Ugandans target Kigali marathon cash

Ugandan duo of Joseph Nsubuga and Catherine Webombesa have their eyes on the winner’s top cash prizes at the Kigali International Peace marathon set for this Sunday.

Friday, May 09, 2008

Ugandan duo of Joseph Nsubuga and Catherine Webombesa have their eyes on the winner’s top cash prizes at the Kigali International Peace marathon set for this Sunday.

According to Uganda’s Daily Monitor, Nsubuga will take part in the full marathon race while Webombesa will compete in the half marathon race.

Nsubuga, who is one of Uganda’s top marathoners, is in the hunt for one of the six remaining slots for the Beijing Games but is worried of Kigali’s hilly course.

"It will be very hard running a good time in Kigali. The course is very steep and the only advantage is that I have been there before," Nsubuga said on Wednesday.

The Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) officer won the 42.195km event in 2005 and came third in 2006 but opted out last year.

"I have been told many Kenyan runners registered and that’s partly why I have decided to take part. They are good runners and can help me post a better time," Nsubuga added.

Webombesa who is the 1998 Sports Personality of the year is in imperious form, having won several races in France last month.

However, the Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) hopes to register more runners for the Kigali event whose deadline is tomorrow.

Meanwhile, over 700 athletes have registered for the event whose top cash prize is $2000 while the top cash prize in the half marathon is $1600.

Ends