Mr. Simon Mwangi who won the 21 Km race at the Ndakaini Half Marathon held on October 6th, 2018
NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 6 – Simon Mwangi, a resident of Ndakaini, ran the perfect race along the scenic Ndakaini dam to break the tape at 1 hour 12 minutes and win the 15th Ndakaini Half Marathon that was held on Saturday in Murang’a County.
The race category, which attracted over 300 participants, was fagged off to perfect conditions at 8:00am offering entrants an excellent opportunity to set fast race times. It was Simon’s fifth stab at the race and it bore fruit.
In the women’s category of the race, Purity Kalekye crossed the line after 1 hour and 34 minutes to win the race. Norwegian, Marte Sendstad, was the surprise finisher of the day coming in second in the women’s 21KM race after clocking a time of 1hr and 38 mins.
It was however Mwangi who stole the show, keeping up with the leading pack in the first half of the race, before showing Mr. Josephat Kamau(who took 2nd position) a clean pair of heels at the halfway mark cruising to the win.
Other winners included Peter Gitau and Ms Janet Ruguru who won the 10Km Men and Women categories, respectively.
The women’s 10km race was cleared in 36mins and 41seconds by Ruguru, while Maryanne Wangare came second after finishing the race at 37mins and 24 seconds.
Speaking after the race, Mwangi was elated, saying this was the fifth time he was participating in the marathon race. “I am glad I won the race today. I have been training at Iten with Wilson Kipsang (Former world record marathon holder and this has paid off. In future I would like to participate in other marathons but I do not have a sponsor,” he added.
On her part, Kalekye attributed her win to consistent training, saying she knew she would emerge tops.
“I trained well. I have been training at Iten together with athletes like Wilson Kipsang who have really been encouraging me. I would like to continue with the same trend and also participate in other marathon events. I would also like to have a manager, currently I do not have one,” she said.
Speaking after the race, Ndakaini Marathon Chairman, James Mukuna expressed his excitement after hosting yet another successful marathon.
“We are delighted to host yet another successful marathon, we like to thank our sponsors, the county government of Muranga, the participants and residents of Ndakaini for their support.”
The race was flagged by Machakos First Lady, Ms Lillian Ng’ang’a who also participated in the 10 Km race. She said she had taken part in the run for the cause and also to keep fit.
Proceeds from sponsorship and registration will be channeled to the NDEKA community to support conservations efforts at Ndakaini Dam.
