The MTN Kampala Marathon is upon us and the Manage, Corporate Communications MTN, in an interview, tells the youth all they need to know about the upcoming MTN Kampala Marathon.
- What is different in this year’s edition of the MTN Kampala Marathon?
The MTN Kampala Marathon this year indeed is different because unlike the previous editions, we have identified two causes that we would like participants to contribute towards. We are offering you a choice to run to either improve maternal health facilities in Kiswa and Komamboga Health Centres or to replace asbestos roofing material in over 20 public schools in Kampala. Asbestos roofing material has been found to contain cancer causing agents and therefore our school children are at risk from prolonged exposure to that. We aim to collect funds from over 20,000 roofing sheets from proceeds of the marathon.
We have also incorporated a Family Fun Run or walk of 5kms. Some buddies would like to run or walk together but find the 42, 21, or 10km runs too arduous for them and yet they would love to contribute or participate by running a shorter distance. The 5km addition this year is a new one and is designed for friends, children and families.
MTN has also increased the prize money for the winners of all the race categories.
- What are the nearest ticket selling points around universities?
Stanbic Bank’s William Street Branch, MTN Headquarters (Former BAT along Jinja road), MTN shop Lugogo, MTN shop Forest Mall, MTN shop Kampala Road, MTN shop Kyaggwe Road, MTN shop Victoria Mall Entebbe.
- How have you prepared for any mishaps and accidents on the route? Also how secure are the personal belongings of participants?
Each year we beef up our safety and security teams for exactly this purpose. The MTN Kampala Marathon has grown in numbers since inception and each year we expect even greater numbers and anticipate new challenges with crowd control, emergency medical assistance and security than the previous.
Our long term partner, Red Cross will offer emergency assistance along all the four routes of the marathon as they always have. There will also be a general Red Cross manned tent at the venue of the marathon Kololo Airstrip to offer medical assistance to all marathoners.
This year we enlisted the services of renowned health services and medical insurance provider AAR to provide free health and fitness checks for participants who register early for the marathon using MTN Mobile Money. AAR’s heart checks have been offered free of charge for the early bird entrants of the Marathon.
Security has been beefed up this year along the route with traffic police offering traffic control and regular patrol of the routes while other security organs like counter terrorism will offer the relevant services. We encourage participants to come with minimal luggage and be mindful of their personal safety and security of personal effects. Be your neighbor’s keeper throughout.
- We the youth love being online, is there an online portal where we can access information about the past marathon, the few beneficiaries and any other relevant information?
Yes there is. Our social media platforms MTN Uganda on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are good information points for the youth to find out more about the MTN Kampala Marathon this and that of other years. Our social media team is on call 24hours a day to engage you and provide regular updates on marathon activities and offer responses to all individual queries in real time. Also check out our website mtn.co.ug for more.
The beneficiaries by the way are not few at all! From 2004 to last year we have collected over Ugshs. 2.8BN apportioned for three years to Mama Bags which are delivery kits for expectant mothers in Internally Displaced People camps in Northern Uganda. From 2007, together with the Red Cross, we used the marathon proceeds to provide resettlement kits to survivors of the Lord’s Resistance War in Northern Uganda as they returned from IDP camps to their respective villages. We have also worked with international NGO Water Aid from 2011 to provide water and sanitation assistance to communities in Karamoja region. From proceeds of the 2015 and 2016 marathon, we constructed 10 sanitation facilities for public schools in Kampala to improve sanitation and supply biogas to replace firewood use in preparing meals for the students and the communities of Kasubi, Kisaasi, Kibuli Demonstration School to mention but a few.
- Are there plans to subsidize ticket prices for students? Because some students might be wanting to contribute to the cause but can’t raise the said amount.
The registration fees that we charge for the marathon are, in our opinion, highly subsidized for all individual runners. The fee charged caters for your race number and chip which is used to track your progress along the route and to record your race time accurately. If I can let you in on a secret: that chip alone costs far more than the overall price that we charge to register for the marathon and for the kit! Other items that you get for that fee include a running vest, water bottle, wrist band, head band and a bag, all branded. However, early registration via Mobile Money is discounted at Ugshs 23,000/- by dialing *165*1*5#. Take advantage of that!
- Any future plans of taking the marathon upcountry so that other people can participate?
Well, MTN Uganda is not waiting for the future! We already planned for and rolled out regional marathons this year. Last Sunday 29th October 2017, we held the first regional Half Marathon in Mbale district. The only difference is that this was not a full 42km marathon but rather 21 km and we also had the 10km marathon as an option for a fun health run to prepare participants for the main Kampala Marathon in November. Olympic gold medalist Stephen Kiprotich participated and led a strong team consisting of athletes from eastern region districts of Kween, Kapchorwa, Soroti, Manafwa, Tororo, Kumi, Pallisa, Mbale and others. The turnout was positive and Mbale residents had a chance to experience the marathon live, along their streets.
The regional marathons are important for the Uganda Athletics Federation because it helps them to identify new talent who are unable to make it the Kampala marathons or those held in different parts of the country. UAF also uses this as a check for athletes who are in shape and this particular Eastern Half Marathon will be used to select participants for the World Half Marathon taking place in Spain next March 2018. So as you can see, it is a very important partnership that we share with the body charged by IAAF to run athletic events for this country.
We invite you to call your buddies to come out and run in the Kampala Marathon this year. It is more fun, more engaging, lots of prizes to be won and the new additions will be attractive to you. Share funs pics online and also check out the hashtags #Moments2Share. Don’t forget to tag @mtnug in all!
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