Eldoret City Marathon set for June 6
Uasin Gishu County Governor Jackson Mandago addresses the media on date for the Eldoret Marathon at the county headquarters in Eldoret town on May 06, 2021.
What you need to know:
- In the last edition in 2019, Valary Aiyabei won the race after clocking 2 hours 27 minutes and 17 seconds ahead of Vivian Kiplagat (2:28:06) and Elizabeth Rumokol (2:33:01).
- In the men’s category, Mathew Kisorio won the race in 2:12:38 ahead of David Cheboswony, who timed 2:12:51, with Kenneth Rotich coming third in 2:15:43.
Eldoret City Marathon shall now be held on June 6 after President Uhuru Kenyatta lifted the suspension of sports last week.
The race, which was initially scheduled for April 11, was postponed after the President announced new measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic which has been ravaging since last year.
Uasin Gishu County Governor Jackson Mandago, who is also the patron for the race, thanked the Head of State for allowing sports to resume and at the same time warned the public on the need for following the laid down procedures.
“We are happy that the president allowed the resumption of sports and we shall be holding the Eldoret City Maraton on June 6 under strict Covid-19 protocols," said Mandago.
He urged the athletes who have not registered to do so since the process is still open in race which has been termed as one of the best paying marathons in Africa.
Mandago said that he has been impressed by the organisation of the race, which will for the first time have electronic timing.
“We are going to get the exact time an athlete will use after 42km and I must commend the Local Organising Committee for working extra hard to make sure the race goes a notch higher,” added Mandago.
He asked athletes to continue training ahead of the race because it’s the only event that will take place this season.
“I would like to urge athletes to continue training hard ahead of the race and those who are thinking of using banned substances will be caught. All those will fall under the prize bracket shall undergo mandatory doping tests and if found clean, they shall be paid,” he said.
Race Director Moses Tanui expressed his delight that the race will go on.
“I want to thank the president for opening up the sports events and athletes are going on with the registration process. The route marking had also been done and we are just waiting for the day,” said Tanui.
Tanui also said that more than 400 athletes have already registered with 11 from international countries among them Russia, Uganda, United Kingdom, Argentina and Ethiopia.
The race has a prize purse of Sh3.5 million with the top 20 athletes been feted.
In the last edition in 2019, Valary Aiyabei won the race after clocking 2 hours 27 minutes and 17 seconds ahead of Vivian Kiplagat (2:28:06) and Elizabeth Rumokol (2:33:01).
In the men’s category, Mathew Kisorio won the race in 2:12:38 ahead of David Cheboswony, who timed 2:12:51, with Kenneth Rotich coming third in 2:15:43.
