The organisers of the Gold-Label Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, Nilayo Sports Management Limited, has declared readiness for all peculiarities of the host City as they conclude preparations for the February 4 novel Gold- Label Full Marathon Race.
The Managing Director of Nilayo Sports Management Limited and the initiator of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, Honourable Bukola Olopade, disclosed yesterday that his team led by its General Manager, Yusuf Ali, is at the ready to ensure the success of the first Gold-Label full marathon race in Nigeria.
“At last year’s race, we noticed some darkness at the starting point, which obstructed some of the opening formalities, such that we have to delay the flag off for some minutes,” Olopade said. “That is why, for this year’s race, the official flag off time has been readjusted and rescheduled for 7am and not 6am as it used to be in previous races.”
He stressed that, because of the Harmattan noticed in Lagos since the beginning of the new year, the organisers will do everything possible to make sure the weather does not affect the timing of the race. “For better output and development, we must achieve a road race with a finish time in the region of 2.10 hours, which will go a long way in helping move inches close to our target of getting a Platinum Label race in the nearest future,” he further said.
He further disclosed that the arrival date of the Elite athletes has been moved forward to February 1, three days ahead of the marathon on February 4 so that the Elite athletes can record a good time in the Gold-Label 2023 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon.
“This early arrival is aimed at giving the athletes the opportunity to understand and perfect the route,” Olopade noted.
“A date has been fixed for the athletes’ tour of the route ahead of the competition date to help them record good timing on February 4.
“This time around, the top athletes for the Gold-Label Access Bank Lagos City Marathon Road Race will allowed three pacers each to improve their timing. This is aimed in the Long run to improve the standings and international ratings of the race at World Athletics,” Olopade added.