Kenya the home of champions is growing its sports talents through marathon events thanks to global recognition and local support . In this blog post, I present you a curated list of marathons with locations and the details you need to know about each marathon. These marathon events showcase the country’s talent and passion for long-distance running.
The good thing I personally love about these local marathons is that the marathons offers upcoming athletes who are struggling financially with the opportunity to put their talents to good use by earning some good money. Apart from the local contingent, the marathons especially like Nairobi city marathon have so far attracted runners from far and wide including China, who have registered 192 athletes to fly their flag high, as well as others from East African neighbors Uganda, Tanzania as well as Ethiopia, among others.
First let me highlight the marathons before diving deep into details of each;
List of Kenyan marathons
- Nairobi city marathon
- Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon
- Eldoret city marathon
- Iten international marathon
- Lewa safari marathon
- Maasai marathon
- Kenya wildlife marathon
- Safaricom marathon
Nairobi city marathon
- Date: Sunday 7 July 2024
- Location: Nairobi
- Website: https://www.nairobicitymarathon.com/
The Nairobi City Marathon is always an exhilarating event with the course on the beautiful Moja expressway, and the last edition was no exception. Not only did its participants become ‘Champions of the Green City’, but they launched a tree-planting campaign. By participating you can choose to enjoy scenes and sights including indulging in the city life. For registration details just visit their website.
The year 2023 edition was all about pushing themselves to the limit and achieving personal best. The prize money for Nairobi city marathon from position 1 to 10 is as follows;
The first-place finisher received KES 3,500,000, the second-place runner earned KES 2,250,000, the third-place contender was awarded KES 1,500,000, and subsequent positions followed suit. The fourth-place participant received KES 800,000, the fifth-place contender earned KES 650,000, the sixth-place runner secured KES 450,000, the seventh-place finisher received KES 400,000, the eighth-place contender was awarded KES 325,000, and both the ninth 300,000 and tenth-place runners were each granted KES 200,000.
Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon
- Date: Sunday 29th October 2023
- Location: Nairobi
- Website: https://www.nairobimarathon.com/
The 20th edition of the standard Chartered marathon which was held on Sunday 29th October 2023 took up a hybrid format – a satellite run in Kisumu, Kakamega and Mombasa and a physical marathon. The physical marathon was run along the Southern Bypass in Nairobi with a great view of the Nairobi National Park. They hosted 25,000 runners from across the globe including person with disabilities and engaged 1000 volunteers.
For registration details just visit their website. The prize money for standard chattered marathon both men and women finishers was as follows;
| Position | Prize Money (KES) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2,000,000.00 |
| 2 | 750,000.00 |
| 3 | 500,000.00 |
Eldoret city marathon
- Date: Sunday 1 October 2023
- Location: Eldoret
- Website: https://www.eldoretcitymarathon.co.ke/
The Eldoret City Marathon was developed to afford the talents in the shadows an opportunity to compete at home where they would not need the services of a manager or agent to register for a world-class marathon. The Eldoret City Marathon just like other local marathons serve as the platform that gives them national prominence and introduces them to agents, managers, and the rest of the world.
The prize money for the year 2023 was the same as last year where the winner received Sh3.5 million. The marathon organizers also rewarded the top 20 male and female finishers.
Iten international marathon
- Date: 12th November 2023
- Location: Iten
- Website: https://www.iteninternationalmarathon.co.ke/
Last year, athletes competed on the picturesque high-altitude Iten course which started in Keiyo South Chepkorio area and finished in Iten, a training base that has produced a huge number of distance runners and has earned the status of the mecca of athletics.
The organizers of the race that celebrates Iten’s Home of Champions status will always be racing against time to deliver a world-class contest as seen in 2023 event.
Athletes who secure positions 1-20 in both the male and female categories of the inaugural Iten International Marathon will always go to the bank smiling after reaping the fruits of their labor, Each of the marathon winners are set to return home with Ksh 1 million as the prize money.
Lewa safari marathon
- Date: Saturday 29th June 2024.
- Location: Lewa conservancy
- Website: https://www.lewasafarimarathon.com/
Running a marathon on an African wildlife conservancy presents some unique challenges. The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in northern Kenya is home to the annual Lewa Safari Marathon, organized by Tusk in partnership with Lewa and Safaricom. Each year participants share the reserve with several large African predators including lion, leopard, hyena and wild dog.
This marathon is notoriously one of the world’s most challenging and rewarding. Set on the conservancy’s dirt roads the route takes runners across savannah plains, along river banks and through acacia woodland.
Maasai mara marathon
- Date: Dec 2 2023
- Location: Maasai mara
- Website: https://www.ultramarathon.co.ke/
Kenya wildlife marathon
- Date: June 1 2024
- Location: Wildlife
- Website: https://www.kenyawildlifemarathon.com/
If you have any questions about Kenyan marathons you can drop me a comment below