Athletes, fans follow Boston race in Kapsabet

It was pomp and colour at Steve Nice Hotel in Kapsabet Town, Nandi County on Monday after hundreds of elite and upcoming athletes congregated at the entertainment spot to follow the 123rd edition of the Boston Marathon.

The event, which has now popularly become known as a “marathon viewerthon” was organised by the Bank of Africa in partnership with Kenya Revenue Authority and DSTV.

The partners made presentations to the athletes and fans on various topics pertaining athletics and investment.

Bank of Africa Eldoret Branch manager, Richard Maritim, said that as a financial institution, they had pitched tent at the event to join the attending athletes in cheering and supporting their colleagues in Boston.

“We are here for the six year running to celebrate our athletes who many of them are our clients. We are proud to be participating in the major marathons across the world on the same foot,” said Mr Maritim.

He used the opportunity to encourage the athletes to open the Mwanariadha Account, which he said has good features on internal transfers on Kenyan and major foreign currencies.

“As a bank, it is our wish and hope that our athletes who participate on the international platform get the good foreign exchange after participating in these major races and that is why we are urging them to open the Mwanariadha Account which suits their exact needs,” he explained.

Hanis Otieno, Team leader from DSTV, said that corporate entity was on the front in supporting the local sports talents and bringing sports entertainment to their audience.

“We bring great entertainment at home in high DSTV quality and considering the success of this viewerthon, we plan to show more support for our athletes,” said Mr Otieno.

Kenya Revenue Authority North Rift region Assistant Manager, Philip Ondieki Nyaboga, said that they were co-sponsoring the event since athletes are their stakeholders.

“All we want to explain to them is what taxation entails. On this we are narrowing down on the thorny issue of double taxation. We have also told them what they need to do when they jet into the country with a lot of goods that exceeds the required limit,” he said.

Former Kenyan long distance runner and two-time Boston Marathon champion, Moses Tanui, said that Boston is a downhill race that's why the organisers don't recognise world record course.

“Ethiopians run knowing that there is wind. That means that one uses a lot of calories of which Ethiopians are always aware of. For you to win such a race you have to run between the rest. As Kenyans, we need to be aware of these tactics,” explained Mr Tanui.

Among the athletes who thronged the venue located along the Kapsabet - Nandi Hills highway to cheer their colleagues included; Rotterdam Marathon champion Marius Kipserem, 2018 Honzhe Marathon Champion Jacob Boit, third placed in Rotterdam Marathon Emmanuel Saina among others.