Nairobi standard chartered marathon will deploy technology to achieve a fair and credible marathon, Peter Gitau says
The 19th edition of the Nairobi Standard Chartered marathon has attracted over 14,000 participants raging from local to international runners and some of the country’s top 172 elite athletes.
Speaking at the launch of the itinerary of the race, Nairobi standard chartered marathon Local Organizing Committee chair Peter Gitau said that they are collaborating with Athletics Kenya (AK) and Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) to monitor all runners and arrest doping cases throughout the race.
Gitau said that they plan to deploy technology to ensure that the race is fair and credible.
“We plan to run a very credible marathon. We are working closely with ADAK and AK to use technology chip to track the runners throughout the race. We will also conduct anti-doping tests after the race. This will complement the services of the race technical director, Route Marshals and CCTV cameras along the course to deliver a world-class marathon and experience to all participants,” Gitau said.
The marathon will consist of the 42 kilometers, 21 km, 10 km ,5 km and wheel chair races.
The overall prize money will be Sh10.2 million while the winner of the 42 km race will be awarded Sh2 million.
The prize money will be remitted to the athlete after ADAK has issued the doping test result in 2 months’ time.
Deputy police traffic commander Mary Kiarie highlighted some of the roads to be used by motorists on the day of the race and also noted that some members of the national police service will be participants in the race.
“All roads leading into the Southern Bypass will be closed including sections of Ngong’ Road, Langata Road and Mombasa Road Nairobi,” she said.
“We have created traffic diversions and provided access to alternative routes during the designated marathon hours. We recommend that users of the Southern Bypass use these routes. To ensure a smooth flow of traffic, we ask for the public’s cooperation with the traffic officers we have stationed around the routes. Additionally, we wish to reaffirm that strong security measures will be used to protect attendees,” Kiarie said.
Some of the elite athletes who will participate in the marathon include Asbel Kipruto, Bravin Kiprop, Ezra Kipketer, Shyline Jepkorir and 2013 New York city marathon winner Prisca Jeptoo among others.
Uhuru gardens will be the starting point of the race and will be facilitated by the members of the military.
The races will begin as early as 6:30 am starting off with the 21km wheelchair run at 6:30 a.m, followed by the men’s and women 42 km relay at 6:45am, the 21km men and women at 7:00 am, 10 km men and women at 7:45 am, whereas the 5km family run will bring down the curtains on the annual race at 8:30 a.m.
Registration for the marathon is still open until 28th October at a fee of Sh2000 and participants asked to collect their kits at the Uhuru Gardens, Nairobi as early as they can.
Closure and diversions of the road will begin Saturday midnight and normal traffic operations will resume on Sunday 1:30 pm.
