Why section of North Rift retired athletes are unhappy with Athletics Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya, November 4, 2026 – A section of retired athletes from the North Rift region have accused Athletics Kenya (AK) over what they term as the exclusion of the Eldoret City Marathon from its calendar of activities for 2027. In a statement read by the 2000 Olympics silver medalist Wilson Boit Kipketer, the athletes said they read malice in the federation’s alleged decision to drop the annual event from the calendar. “We are asking a lot of questions to Athletics Kenya. What informed them to remove this race from the calendar? Is it politics? Is it that the main organizers of this race have questioned their viability in Athletics Kenya? The earlier we get a good constitution, the better the lives of athletes,” Kipketer posed. He further accused AK of doing a disservice to the athletes who have benefited from continuously running in the Eldoret City Marathon by not including it in the calendar for the next year. “When we talk today, we are talking of having done it for the last seven years. Its prize money is cumulatively Ksh 18 million every year. For the seven years this race has been done, Kenyan athletes and international athletes have benefited to a tune of over Ksh 126 million. The marathon has benefited over 280 athletes individually and when we say the race will not happen, you can imagine how much our athletes have lost (sic),” the 1997 World 3000m steeplechase champion. Speaking at the same time, the race director Moses Tanui ‘pleaded’ with AK to avoid sideshows and instead reinstate the marathon into its calendar. “I am asking Athletics Kenya in a softer manner that you include this marathon in the calendar. We don’t need sideshows. We would like to develop athletics the way we know as athletes. The marathon is being run by athletes and this is the only thing that we give back to the community,” the 1991 world 10,000m champion said. The claim come a week after AK released its 2026/27 calendar, which is already in motion with the ongoing Cross Country Series. This weekend, action begins with the Mt Elgon Day Mountain Running and the national trials for the World Masters Indoor Championships on Friday before culminating in the 2nd Cross Country Weekend meeting in Kimilili, Bungoma and the Imani Seven Folks Dam Half Marathon in Kaburu. The Eldoret City Marathon, traditionally held in April every year, is missing among the activities slated for the next one year. ATHLETICS KENYA -WORLD ATHLETICS CALENDAR OF EVENTS – 2026 – 2027 SEASON Download