NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 1 – The prize money for this year’s Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon has been increased to Sh2mn, the organizers have announced, as the marathon marks 17 years since it was first established.

The increase in prize money is set to attract more elite athletes to compete in the annual race which is set for October 27. The organizers have also increased the cash award for the half marathon to Sh300,000 while the 10km race will see a cash award of Sh200,000 given.

At the same time, the race is set to revert back to its traditional starting and finishing point at the Nyayo National Stadium after missing out over the last two years. This also means that the race will revert to its previous route that included a loop around the city centre.

“Our journey to digitize the marathon continues; all registrations will be done online to make the process fast, easy and seamless. Our vision is to gather comprehensive data of all participants to increase the level of engagement before, during and after the marathon,” said Local Organizing Committee chairman Peter Gitau.

This year’s event will feature six race categories; the full marathon, the half marathon, the 10km race, the 21km wheelchair race, the 5km fun race  and the newly revamped CEO Race.

This race will now be known as the Corporate Relay Challenge. This is a team relay, whereby five participants will collectively complete the full marathon course. The winning team will take home Sh150,000 towards a charity of their choice.

At the same time, the sponsors announced the launched the new community initiative, Futuremakers by Standard Chartered.

“This is a new global campaign by Standard Chartered Bank to open opportunities for the next generation to learn, earn and grow,” said Kariuki Ngari, CEO Standard Chartered Bank Kenya and East Africa.

“We plan to raise Sh5bn in five years through initiatives like the marathon. With this fund, we shall find and support solutions that bridge inequality and drive sustainable growth. Our goal is to empower 500,000 adolescent girls, support 100,000 youth towards employability, and build the entrepreneurship capability of 50,000 micro and small businesses,” added Ngari.

Meanwhile, with Kenya continually on the telescope over increased doping cases, organizers have warned that stringent measures have been put up in collaboration with the Anti Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) to ensure all athletes competing are clean.

“The integrity of the race is of utmost importance to us, I would like to assure participants that we have put in place stringent standards to ensure that the Standard Chartered Nairobi Marathon measures up to the requisite IAAF standards,” LOC chair Gitau stated.