MT. KENYA MOUNTAIN RUNNING CHAMPIONSHIP DUE TO LAUNCH IN FEBRUARY 2020
(Posted 17th October 2019)
‘Challenging the Heights‘ is the theme under which the first ever Mount Kenya Running Championship will be held in February next year.
The Governor of Meru County earlier in the week announced the competition, which proceeds are due to go to the Meru Cancer Institute.
Several races will be on offer including one for the more professional runners, spanning over 12 kilometres and earning the winner a cash prize of Kenya Shillings 500.000/-. This race will meet international standards of mountain races by taking place above the 2.800 metre mark.
Under the sub theme ‘Keep the Doctor Away‘ will a race of just 2 kilometres also be held, more suitable to occasional joggers and the general population not trained well enough to participate in the main race.
Sports tourism is becoming a sizeable niche for Kenya and such events are bound to draw in more visitors once sufficient publicity has been generated.
Already popular is the 10to4 Mountain Bike Challenge which has been taking place over the past several years though the running part now to be added will make visits to Kenya definitely more appealing among the niche of global runners.
Notably will today one of the world’s greatest ultra trail races kick off on the island of Reunion known as the ‘Grand Raid‘ or locally more commonly referred to as the ‘Diagonal of Fools‘ for only top professionals or otherwise foolhardy individual attempt to conquer the terrain and finish the race.
