Olympic champion Jepchirchir set for Chepsaita race
GLOW OF A WINNER. World Athletics Road Running Championships women’s half marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir displays her gold medal as her proud husband looks on at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi on October 2, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Any female aged 46 and above finishing the race first will receive Sh30,000 and a cow, while a man aged 60 and over finishing first will get similar reward. More so, all those finishing the race in these categories will get blankets.
- Several sponsors have come on board including Kenya Pipeline Company, Kenya Seed Company Limited, Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA), Kengen, KenKnit K Ltd, Kalron, Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports, New Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC), Kenya Dairy Board, Athletics kenya and Uasin GIshu County Government.
Olympic marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir is the latest entry for the inaugural Chepsaita Cross Country Championships scheduled for December 2 at Chepsaita Secondary School, Uasin Gishu County.
The race Chief Executive Officer Kennedy Tanui said that Jepchirchir is among 5,000 participants who have registered for the race that has been accorded bronze status by World Athletics.
“We are so delighted and a great honour to have Jepchichir compete in our event that continues to draw attention from top athletes,” said Tanui after he took the World Athletics President on a tour of the challenging course on Saturday.
It will be Jepchirchir’s first race since withdrawing from the New York City Marathon on November 5 with an injury.
Jepchirchir, 30, had finished third at London Marathon on April 23 on her return from an injury before staging a successful defence of her world half marathon title on October 1 in Riga, Latvia.
Also to register for the event is the 2016 Rio Olympics 3,000m steeplechase champion Ruth Jebet, who is also a former women’s world record holder over steeplechase.
“The course is not really tough but challenging owing to its twists and turns, which has created excitement to those athletes who have toured it," said Tanui.
Tanui said that the move to distribute the prize money in senior and junior categories from the winner covering top 30 finishers is geared towards every participant feeling part of the event.
The organisers have set aside Sh7 million in prize money.
“Remember the patron of the race wants to stimulate talent search as well as use the event to keep the youth busy and away from social vices,” said Tanui.
The patron of the race, who is also the founder, is Farouk Kibet, President William Ruto’s aide.
Each winner in senior men and women’s 8km races will pocket Sh 100,000 and a cow in a prize scheme that will see the person finishing 30th receive Sh10,000.
The junior men and women’s race will feature 6km and 5km respectively where the winners will pocket Sh60,000 each. The prize fund will see the juniors finishing 30th earn Sh5,000 each.
Any female aged 46 and above finishing the race first will receive Sh30,000 and a cow, while a man aged 60 and over finishing first will get similar reward. More so, all those finishing the race in these categories will get blankets.
Several sponsors have come on board including Kenya Pipeline Company, Kenya Seed Company Limited, Export Processing Zones Authority (EPZA), Kengen, KenKnit K Ltd, Kalron, Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports, New Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC), Kenya Dairy Board, Athletics kenya and Uasin GIshu County Government.
