Over 1000 participants from different parts of the world are expected to take part in the inaugural Kigali Night run that will start and end in Kigali city centre this evening. According to Rwanda Athletics Federation (RAF) president Jean Paul Munyandamutsa, everything is in place to facilitate the smooth running of ‘a spectacular night run’ that will cover a distance of 3.9km, starting from the Kigali City Hall through the city centre and finish at the Car Free Zone. “Preparations have gone pretty well and all participants will assemble at the city hall at 5pm where they will first do a warm-up and do stretching from our organized gym club and the race will kick off at around 5:30pm, we hope to finish it in one hour,” said Munyandamutsa . He further noted that, “In particular, the event is meant to showcase Kigali as a safe and clean city with WEF delegates, who will be among the participants, getting an opportunity to meet and interact with Rwandan citizens and get a feel of Rwanda.” The race was organised in partnership with Rwanda Development Board, the Ministry of Sports and Culture, City of Kigali, and Rwanda National Police as a build-up to the 2016 Kigali International Peace Marathon, scheduled for May 22. The 11th edition of Kigali International Marathon is expected to attract 5000 participants from Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, DR Congo, Burundi, Ethiopia, Uganda, South Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and outside Africa. The marathon will feature four categories namely, full marathon (42km), half marathon (21km), fun run (7km) and wheelchair race (7km). For the first time, athletes will use the race to attain the minimum qualification to compete in this year’s Olympic Games which will be held in Rio de Janeiro from August 5-21 in Brazil. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
