The fourth edition of Nairobi City Marathon will be held on Sunday.
According to the Athletics Kenya (AK) president Jack Tuwei, the ultimate goal is to grow the competition into a World Marathon Majors race.
The annual event he said has grown immensely with over 15, 000 participants and will soon become a reference point on how to organise a world class marathon in Africa.
“Let’s make Nairobi a reference point. We want this marathon to match the best in the world—not just in competition, but in how we organize, how we welcome the world, and how we showcase our city,” Tuwei said.
The World Marathon Majors are the most elite of road races around the globe in terms of prize money, organisation and publicity, among other aspects.
They include London, Tokyo, Boston, Chicago, Berlin, New York and Sydney.
Tuwei believes the huge strides made by the road race will soon put it in the big leagues with the other seven major competitions.
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Tuwei said the event has attracted 75 nationalities. “Nairobi is becoming more and more attractive to runners from across the world,” he said.
This year’s edition will start and finish at Uhuru Park and will feature four race categories: the 42km, 21km, 10km, and a 4km fun run.
Organisers have announced a prize pool of Ksh 24 million for top performers.
Winners of the men’s and women’s marathon will each take home Ksh. 3.5 million, with second and third place earning Ksh. 2.25 million and Ksh. 1.5 million respectively.
On the other hand, the half marathon and 10km race champions will pocket Ksh. 150,000 and Ksh. 100,000, respectively.
Some of the elite athletes who have confirmed participation include American-based Edward Cheserek, two-time Paris Marathon champion Paul Lonyangata and Leah Jeruto, among others.
