NAIROBI, Kenya, October 31 – The Deacons team won the corporate challenge that had 91 participants at Sunday’s Stanchart Nairobi International Marathon.
The team that featured fourth finisher Kevin Kamau, Duncan Matagaro (ninth), Boniface Kimara (23rd), Bernard Ochieng (24th), Darwin Omondi (28th) and Francis Mutiso (46th) bagged Sh100,000 ($1,000) following their win.
The corporate competitors competed in the 21km half marathon course that took them to the Mombasa Road loop (first passage) before running to finish at Nyayo stadium.
The Corporate challenge attracted 91 runners, ten among them female and bore a yellow sticker in their bid to separate them from elite runners.
The Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon ninth edition has had 91 paticipants run in the Corporate Challenge with 81 of these male and 10 female.
In the revamped wheelchair race, Dennis Muga won the men’s 42km event in 1:55:21 with Ibrahim Wafula (2:00:17) and Ronald Wenani (2:00:19) completing the podium.
The corresponding women’s race was taken by Centrine Namatasi who completed the course in 2:06:51 ahead of Joan Timbe (2:10:22) and Veronica Ndegwa (2:43:47) in second and third in a race that attracted 66 registered participants, 16 among them female.
Organisers increased the prize kitty for the wheelchair race where winners in the men and women categories took home Sh230, 000 ($2,300) each.
Other events in the annual meeting that attracted 15,351 registered participants and many others who joined in the running included the 21km half marathon races and the main 42km events.
Unregistered runners caused the results of the women full-marathon to be delayed for hours since a number finished in the top ten places that were in the prize pool bracket.
There were also problems at the end with the full and half marathon runners finishing at the same point with made the finale of the 42km races anticlimactic.
