KABARNET'S BIG SHOW: More than 1,000 athletes expected to turn up today for the 10th ABC Bank run

From Left- Part of Ethopian Athletes Mekede Fekede, Barcheyo Tedesse, Dereje Adugna and Degene Shewakena are welcomed by John Kaplich to participate in the ABC Bank Baringo Half Marathon on Wednesday, October 30th, 2014. Photo/Jonah Onyango.

Kabarnet Town comes alive tomorrow morning as the 10th ABC Bank Baringo half marathon run gets underway.

The Sh300,000 prize money has attracted four Ethiopian athletes who will battle the more than 1,000 runners at the hilly and breezy Kabarnet-Kabartonjo road, which snakes through the scenic view of Tugen hills and cold sections of Ossen Forest.

Five-time world cross-country champion Paul Tergat, who is the race patron and chairman of the Paul Tergat Foundation, paid tribute to foreign athletes who entered the race.

"Indeed, every participant will have an opportunity to perform their best, especially those keen to pursue athletics as a career. The ABC Bank Baringo half marathon also provides an avenue for not only nurturing budding talents, but also social integration and cohesion," said Tergat, a former world marathon record holder and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive member.

ABC Bank Group Managing Director Shamaz Savani also lauded the foreign athletes for accepting to take part in the Baringo half marathon.

"The presence of international athletes present stands out as a testament to the growing process of cultural exchange across the East African region," said Savani.

Ethiopian men's team members are Kebede, Teferi Yohanne, Dereje Debela and Dejene Shewakenaw Woldetsadik, who have promised to give the top athletes a run for their money.
Debela, an upcoming long distance runner, is the 2014 Amateur Athletes Club Championships 5,000m winner.

 

FINISHED THIRD

He also finished third in the national cross-country championships and finished sixth in the hotly contested Moha 21km race.

Woldetsadik ran a sub-23 minutes in a seven-kilometre Coca-Cola road race before he posted a sub-31 minutes in the Great Ethiopian 10km Run (GER).

But their women need to be at their best to counter a strong Kenyan line-up led by Visiline Jepkesho and Agnes Kiprop in the 21km race.

Banchayehu Bayable, the 2013 Dire Dawa 10km race winner, is also in the mix. She basks in her 36-minute mark she posted at the Great Ethiopian run last year and the runner-up finish at the Ethiotrail 12km race early this year.

Her team mate Mekedes Fekede Chegen, an upcoming athlete, will use the event to improve her endurance, having participated in 2012 Moha 21km race where she finished in 1:18 and the 2013 GER 10km race 37:34 time.

The race will kick off at Kabartonjo Trading Centre at 9am and end at Kabarnet Museum grounds.

The ABC Baringo half marathon provides a platform to young talented athletes discover their potential through the various races.