Standard Chartered has announced road closures for the physical marathon set for 31st October, 2021. The physical marathon will be limited to 2,500 elite runners from Kenya and other key countries such as Uganda and Ethiopia and will be held on the Southern Bypass route.
The start and finishing points will be at the Carnivore Grounds and will feature different race categories including 10km, 21km, 21km Wheelchair Race, 42km and the 42km Corporate Relay.
The Nairobi Traffic department has designed an elaborate road closure diversions schedule that will see traffic to and out of the Southern Bypass diverted to alternative roads between 12am and 1pm on 31st October, 2021. All interchanges to the Southern bypass will be closed with the Dagoretti interchange partially closed.
Motorists will be diverted to Dagoretti road, Langata road, Enterprise road, Uhuru highway and Waiyaki way. Trucks from Inland Container Depot (ICD) will be redirected to Mombasa Road within the stipulated period.
Different from previous marathon routes, the Southern Bypass route was chosen due to ongoing road constructions along Uhuru Highway and Mombasa Road. The route was also picked due to its proximity to the National Park, which has a great scenic route and creates an opportunity to use the marathon to advance tourism.
Speaking at Carnivore during the announcement the Nairobi Traffic Police Commander (TPC) in charge, Joshua Omukata said, “We have organized traffic diversions to ensure that residents have access to alternative routes during the stipulated marathon hours. Users of the Southern Bypass are advised to use alternative routes provided. We request that the public cooperates with our traffic officers deployed along the roads for smooth flow of traffic. We also want to affirm that strict security measures will be in place to ensure safety of participants.”
Participating Kenyan elite athletes include Daniel Simiyu, Ronex Kipruto, Chemutai Riunotukei, Fridah Jepkite Lodepa Ptoo and Brilian Jepkorir Kipkoech.
The marathon makes a comeback this year after it was cancelled in 2020 due to unprecedented challenges brought about by COVID-19 and the containment measures required. Registration is still at the Nairobi Marathon website, with all proceeds channeled towards the Futuremakers initiative.