Uhuru Classic Nairobi City Marathon, which has attracted more than 9,000 participants, got underway Sunday morning in the capital.
The race, which started at Nyayo National Stadium, will see athletes cover 33 kilometres on the Nairobi Expressway and the remaining nine kilometres on other city roads before returning to Nyayo.
Athletes will hit the Nairobi Expressway all the way to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport turn-off.
The competitors will then exit the Nairobi Expressway and branch off to Haile Selassie Avenue towards the Cooperative House Roundabout before turning left to Moi Avenue.
They will then drop to City Hall Way around Kencom House, onto Taifa Road and then onto Harambee Avenue, Uhuru Highway and back to City Hall Way before they head to Kimathi Street.
The competitors will then turn left to Kenyatta Avenue, branch onto Koinange Street then turn left to Monrovia Street through Muindi Mbingu Street and back to Kenyatta Avenue. They will then head to Moi Avenue, and run all the way to University Way Roundabout, and back to University Way before hitting the Globe Cinema Roundabout onto Kipande Street and Museum Hill Roundabout.
They will then return to the Nairobi Expressway and run all the way to ABC Westlands, where they will turn and head to the finish at the Nyayo National Stadium.
The half marathon contestants will avoid the city centre by staying on the Nairobi Expressway. They will make turns at Ole Sereni Hotel, and at the ABC Westlands then head back to the finish at the Nyayo National Stadium.
The 10km racers will make turns at Capital Centre and Museum Hill, and turn back to the Nyayo National Stadium.
A huge entry of 20 athletes from Ethiopia have signed for the men and women’s marathon.
The event has also attracted participants from Eritrea, Uganda, Uzbekistan and South Sudan.
The organisers have set aside $389,500 (about ShSh44.8m) as prize money, making the road race the richest in Africa.
The top 20 finishers in men and women races will share $370,000 (Sh42.55m).
The men’s and women’s winner will each pocket $60,000 (Sh6.9m) in prize money with the second-placed athletes in each of the categories going home $35,000 (Sh4.02m) richer.
Those finishing third will pocket $25,000 (Sh2.875m) each with the fourth and fifth-placed athletes getting $12,500 (Sh1.44m) and $10,000 (Sh1.15m) respectively.
A number of Ethiopian and Eritrean athletes have signed up for the marathon race including experienced Sisay Mekonnen Jisa, Abraham Girma Bekele and Alemu Gemechu from Ethiopia, and Eritrea’s Okubay Tsegay.
Kenyans, the 2011 London Marathon champion, Emmanuel Mutai, Eldoret Marathon champion Victor Kipchirchir and 2017 Eindhoven Marathon champion, Eunice Jeptoo, are among local stars who have signed up for the race.
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