A total prize purse of Sh5.6m will be on offer this Sunday during the second edition of the First Lady’s Half Marathon. Both the men and women winners of the 21km races will take off with Sh750,000 while the both the men and women winners of the 10km races will win Sh250,000 each.
Announcing the prize kitty, the IMG Kenya CEO, said although the focus of the race was on the Beyond Zero Campaign, it was important that the prize kitty reflects the stature of the race.
“The First Lady’s Half Marathon is designed to raise awareness and funds for Her Excellency’s Beyond Zero Campaign, nevertheless, we felt it was important to offer attractive prize monies to reward our budding and elite athletes,” Peter Gacheru said.
“The prize amounts for both men and women are similar, because this race holds both runners to the same standard.”
The first runner up to fifth place winners in both the men and women 21km will pocket Sh500,000, Sh250,000, Sh150,000 and Sh100,000 respectively.
The 6th place winner will take Sh50,000 and the 7th place winner will get Sh30,000. The 8th to 10th place winners will take Sh20,000 each, the 11th to 15th place winners will take Sh10,000 each and the 16th to 20th place winners will take Sh10,000 each.
In the 10km category, the first runner up to fourth place winners will pocket Sh100,000, Sh50,000 and Sh20,000. The fifth place to 10th place winners will take Sh10,000 each and the 11th to 20th place winners will take Sh5,000 each.
Tricycle and wheelchair winners will take home Sh100,000 and Sh50,000 respectively in both the men and women categories.
“With slightly over Sh2m available in prize money in both the men and women categories of the 21km race and just over Sh0.5m available in prize money in both the men and women categories of the 10km race, we are expecting this First Lady’s Half Marathon to be hotly contested,” Gacheru added.
“Indeed we have seen some international names like Abel Kirui register, to use this race as preparation for international assignments but also to take advantage of the money on offer.”
The second edition of the First Lady’s Half Marathon will be held from the Nyayo Stadium on Sunday March 8, 2015. Over 20,000 participants are expected.