Officials say course is ready for Eldoret City Marathon action

Eldoret City Marathon technical and security team at the event's finish line yesterday, one week to the Sunday showdown. [Stephen Rutto, Standard]

Eldoret City Marathon course is ready for the action set for this Sunday, the race’s technical team said yesterday as it concluded final route mapping and marking.

The new course, technical officials said, was designed to showcase Eldoret town christened ‘The City of Champions,’ displaying its iconic places and suburbs.

Athletes eyeing glory in the Sunday’s 42.195km contest will start at Highlands Inn in an exhilarating tour that will take them through a number of Eldoret streets.

The technical team, in their final tour of the course also noted that the route would give athletics fans a perfect opportunity to follow the action from their residences and on the roadside throughout the distance.

Race director Moses Tanui, top athletics tacticians Patrick Sang and Richard Metto as well as Uasin Gishu County Athletics Kenya chairman Joseph Boit were among officials who went through the course from start to finish, confirming its readiness for the fifth edition.

“It is the last Sunday before the marathon and we are on the course to ensure that everything is up to standard,” Tanui, a two-time Boston Marathon winner said.

He went on to say: “We will be running an international race and we urge all athletics fans and motorists to pause on Sunday and come out to cheer the athletes. It will be a holiday as we run the Eldoret City Marathon through the streets of the City of Eldoret.”

The race director said athletes will be required to pick their BIB numbers in person on Saturday, two days after the close of registration on Thursday.

“We are asking participants to run clean on Sunday because we are all in the fight against doping,” he added.

After the start at Highlands Inn, athletes will take race through Mandago road at Moi Girls Eldoret before heading to the iconic Kipchoge Keino and to Kiptagich House (hosting Central Bank of Kenya, Eldoret branch) along Uganda road through Coca Cola, and cross the 5km mark near Paul’s Bakery – one of the oldest bread makers in the town.

From the 5km mark, the course takes elite athletes to residential areas such as Mwanzo before returning to Uganda road through Reiply after passing through Kenya Pipeline.

Marathon stars thereafter race to Kipkaren before turning left to Rivatex East Africa and to Langas and Kisumu road and back towards Eldoret town as they cross the halfway between Shell Petrol Station and Hill School.

A stretch across parts of the leafy suburbs of Elgon View along the Old Nairobi road will lead athletes to Nairobi Highway and back to KCC, and uphill to Kapsoya and down to the streets of Edoret’s and finally to the finish line between Zion Mall and TAC Centre.

Boit, the Uasin Gishu AK chairman said Eldoret was ready to host athletes and enthusiasts who will troop to the town for the Sunday show.

“I am asking all athletes to register before the close of registration on Thursday. Eldoret is ready to give them a heartwarming experience,” the County AK chairman said.

Uasin Gishu County police commander Benjamin Mwanthe said the course had been mapped out for adequate security deployment on Sunday.

“There will be adequate traffic police personnel who will block a number of roads during the race,” he said.

The event’s 10km fun race course was also ready for use by hundreds of corporate and family race enthusiasts.