Race winners in Marsabit cultural festival to get camels

The 2016 Marsabit Lake Turkana Cultural Festival will include a half marathon race with winners taking home camels besides cash awards in the county’s first ever elite race in Loiyangalani.

Marsabit Governor Ukur Yatani and Sports Permanent Secretary Richard Ekai were Tuesday joined by Moyale MP Roba Duba for the event’s launch at the Nairobi National Museum where the programme for the May 19 to 27 cultural festival was unveiled.

The festival will bring together Marsabit’s 14 communities for a cultural show that will include fashion, music, dance and football for community teams and schools besides the road races.

The Marsabit races will be part of the “Great North Heritage Run” that will also see road races run in Iten (June 16-18), Lodwar (July 14-16) and Isiolo (August 25-17).

VARIOUS RACES

“We shall have a 21-kilometre elite race, 21-kilometre community relay, 10-kilometre elite race alongside a 10-kilometre moran race and a 10-kilometre women’s race in Sarima and Loiyangalani areas,” race co-ordinator Maxwell Nyamu said at the launch.

“There is also a 10-kilometre corporate challenge, 10-kilometre tricycle race and a three-kilometre children’s race,” he added.

The races are organised by Seamless Creative and Event Management in conjunction with the county government of Marsabit and the Ministry of Arts, Sports and Culture.

Sports Permanent Secretary Ekai said the event will help broaden the search for talent to allow more youth to showcase their abilities.

“Athletics in Kenya is confined to just a few areas but like we have seen, Mo Farah, who is from Somalia, continues to terrorise us in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres. So if, for instance, we extend the opportunities to the Somali community in Kenya, we will have many more Mo Farahs,” Ekai said.

SHARED GENEALOGY

“In the northern region, we also have communities that share the same genealogy with our Ethiopian rivals and if we expand sporting opportunities to the communities bordering Ethiopia, we will get more stars,” he added.

Governor Yatani reaffirmed his county’s commitment to the cultural and sports festival saying it was one critical way of maintaining peace and spurring development in Marsabit.

“We are not yet home yet, but a lot has happened in Marsabit since devolution and we shall use this cultural and sports festival to market the region.

“As a county government, we don’t want to rely on the national coffers alone, but also partner with other investors and stimulate the local economy,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Nyamu said the race courses had been surveyed, measured and marked to international standards by Athletics Kenya (AK).

“Part of the course shall be by the wind power turbines and the lake, making it the first ever race run by such unique and picturesque landmarks and the first race ever to be staged in the county of Marsabit,” Mr Nyamu said.

Although it will be the first time for the county to host a professional athletics race, the Marsabit cultural festival will be the ninth edition.