NAIROBI, Kenya, October 31 – Thousands of athletes are expected to compete in the third leg of the Athletics Kenya (AK) Cross Country Series in Iten on November 2.
AK’s David Leting says that over 600 athletes had so far registered on Thursday morning with more expected to do so.
“Most long distance runners in Kenya live and train here and I believe this is why we are going to see the highest numbers we have witnessed so far in this series. Unlike Kapsokwony which was very far for most athletes, Iten is quite near for them and so they shouldn’t have any problem with travelling for the competition. I expect the number of those who have registered to rise to up to 1000,” Leting said.
He further called on all athletes to pick their bib numbers by Friday evening, warning that they will not be issuing any on the material day of the competition.
“I would like to ask all athletes to come for their bib numbers. We are issuing them from today (Thursday) until tomorrow. We will not be issuing any bib numbers on Saturday because all the focus will be on the competition,” Leting said.
He added: “Preparations are 80 per cent done; what is left is to put the tape in place and the branding that is required. We are ready for the competition, which I expect to be intense.”
The first leg of the series, held at the Machakos Teachers’ College in Machakos, attracted approximately 700 participants with the next leg in Kapsokwony featuring a higher number.
Among those expected to grab the headlines in Iten is World Under 20 5000m champion Andrew Alamisi who will be competing for the second time in a week.
The youngster is salivating at the chance to go up against hundreds of other elite runners.
“It is definitely going to be a very tough race considering the number of athletes who come from Iten. It is a perfect opportunity to test myself. I have worked a lot on my speed since my last race in Kapsokwony and hopefully I will perform as well, if not better than I did in Bungoma,” he said.
Alamisi triumphed in the Under 20 men’s 8km after clocking 23:57.33, ahead of second-placed Cornelius Kipkosgei who timed 23:57.54 as Edwin Elkana ran 24:09.00 to claim third.