Why we need more city marathons in Kenya
Evalyne Chirchir celebrates after winning the women's 42km marathon during the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon at Uhuru gardens on October 29,2023.
What you need to know:
- Cross-country meetings are even better because they prepare athletes for track and eventually the roads.
- Let’s all come together and create possibilities and opportunities for millions of talented runners who are yearning for a spotlight and a platform to shine.
The past weekend marked another milestone for one of Kenya’s oldest road races.
The StanChart Nairobi Marathon celebrated its 20th birthday with one of the most exciting and well-attended editions in the country in recent years.
As an athletics enthusiast, it was a sight to behold as participants of different genders, ages, social backgrounds, and races gathered at Uhuru Gardens as early as 5 a.m. to run in different categories of competitions.
What’s more, the organisers held another marathon on the same day in Kisumu, which was likewise well-attended by the city’s residents. This is a step in the right direction that will help unearth talents who can then go on to feature in major marathons around the world.
Other cities ought to follow the same path and organize road races that will provide athletics talents in their areas with the opportunities to put themselves on the world map.
Already, we have seen cities and towns, such as Eldoret, Kericho, Nandi, and Baringo among others hold regular road races through which various marathoners have emerged.
A case in point is the world record holder for the men’s marathon, Kelvin Kiptum, whose journey to stardom can be traced to the Kass Half Marathon in 2015.
I believe there are many more Kiptums at the grassroots, who can one day run below the 1:59 that was set by our own, Eliud Kipchoge, in Austria in 2019.
However, this requires concerted efforts between county governments, Athletics Kenya (AK), the Ministry of Sports, and corporations to make these marathons a reality.
For county governments, there is the added advantage of marketing their cities and towns as tourism destinations by leveraging the power of sports. As AK, we are always ready to help organise such road races according to World Athletics standards as far as marathons in concerned.
We are all aware that the more the races, the more we unearth talent. But as we have always advised, the marathons should not serve as the starting points for the youths. At AK, we have always emphasised starting on track if one is to last longer in his or her athletics career.
Cross-country meetings are even better because they prepare athletes for track and eventually the roads.
Let’s all come together and create possibilities and opportunities for millions of talented runners who are yearning for a spotlight and a platform to shine.
Korir is the chairman of Athletics Kenya’s Nairobi branch. [email protected]
