Nairobi roads that will be closed on Sunday during Standard Chartered marathon

FILE: Participants during past Standard Chartered marathon [photo courtesy]

Motorists in Nairobi will on Sunday be affected and restricted on movement after the National Police Service (NPS) announced the closure of major city roads to accommodate StanChart Nairobi Marathon.

According to NPS, traffic in and out of the Southern Bypass will be diverted to alternative roads between 12am and 1pm to allow space for the athletes.

All interchanges to the Southern bypass will be closed.

Motorists will be diverted to Dagoretti road, Langata road, Enterprise road, Uhuru highway and Waiyaki way.

Trucks from Inland Container Depot (ICD) will be redirected to Mombasa Road within the stipulated period.

The start and finishing points will be at the Carnivore Grounds and will feature different race categories namely: 10km, 21km, 21km Wheelchair Race, 42km and the 42km Corporate Relay.

The physical marathon will be limited to 2500 elite runners from Kenya and other key countries such as Uganda and Ethiopia and will be held on the Southern Bypass route.

FILE: Participants during past Standard Chartered marathon [photo courtesy]

Participants of the 2021 marathon will run along the scenic Southern Bypass. These changes in route, starting point and endpoint are due to the construction of the Nairobi Express-Way.

Additionally, the route was also picked due to its proximity to the National Park, which has a great scenic route and creates an opportunity to use the marathon to advance tourism.

With the number of participants in the physical run limited to 2,500 people due to Covid-19 containment measures, Standard Chartered is targeting 13,500 participants for the virtual run to compensate for the reduced numbers.

The marathon makes a comeback this year after it was cancelled in 2020 due to unprecedented challenges brought about by Covid-19 and the containment measures required.

Participating Kenyan elite athletes include Daniel Simiyu, Ronex Kipruto as well as Chemutai Riunotukei, Fridah Jepkite Lodepa Ptoo and Brilian Jepkorir.