Eldoret City Marathon postponed to October

Organizers of one of the highest-paying marathons in the country, Eldoret City marathon, have for the second time postponed the race citing the need for better preparations and getting more sponsors on board.

Speaking to the media at the Eldoret Sports Club on Tuesday 20 June, Race Director Moses Tanui said that the annual event, which was set to take place on Sunday 25 June has been postponed to 1 October 2023.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank Kenyans for waiting for the announcement of Eldoret City Marathon. But for the second time, we have postponed the marathon. We had unavoidable technical issues and we could not hold the marathon this weekend as promised,” said Tanui.

The double Boston Marathon champion apologized to athletes who had prepared for the race as well as sponsors and other stakeholders, adding that the race needed all the support to grow.

Tanui also urged the athletes to begin registration for the race as early as next week, saying that it is meant to give back to Eldoret which is the ‘City of Champions.’

“We want to develop the race and take it to another level. Fellow Kenyans, support this marathon and let it outlive us. Let it be like Boston Marathon which is 127 years and someone thought about it years back. We have very good sponsors and serious sponsors from abroad,” said Tanui.

Apart from running, the organizers are involved in tree planting with the theme of ‘Action plan on climate change’. This is in line with the government’s plan to plant 15 billion trees by 2032. The program is aimed at reaching 30 percent of three cover.

“We shall continue planting trees because our forests are declining due to deforestation. We want to have clean air for our athletes to compete in,” added Tanui.

In the 2022 edition held on 10 April, Victor Kipchirchir defended his title in 2:13:10 ahead of Michael Mutai who clocked 2:13:23 while Josephat Bett sealed the podium in 2:13:58.

In the women’s category, Emily Chebet won in 2:29:57 ahead of Shyline Jepkorir who timed 2:30:13 while Lilian Jelagat was third in 2:30:23.

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