The maiden edition of the Abuja International Marathon, the only full marathon authorised by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), is set to hold on April 29, 2023, as announced by race organisers Unicentral Resources Generation Limited.
The marathon was postponed from its initial date of December 17, 2022, due to security threats issued by the American Embassy and other foreign embassies in Nigeria last October that there were plans to bomb the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and some other parts of Nigeria.
The race will have its routes measured and regulated by the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) and approved by the World Athletics.
Following the postponement of the Abuja International Marathon, We are pleased to inform you that the Fist Abuja International Marathon has a revised date. It is set to commence on the
29th April 2023. pic.twitter.com/0kcZh8c3sd— Abuja International Marathon (@Aim_official22) February 7, 2023
Race Director Olukayode Thomas revealed in a statement that the new date was agreed on after extensive dialogue with all the associates in the industry, from the athletes to the sponsors, officials of the FCTA, both local and international elite runners, and other relevant bodies.
He reiterated that the decision to postpone the race from its initial date was not an easy one to make.
“The management and staff of Unicentral Resources Generation Limited will like to use this opportunity to appreciate the general public and all the security agencies in particular for the decision to postpone the race because lives of everyone matters,” Thomas said.
“Secondly, though we have put everything in place that will ensure we organize the first full international marathon and make it a memorable one, we prioritised the safety of human lives, so we had to postpone the race to April 29, 2023.”
The race director thanked the athletes and other relevant bodies for their show of concern. He further expressed gratitude to the individuals who showed their confidence in the staff and management of the organisers’ [Unicentral] and those who communicated their commitment to participate in the race whenever a new date was announced.
He further conveyed their commitment to assemble a world-class event.
Thomas announced that the new date [April 29] is fixed and that there will be three races on the day: the full marathon race, which is 42 kilometers, the 10 kilometer fun race, and the 5 kilometer race for students.
He said: “Also, there are many lead-up activities to the race; they include the unveiling of the winner of the High School that participated in the production of the theme song for the Abuja International Marathon.”
“The race will also be preceded by a week-long Marathon Expo with the theme- Celebrating the Best of FCT… Other activities include but are not limited to the unveiling of the Marathon Logo, the unveiling of race ambassadors, and others,” Thomas added.
Unicentral Resources Generation Limited is the only organisation authorised by the FCTA to establish a full international marathon in the FCT in accordance with World Athletics accepted practices.
