Eldoret welcomes athletics stars and fans for a lucrative race

The stage has been set for another thrilling Eldoret City Marathon tomorrow.

Yesterday, just a day and a few hours before the show, the City of Champions was ready for the seventh edition of the race.

With the inaugural One Mile elite race, a bigger extravaganza is expected.

Both technical and security arrangements were already in place yesterday for the big race.

Joining Kenyan elite athletes in the marathon and the One Mile are formidable international casts who are ready to turn tables in the streets of Eldoret.

Kenyan stars have claimed the race’s titles since the inaugural edition in 2018. But international athletes, including Kenya’s neighbour Uganda and exciting big numbers from America, Europe, and Asia, are among the stars that are set to face local big shots in Eldoret.

A sizeable contingent from Uganda, including Dorrine Chesang, Abdallah Kibet, and Brian Ategeka, will be competing tomorrow.

Mike Field from New Zealand has also set his sights on a brilliant show in Eldoret.

USA’s Isabel Rich, Ahmed Malik of Macedonia, Nigeria’s Adeyemi Sijuade, Mubanga Mwanja (Zambia), and Frank Mollel of Tanzania are among international athletes who are hoping to conquer the streets of The City of Champions.

Meanwhile, an elaborate plan for a kids’ run will make upcoming editions even bigger.

“We want to use the Eldoret City Marathon as an event to identify the next generation of athletes. We have two major stadiums, Kipchoge Keino and 64 Stadium, which we expect to be completed soon and can host a huge kids’ run,” race patron, Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii said.

Organisers said the city was ready for a massive family and corporate 10km fun run, which, like the elite 42km and One Mile, is expected to pull the largest crowds ever, from Kenya and globally.

Fun run lovers will have the opportunity to jog with champions in a city that has earned the reputation of producing and hosting the world’s most decorated distance runners in the history of global athletics.

Japanese Saeko Yasuhara and Tsugumi Ayuzawa will be in the massive fun run.

A growing list of running groups is expected among thousands of family and corporate fun runners looking to complete the 10km course, designed to give participants an experience of the City of Champions as they write their own histories.

Aside from top corporate entities and families from the North Rift, fun running groups from major cities, including Nairobi, Nakuru, and Kisumu, as well as Kitale and Kapsabet, among other towns.

According to organisers, fun runners start their experience of Eldoret City outside the Highlands Inn towards the legendary Moi Girls before turning left towards Eldowas, Coca Cola, and CBK, and then to the finishing zone near Zion Mall where they will watch elite participants in the 42km and One Mile coming home.