The 24th edition of the Lewa Safari Marathon, held today at the Lewa Conservancy in Isiolo County, was won by Philip Kigen and Mercy Kwambai.
Kigen won the men’s 42km race in 2:19:06, ahead of John Mitei (02:21:23) and Isaak Koech (02:22:37), who finished second and third, respectively.
Kigen was overjoyed with his victory, telling Citizen Digital that it has motivated him greatly ahead of other major races in which he plans to compete.
“The course was extremely difficult, especially given that former defending champion Peter Wahome was also attempting to defend his title.” The only challenges I had in the race were the hilly course and a few snakes that I had to avoid, but everything else was fine.
“The win has motivated me ahead of other marathon I have planned to take part this year. I dedicate this win to my wife and two kids who have been so supportive in my success,” noted Kigen.
Women 42 kilometer winner Mercy Kwambai was happy for the win promising to do better next time.
“The race was a tough one I can say due to the hilly course but I am happy that I have managed to be the winner. After I was done with 10km that’s the point I felt like I can lose the race because I was a bit tired but I motivated myself to finish it and I’m here now smiling. Last year I did 21 kilometers whereby I didn’t win and after talking to my coach, I decided to do the full marathon this year.
“I dedicate the win to my little daughter. She always gives me hope to continue working hard and I would like also to be an athlete like her mother in future.”
In the 21 kilometers, Nelson Rono (01:05:32) emerged victorious ahead of Justin Julius (01:06:28) and (01:06:57) who settled for the second and third positions respectively.
In women category Beatrice Cheburet (01:16:15) carried the day with Lucy Karimi) and Mary Munanu (01:17:30 settling for the second and third in that order.
The Safarciom Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Peter Ndegwa who also participated in the 21km race hailed the winners.
“The race was good and I think the weather was fantastic. Next year we will be celebrating 25 years of partnership with the Lewa Safari Marathon and we shall continue with the partnership so that we can preserve and conserve the environment to support the local community. Almost nine million dollars have been raise for the past 24 years to support the course and I want to thank the Lewa conservancy for the good job,” stated Ndegwa.
Chief Operations and planning officer at the Lewa Conservancy John Kinoti also thanked the participants as he hopes to meet their target of raising KSh. 50 Million.
“This has turned out to be a fantastic event, and we are overjoyed.” “The event got off to a great start with Meru Governor Kawira Mwangaza flagging it off, and the runners came out in force, and the weather was perfect.”I want to thank our sponsors for their help, and we hope that other sponsors will join us in making the event a success next year. We’ve seen nearly 1,200 runners and over 5000 spectators, which is very appealing.”
The main race winners in each gender received KSh. 150,000 and a Huawei Phone, while the first and second runners-up received KSh. 80,000 and a Huawei Phone, respectively.
