Africa-Press – Kenya. Five-time Stanchart Marathon wheelchair champion Carol Wanjira will be looking to lower her personal best time at this year’s event slated for October 30.
Wanjira who clocked 2:11:58 last year will be aiming to run faster in this year’s event and has been intensifying her campaign for the past three months.
“I’m looking to run faster than last year. Training has been good and with two weeks to go to the event, I am relishing the challenge,” added Wanjira
Wanjira said she will not be underrating the opposition despite being the champion for the past five seasons.
“The competition gets stronger every year so I must be at my best to defend the title I won last year,” added Wanjira.
She said the fact that she is familiar with the course is an advantage to her. “It’s a course that I have done so that will give me an edge. Of course, there will be challenges here and there but the majority of the course remains similar,” added Wanjira.
Wanjira said her ultimate goal will be to qualify for the Summer Paralympic Games in Paris. “First thing will be to take part in the qualifiers and God willing win and go to France. Paralympics are a priority for me,” added Wanjira.
The paralympic athlete has had a decorated career winning the Nakuru marathon wheelchair category three times and she is a two-time bronze winner at the Africa Paralympics event in Morocco and South Africa.
She has also represented Kenya in the 3x 3 wheelchair basketball competition during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August among many others. Elsewhere the local organizing committee of the marathon has reduced the registration fee from Sh2,500 to Sh2,000 due to the high costs of living.
Local Organising Committee chairman, Peter Gitau said due to the high costs of living, they have heard the cry of participants,” he added.
“With this in mind and cognizant of the current economic reality, we are pleased to cap the registration fee at Sh2,000 for the entire period. We want to see as many people as possible participate in this year’s marathon and hope that this will be an additional incentive.”
In addition, the Local Organizing Committee has extended the registration deadline to October 28 to give people ample time to register for the marathon. This follows increased demand and inquiries on registration.
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