The 10km race has emerged as the standout attraction for Sunday’s Nairobi City marathon, with 6,550 of the 17,450 registered participants set to tackle the popular distance.
The full marathon (42km) has attracted 1,750 runners, while the half marathon (21km) has drawn a strong field of 5,050 participants. The 5km Family fun run has also proved popular, attracting 4,100 participants.
Athletics Kenya (AK) competitions director, Kennedy Tanui, revealed that Nairobi residents have developed a growing appetite for the 10km race, which continues to dominate participation numbers at the City Marathon. “The 10km race seems to be the favourite of the City Marathon,” Tanui said.
He further disclosed that registration was automatically closed once the event reached its target capacity. “Registration for this year’s race was filled within three weeks. We did not close the application; it is the system that automatically closed registration because we had already attained the target number.”
“Logistically, we cannot accommodate more than that number because of the supplies which we had already pre-ordered for the event,” he said. With many prospective participants locked out after slots sold out, Tanui promised an even bigger and better edition next year, with organisers targeting more than 30,000 runners.
“We are working hard to expand next year’s marathon so that we can accommodate more than 30,000 participants,” he said. Tanui highlighted the fierce competition that has become synonymous with the Nairobi City Marathon, noting that no athlete has managed to successfully defend a title since the race was launched. “It is hard to predict the outcome of the Nairobi Marathon. This has been a marathon of budding talents.”
“New talents emerge every year. No one has successfully defended his or her title at the Nairobi Marathon,” he noted.
Tanui further revealed that the bib collection opened on Thursday and will continue until Saturday at Nyayo National Stadium. “The bib collection started on Thursday and will run until Saturday at Nyayo National Stadium. If you do not collect your running number, you will have forfeited your participation,” he said.
He also urged Nairobi residents to line the streets and create a vibrant atmosphere for the athletes competing across the four race categories. “I urge Nairobi residents to come out in large numbers to cheer on the athletes. We have already filled the race entries, and now we want to see huge crowds supporting the runners along the course.”
“There will also be a lot of gift hampers from our partners for fans who come to support the event,” he added. On matters of security, Nairobi County Police Commander Benjamin Bowen assured participants and spectators that comprehensive measures have been put in place to guarantee a safe and successful race day. “We are very much ready. The security situation in Nairobi is stable, although we remain alert to potential threats that can occur in any major gathering.”
“There are cases of street robberies and mobile phone snatching. We have already begun sweeping operations across the city ahead of the event to ensure maximum safety,” Bowen said.
AK Competition director Kennedy Tanui (L), Nairobi County police commander Benjamin Bowen and deputy traffic commander Rashid Ali/ TEDDY MULEIHe pointed to Nairobi’s recent successful hosting of the Africa Forward Summit as proof of the city’s ability to secure major international events.
“Just a few weeks ago, Nairobi was honoured to host the Africa Forward Summit, which was very successful. We had more than 30 heads of state and were able to provide maximum security.”
“We shall deploy adequate security personnel, including officers from the Administration Police Service (APS), the Traffic Department, the GSU elite unit to address terror threats, and the National Youth Service (NYS) for crowd control. We are ready and set to go,” Bowen added.
Deputy Traffic Commander Rashid Ali also provided an update on road closures that will be effected across the capital for Sunday’s race.
Ali said the closures will begin at midnight on Saturday and remain in force until 2 pm on Sunday, affecting key transport corridors including the Nairobi Expressway, Uhuru Highway (both directions), Kenyatta Avenue, Haile Selassie Avenue, Processional Way, City Hall Way and Simba Street, among others. “The road closure will start at Saturday midnight and run until Sunday at 2 pm. However, we shall progressively reopen roads as the competition goes on.”
“Once the 42km race is completed, we will open certain sections without affecting the other races that will still be underway, such as the half marathon,” Ali said.
The action-packed programme will get underway at 6:45 am with the men’s and women’s full marathon races, followed by the half marathon at 9 am, the 10km race at 10 am and the 5km Family Fun Run at 11 am.
Winners in the full marathon pocket Sh3.5 million while second and third place walk home with Sh2.25 million and Sh1.5 million. The half marathon will see podium finishers walk home with Sh150,000, Sh80,000 and Sh50,000. For the 10K, podium finishers will earn Sh100,000, Sh60,000 and Sh40,000.
