Kudos to journalists who eat, live and breathe sports

One of the highlights of the past weekend was the second edition of the Nairobi City Marathon, which was held on Sunday along the Nairobi Expressway, with the finish points at Nyayo National Stadium.

It was a refreshing sight to see a sea of humanity determined to put their bodies to the test by running in the different categories of competition.

That good health is wealth was apparent on that day as tens of thousands rose up early in the morning to add more years to their lifespan and ward off any lifestyle illness lurking in the dark.

In this regard, every one was a winner. Regardless of your final position, your coming out to run in the Nairobi City Marathon will stand you in good stead going forward.

One standout at this year’s edition of the race was the involvement of various media personalities who would naturally be standing behind the camera or armed with a recorder to source and transmit sports stories.

Most of them are personally known to me and I was very excited and touched to see them investing in this event by registering and running in it.

At a national level, this speaks volumes that these journalists are patriotic about our country and want to see such mega events succeed.

One of the keys to a successful sports journalism career — and indeed any other profession — is to be passionate about it and the different disciplines in this industry.

Choosing to put their bodies on the line by running 42km, 21km, 10km or 6km is enough evidence of the love that these scribes have for athletics and Kenyan sports as a whole.

Noteworthy is that this is not the first time I have witnessed members of the Fourth Estate participating in local sports activities. The same has happened in other events, such as the Nairobi StanChart Marathon and other road races in the country.

Indeed, this goes to show the extent to which these journalists eat, breathe and live sports. As we strive to take Kenyan sports to another level, these are the calibre of scribes who will aid the process by telling the Kenyan story — having experienced what it feels like to run in a marathon.

I bet that those scribes who ran in the Nairobi City Marathon have a unique story to tell regarding their experience of the race and what they witnessed among other runners while on the Expressway. I am eagerly waiting to read it.

As we head for the National Trials for the World Championships, I look forward to the amazing stories that will emerge from Nyayo Stadium. Salute to all our sports journalists who are passionate about the sport and want to see it soar.

See you on Friday and Saturday for the national trials.

Korir is the chairman of Athletics Kenya’s Nairobi branch. [email protected]