The MTN Kampala Marathon is set to kick off this Sunday 13th November with the wheelchair race, ahead of the other races scheduled for the 20th of November.
Unlike the 2019 marathon that featured the wheelchair race on the same day as the other races, this year, a special date was set for the wheelchair race as was the norm in the earlier marathons, to give the wheelchair race prominence and the recognition that it deserves.
According to Somdev Sen, the MTN Uganda Chief Marketing Officer, the MTN Kampala Marathon has for many years led the way in promoting, endorsing, and showcasing the very best wheelchair race in the country.
The total prize pot of Shs 11 million has been prepared for the wheelchair race winners across both the men’s and women’s categories.
Each of the top three finishers in the men’s and women’s races will receive a portion of this total; The first-position winners shall each walk away with Shs 3,000,000/= while the second and third-place finishers shall pocket Shs 1,500,000/= and Shs 1,000,000/= respectively for both men and women.
A yet-to-be-confirmed number of wheelchair race participants have already registered and picked up their MTN Marathon 2022 kit ahead of the Sunday wheelchair race that shall span a 10KM distance starting from the MTN Arena in Lugogo.
“We have had a good number of wheelchair participants register and pick up their kit for the wheelchair race which has always been a part of the MTN Kampala Marathon. Registration for all the Marathon race categories is still open and the kit pick-up is also ongoing. I urge everyone to register and participate in this year’s marathon to save more babies and mothers,” Somdev said.
Proceeds from this year’s Marathon shall be used to upgrade maternal and newborn services in four selected health facilities across the country. The beneficiary health facilities include Kisenyi and Kawaala health facilities in the suburbs of Kampala plus those in Kachumbala (Teso sub-region) and Kabong (Karamoja sub-region)
The MTN Kampala Marathon has over the years raised over Shs 4 billion and benefitted several causes such as helping expectant mothers with maternity kit, resettling people displaced by war in northern Uganda, delivering clean water and improving sanitation in communities/schools, and most recently, improving maternal in health facilities.
The other races of the MTN Kampala Marathon, including the full marathon (42Km), half marathon (21Km), 10Km race and 5Km fun run will be held on Sunday 20th November starting at the Kololo independence grounds.