Eldoret race for children’s hospital

 Paula Radcliffe

Former world marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe (left), former world 10,000 metres champion Sally Barsosio (centre) with Linda Chelimo Saina Tanser and philanthropist Toby Tanser at Eldoret Komora Gardens on December 23, 2021.

Photo credit: Pool |

What you need to know:

  • The stars include Great Britain’s former world marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe, accompanied by her daughter Isla who suffers from cancer.
  • They will break ground with a Kenyan cancer patient to start construction of what will be sub-Saharan Africa’s first children’s cancer hospital.

As the world celebrates the Christmas holidays, a number of athletes will on Friday run to cover 80 kilometres in a charity race to help raise funds for a children’s cancer hospital in Eldoret.

The relay race from the Equator to Eldoret will be led by Toby Tanser, founder of Shoe4Africa Foundation, with elite and legendary runners also set to break ground for the construction of the 152-bed children’s cancer hospital.

The stars include Great Britain’s former world marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe, accompanied by her daughter Isla who suffers from cancer.

They will break ground with a Kenyan cancer patient to start construction of what will be sub-Saharan Africa’s first children’s cancer hospital.

“Our aim is to symbolise the unfair disadvantages that children in Africa suffer simply because of where they were born. In Europe and the USA, a child diagnosed with cancer has a 90 percent chance of surviving whereas in Africa those odds are just 10 percent,” Radcliffe said on Thursday.

“That is why we will start at the Equator to underline the inequality and run the 80 kilometres to Eldoret where we will break ground on the site of the new hospital, close to the existing Shoe4Africa Children's hospital."

“We have a great group of runners who will take part in the continuous relay from the Equator and even more who will join in the final kilometre into Eldoret in Uasin Gishu County,” said Radcliffe.

Tanser, who came to Kenya to improve on his performance in athletics but upon reaching here, he saw the need to improve education and health care, said is happy he has touched many lives.

“My journey has been long, and by mistake I fell into healthcare. Coming to Kenya opened my eyes in many ways and as a man trying to become a better athlete, but left as a person wanting to improve education and healthcare," Tanser said.

“Today, I am really proud of the public Shoe4Africa Children's Hospital, that has seen over 75,0000 patients treated at the facility, and also the six schools we have built. Thus 2,000 kids each day are going the public schools for free,” said Tanser.

Some of the schools built by Tanser includes the Mary Keitany Shoe4Africa Secondary School, Martin Lelel Shoe4Africa Primary School, Janeth Jepkosgei Shoe4Africa Primary School, Moses Kiptanui Shoe4Africa Primary School and Sally Kipyego Shoe4Africa Primary School.