The Nairobi Marathon is an annual

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

competition over the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

distance usually held in October in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. First held in 2003, the competition expanded and now includes a

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

race along with the main race. It was part of "

The Greatest Race on Earth The Greatest Race on Earth (GROE) was a four-part series of marathon races in a relay format, which included the Nairobi Marathon, Singapore Marathon, Mumbai Marathon and Hong Kong Marathon The Hong Kong Marathon (香港馬拉松), sponso ...

", fully sponsored by

Standard Chartered Bank Standard Chartered plc is a multinational bank with operations in consumer, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retail banking in the UK, and around ...

. The other three legs of this four-marathon race were the

Hong Kong Marathon The Hong Kong Marathon (香港馬拉松), sponsored by Standard Chartered, Standard Chartered Bank, is an annual marathon race held in January or February in Hong Kong. In addition to the full marathon, a 10 km run and a half marathon ar ...

, the

Mumbai Marathon The Mumbai Marathon (known as the Tata Mumbai Marathon for sponsorship reasons by Tata Group), is an annual international marathon held in Mumbai, India, on the third Sunday of January every year. It is the largest marathon in Asia as well as t ...

and the

Singapore Marathon The Singapore Marathon is an annual international marathon race which is held on the first Sunday of December in the city of Singapore. It is a World Athletics Gold Label Road Race. History The first competitive marathon in Singapore was held o ...

. The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

Course

The marathon course starts on Uhuru Highway outside

Nyayo National Stadium Nyayo National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Nairobi, Kenya. It is located at the square of Mombasa Road, Langata Road and the Aerodrome Road. It is approximately two kilometers from the City Center, directly opposite Nairobi Mega Mall, ...

and heads roughly northward, wandering through the city center, before heading east on Wangari Maathai Road. The course then hits a turnaround point, and heads back to the stadium before heading southeast on Mombasa Road. The segment on Mombasa Road is a loop that is repeated twice before the course ends with a finish inside the stadium.

Winners

Key: Course record

Marathon

Half marathon

Notes

References

* The Standard, October 22, 2006:
The evolution of Nairobi International Marathon
'

External links

* {{Athletics in Kenya Marathons in Kenya Sport in Nairobi Recurring sporting events established in 2003 2003 establishments in Kenya