Naivasha will host the second Athletics Kenya Mountain Running championships on November 22.
The race will commence at Cornerstone Preparatory Academy on the Naivasha-Mai Mahiu Road and end at Fly-Over.
“Mountain running is now part of our calendar of events and we will be using the events to gauge our runners for the upcoming major world mountain running events. We encourage our athletes to use this competition as part of their endurance training,” said Paul Mutwii, AK Senior Vice President and Director of Competitions.
The one-day event at the foot of Mt Longonot will be open to both elite and leisure runners at a registration fee of Sh200.
“The event will see athletes battle it out in three categories; 8km junior men, 8km senior women and 10km senior men. The course will consist of a flat track and a steep climb of 930m and a downhill of 330m,” a statement from AK indicated.
The ultimate stretch is steep and rocky leading up to the highest point of 2,685m above sea level in Kenton area.
Winners will walk away with cash prizes and medals. AK hopes that the mountain running meet will be the perfect curtain-raiser for the cross country season opener in Machakos on November 28.
This will be the second mountain running championships in the country after the “Challenging the Heights” meet that was held last year in Meru County. There will be a repeat of the Meru event on February 20.
AK hopes to popularise the discipline at the national and continental level.
If all goes well, the country will send representatives to major mountain running competitions scheduled for next year, including Trail and Nordic Walking Championships in Italy (May 28-30), Pilancones Tunte Trail in Spain (January 16), World Masters Mountain Running Championships in Australia (September 3-5), and International U18 Mountain Running Cup in England (July 24).
Kenya’s Lucy Murigi has won the world mountain running title twice.
