Enugu marathon swells number of road races in Nigeria

With the Enugu International Marathon holding today, May 3, Nigeria is gradually becoming a hub for international marathon races. The inaugural event is an addition to previous races hosted in the country. In the last decade, the country has enjoyed international recognition from marathon races stemming from the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, ECOWAS marathon […]

With the Enugu International Marathon holding today, May 3, Nigeria is gradually becoming a hub for international marathon races. The inaugural event is an addition to previous races hosted in the country.

In the last decade, the country has enjoyed international recognition from marathon races stemming from the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, ECOWAS marathon race held in Abuja and Okpeke in Delta in both 42km full marathons for elite runners, 21km for half marathon and 10km for non-elite runners.

The international marathon races have placed the country on the global map, enjoying the alluring recognitions with the London and Paris Marathon races and undoubtedly emerging as one of the countries with the highest number of marathon competitions in the continent. 

Currently, the Access Bank Lagos City and the Okpekpe Marathon pride themselves with Gold label status, edging closer to achieving Platinum label while the organiser of the ECOWAS marathon race unveiled a 4-year plan to achieve a Gold label. 

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Undoubtedly, the progress in the reclassification of the country’s marathon races from the World Athletics Label, World Athletics Elite Label, World Athletics Gold Label and awaiting World Athletics Platinum Label marks the milestone achieved in the decade.

Meanwhile, attention will be on the coal city as the eyes of marathon enthusiasts will be on Enugu for the maiden Enugu City International Marathon organised by Nillayo Sports Management Company.

Ahead of the marathon race, the state governor Peter Mbah reiterated his administration’s commitment to make the state a major sports hub for the country.

“This week is the week of the race and we are currently dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s in order to put up an excellent event this Saturday. We are working closely with all the relevant professional organisations and stakeholders to ensure nothing is left behind”.

“We are very happy with the support we have been getting from the National Sports Commission (NSC), in Abuja, especially the support from the Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko and the Director General Hon Bukola Olopade”.

“We all can see the transformative changes our Sport is enjoying since the two of them have been at the helm and we are very happy to align with their Sports Economy initiatives,” he added.

 

Why East Africans dominate marathon races – Ogba

A two-time president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Solomon Ogba and the current first vice President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), has given reasons for the dominance of East Africans in marathon races.

In an interview with Weekend Trust Sports, he said each African country has areas of comparative advantages in sports, saying Nigeria is renowned for short sprints.

“We all have our area of comparative advantages in sports and fortunately we are better endowed in the short, middle and distances and the jumps and all those. 

“While the East Africans are endowed in the long distances. So, God knows why he did that but that doesn’t mean that we don’t run.

“Sports is not about winning, sports is about being involved, in this case running is everything healthy, nobody wants to die so people want to run so they can stay alive,” he said.

 

Gov’t urged to support marathon runners

Nyango Gyang Boyi, the Nigerian who finished eighth at the last Lagos City marathon, told Weekend Trust Sports that the government should provide facilities to aid marathoners.

He stressed that with the right training and support Nigerians would compete effectively against the East Africans.

“Everything is all about training. When you train hard, you will see the result. But we lack sponsorship and sports facilities. So, I want the government to look into that, so that they can provide facilities, camps and other assistance to us,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Enugu Marathon race will feature two competitive categories; a 10km race and a full 42km marathon.

According to the organisers, the 10km race will begin at the Eastern Nigerian Medical Centre, while the 42km race will kick off from Shoprite but both races will end at the historic Opara Square.