Nairobi City Marathon inaugural race offers Africa's highest prize money

After years of watching their countrymen conquer the world on the roads globally, the time has come for Kenyans to experience the same home. 

On May 8, a day after the World Athletics Continental Tour gold dubbed Kip Keino Classic, Kenyans will have the chance to see the best of the road runners in action at the inaugural Nairobi City Marathon. 

The race christened 'Uhuru Classic' will be held at the newly constructed Expressway that traverses the city from Mlolongo area in Machakos County to Westlands via Mombasa Road. 

In a quest to attract the best of marathoners, the organisers have put a Ksh 6.9 million ($ 60,000) for the classic distance winners with second and third place walking away with $35,000 and $25,000 respectively for both the men and women's races. 

The prize money is set for the top 20 athletes in the marathon, with the last person rewarded $ 500. Three other subsidiary races will be held alongside the classic distance in 21km, 10km and 5km. 

Sports Cabinet Secretary (CS) Amina Mohamed, on the weekend led a Kenyan delegation in a popularisation exercise on the sidelines of the Rotterdam Marathon where she said the prize purse for the Nairobi event will match that of some of the major marathons.

“We have always watched our athletes win in some of the world’s major city marathons but it’s now time we watched it happen in Nairobi. 

It has always been my dream to host a major marathon and by the virtue that our cabinet memo went through it is my pleasure to see this beautiful country having its first ever city marathon,” she offered. 

The only full marathon staged in Nairobi is the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon where the men and women’s winners pocket Sh1.5m each.