Take Your Pick - Octoberfest for Sports...

This month marks some major sporting events in the country and what promises to be a busy last quarter of the year 2011 for Kenyan sports fans.These involves both local and international engagements for our sporting individuals and teams as well;

First off is the much-hyped Kenya v/s Uganda game for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers for 2012. This though is being played in Kampala but being close home, the number of fans both from within Uganda and those travelling to Kampala's Namboole (fondly named Nelson Mandela) Stadium shall be teeming with one too many Kenyans.
Still in Football, the Kenya Premier League continues with the first 5 teams having a 6-point difference between them thus making it still an open contest. 2nd-placed Ulinzi FC got some reprieve after its earlier docked points are now theirs to lose after KPL Disciplinary Committee decided to have the 2 games played. From the fixtures though, the final standings will take shape this month.

Impala Floodies - Lights, Rugby Action !

For you the Rugby fan, you have the 30th edition of Impala Floodlights coming to you early thanks to the re-adjusted Kenya Rugby Union calendar. Starting on the 8th October, the games run every Saturday till 29th October when the final take place. Most of the rugby sides are likely to play their younger squads though as the games progress the prize money may change the playing units slightly. Reigning champs of the Impala Floodies Strathmore will be hoping to repeat their exploits earlier this year to beat more fancied sides.

In volleyball we have Kenya's own Kenya Prisons team representing the country in the FIVB Club World Championships taking place in Doha, Qatar from October 8th -14th. These championships make a comeback after a long break since 1994. We shall be hoping our girls can make an impact and be among the top 3 teams of the 6 in the tournament.

Chicago Marathon logo - courtesy of www.chicagomarathon.com

In Athletics, the Chicago Marathon starts us off on 9th October. With last year's winner  the late Samuel Wanjiru not in the field, we shall be hoping another Kenyan takes the lead as they have taken the world this year by storm. This race is part of the World's Marathon Majors of which the late Samuel Wanjiru was ranked first in 2010.  3 local road races are planned in the Rift Valley; Kebirigo, Eldoret and Kipkelion. There is also the Standard Chartered sponsored Nairobi Marathon which is slowly becoming a nurturing course for future marathoners for the country. It also part of a series of other Standard Chartered marathons, dubbed 'The Greatest Race on Earth' featuring Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong as host cities.

Cricket fans, don't be so gloomy, we have the East Africa Premier League T20 featuring teams from the 3 East Africa countries. The boon for these games are the agreement by SuperSport to screen them live.
In basketball, the final games of the Kenya Premier League come to an end this month with the play-offs expected to start on or before the last weekend of October. This year, the League has gotten a boon from the  #FridayNightBasketball games organised in partnership with CodeRed DJs, General Motors and media partners 1FM. Here's a review of some past Friday games...

Dunk-over-Bike by Mandela - image courtesy of www.kenyahoops.wordpress.com

Make time for any of these sporting events taking place and enjoy supporting your favourite teams and individuals as we seek to develop and grow local sport.

StanChart Nairobi Marathon 2010 date confirmed

This year's Nairobi International marathon is on the 31st of October once again snaking its way into Nairobi City roads ( though the route has slight changes as the run takes runners into some major roads).

As the launch was made, it was suggested that the sponsors and organisers look into inviting elite athletes by paying appearance fees. That's a great way of raising the event's spotlight but a lot needs to be done to ensure the local populace and marathon-running citizens continue flocking the event.

Henry Wanyoike (Courtesy of  Henry Wanyoike Foundation)

Marking its 8th anniversary, the organisers have a huge task of raising the more than KShs. 20 million ( approx. US$ 250,000) that usually goes the Seeing is Believing Initiative which seeks to eradicate and avoid blindness of children under the age of 9. One of their biggest scoop has been Henry Wanyoike - Kenya's most famous blind athlete to date who even featured in their latest ad (as Standard Chartered marks its 100th year of business in Kenya).

The organisers have raised their target to 16,000 which is a task given last year's drop to just below 15,000 runners - as is usually the case, Kenyans and their last-minute habits of beating deadlines. Brand Kenya and Kenya Tourism Board have also been challenged to sell the country as a sports tourism destination(check this from World Sport Destination Expo too) and hope to reap from the foreign visitors visiting the country. Average figures from other major cities are usually in excess of 40-50,000 runners and even more peripheral ones in tow.

Organisers also hope to attract media attention and secure rights to screen the run as they did last year on SuperSports. We shall be bringing you updates and again capture moments as they happen on the day. You can register for the marathon here. The fees are KShs. 1000 for individuals, 500-kids and 50,000 for corporate teams.

Sports Tourism : Another One from the StanChart Kenya

Seeing as it is, the current World Cup in South Africa has seen some of the best sports tourism packages developed and media platforms across the world are sampling the best that Africa has to offer. If you switch on to any major TV network or credible station and you'll see some interesting ads by popular tourist destinations and Kenya's not been left behind.
Building on the Magical Kenya communication to not only promote local tourism which has been previously overlooked, we are informed that the Kenya Tourist Board is in discussion with the Standard Chartered Bank - Kenya the franchise holder of the Nairobi Marathon to develop some package targeting sports tourism.
This would be some added boon to the event which has seen numbers soar only to stagnate in last year's event at just over 13,000 down from highs of 15,000 + in the 2007/8 races. There is word too that the meet may seek to attract some big names in the form of guest appearances and this might add the extra uumph that the event needs to make it sustainable and worth running for this year.
It will also promote the country's major attractions and the city's too in the same vein and seek to gain international prominence along the lines of the  London, New York or other World Marathon Majors circuit.
We welcome these developments if indeed they do take place and look forward to Kenyan sporting scene at least making its mark not just from the international meets but from locally developed and hosted events.

IN OTHER NEWS :

Image courtesy of Daryl & Sharna Balfour - www.lewa.org. 
Still talking about the running, we have the now major sporing event in the calendar going down this weekend at the Lewa Downs. Popularly known as the Lewa Marathon, it's a pet project of East Africa's biggest company, Safaricom which shall host runners at the Lewa Conservancy. The race is an ideal outing for the discerning urbanite who needs to get away from the city.
This year's event has some interesting partnerships with LG providing some big screens to ensure you the football fan does not miss any World Cup action as the tournament gets deeo into the knock-out stage over the weekend. For a worthy cause and to 'run in the wild' as they say, see you at the Lewa. For more details gp to www.lewa.org.

Moses Kigen wins the 2009 StanChart marathon as Irene Jerotich makes her 2nd marathon title

Moses Kigen (middle) flanked by Peter Sitienei(left) and Nathan Naibei(right).
Yes It Is ! Moses Kigen is the new Nairobi Standard Chartered Marathon keeping the trend of a new winner in the last 7 editions of the event. He slashed some 12 seconds off last year's course record to finish at 2hr10min 12 sec. He was followed home by Nathan Naibei who had held the lead for sometime before appearing to burn out.
Peter K Sitienei rounded up the top 3 at 2hrs 11min 32 sec.
In the ladies event, Irene Jerotich won the event for a second time (first winning it in 2006 and coming second last year). She posted a modest time of 2hr28min 58sec.
Alice Chelangat and Sharon Jemutai were 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Each of the winners in the main marathon took home KSh. 1.5m, 2nd place - KSh.0.65m and 3rd place KSh.0.35m.
The half-marathon had the men missing the mark by a minute to lower it to less than an hour. Ernest Kiprugut won it with a time of 1hr 1min 18sec. Prize money KSh.0.15m.The event attracted 13,500 enthusiasts and competitors alike. They braved the cold morning conditions and also the shower that almost threatened to ruin a fairly well organised event.

Here's a sample of the day's happenings.

Nairobi StanChart Marathon : Updates

The minor races have just been completed with none of the reigning champions taking back their titles. The trend of a new winner in the 21km and 10km races continues. An interesting winner though was the 42km wheelchair which had a familiar face in sporting circles one Ibrahim Wafula winning the 6 digit prize money. More updates and uploads of photos later...

Nairobi Marathon - Standard Chartered is all set for all you marathon enthusiasts

The 7th edition of the Standard Chartered-sponsored Nairobi Marathon is set to go. As of the time of writing the article , 13,500 athletes had registered for the race. This is a shortfall of 1500 which the Bank had targeted. Maybe the late registration fee of KSh. 500 seems to have put off applicants most of whom are in it for fun and who usually wait till the last minute to register.
135 elite runners are in the 42 km full marathon with 86 of these being male runners and the female race attracting 49 runners. A total of 42 nations are represented in the race with the number of foreign runners being 194 in total. This is a fair number which gives the race some great coverage and truly paints the city in blue and green colours of the Bank.
The most favourite race the 10km (which yours truly ought to be participating in) has majority of the registered ones with 6,000 registrations. With most city roads being closed, as usual Nairobians will be treated to another day of running and fun for a Sunday.
We shall be reporting from the venue live and will bring you moments of the event, from the early morning activities to the actual races and the after-events.

2009 StanChart Nairobi Marathon - Another Run in the City

Banner courtesy of Standard Chartered Kenya

It's that time of the year again. We get ready to rule the roads in the City ( at least for a few hours!). This year's StanChart is right back at you ! The route promises another expedition into the City for those coming into Nairobi for the first time. The residents will also enjoy a favourable route unlike what they have doing in the last few years.
That can't be said to mean that it will be easy but a change is good as a rest. A change too is seen in the fact that late registration will attract a 500/= penalty ( as Kenyans have had a penchant for last minute registration...). The start and end The theme remains as has been Seeing is Believing- meant to raise funds for eye surgery operations in Kenya. Get practicing and we'll meet on the road !
Here's a preview of last year's events.