NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 24 – Winners of this year’s edition of the Eldoret City Marathon have been assured they will receive their prize monies soon enough.
The event’s race director Moses Tanui said they are working round the clock to ensure the winners receive their dues on time, subject to the results of the Anti-Doping tests conducted after the race.
“They will receive their cash anytime soon after receiving the results of the tests conducted after the race. The process has been delayed by the recent political activities in the country, including the General Elections,” Tanui said.
The fourth edition of the annual road race saw Victor Kipchirchir and Emily Chebet clinch the men and women’s titles in times of 2:13:10 and 2:29:58 respectively.
For their efforts, the two earned a top cash prize of Ksh 3.5million each – one of the highest paying marathons in the country.
Commenting on the progress of the four-year-old race, Tanui said they want to make it bigger and better in the coming years after the setback of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
“Our aim is to become part of the World Marathon Majors (WMM) alongside the likes of London, Tokyo, New York and Chicago. Next year, we want to make it bigger and better. We have a new event manager whose task will be to take this road race to the next level,” the two-time Boston Marathon champion said.
Image: HANDOUT
He added: “Overall, we are progressing well. There was a time during the pandemic when things were slow and even in the aftermath, things were a bit slow. However, with the resumption of sports, we have now picked up and are ready to move forward towards our long-term objectives.”
Tanui, who also won the men’s 10,000m world title in 1991, is hopeful more corporate bodies will jump on board to support the goals of the Eldoret City Marathon.
“It is very difficult to organize a marathon in Africa because of the lack of enough sponsorship. We have been privileged to have various corporates supporting us and we are hopeful more will join us. Many corporate bodies are starting to understand the power of sports,” he said.
Tanui added: “This marathon can be an opportunity for them (corporate sponsors) to reach out to new markets with their products and services.”
