Exciting road racing season begins

The track and field season is now over and paves way for the road racing season. And what a season it is. Every weekend in this period, thousands of runners will pound the pavements and trails around the country. From challenging half-marathons in the wild, themed 10 km races to major city marathons, options abound for the elite athlete to the casual jogger.

The marathon and its complementary races have become an annual fixation for many aspiring athletes and recreational athletes alike with different goal sets. Remarkably, it is the participation that counts and the personal gratification of completing the distance no matter the placing. There is an incredible feeling sharing the road with people of different age groups, race and ability.

The marathon is beyond doubt one of the most difficult and attractive races in athletics. The inherent, resonant beauty of the classic distance manifests itself in many ways, and chief among these is that the marathon is perhaps more ethnically diverse than any other major world sport save for football.

However, Kenya’s dominance of the marathon in recent years is truly remarkable! We have produced countless winners of several marathons around the world both men and women and our depth in this event is astonishing.

No other country in the world has the quality or the depth that Kenya possesses in the marathon. In many ways, our distance supremacy is a symbol for everything that is great about the marathon. Our country is among the world's poorest, yet we continually produce runners who test the body's physical limits and the mind's imagination.

So, it is exciting that the 2nd half of the major marathon season is upon us and the excitement and anticipation of seeing the biggest marathons in the world unfold is here.

All over Europe and the US, big cities are hosting marathons that provide the venues for our athletes to excel. The most famous ones this autumn are Chicago, Berlin, New York, Frankfurt, Beijing and Honolulu.

Locally, Ndakaini, Maasai Mara, Standard Chartered and Kass marathons are opportunities for upcoming athletes to test their mettle. I’m happy that the standard of local road races has improved and the quality and incentives now for the numerous local athletes are quite good that most do not have to seek foreign races to earn a living.

Athletics Kenya, while meaning well to regulate the road race events, ought to classify these local races rather than impose exorbitant fees across the board on events big and small.

Beyond providing athletes opportunities to earn a living or achieving physical goals, marathons are a huge catalyst for fundraising for good causes. Most major marathons and to a certain extent, our local marathons align themselves to a particular charity and raise funds from proceeds of their event.