Okpekpe Road Race Holds, May 7

The organisers of the
10-kilometre Okpekpe Road Race said on Saturday that the 2016 edition would hold on May 7, 2016.
The Chairman of the Organising Committee of the race, Mr Mike Ituemagbon, told a news conference in Benin that the 2016 marathon, the fourth in the series, was to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer patients and orphans in the country.
He said rather than prize money being the focus, the 2016 edition would be used as a platform to impact positively on the health and wellbeing of the people.
“The race is not all about prize money. It is going to be about our health and to draw global attention to our health.
“‘Run for a Course’ is what this year’s race is all about. It is running for a specific and particular purpose,” he said.
Ituemagbon also said that the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) would use the race to propagate its “Safer Life and Fuller Life” campaign.
He said the wife of the Edo governor and Miss Nigeria would also propagate health and wellbeing messages of their respective pet projects during the race.
On the cheating witnessed at the third edition of the race, the chairman said that a new technology would be deployed to check the menace.
“The transponder will be worn by every athlete; this time, nobody will chase you, the time you run will automatically register at the end of the race.
“We are also using drones for the first time. They will be deployed at the end point and the starting line.
“In addition, without a number, you can’t run. The number ranges depend on what category of race you will be participating in.
“All this is to avoid cheating as witnessed last year,” he said.
On the number of athletes that have so far registered for the race, Ituemagbon said “the figure is alarming”.
“We already have more than 300 elite runners that have indicated interest but we are only going to take 30 of them.
“This is because we discovered that most of them that participated in the past only came to enjoy our label to boost their career.
“We will be taking only those with good timing unlike in previous editions that we took anyone who came.
“We are not there yet; we want to get to the silver label soon while our aim is the gold label,” he said.