Kenya Prisons Commissioner General Patrick Arabduh promotes Lillian Odira as Assistant Commissioner General and Director of Sports, Catherine Ndereba, looks on / CHARLENE MALWAThe event will double as the trials for the National Cross Country Championships, scheduled for October 25 at the Eldoret Sports Club. With national team slots up for grabs, competition is expected to be fierce.
Kasait, who claimed bronze at the 2017 World Cross Country Championships in Kampala and silver at the 2024 edition behind Beatrice Chebet, enters as the most decorated athlete in the field.
She has had notable performances on track and road, including a personal best of 14:23.05 over 5000m and a 10K road victory in Bengaluru this year, clocking 30:56.
Mwangi, the 2024 African Championships silver medallist in the 10,000m, has steadily climbed the ranks of the domestic scene and is expected to provide stiff competition. Joining the two is Maureen Chebor, who enters as a guest runner after dominating the Machakos edition of the Athletics Kenya Cross Country series, winning the 10km race in 30:38.
In last year’s edition, Loice Chemnung' (33:09), Brillian Chepkorir (33:27) and Lillian Odira (33:44) claimed the podium. Odira, the reigning 800m World Champion, will not compete this year, opting instead to rest ahead of a new track season that includes Diamond League engagements and the Commonwealth Games.
Odira was promoted to Senior Sergeant of Prisons in recognition of her achievements. Reflecting on her Tokyo triumph, where she clocked 1:54.62, she said: “This is motivation, not pressure.” She vowed to remain humble while chasing new personal bests. Her coach, Jacinta Muraguli, credited her disciplined training and long-term planning for her recent success.
On the men’s side, defending champion Shadrack Ngumbao returns after clocking 30:11 in the previous edition. He will be joined by last year’s runners-up Boaz Kipruto (30:43) and Silas Chepkwony (30:48), road runner Alex Matata and Olympian Charles Muneria.
The stakes are high, with both individual glory and national team selection on the line.
Speaking during the flag return and sponsor handover ceremony, legendary marathoner Catherine Ndereba acknowledged the demanding calendar this year.
“We are happy to celebrate our athletes as they return the flag and receive the donations from our great sponsors. This year has been so overcrowded with events. It’s one of the crowded,” she said. “Cross country is normally the first event of the year. We got forced by circumstance so as to have enough time to secure visas. We are now going to have our third event.”
Deputy Commissioner General Nicholas Maswai, who was the lead Team Kenya manager at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, said they are struggling with finances in staging their events.
The organisers received sponsorships from Magereza Sacco (Sh100,000), CIC Insurance (Sh300,000) and SBM Bank.
Meanwhile, the world 800m champion Odira will not feature tomorrow as she targets recovery from a long world-title-winning run.
However, she was at Magereza House on a different mission, promotion to Sergeant of Prisons. Odira reflected on her Tokyo triumph (1:54.62) as a beginning, but as a stepping stone for future accolades: “This is motivation, not pressure,” she said. She vowed to remain humble as she chases new personal bests.
Her coach, Jacinta Muraguli, said discipline in training and long planning were key to her success.
