Preparations for the 20th edition of Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon is in top gear with over 1000 elite athletes already in the mix for glory in the global race slated for October 29 in Nairobi.
Expected to defend their titles in the contest to be held along the Southern Bypass route with finishing point at Uhuru Gardens are last year’s men and women’s champions Elias Kemboi and Sheila Chepkoech.
“We are already witnessing registration in droves, we are expecting over 25,000 participants this season,” race Local Organising Committee chairman Peter Gitau told Standard Sports.
Gitau assured that the route measurements have been completed and are just waiting for final approval by world governing body AIMS.
“The approvals are very crucial as it will make the results very credible, it will make any record broken here to be duly ratified by World Athletics,” he stated.
Yesterday, 40 sponsors and partners in Nairobi came on board to inject a Sh178 million boost into the race whose current mission is to support the Standard Chartered Bank’s Futuremakers program. This initiative aims to tackle inequality and promote greater economic inclusion for young people in local communities focusing on three pillars; Entrepreneurship, Employability and Education.
Previously, the proceeds from the race were used to carry out the Seeing Is Believing Initiative which transformed the health industry in Kenya as far as children's eye sights were concerned.
Leading national broadcaster Standard Group PLC is among the sponsors on board for this year's race. The giant media outlet is supporting the race to a tune of Sh15.5 million while Standard Chartered Bank has pumped Sh100 million into the contest.
Nairobi City County (Sh8 million), Prudential Insurance (Sh10 million), Tetra Pak (Sh5.5 million), Oral Dehydration Salt (Sh2 million), AAR Healthcare (Sh2.5 million), G4S (Sh1.5 million), Techno (Sh1.5 million), Little Cab (Sh1.2 million) and EABL (Sh1 million) are also supporting the competition.
Also on board are Pewin (Sh1 million), Dimension Data (Sh900,000), Subaru Kenya (Sh700,000), Akili Kids Network (Family Fun Zone), Greenspoon Bio Foods (Sh1.1 million), Tatu City (Sh8 million), Blue Moon Media (Sh800,000), Kenya Airways (Sh1 million), Blue Band (Sh750,000) ad Centrum (Sh750,000).
Other support has also come from the Doctors Without Borders (Sh750,000), Hurricane Global (Sh770,000), Laroche Posay (Sh500,000), Unicaf (Sh10,000 trees), Kenya Pipeline (Sh500,000), Deep Heat (Sh290,000), Smart Gyms (Sh300,000), Rexona (Sh8000 roll-ons) and Red Cross (Sh300,000).
Other sponsors and partners are Boda Plus, Uhuru Gardens (race venue), Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forestry Services, Tamarind Group, Taka taka solutions, Uchumi, Magical Kenya, Tawi and Athletics Kenya.
“We are grateful that our sponsorships are growing, we have more partnerships this year than the other previous editions,” Gitau said.
This year's marathon aims to raise Sh40 million from the Sh38 million netted last year.
Registration for the marathon has been extended to October 22 and goes for Sh2,000 per athlete, it can be done both physical and online.
Unlike the two previous editions which were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, there will be no virtual races alongside the physical marathon this year.
Instead, the virtual contests will be substituted with physical runs in Standard Chartered network branches in Mombasa and Kisumu which will be held on the same day as the main marathon in Nairobi.
As a way of celebrating the 20th edition of the race, the marathon organisers will issue 30,000 tree seedlings to participants to promote sustainable actions on climate change.
Since inception, more than 270,000 runners have participated in the marathon and over Sh750 million has been raised to support various impact initiatives.
