No fewer than 81 elite runners from across the world will participate in the ninth edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon on Saturday.
The race which would commence at the National Stadium, Surulere on Saturday morning will parade 29 gold-label women stars among the athletes.
The Marathon will start at 5.30am and the race will be in two categories with different “Start Points” and distances to be covered.
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The General Manager of the race, Yusuf Alli, said: “The confirmation of over 81 Gold Label runners is a positive development for the 9th edition.
“Our target is to ensure that our registered world-class elite runners help propel the Lagos City Marathon to the Platinum Label. This is possible with the calibre of runners that will be on the field on February 10.
“If we can produce five elite runners crossing the finish line in two hours and eight minutes, we shall climb to the Platinum Label.”
The ninth Lagos City Marathon will be used to select qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The organisers also revealed that the United Nations has confirmed the participation of 15 refugee runners for the marathon.
Kenya’s Edwin Kibet Koech won the 2023 edition of the marathon, claiming the grand prize of $50,000 after finishing 2 hours, 14 minutes and six seconds.
Dekeba Shefa of Ethiopia and Kenya’s Bernard Sang finished second and third, respectively.