AK to host Mountain Running championship in Naivasha

Naivasha is set to host the Athletics Kenya Mountain Running competition on November 22.

The one-day event will be held at the foot of Mount Longonot in Naivasha under the strict COVID-19 health protocols.

The race will start at Corner Stone Preparatory Academy on Mai Mahio – Naivasha and end at Flyover. The course will consist of flat track and steep climbing of 930m and downhill of 330m.

The last kilometre is a demanding steep hill with exciting rocky parts to the highest point of 2,685metre above the sea level in Kenton area.

The event will see athletes battle it out in three categories thus- 8km junior men, 8km senior women and 10km senior men.

The mountain running series is part of the AK calendar which will pave way for AK cross country season opener on November 28, 2020 in Machakos.

The registrations for the Mountain Running will be held on September 21 in Naivasha, Run2Gether Camp in Kiambogo and Longonot town and its pegged at Ksh.200 for both elite and leisure runners.

The national athletics governing body led by its President Lt. Gen (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei is seeking to popularise the event both at national and continental level.

The Naivasha event will see top finishers in each category walk home with medals and cash prizes.

Last year, Kenya hosted its first Mountain running meet dubbed ‘Challenging the Heights’, in Meru County which featured various races including 2Km, 6 Km, 8Km and 12 Km. The same event is slated for February 20 at the same venue.

Kenya’s Lucy Murigi is the most successful Kenyan runner having won the world mountain running title twice.

“Mountain running is now part of our calendar of events and we will be using the events to gauge our runners for the upcoming world major mountain running events. Also we encourage our athletes to use the mountain competition as part of building their endurance,” said Paul Mutwii, the AK Senior Vice President and director of competitions.

Some of the major Mountain running competitions scheduled for next year include; Pilancones Tunte Trail in Spain (January 16), European Masters Mountain Running, Trail and Nordic Walking Championships in Italy (May 28-30), European Mountain Running Championships in Portugal (July 3), International U18 Mountain Running Cup in England (July 24), World Masters Mountain Running Championships in Austria (September 3-5) and Mountain Running Championships in Canada (September 17-19).