Stanchart Nairobi Marathon back on this year
Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) in the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage, Simon Kachapin, Nairobi’s Deputy Governor, Ann Kananu (third from left), Standard Chartered Bank CEO Kariuki Ngari (3rd right), Chairman of the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon, Peter Gitau (second from right) and brand ambassadors during the race launch at Arboretum on July 13, 2021.
What you need to know:
- Upon the completion of the races, one will be issued with a reward, which may include Strava virtual badges, slots for physical warm up races, Strava premium subscription for a year, shopping vouchers and Liverpool FC merchandise.
- In their respective addresses, Kachapin and Kananu assured the race organisers that both the national and Nairobi County government will pull all stops to ensure it is a success.
The annual Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon will resume this year, but under strict Covid-19 containment measures, organisers announced Tuesday.
The event, whose purpose is to raise funds for the needy in the community, did not take place in 2020 due to the government’s ban on sporting activities in the country owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It will take place on October 31 under the hybrid format, which includes both physical and virtual races.
Standard Chartered Chief Executive Officer Kariuki Ngari said that they decided to include virtual races in this 18th edition so as to accommodate the thousands of runners who will be locked out from the physical event.
Only 2500 local and international athletes will be allowed to take part in the physical marathon, which will be held on Nairobi's Southern Bypass, with Carnivore Grounds being the venue for the event.
The virtual marathon, which will be targeting 13,500 participants, will take place from October 25 to 31.
“..One of the key things that came up was the adoption of virtual marathons due to the emergence of virtual running communities across the world.
We have also considered key issues such as safety and have consequently set up measures to ensure Covid-19 safety protocols are observed during the marathon,” said Ngari at the Nairobi Arboretum where the marathon’s launch took place Tuesday.
Nairobi Deputy Governor Ann Kananu, Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage, Simon Kachapin and Standard Chartered Chairman Peter Gitau are some of the dignitaries who were also present for the launch.
Apart from the full marathon, other physical events lined up for October 31 are the 21km and 10km races.
Those willing to participate in the events are required to register on the SCNM’s website with a standard fee of Sh1000.
Athletics Kenya (AK) presidentJackson Tuwei, who was not at the launch, explained in a statement that elite athletes will be selected from the organisation’s database, training camps, previous editions’ database and past marathons in the country.
For the international elite marathoners, AK will reach out to their respective federations for details. Men’s cutoff point in the 42km race will be between two hours and seven minutes, while that of women will be between 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours.
One must download the Strava app to be selected among the 13,500 virtual participants. The participants will then be required to sign up for the race they want to compete in.
Upon the completion of the races, one will be issued with a reward, which may include Strava virtual badges, slots for physical warm up races, Strava premium subscription for a year, shopping vouchers and Liverpool FC merchandise.
In their respective addresses, Kachapin and Kananu assured the race organisers that both the national and Nairobi County government will pull all stops to ensure it is a success.
