Lari marathon winners hope to be paid in two weeks after two months delay

 The Lari Marathon winners         Photo: Courtesy

Last week, winners of Lari Marathon 2015 accused the event organisers of not releasing their prize money two months after the 21km race which took place at Kereita Forest in Kiambu County. The winners, Peter Emase, Peter Kimeli and Hosea Nailel (pictured) were to receive Sh100,000, Sh70,000 and Sh50,000 respectively.

Lari Marathon main organiser, John Muchiri, has however reached out to The Nairobian to set the record straight.

“The truth is that I have never spoken to Philip Muia and never hired him as the race marketer as he claims,” read part of his response.

Earlier, Muia who had praised the first and second editions of the marathon alleged that Muchiri was not picking his calls.

“The truth of the matter is that Kiambu County had promised to support the event with prize money, but reneged on their promise. My company has had to look for alternative funding and is making plans to pay the winners within two weeks,” Muchiri said.

He also claimed the winners were sent text messages requesting them to be patient.

“We are committed to sort the winners so the event can grow. At the same time, we will require anti-doping results from Athletics Kenya before prizes are released,” he said.

The event organiser also said preparations for the fourth Lari Marathon are already underway.