No pain, no gain as Waweru wins Mwea race in eighth attempt

The winner of 21KM Men Category William Waweru sprint to the finish line during the 7th Edition Mwea Classic marathon at Wang'uru stadium on Saturday, Sept 17, 2016. [PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

After seven futile attempts, Mount Kenya University student William Waweru finally achieved his dream of winning the Mwea Classic Half Marathon.

The Bachelor of Arts Business Management student clocked 59:56 to win the race held at Wang’uru Stadium in Kirinyaga County at the weekend.

“Never give up. This has always been my motto,” he said. He dedicated his victory to his mentor, Japan-based Kenyan athlete Martin Mathathi.

The victory inspired Waweru to look forward to the forthcoming 10th East Africa University games, which will be held at Jomo Kenyatta University from December 16.

Waweru said his plan will be to set a new 5,000m record at the regional university games, especially after missing the World Universities Games in South Korea last year following wrangles within the Kenya Universities Sports Association (Kusa) union.

“Travelling to South Korea could have been my greatest breakthrough, but I will never give up on the chase. I have been keeping fit and winning Mwea Half Marathon is an indication that I have now come of age and would be going for other national and international titles within my reach,” he said.

Waweru plans to use the prize money he won in Mwea to improve his training sessions. His closest challenger was Eliud Kariuki, who finished second in 1:00.54.

Njoki Ndungu, who clocked 1:11.56, won women’s 21km race ahead of second-placed Shelmith Muriuki in 1:12.00.

Gothenburg Marathon champion (2014) Jacinta Wamboi Wanjohi returned from maternity leave to win the women’s 10km race in 32.50.

“This is my first race after giving birth. I have used it to gauge myself as I plan to start taking part in several road races in Europe from November,” said Wamboi.

Aspiring Kirinyaga women representative Purity Wangui Ngirici showed her sporting prowess by bagging the women’s 5km contest in 17.06.

“My dream is to help the organisers expand and market this noble marathon,” said Ngirici.

Kirinyaga Governor Joseph Ndathi said he was glad the race proceeds were being used to improve education standards in the county.