Over 10,000 athletes are expected to face off at the second edition of Nairobi City Marathon set for July 2nd in Nairobi.
Speaking during the event’s launch today, race director Ibrahim Hussein said only the 6km race will be run against traffic with the other three races flowing with traffic.
Hussein added they have made rectifications from the last event to ensure this year’s race is up to standards.
“We had a whole year to prepare and we have corrected some of the mistakes from the last event. We have a very perfect course and we are sure of presenting a wonderful event this year,” said Hussein.
Athletes will compete in four races; 42 km, 21km, 10km, and 6km and all of them will start on the Douglas Wakihuri Road, formerly Aerodrome Road. “However, they will all have different finish points.”
Athletics Kenya president Lt. Gen(Rtd) Jack Tuwei expressed optimism that this year’s edition will be bigger and better, noting that the marathon has attracted an increased number of foreign runners compared to the inaugural edition.
“This time, we will be joined by many more runners from around the world. Last year, we had slightly over 1,000 foreign participants from 74 countries but this year we expect the number to go up,” said Tuwei.
Winners of the marathon will pocket Sh3.5 million down from Sh6 million from last year. Runners-up and third-place finishers will earn Sh2.25 million and Sh1.5m.
In the half marathon, the top three will walk away with Sh150,000, Sh80,000, and Sh50,000 respectively. Podium finishers in the 10km will earn Sh100,000, Sh60,000 and Sh40,000 respectively.