Tanzanian runners triumph at Cape to Cairo Arusha race
Runners get ready at the starting line of the Cape to Cairo Arusha Marathon. PHOTO | BERTHA ISMAIL
What you need to know:
- The event also featured fun runs of 10 km and 5 km, which attracted wide participation. All routes passed through the symbolic midpoint monument of the trans-African route between Cape Town and Cairo, located in the heart of Arusha.
Arusha. Arusha runners Jonas John and Vaileth Lema delivered impressive performances at the inaugural Cape to Cairo Arusha Marathon, which concluded yesterday in the northern Tanzanian city of Arusha.
The prestigious event, which began at the iconic Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium, saw Jonas John of Singida claim victory in the men’s full marathon (42 km) with a time of 2:30:27.
He was closely followed by Nelson Pira of Zanzibar, who finished in 2:31:31, and Nestori Stephen of Arusha, who took third place with a time of 2:33:10.
In the women’s marathon, Vaileth Adam from Arusha emerged as the winner, completing the race in 2:59:24. Fellow Arushan Aniel John came in second at 3:19:45, while Visa Muhalwa of Iringa secured third place with 3:28:54. Winners of the full marathon received Sh1.2 million, while second- and third-place finishers took home Sh800,000 and Sh600,000 respectively.
In the half marathon (21 km) category, veteran runner Faraja Lazaro led the men’s division with a time of 1:02:21, followed closely by Mathayo Samuheda at 1:02:28, both representing the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces. Protas Gabriel of Chuga Club came third, clocking in at 1:02:36.
In the women’s half marathon, Neema Festo of Arusha Club won in 1:17:12, with teammate Sarah Ramadhani finishing second at 1:17:33. Valentina Michael, also from the defence forces, completed the podium with a time of 1:17:47.
Half marathon winners walked away with Sh1 million, while second- and third-place winners received Sh600,000 and Sh400,000 respectively.
The event also featured fun runs of 10 km and 5 km, which attracted wide participation. All routes passed through the symbolic midpoint monument of the trans-African route between Cape Town and Cairo, located in the heart of Arusha.
Runners from Kenya, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the USA, Rwanda, Uganda, Zanzibar, and host country Tanzania took part in the international event.
The marathon coordinator from Sports and Tourism Events (SATE), also the team behind the renowned Serengeti Safari Marathon, Timoth Mdika, said the broader goal of the event is to promote intra-African tourism and economic development through sport.
“Our aim is to encourage Africans to explore and appreciate their own natural and cultural attractions, and to promote travel between our nations as a way of growing our economies independently,” said Mdika.
“Africa has over 1.5 billion people, yet many of our countries are not even visited by a fraction of that population. We want to see Kenyans visiting Tanzania, Rwandans exploring Uganda—prioritizing African tourism first before looking outward,” he said.
