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Tag: Okpekpe International 10km Road Race

  • Okpekpe race organisers hail Ebenyo ‘s feat at Chicago marathon 

    Okpekpe race organisers hail Ebenyo ‘s feat at Chicago marathon 

    Organizers of the gold labelled Okpekpe International 10km road race have congratulated Daniel Simiu Ebenyo on his successful marathon debut.                                           

     Ebenyo, the 2023 Okpekpe race champion and record holder, ran 2:06.04 to finish fifth in his first ever race over the 42.195km at  Sunday’s Chicago Marathon- where Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich smashed world marathon record in with 2:09:56.

    Okpekpe race director, Zak Amodu,  has congratulated the 29-year-old for his successful transition to a full marathon runner.                 

    “Daniel has shown, once again, that he is one of the best distance runners in the world. A lot of athletes have either failed to make any inspiring mark or failed to finish on their marathon debut, but Daniel did not just finish, but he ran a world class time by any standard. We are really proud of him,” said Amodu in a statement.                           

     Ebenyo ran a course record 28 minutes, 28 seconds to win the men’s title at the ninth Okpekpe international 10km road race in 2023 and went on to finish among the medalists at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest,  Hungary and the World Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia later that year.         

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     Amodu is confident Ebenyo  will win his first marathon major very soon after his debut in Chicago.                            Ebenyo is the second Okpekpe road race champion to make a successful transition to the full marathon after Ethiopia’s Leul Gebresilase who won the 10km race in 2017 and placed second at the Standard Chartered Dubai marathon the following year.                            

     Last year, Gebrselassie was third in the marathon event at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.  

     “We are always interested in the progress of athletes who competed at our event. The Okpekpe race has launched some of them to international stardom, and we are confident many more will follow the path created by Ebenyo and Gebrselassie, ”added Amodu.                                         

     The Okpekpe road race is the first road running event in Nigeria to have its race course measured by a World Athletics accredited course measurer and it is also the first road race in Nigeria, nay West Africa, to be granted a label status in 2015. 

  • Okpekpe race gets IAAF Silver Label

    Okpekpe race gets IAAF Silver Label

    The Okpekpe international 10km road race has been elevated to an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Silver Label event.This good news.

    was conveyed to the promoter of the race,Mike Itemuagbor by Alessio Punzi,the IAAF Road Running Manager.
    ”Following a thorough review of your application; in recognition of the role played by your event for the promotion of elite road racing in your region,
    and of your efforts towards the improvement of the technical aspects of the event, the IAAF is happy to inform you that the Okpekpe Road Race 10KM is

    upgraded to IAAF Silver Label status for 2018,’wrote Punzi in an email to Itemuagbor.
    Spokesman for the race,Dare Esan says organisers of the history-making race is happy about the development.
    ‘We are delighted the IAAF has recognised our leading role in promoting road running in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.The Okpekpe international

    10km road race has set the pace for other road races in Nigeria nay West Africa.We are the first road race in West Africa to be designated by the IAAF as one

    of the leading road races around the world since the classification was introduced in 2008.For three years since 2015 the race was organised under the

    prestigious IAAF Road Race Bronze Label and and now we are the first road race to be granted a silver label status in West Africa,’said Esan.
    He revealed the official Label certificate signed by the IAAF president,Lord Sebastian Coe has been received by the organisers of the race.
    ‘The success story of the Okpekpe international 10km road race would not have been possible without the active role played by the Edo state
    government who provided the enabling environment,including a world class tarred road from Auchi to the hilly town of Okpekpe.We are particularly grateful to

    His Excellencies,Comrade Adam Oshiomole,the immediate past governor of Edo state under whose watch the race was launched and his successor,Godwin Obaseki

    whose advice and words of encouragement have made the race better.We are also grateful to the Honourable Minister of Sports,Barrister Solomon Dalung who

    availed us of his presence at the fifth edition of the race on May 13 this year’.
    Esan believes the roles played by sponsors and media partners of the race as well as the Nigeria Police,the Directorate of state security (DSS),the Civil Defense Corp (NSCDC) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) have been massive.
    ‘Supersports and Channels are our official media partners and they,like the rest of the media have projected the race,the hilly town of Okpekpe,Edo state and

    indeed Nigeria as a destination of sort in terms of sports.We also thank our sponsors led by Ecobank for helping us achieve this historic feat,’Esan added.
    The sixth edition of the race will hold on Saturday May 12 in Okpekpe in Etsako East local government of Edo state and Esan reveals it will be technology

    driven.
    ‘In 2015 we scored another first when we engaged MYLAPS Sports Timing,the internationally recognised automatic sports timing company to provide the race with

    an easy to use,accurate and reliable timing system.Last year we also launched a tracking application to help fans follow the progress of friends,family or

    any of the participants who ran at the fifth edition of the race last May.
    ‘The tracking application was the first to be launched for a road race in Nigeria and offers mobile features designed to address three core digital needs:

    information delivery, sponsor activation and race day experience.’

  • AIPS wants to partner with Okpekpe Race

    AIPS wants to partner with Okpekpe Race

    The President of Association Internationale de la Presse Sportive
    (AIPS,Africa),Mitchel Obi is delighted the Okpekpe international
    10km road race has been granted full membership of Association

    of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) and pledges

    his association’s desire to partner with meeting

    organisers to stimulate awareness about the race.
    Obi,on behalf of all sports journalists in Africa congratulated
    promoter of the race,Mike Itemuagbor for what he described as a
    landmark achievement and hopes for greater collaboration

    between the organisers of the race and AIPS (Africa).
    ”At the instance of all sports journalists in Africa please
    accept our deep congratulation for your landmark memberships of
    AIMS. It is a fitting testimony

    to your diligence and the communal strength and support engineered
    by you and your team to make Okpekpe International Road race an
    event to behold

    annually,” wrote Obi in a message sent to the race organiser .
    ”We look forward to your effective anchor with AIPS AFRICA to
    stimulate greater awareness and followership in the continent and
    beyond in the coming editions.

    We delight with your new status and once again
    felicitations,” he concluded.
    The Okpekpe international 10km road race is the first and only
    IAAF label road race in Nigeria.By definition IAAF Road Race Label
    Events are races that the body designates

    as one of the leading road races around the world.
    The race is also the only road race in Nigeria to have its race
    course measured by an accredited IAAF-AIMS Grade A or B measurer.
    Late last year an accredited IAAF-AIMS Grade B measurer,Mike
    Hughes,accompanied by Yususf Ali,technical official of the race
    were in Okpekpe to re-measure

    the course using the calibrated bicycle method,the only approved
    method for measuring road races.
    This year’s race,the fifth edition which will hold on Saturday May
    13,2017 in Okpekpe,a town in Etsako East Local Government Area of
    Edo State, Nigeria. It

    is located about 25 kilometres northeast of Auchi.
    The race is organised by Pamodzi Sports Marketing,leaders in
    sports marketing and hospitality business in Nigeria.

  • IAAF,AIMS confirm May 13 Date for Okpekpe Road Race

     

    The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) have confirmed May 13,2017 for the fifth edition of the Okpekpe international 10km road race.

     

    For the second year running, the race is the only IAAF Label Road Race in Africa listed in the January to June calendar of road races released by the IAAF while this year AIMS listed the race as the only one in Nigeria whose course has been measured by an IAAF/AIMS accredited measurer.

     

    ‘This is great news for us albeit we were expecting it,’said Dare Esan,spokesman for the race.

    ‘As the only road race in West Africa with a label (Bronze) status and the only one certified by AIMS,it is thus expected that we will be listed in the calendar of both the IAAF and AIMS.’

     

    Esan is also delighted world records can be set and accepted by the IAAF at the Okpekpe race.

    ”The criteria for world records includes strict measurement criteria and you know accurate course measurement is a basic

    requirement of AIMS membership so runners can enter an AIMS/IAAF road race with the full knowledge that the course will be  accurate,”Esan further revealed.

     

    Esan is optimistic Okpekpe’s AIMS membership will offer more marketing opportunities as well as international exposure.

    ‘Last year we were at the IAAF Road Running Seminar in Cardiff,Wales where we got a booth and a table to market the race to the rest of the world.That was a one-off event.With our membership of AIMS we now have many opportunities to do that as AIMS members are expected to offer a table or booth at their race expo for the exclusive use of other AIMS members,’said Esan.

     

    ‘With our promoter being an international sports marketer and race promoter,Okpekpe will definitely take advantage of this opportunity as AIMS has offered us the platform from which we can effectively promote our event to overseas markets.”

     

     This year’s race which will hold in Okpekpe,a town in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. It is located about 25 kilometres northeast of Auchi.

     

    Last year Kenyans swept the male and female titles on offer with Alex Korio winning the men’s event 29:20 ahead of Leigh Gabriesileshe of Ethiopia compatriot Amos Muteh while Tanui Nkele also of Kenya came first in the women’s race with a time of 33:34.

     

  • Okpekpe Road Race granted AIMS membership

     
    The Okpekpe International 10km Road Race has been granted full membership of

    Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS).

    A statement from AIMS and signed by its President, Paco Baroa, congratulated

    promoter of the Okpekpe Road Race, Mike Itemuagbor, for meeting all its

    requirements to become the latest member of the elite association.
    “I am pleased to inform you that your application for Okpekpe International

    10km Road Race to become an AIMS Full member has been accepted, effective in

    2017. I wish you and your team a great success for your race and hope that

    our Association will be an important contributor,” observed the statement

    from AIMS.
    Spokesman for the Okpekpe international 10km road race,Dare Esan says

    organisers of the first and only International Association of Athletics

    Federations (IAAF) label race in Nigeria and one of only two in the African

    continent last year after the Cape Town Marathon are thrilled by this latest

    honour.
    ‘We are delighted to be a full member of AIMS,an association of over 400m road races in over 100 countries and recognised by the IAAF,’Said Esan in a statement.
    ‘Okpekpe international 10km road race is now the only road race in Nigeria to

    be measured by a certified AIMS/IAAF course measurer.One of the conditions that

    must be fulfiled before a race can retain its IAAF label status is that the race

    course must be measured to AIMS standard.This we have complied with

    among other stringest conditions,’further said Esan who revealed that the

    Okpekpe race will now benefit fully from the objectives of AIMS one of which is to exchange information,knowledge and expertise among members of the association.

     

    Esan further revealed that any record or world best set at the Okpekpe road race

    from this year will be accepted by the IAAF and AIMS because the race course

    was measured by an accredited AIMS/IAAF course measurer.
    The sixth edition of the race will hold on Saturday May 13 in Okpekpe,

    a town in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria.

    It is located about 25 kilometres northeast of Auchi.
    The race is organised by Pamodzi Sports Marketing,leaders in

    sports marketing and hospitality business in Nigeria.