Runners from 15 nations will participate in the second
edition of the Great Chepsaita Cross Country race set for Saturday in Uasin Gishu
County.
The area was a beehive of activities Friday as organizers finalised preparations for the event that has attracted about 10,000 runners and an expected huge crowd of spectators and guests numbering over 25,000.
A contingent of over 2,000 security officers, 20 ambulances and over 800 support workers are on the ground to ensure the success of the event.
World Athletics has sanctioned all preparations for the event after a thorough auditing of all requirements put in place.
The race has been rated as Gold Level and will be part of the World Athletics series annually.
President William Ruto’s aide Farouk Kibet is leading the host team in test runs to ensure everything is in place.
“Everything is great and we are looking ahead to an equally great event,” said Farouk.
A technical team from the World Athletics led by Pauline Murumba camped at Chepsaita to audit all preparations.
“So far so good. We are here because this is a Gold level cross-series international event which must meet all required standards,” said Murumba.
Murumba said the Preparations are going on well as part of the regulations set by World Athletics.
“We expect high standards in several key areas like medical support, media coverage and safety for athletes and everyone else,” said Murumba.
Over 300 local and international media personnel are expected to cover the cross-country race rated as the second biggest in Africa
Murumba spoke during a site media briefing by organizers of the race.
Kennedy Tanui who is the competition director said they had registered 10,000 participants.
The registration has been closed.
He said only registered athletes would take part in the race that will cover a two-kilometre challenging course.
“It’s the most beautiful course ever designed around. Chepsaita will be used for the world ranking and participating runners will earn points under the Gold level series rankings,” he said.
Tanui announced that athletes from 15 countries will be participating in the race including China, the US, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda.
He said the races in several categories will cover ages between 5-70 years expected to participate.
Abraham Mutai who is chairman of the local organizing committee said the Chepsaita area was ready to host such a major world-class event.
“We are set in terms of the course, roads, safety and all other logistics including parking,” he said.
CEO of the event Barnabas Korir said the Gold Series event has limitations on participants to ensure the course accommodates participants.
He said the maximum number of athletes for the senior races for men and women will have a maximum of 600 runners while for the juniors, they would not exceed 1,500 runners.
Murumba added that the course route should be challenging with required obstacles to meet the required standards.
“In terms of the event, it meets all required standards,” said Murumba.
Technical director of the race Ibrahim Hussein said for the Gold Level race all requirements including for doping must be adhered to.
“We are not restricting participants but we have to comply with the requirements set by World Athletics,” he said.
He said the course has several hilly areas and rivers along with few artificial obstacles created for compliance purposes.
One of the artificial inclusions is the Water shower created on the course.
“It’s is a very attractive course for spectators and conducive for athletes. Chepsaita is quite a scenic and exciting area that will please everyone,” said Hussein.
“We have a two-kilometre loop that is very scenic and exciting”, he said.
Hussein said there would be many local and international guests at Chepsaita on Saturday.
Korir said the theme of the race- running for education-was fitting for the event and the local community.
He said over Sh10 million will be used to support bursary
kits for the local community with more than 1,000 needy students expected to
get support for education.
“The proceeds will also be used to support other community projects including water projects,” said Korir.
County Commissioner for Uasin Gishu Dr Eddison Nyale said all security measures were in place for the event.
President William Ruto and his deputy Kithure Kindiki are among the guests expected to grace the race.
Nyale said the safety and accommodation for participating
athletes had also been secured
