The race will bring together over 200 deaf athletes from all over the country and will include 21Km and 10Km races for both men and women.

The fifth edition of the Safaricom Deaf Half Marathon will be held in Mombasa County on Sunday, August 19, 2018.

Some of the notable names that will headline the marathon include Peter Toroitich from Turkana County is the defending champion for last year’s Meru marathon, Daniel Kiptum from Nandi County who is the Gold medalist of 2017 Sumsun Deaflympic Games and Simon Kibai from Uasin Gishu County, who is Gold medalists in 10,000m and 5,000m Sumsun Deaflympic Games.

“Most of the expected participants are already in training, and we expect a fantastic show this weekend. We chose Mombasa because of the humid weather and we aim to create more awareness to the coastal areas considering we registered less athletes to the national team from the region. We will use the marathon to select athletes to represent the country in the upcoming deaf champions this year,” said Benard Banja, Secretary General, Deaf Athletics Association of Kenya (DAAK).

As the sponsorship partner, Safaricom PLC has sponsored the marathon to a tune of KES 2.5M. The race seek to bring together deaf athletes from all corners of the country providing a platform to display their talent.

Winners in the half marathon will walk away with KES100, 000, the 1st runners-up will bag KES 50, 000, with the 2nd runners-up pocketing KES 30, 000. The winners in the 10KM race will bag KES 50,000, KES 40, 000 for 1st runners-up and KES 30,000 for the 2nd runners- up respectively.

“We celebrate diversity and inclusivity in all aspects. To us inclusivity goes beyond just hiring people with disabilities, it is about giving them the same opportunities for career growth. This is why we have consistently supported this marathon to its fifth edition. Giving deaf athletes an opportunity such as this is for sure transformational,” said, Charles Kare, Acting Director Consumer Business, Safaricom.