Star Kipchoge named Ndalat Gaa cross country ambassador

New world marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge was on Thursday named race ambassador for the Isaiah Kiplagat Memorial Ndalat Gaa Cross Country which will be held on October 13 in Nandi County.

Kipchoge, who set a new world record at the Berlin Marathon a fortnight ago, will grace the event for a second consecutive time.

The competition, which is in its 10th edition, has attracted about 6,000 athletes who will compete in 12 categories which include a including a two-kilometre fun race for the VIPs, where the winner will get a gourd of mursik (traditional milk), while there will also be a veterans race with the top three getting a cow each.

The Safaricom-sponsored Ndalat Gaa cross country championship is usually the precursor to the local cross country season, and organisers of the championship say they have received a collective sponsorship of almost Sh5 million shillings from various corporates.

Safaricom pledge

Telecommunication company Safaricom have pledged some Sh2 million and are the event’s headline sponsors, while the Nandi County Government has disbursed a similar amount to ensure the success of the event.

The Ndalat Gaa championship is an annual event celebrated in memory of its founder and former Athletics Kenya President Isaiah Kiplagat who died of cancer in August, 2016.

This year marks the 10th edition of the championship that will be held at Ndalat Gaa Girls High School in Nandi County.

Apart from the races, there will be a two-day free medical camp which will mainly concentrate on the screening for cancer.