By Feverpitch Reporter
Upcoming Vincent Loritam returns to the Safaricom Baringo Half Marathon in Kabarnet town on Sunday to defend the title he won last year.
Loritam won the event in a time of 62:06.04 minutes.
He faces stiff competition from William Chebon and Cosmas Kigen, who finished second and third last year.
Former world-half marathon champion, Paul Kosgei is also expected back this year after failing to keep pace last year.
Kosgei finished outside the top 60 last year and blamed his poor show on an ankle injury.
Others to watch will be David Kemboi and James Taiget, who finished fourth and fifth last week.
The women’s field has attracted last year’s 15km race winner, Agnes Kiprop, who won 2008 Reims Marathon in France.
She faces opposition from seasoned runner Joan Ayabei, second last year, and Diana Chepkemoi, who was third.
Finish on tarmac
Caroline Komen and Loise Kangogo completed the top five positions in the 2008 race and will be the other runners to watch.
The race, to run along the traditional Kabartonjo-Kabarnet road, has become popular with budding athletes seeking to gauge their preparedness for the international professional stage.
This year’s course has been spiced up by ensuring the finish line will be on the tarmac road along the Kabarnet hospital road, unlike previously when the race finished on the Kabarnet High School grounds. The runners will rest on the lush green Kabarnet Museum grounds as they sample the Tugen and Njemps traditional offerings.
The current course, adopted four years ago from the previously hilly and punishing Kabarnet airstrip terrain, is flat and fast, making it competitive and spectator friendly.
Panoramic view
Athletes have praised the course, saying it is refreshing at every turn due to the extensive forest cover along the route and the panoramic view of the Keiyo and Laikipia escarpments on either side of the course.
"We want the Baringo half-marathon to attain international standards in terms of organisation, participation and prize money.
"Our local athletes need this to have a world class race closer home, hence motivate them to aim higher as they interact with successful runners from other areas," said Paul Tergat, one of the founders and promoters of the race.
"Initially, it was quite a challenge to assemble the kind of participation we see currently due in part to lack of sufficient sponsorship and media interest.
"I am delighted with the strides made since then because we now enjoy respectable corporate sponsors such as Safaricom and NSSF, among others, and immense press coverage," he added.
Safaricom and the NSSF have sponsored the event generously. Nairobi Sports House donated trophies.
and it is expected that there will be attractive prizes and trophies from the Nairobi Sports house for top performers to be announced soon.
The Baringo Branch AK and event organizing committee Chairman, Mr William Tomno and Event Coordinator, Simon Chebon, say that a higher and depth turnout is expected this year thus making the competition even stiffer due to the sudden surge in interest in athletics in the region.
The Baringo half marathon has in the past produced world-class athletes such as Shami Mubarak Hassan, formerly Richard Yatich of Kenya. He has since changed his citizenship and runs for Qatar.
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