Elijah Mbaire and Agnes Mumbua Ndolo emerged as the men’s and women’s champions respectively at the fourth edition of the Betika Lukenya 10 Million Trees Marathon held on Saturday, March 28, at Kambu Town.
In the men’s race, Mbaire won with a dramatic sprint finish in 2:16:44, beating Charles Munyua Njoki by just one second.
Njoki finished in 2:16:45, taking second place, while Dennis Koech came third in 2:17:00. Mbaire was grateful for his win and said the key moment was late in the race.
“I’m very thankful for this win. The race was very competitive, and after the 35km mark, we were still four athletes together. At that point, I decided to go all out and push the pace because I knew the finish would be very tight,” said Mbaire.
Mumbua performed well to win the women’s title in 2:42:56. Fridah Chepkite Todepa finished second in 2:48:33, and Naomi Wambui Muriuki was third in 2:49:29. Mbaire and Mumbua each received KES 500,000, while Munyua and Chepkite got KES 200,000 each.
Wambui and Koech were awarded KES 100,000 each for finishing third. Prize money will be given up to the 10th position in each race category.
In the Half Marathon, Zakariah Kirika Gacugu won the men’s race in 01:02:06, ahead of Leonard Kiprotich, who finished in 01:02:21, and Peter Kiprop Rutoh, who came third in 01:02:38.
In the women’s race, Betty Chepkiror won in 01:12:02, with Phena Siyoi (01:12:03) and Ruth Mwihaki (01:12:25) finishing second and third.
Betika Group CEO Mutua Mutava said, “We believe in the power of sports to change lives and create opportunities. Our support for events like the Lukenya Marathon shows our commitment to nurturing local talent and bringing communities together. We also want to help the communities hosting us. The medical camp is part of our commitment to community impact, providing health services to residents around Lukenya. We also aim to support sustainability efforts, as seen with the planting of more than 2000 trees.”
Over 200 athletes registered for the event, which included 42KM, 21KM, 10KM, and cycling races, including an 84-km pro race, a 42km race for those under 23 years, and a black mamba race. Beyond the races, the marathon focused on its environmental mission, planting 2,200 trees during this year’s event.
This contributes to the 10 Million Trees initiative to restore forest cover and promote sustainability in the Lukenya ecosystem.
