This archive report was first published on 23 October 2019.
The 17th edition of the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon is set to take place on Sunday, October 27, 2019, at Nyayo Stadium, with over 20,000 elite and fun runners expected to participate.
Athletics Kenya will deploy more than 200 technical officials to oversee the event, with the organizers paying extra attention to the technical aspects of the city road race in a bid to have it promoted to the league of the world's elite marathons.
According to Barnabas Korir, AK Chairman Nairobi branch, the event organizers are working closely with the Nairobi Traffic department to ensure a smooth and safe event.
As part of the international safety provisions, the Nairobi Traffic department has released an elaborate road closure and diversion schedule that will see traffic to and out of the city diverted to alternative roads between 4am and 2pm.
The affected roads include sections of Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway, Upper Hill, and Forest Road, while within the CBD, Kenyatta Avenue, Muindi Mbingu, and sections of Haile Selasie and University Way will also be closed.
Joshua Omukata, Traffic Commandant, Nairobi County, assured that the event organizers have carefully organized traffic diversions to ensure that Nairobi county residents have alternative routes to critical locations in the city, including hospitals, churches, and airports.
The event organizers have also announced a few changes to the route for the six race categories, largely due to the relocation of the start and finish points back to in and around Nyayo Stadium.
Peter Gitau, the Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee, expressed optimism that the goal of raising Sh.60 million this year for the FutureMakers initiative will be attained.
Gitau noted that the prize money has been increased from Sh1.5m to Sh.2m for 42km, and from Sh. 150,000 to Sh 300,000 for 21km, which has resulted in a heightened interest from elite and fun runners.
