Nairobi To Host Africa’s Biggest Ever Marathon Next Month As Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce Prepares To Come to Kenya

• Kenya to host the largest ever marathon in Africa in May with a prize kitty of 60,000 dollars
• The course is internationally certified and therefore, the athletes' records will be recognised by World Athletics
• Meanwhile, sprint superstar Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce continues with her preparation for the Kip Keino classic

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Sports Amina Mohamed has officially launched the Nairobi City marathon slated for next month. The Marathon will be held on the newly-constructed Nairobi Expressway.

It will be officially called the Uhuru Classic Nairobi City Marathon as one of the legacy projects of President Uhuru Kenyatta. The race is scheduled to begin and end at the historic Nyayo Stadium on 8th May.

Of more importance is that the prize kitty will be the biggest one ever in Africa for marathon races. The organisers have set aside 60,000 US dollars for the full marathon races while 2,500 US dollars are for the half marathon races.

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Biggest ever road race

According to KBC Sports, there will also be the 10km and 5km categories where the winners will share a prize kitty of 1,500 US Dollars each. Jackson Tuwei, the President of Athletics Kenya, has hailed it as the biggest ever road race on the continent.

The course has been certified to international standards so any records broken will be internationally recognized. Kenyans have excelled in various city marathons around the world and we look forward to a great performance.

Ms Mohamed further asked Kenyans to turn out in large numbers and promote sports tourism in the country.

I invite all of us to run on that day even if only for 1km. No one will punish you for stopping along the way. Even if you will not run, just come and cheer our athletes.

The marathon is set to be held for the next 10 years. The competing marathoners will start from Nyayo Stadium and make their way to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) before coming back to the Central Business District. They will then take a turn for the ABC Plaza in Westlands before returning to Nyayo Stadium.

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Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in Nairobi

At the same time, the preparations for the second edition of the Kip Keino classic is gathering pace. This year’s event will be held at the Kasarani Stadium on May 7th. Sports Brief had earlier reported that African record holder Ferdinand Omanyala has stepped up his preparations by winning the national championships.

Jamaican powerhouse Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is expected in the country to face off with American Sha’Carri Richardson in the women’s short races.