Organisers target 10,000 runners for Nairobi City Marathon

More than 3000 athletes have registered for the second edition of the Nairobi City Marathon that will be held on July 2.

The marathon which was initially set to be held on May 21 will be held along the Nairobi Expressway and will comprise of 42km, 21km, 10km and 6km races.

Speaking during the event's media launch held Wednesday in a Nairobi Hotel, race director Ibrahim Hussein disclosed that they are targeting close to 10,000 runners to participate in the event.

“Registration is going and as of now we have about 3000 athletes who have already registered. We know how Kenyans operate and we expect most will register as we draw closer to the event. We therefore expect to have about 10,000 athletes since last year we had slightly lower than that number,” said Hussein.

Hussein explained that organizers have made a few tweaks on the start and finishing points with all races set to start at Aerodrome road and end inside the Nyayo Stadium.

“Just like last year all the races will be run along the expressway and this time around we also want to showcase our national heritage to the world. Therefore the 42km course will snake its way past iconic buildings such as the City Hall and the parliament. We also decided to split the finishing point to two where 42km and 10km races end while 21km and 6km runners will finish on another point,” said Hussein, a three-time Boston Marathon winner.

Athletics Kenya (AK) president Jackson Tuwei said the marathon has also attracted international runners being one of the highest paying races in the world.

“We expect some good athletes from outside of this country. Last year we had over 1000 foreign athletes. This being the second edition we expect more marathoners, we expect fast times. Apart from running we expect people to enjoy it since they can enjoy the scenic expressway and also our national parks which are just close to the capital.” Tuwei said.

Carol Wanyama is the head of marketing at the Royal Media Service which is the official media partner for the event.

“We will be the exclusive media partners on the coverage of the Nairobi City Marathon and you can expect to watch it live from across our platforms; Citizen TV, Inooro TV and Ramogi TV. Furthermore, you can also catch the action on our vibrant digital platforms – Citizen Digital and Viusasa and also on our radio stations,” said Wanyama.

Organizers also got a major shot in the arm with KCB group announcing a sponsorship of Ksh 5 million.