2023 Eldoret City Marathon postponed

Organizers of the 2023 Eldoret City marathon have announced the postponement of the highly anticipated road race which was slated for Sunday October 1. 

According to two-time Boston Marathon champion Moses Tanui, who serves as the race director, the last-minute decision was made due to the delays in the arrival of merchandise from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

“We regret to announce the indefinite postponement of this year’s Eldoret City Marathon scheduled for October 01, 2023. This decision has not been made lightly, and I want to express our profound regret that we find ourselves in this situation.

“As many of you are aware, we have been diligently working towards organizing an exceptional marathon event that would showcase the extraordinary talent and determination of our athletes.

However, we experienced delays in the arrival of running merchandise shipped from Dubai, which we expect to be delivered on Monday morning,” read part of the statement signed by Tanui.

The press release issued on Thursday morning added that the withdrawal of the title sponsor also played a role in the rescheduling of the fifth edition.

“Additionally, following the withdrawal of the County Government of Uasin Gishu County as a title sponsor, we scouted for new title sponsors.

But unfortunately, there has been a delay in the completion of the transaction to deposit the prize money required to ensure that the race meets the high standards that both our athletes and fans rightfully expect.

 Tanui has assured all runners who registered for the event that they will get their money back.

“Our commitment to the athletes who have registered for this event remains steadfast. We will promptly refund all registration fees to those who have placed their trust in us.

“We recognize the sacrifices made, the countless hours of training, and the dreams of achieving greatness associated with such an event, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this postponement may cause,” stated the race director.

He ended by promising that they will do everything possible to make this year’s edition a reality.

The event is among the highest paying marathon in Africa - last year’s winners in men’s and women’s categories pocketed a whopping Ksh 3.5 million respectively.

Former Valencia marathon champ Emily Chebet clocked 2:13.23 to win the women’s race while the top honours in the men’s category went to Victor Rotich who reached the tape in 2:13.10.

By Tony Kipkorir