Registration of athletes for the ninth Okpekpe international 10km road race is still on-going, organisers of the race have announced.
The ninth edition of the gold label race holds Saturday May 27, 2023 in Okpekpe in Edo State and organisers of the race believe a new course record should be expected.
“Registration is still on-going for the historic race and athletes have been registering for different reasons,” media and activation director of the race, Dare Esan said. “Athletes can register to run for any cause as the race is not all about running for the prize money.
“All over the world people have seen the power of sport to raise funds and awareness about any project or cause and the Okpekpe road race has been a very veritable vehicle for achieving this purpose,” Esan noted.
He added that the category of runners have been expanded to encourage the participation of people around Edo north in particular and Edo State in general with prize money awarded to the first three finishers.
Esan is confident that a new course record would be set at the ninth edition of the race.
The Okpekpe international 10km road race is the first road running event in Nigeria to have its course measured by a World Athletics/AIMS accredited measurer and the first to be granted a label status.
The race was awarded a bronze label status in 2015, seven years after World Athletics started classifying races into categories.