Kisorio: I’ll fight to the end to retain title
Mathew Kosorio, 2019 Eldoret City Marathon champion, during an interview with Nation Sport at his home in Kapsabet, Nandi County on March 25, 2021.
What you need to know:
- Eldoret prepares to host Africa’s richest road race on June 6
- Runners to return to competition locally after being inactive for more than a year
Eldoret City Marathon defending champion Mathew Kisorio has vowed to fight to the last minute to retain the men’s title when athletes line up for the race on June 6.
This year’s race had been scheduled for April 11 but was postponed when local sporting activities were suspended due to a surge in new Covid-19 infections. Last year’s edition was not held due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic which forced the suspension of all sporting activities globally.
Kisorio, who won the men’s race in 2019, had earlier indicated that he was not adequately prepared to compete in April, but the postponement of the event to next month gave him ample time to continue training. He has now declared he is ready to compete.
“I have trained well for the race and I will be at the start line to defend my title. I know the race will be tight because many athletes have been training at home since last year and everyone is going for the prize,” Kisorio told Nation Sport at his home in Kapsabet, Nandi County.
Kisorio clocked 2hrs,12min and 38sec to win the 2019 race ahead of David Chebwosony who timed 2:12:51 while Kenneth Rotich was third in 2:15:43. The women’s category saw Valery Aiyabei win in 2:27:17 ahead of Vivian Kiplagat (2:28:06) and Elizabeth Rumokol (2:33:01).
Kisorio said the marathon will help him prepare for the new season. He has good memories of the race, saying it is always good to win at home. In 2019, Kisorio ran a tactical race, coming from behind in the last few kilometres to bag the victory.
“In 2019 I had prepared well for the race but this year will be different because everyone is well prepared and we will all be competing at home. I ran from behind in 2019 and I reacted well ahead of everybody and won,” he recalls.
Eldoret City Marathon has been rated as one of the highest paying races, with winners taking home Sh3.5 million (USD 35,000) in both categories, with prize money trickling down to the top 20 athletes.
Race Director Moses Tanui, who is also a two-time Boston Marathon champion, said the electronic timing system to be used in the race is already in the country.
“Use of electronic timing system is a boost for participants as their times will be recognised by World Athletics. It is a necessity in all the big races,” said Tanui.
Competition is expected to be tough as many athletes will be seeking to make a competitive comeback after remaining inactive for more than a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fans have been asked to stay at home and follow the race which shall be televised and streamed live on social media due to the pandemic. With some few days to the deadline, 336 athletes have so far registered.
