All set for the Betika Kericho cross country run
Over 500 athletes have confirmed participation at the Betika-sponsored Kericho cross-country race on October 15, 2023.
Consequently, the race organizers have set aside Sh1.3 million as prize money for the top-ten finishers.
The men and women overall winners will each pocket Sh250,000 while second-placed finishers bag Sh150,000.
At the same time, the third-placed from the two categories will pocket Sh100,000 as the fourth and fifth-placed bag Sh75,000 and Sh50,000.
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The event follows the success of the 15 km Betika cross-country run that was held in Iten in May of 2022 and the Kericho cross-country held five months later, plus the Eldoret Half Marathon in August 2023.
“We are thrilled to be having this event that brings, together 500 participants. This marks the fifth athletics event under the Betika umbrella and confirms our commitment to continue working with communities to nurture and support talent right at the grassroots level. We believe that through these engagements, we will be supporting the next pool of athletics stars who will be the face of Kenya soon and look forward to doing more of such events to encourage more talent to professionally take up the sport going into the future,” said Betika’s Group Chief Finance Officer Mutua Mutava.
Betika is renowned for its involvement in Kenyan football through a mega sponsorship deal with Kenyan Premier League side AFC Leopards.
However, commitment to nurturing talent and promoting sportsmanship cuts across different sports, with involvement in five athletics events since May 2022 in addition to volleyball, boxing, motorsports, golf and taekwondo.
These events, organised through the company’s Betika Na Community initiative, have become a favourite in budding athletes’ calendars as they not only provide a platform for them to showcase their talent, but also provide athletes participating in the events a chance to win substantial cash prizes.
Similar to the other Betika-sponsored athletic events, the Kericho cross country run is an Athletics Kenya-sanctioned event and is carried out in collaboration with the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya.