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.

Liverpool's Legend Ian Rush conducts football clinics in Kenya

Having reported this story first, it is only fair that we pay tribute to one of the biggest legends of English football who spearheaded the technical team to the Kenyan visit.

Ian Rush is one of the heros of the Liverpool team of the late 80s and early 90s (though he did stints in Juventus and Leeds United). He was part of a partnership that sees Standard Chartered Bank shirt sponsorship benefit countries that are developing their football scene. He is serving in his capacity as Liverpool's Soccer Schools Ambassador, 'working with the commercial team to help develop and support partnerships with other global sponsors and brands'...source (Wikipedia).
For official info about the trip read more from the Liverpool site here.

(Image courtesy of Football-Pictures.net)

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.

Liverpool's African Trip??? Word has it....

Logo courtesy of Liverpool FC website

....that there is a football clinic coming up in August featuring some members of the technical bench of the English side, Liverpool. Given the new deal that the club signed in 2009 with the Standard Chartered Bank , to sponsor the club for the next 4 seasons ending in 2014 ; and the fact that Standard Chartered will be marking 100 years starting next month till 2011 -when the 100th year was as well as the relocation and finishing of its new headquarters on Museum Hill here in Kenya.  It seems like the football buzz has not missed the Kenyan scene after all... more details as we liven up the grapevine !

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.

More Money More Problems ?

Last week, Athletics Kenya held the National Championships which though had a low profile, were fairly successful. The organisation seems to enjoy some measure of success enough to attract corporate sponsorship-the latest being the National Bank of Kenya's Sh. 16 m deal-for the junior, youth and kids athletics programme.

According to media reports, this sports organisation had a surplus of Sh.22 m last financial year despite being the busiest association. I believe in terms of financial muscle, they command the most for local sports organisation.
But despite this, there seems to be some under-currents with the officials wrangles simmering quietly. This was brought about by the candidature and subsequent election of David Okeyo-the current Secretary General and now Vice-Chair National Olympics Committee of Kenya-NOCK. The latter is a powerful sports body in the country drawing affiliation to the International Olympics Committee which is almost any sports official's dream to manage.

The current chair runs the organisation roving like a colossus and not entertaining any dissent. Okeyo's election didn't go down well with him and has since been on a silent licking of the wounds and he tries to outdo his junior.

My concern is that these internal wars will eventually spill onto the scene when the country least expects it. We have the World Athletics Championships in August. The country has amost certainly lost the bid to host the Junior contintental championships which the association ought to have secured given the good rapport enjoyed with the Government officials.

I have said before for us to secure the interests of our sportsmen and women, we need to run these organisations more professionally and allow more transparency to occur. That way we save more than a fair share of funds committed and the country's image is secured in the same vein. Well let's see how far this goes....

Additional Information:

The AK had last year published their annual report complete with a financial report for public consumption- for the year ended 31st December 2007. This year they have scanty information on a badly developed and maintained website ( must have cost less than 150$- to develop and host).

According to media reports, they have sponsorships of Kshs.4.5m from New KCC for the national trials, sh. 4.6m from KCB for the national cross-country championships, sh. 7.5m from StanChart for the Nairobi Marathon and now the 16m from National Bank. There must be some unmentioned monies from sponsors like Nike and the IAAF grants.

Top Sports Personalities in Kenya -2008

As we look forward to the coming year which will serve as breeding grounds and hard work for all sporting disciplines (since there are not as many major sports events), I have looked at those who made a major impact in the sports scene in 2008;
They are as follows;

1. Pamela Jelimo- Athletics 800m- from obscurity to golden moments- she literally scorched the tracks last year. Starting with the Kenyan championships(cum trials), she went on to register a gold medal in the African Athletics Meet in Ethiopia, won gold in Beijing Olympics and crowned the season by taking the Golden Jackpot by winning 6-out-6 races in the Golden League Athletics Grand Prix. She was accorded State honours having audience the powers-that-be. She’s easily the most talked about sports personality for the year 2008.

2.Francis Kimanzi- Coach/Team Manager (Mathare United & Kenyan football national team)– juggling two demanding jobs is not mean achievement. But he did just that and managed to win the Kenyan Premier last year and also managed to guide Kenya into the 2nd round of 2010 World Cup / Cup of Nations qualifiers. Under him, Kenya is currently ranked 65th in the FIFA world rankings –the highest ever and best for the East & Central African teams. All this at the tender age of 30 years.

3.Jason Dunford- Swimming- he started the year by being crowned SOYA for 2007 after a sterling performance in the All-Africa Games. He put Kenya in the Olympic record books temporarily holding the record for the 100m butterfly stroke for a few minutes. He managed a 5th place finish in the Finals won by swimming phenomenon Michael Phelps. He crowned the year by winning 3 gold medals & 2 silvers in African championships held in South Africa in November.

4.Collins Injera-Rugby- The national 7s team has become any sports enthusiasts’ talking point for the last 2 years. They won the Team of the Year award –SOYA 2007. One emerging player from the season was Collins Injera who had the big teams the likes of England, Fiji shaking in their boots last season. He has been a decisive factor in Kenya’s 7s game and is likely to be a player to watch this season.

5.Samuel Wanjiru- Athletics Marathon- he was the 3rd best marathoner going into the Olympics and his place was confirmed after finishing 2nd to Martin Lel in the London Marathon, as well as a nagging injury to Robert ‘Mwafrika’ Cheruiyot who had been tipped as the favourite. But come the last event of the Beijing Olympics Games, we woke up to watch a lean man tear the rest of the pack apart and win Kenya her first Olympic marathon gold.

6.Francis Ouma- Football-seeing as it is, the Kenyan Premier League last season got off into a good start. With DSTv/SuperSport screening select Kenyan games, our footballer had something to show to the rest of the world. Ochieng found the net 15 times most for his team leading them to a 1st place finish. He has found a place in the national team and is currently leading Kenya’s onslaught in the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup in Uganda.

7.Humphrey Khayange- rugby 7s- he captained the team to the IRB Sevens Series and one of the most influential players in the team. He managed to guide the team to a season high 6th place in the Series before they lost steam and slipped to finish within the top 10 positions. They won the Tusker Safari Sevens in July, giving local fans something to smile at. He is still captain and was instrumental in the team’s season 2nd round of the Series outstanding performance at the Dubai Sevens in December. We’ll how he guides the team for the rest of the season.

8.Ben Ayimba –coach rugby 7s team- he was one of the best players of his days and led Kenya’s 7s team to many an upset. He took up the managerial role of team in 2007 and has since seen the team grow to be one of the best emerging teams in the IRB 7s Series. He takes responsibility for any poor performances a thing that has endeared him to both fans and players. He is also one of the youngest coaches in the Series at 31 years. He is bound to continue this streak in the year.

9.Wilfred Bungei- Athletics 800m- he has been a major feature in Kenya’s international performances and is easily one of the most recognizable athletes on the track. He was a perennial underachiever failing to make the final sprint count and missing on medals. He led Kenya’s contingent as the captain of the Kenya team to the Olympics. Last year he proved us wrong and won his race earning Kenya one of the 5 gold medals in the Beijing Olympics. His trademark eye-glasses he says are not a fashion statement but simply to save his eyes from the gashing winds in the races.

10.Julius Kirwa- he took the unenviable job of head coach athletics at a time when Kenya’s international performances were taking a beating from bitter rivals such as Ethiopia, Eritrea and the North Africans. He almost lost it when Kenya didn’t win any individual race at the World Cross Country championships in ……earlier in 2008. But he managed to recover and come back with a bang helping Kenya secure 5 gold medals at the Olympics courtesy of the athletics team.

11.Nancy Lagat- 1500m –she was the surprise gold medalist for Kenya at the Olympics. She had kept her trend of winning, nondescriptly and she repeated that feat at the 1500m race earning Kenya’s women their 2nd ever gold medal at Olympics Games. Her demeanour hides her ambition to excel and she surely had us fooled!

SPECIAL MENTIONS:
Richard Omwela -Kenya Rugby Football Union- sustained support and professionalism into rugby
Mutwiri Mutuota- CNN/MultiChoice African Journalism of the Year Award nominee and winner in Sports Award section
Hellen Sambili-Minister for Youth and Sports- ensuring sustained Government support to Kenyan sports
www.mafans.com - interactive site with interesting sports news and arguments
EABL, KCB, KCC, Safaricom, Standard Chartered Kenya,Coca-Cola -the top companies supporting sports in Kenya for the season (Virgin Atlantic also deserves a mention albeit a hurried one).

Please add any which I may have forgotten !