Macharinyang' finished second in a time of 1:05.37 whereas Emmanuel Bor stopped the clock at 1:05.51.

Former 3000m Youth Olympics champion Gladys Chesir won the women's race in a time of 1:15.37 followed by Beatrice Mutai who finished in a time of 1:16.11. Jackline Chepng' eno finished third after clocking 1:16.29.

"This is first time to compete in the half marathon and I am glad I won the race in my debut," Chesir said.

Kisorio, who is also a former African junior 5,000m and 10,000m champion sounded the alarm bells about his comeback intentions after he led from start to finish at the course described as one of the most difficult in the world.

Both winners won a cash prize of 2,400 US dollars for their efforts.