The Enugu City International Marathon, which is certified by World Athletics will be an annual event, organisers of the event said yesterday.
The first edition of the Enugu City Marathon will hold this morning around the coal city.
At the World press conference held in Enugu, on Friday to herald the event, Enugu state Commissioner for Sports, Lloyd Ekweremadu Jr said the state Government is excited about the race holding this Saturday and that they are already looking forward to its sustainability beyond this year’s edition.
“I want to announce that because of the potential and economic viability of this race, the state Governor, His Excellency Peter Mbah, has approved that the Enugu City International Marathon will be an annual event. This is going to be a continuous process and we know that the economy of our state will be boosted with such an international event.”
The Commissioner also explained why the state decided to choose a marathon, instead of another sporting event.
“We decided to do a marathon event because the road race involves many athletes at the same time, and you can get the youths engaged more with such a sporting event.”
On her part, the Managing Director of Nilayo Sports Management Company, which is the Consultants of the Race, Mrs. Yetunde Olopade, commended the investment of the Enugu State Government in Sports.
“Governor Peter Mbah has continually shown that he has a road map for sports development in the state when you take a look at all the investments he is putting into sports to ensure the state is a major power house in sports Development in Nigeria,” she said.
The calibre of top dignitaries at the Press Conference further underscores the profile of the race, which is a first of its kind in the history of South Eastern Nigeria.
Apart from Enugu State Commissioner for Sports, Lloyd Ekweremadu Jr and the MD of Nilayo Sports Management Company, Mrs Yetunde Olopade, other top dignitaries that graced the event on Friday include the, the Vice President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Solomon Ogba, President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Tonobok Okowa, Representative of World Athletics, the Technical Director of the Race and former Nigeria long jumper, Yusuf Ali and legendary Movie star Nkem Owo.
The maiden Enugu City International Marathon is expected to witness the participation of over 3,000 athletes from within and outside the country in both the 42km race and the 10km race.
Meanwhile, Governor Peter Mbah will be among the thousands of runners that will participate in the race. He will be running the 10km race from start to finish.