Athletics Kenya have welcomed and given the inaugural Mt Kenya Mountain running championship a seal of approval saying it will boost their bid to diversify.
The championships, organised by the Meru County government, will go down on February 22 in Mt Kenya with the organisers targeting over 5,000 participants to raise more than Sh50 million for revitalising their efforts in fighting cancer.
With Kenya already a force to reckon with on the track and road events in the global stage, AK ar looking at the event as an avenue to nurture athletes who will compete in the globally recognised championships.
AK president Jackson Tuwei revealed that their dream to bid and host an international event which was conceived way back in 2014 had seen the green-light with the inception of the Mt Kenya Championship.
“This platform will help us look into other options now that we have dominated track and roads. I am grateful that the event was organised with the aim of fighting cancer as well as conservation of game reserves. Besides that, the championship will develop athletes who have specialised in mountain running to compete with the rest across the world. I believe with this, time is ripe for us to host an international event too,” said Tuwei
Meru governor Kiraitu Murungi disclosed that the winner of the 12km race will pocket Sh500,000 while the first and second runners will earn Sh250, 000 and Sh100, 000 respectively. Murungi said his administration had pumped Sh10m to shoulder the logistical costs of hosting the event and exuded confidence that they will hit the set targets.
Apart from the 12 km race, there will be a 2km family run, 6km executive run and 8km races. Interested athletes will have to part with Sh2,000 for registration.
“Meru is one of the 11 counties with high prevalence of cancer and proceeds from the event will boost the fight against the disease," said Murungi. "We have set aside decent amounts to reward the winners of the race and I believe we will raise the amounts we are targeting.”
