For a record-breaking 5th time, Philemon Baaru once again won the men’s full marathon, crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 22 minutes, just a few minutes short of his course record of 2:18 that he set in 2014. With a time of 2:38, Margaret Lepakana was the fastest woman in the full marathon, and the half marathon was won by Philemon Kiprono in 1:06.
Approximately 200 overseas runners took part, including teams from Artemis Investment Management LLP, BlackRock, EMSO Asset Management, and UBS. BlackRock won the fundraising trophy, and Huawei once again gave a very generous donation of $100,000 (£77,000). All teams and individuals have raised a phenomenal amount for conservation in Kenya, and once all funds are in we hope to have raised more than $500,000 (£385,000).
The overseas runners were able to see firsthand some of the initiatives that the funds they have raised will support. These include some of the schools supported by the Lewa Education Programme, water projects, the Lewa Health Clinic, the Lewa Conservation Education Centre, and an elephant corridor and road underpass that connects Lewa to Mount Kenya to the south. Before they left on the day after the run, the runners were also given a short demonstration by the Lewa rangers and tracker dogs. Such demonstrations and visits underline the importance of the event in protecting wildlife and transforming people’s lives.
We are extremely grateful to everyone who took park, and to the teams from the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Safaricom and the many other sponsors, who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure yet another very smooth and successful marathon.
The full results of the 2017 Safaricom Marathon can be viewed by clicking the following links: