NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 8 – Two-time Hong Kong Marathon Champion Cyprian Kiogora and the 2011 Rotterdam Marathon Gold Medalist Philes Ongori are among elite athletes that headlines the 12th edition of the Safaricom Imenti South Road Race scheduled to run on Sunday at Nkubu Stadium, Meru County.
Over 500 local and international athletes have confirmed participation with registration set to close on Sunday 9th December just before the races begin.
Other notable athletes set to grace the event include; Embu’s finest Pauline Njeru, Nancy Nzisa from Machakos County and Isaac Kipkoech from Kericho County.
“Preparations are top notch and everything including is in place for the event tomorrow. So far we have registered over 500 athletes and the registration is still open till tomorrow morning before the races begin,” Athletics Kenya Imenti South Secretary General, Isaiah Muthomi said.
He added, “We sincerely laud the efforts of Safaricom for sponsoring this event for the past ten years and we are very proud to be associated with it. It is through such events that talents are exposed and nurtured and I believe this is one of the reasons our country continues to produce spectacular athletes.”
The races will be in different categories including 15 km senior race, 8km and 6km cross-country races for boys and girls, and 4km for veterans. There will also be 800m races for boys and girls and a 2km VIP race.
Winners of the 15km road race will walk away with Ksh 100,000, while the 1st and 2nd runner’ up will get a cash reward of Ksh 50,000 and Ksh 25,000 respectively. Safaricom has sponsored the Marathon to a tune of Ksh 1Million.
“For the past ten years we have supported this event as part of our broader strategy to impact on the lives of our sports men and women in Kenya. We believe in the power of sports to change lives hence our commitment to continue supporting this marathon,” Chief Customer Officer, Safaricom, Sylvia Mulinge affirmed.
The Safaricom Imenti South Road Race has since inception attracted hundreds of local and international athletes offering a platform to nurture talents and promote athletics locally and internationally.