By Mical Imbukwa
Standard Chartered yesterday announced the launch of its annual Nairobi Marathon with the date set for 31st October 2021. The marathon, which has previously been fully physical will now adopt a hybrid format that includes both physical and virtual participation.
The marathon makes a comeback this year after it was cancelled in 2020 due to unprecedented challenges brought about by COVID-19 and the containment measures required. The newly adopted hybrid format will combine the traditional mass participation physical race for elite runners only with a virtual option for the rest of the participants.
Speaking during the launch, Standard Chartered CEO Kariuki Ngari, noted that, upon the cancellation of the marathon last year, the organization took time to engage with a couple of stakeholders and gained some useful insights for future marathons, one of them being, adoption of virtual marathons and the emergence of virtual running communities across the world.
‘’Last year, a number of elite runners were affected due to the cancellation and we stepped up to offer financial and educational support through the KipKeino Foundation. We look forward to seeing many of them participate in this year’s marathon and we will keep working towards ensuring our athletes are well equipped to perform well in a number of areas, including financial management,” he said.
According to the CEO, THE funds collected will be instrumental in driving the organization’s Futuremakers Initiative, which provides youth in need with education, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.
“In 2019, these fundraising efforts supported over 4,400 girls with life skills and economic opportunity training and the bank also invested KES 15 million to support women-led start-ups. Additionally, more than 650 youth and SMEs received financial literacy training. We are grateful for the support received for the past 17 years from participants, volunteers and partners and we look forward to running together for a worthy cause.’’ Ngari stated.
The races for the day will include 10 Kilometers, 21 kilometers, 42 kilometers and the 42 kilometers relay. The first race of the day will be done at 7:00am.
Commenting during the launch, Athletics Kenya Chairman Jackson Tuwei said, that it is an opportune moment for athletes to come and prove themselves in the marathon noting that, last year was difficult for athletes and bearing this in mind, together with various stakeholders, they are planning every event with the athlete’s welfare in mind.
He acknowledged the long-standing relationship Athletics Kenya has with Standard Chartered Bank noting that it has been fruitful in nurturing the next champions in road races and they believe the forthcoming race is a launching pad for many budding athletes in the region
“Elite athletes will be selected based on their timings from 2019 since majority of them were not able to compete in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For men, this will be between 2 hours 7 minutes to 2 hours 20 minutes while for women, will be between 2 hours 30 minutes to 3 hours all for a full marathon,” he noted.
The elite athletes will be selected from the Athletics Kenya database, training camps, previous SCNM edition database and previous marathons in the country. For the international elite marathoners, Athletics Kenya will reach out to respective athletics federations around the world to participate in the event for the (10Kms, 21kms and 42kms) categories.
The physical marathon restricted to 2,500 local and international elite athletes will be held on the Southern Bypass with Carnivore Grounds as the marathon venue. With a great view of Nairobi National Park along the bypass, this year’s Marathon will be a great showcase of our city and its potential in the tourism sector.
The virtual marathon will be targeting 13,500 participants to encourage active lifestyles among participants will be done between the 25th – 31st of October 2021. To participate, entrants will be required to check the SCNM website on the registration portal and pay a standard fee of KES 1,000. Optional donations to the Future Makers initiative are
