Make it memorable

In 2021 we launched a virtual marathon which attracted over 5800 virtual runners from 61 countries along with 2241 physical participants running along the Southern Bypass on a new route that allowed great views of the Nairobi National Park. All marathon proceeds go towards the FutureMakers Initiative. Our goal is to raise 50 million USD by 2023 to tackle inequality and promote economic inclusion for our younger generation.

We maintained the hybrid format for the 2022 marathon and hosted more than 20,000 virtual and physical runners. The 2-in-1 format marathon saw at least 18,000 participants run physically along the newly adopted route which passes alongside the Nairobi national park. Participants were hosted at a new venue, Uhuru Gardens National Monument and Museum. Despite the challenges faced during the COVID 19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the marathon was restored to its full capacity in 2022. The 19th edition of the marathon was very successful and at least 35 million Kenyan Shillings (255,000 EUR / 275,000 USD) was raised for the Futuremakers initiative.

In 2021 we started the journey of ensuring our marathon goes beyond a sporting event to become a platform for driving our sustainability and community engagement initiatives. At Standard Chartered, our aim is to minimise the negative impact of our events and drive positive change wherever we can. The sustainability practices contributed to more than 25,000 trees being planted in different parts of the country by the participating runners.

In line with our sustainability initiative, we are committed to a create a marathon platform that delivers mass-participation sporting events that improve health, wellbeing and provide a sense of achievement to our participants.

In our upcoming editions we intend to champion for diversity and inclusion within the marathon. We will be partnering with Light for World, SightSavers and APDK to help train People with Disabilities prepare for the marathon.

To ensure a clean sport we collaborate closely with the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK). This complements the services of the race technical director, route marshals and CCTV cameras along the course. We also partner with key stakeholders such as Athletics Kenya, Nairobi County, Ministry of Sports, Kenya National Highways Authority and Kenya Urban Roads Authority to ensure the race is compliant.

With our Futuremakers initiative we are working with disadvantaged young people – especially girls and the visually impaired. Our goal is to raise 40 million Kenyan Shillings (269,000 EUR) in 2023 to tackle inequality and promote economic inclusion for our younger generation.

The FutureMakers Initiative builds on the success of our global Seeing is Believing (SiB) initiative to tackle avoidable blindness and visual impairment. Between 2003 and 2018, we reached more than 176 million people through SiB and raised more than USD100 million.

We are thrilled to announce the 20th edition and the 20th anniversary of our annual marathon event. For two decades we’ve been bringing together runners from all over the world for a day of excitement, challenge, and community. We can’t wait to mark this milestone with our dedicated runners, volunteers, and supporters. We have come a long way from our humble beginnings to become one of the premier races on the calendar. Get ready to run with us on this special edition on 29 October 2023 and make this year’s marathon memorable.