The Tusker Lite Mt Rwenzori Marathon will carry a total prize purse of Shs252 million when the fifth edition is run in Kasese on Saturday 22 August, with the winners of the men’s and women’s 42km races taking Shs40 million each.
Second place in the marathon is worth Shs20 million and third Shs10 million, while the winners of the 21km take Shs15 million each. Around 8,000 runners are expected across the 42km, 21km, 10km and 5km fields, drawn from more than twenty countries. The race holds World Athletics Label Road Race status, and organisers say this edition will be streamed live for the first time, with roughly five hours of coverage.
The number worth sitting with is the purse. Ugandan road racing has never had a problem producing athletes; it has had a problem keeping them racing at home rather than chasing appearance money abroad before they are ready. A Shs40 million first prize in Kasese changes that calculation for a young runner who would otherwise be looking at a European circuit they cannot yet afford to join.
The setting does the rest of the work. Kasese sits under the Rwenzori range in western Uganda, at altitude, on a course that has built its reputation on being genuinely hard rather than fast. That is a different proposition from the flat city marathons where Ugandan and Kenyan athletes usually chase times, and it is why the field has grown every year. AXN Sports will publish the results once the official times are confirmed.
Where to bet: be realistic about athletics markets. Ugandan books price the big city marathons and the World Athletics championships, but a domestic road race like this one rarely gets a market at all, so treat anyone offering you one with caution. Where Fortebet and Betway do compete hard, both licensed by the National Lotteries and Gaming Regulatory Board, is the Uganda Premier League and European football, priced in shillings and funded through MTN Mobile Money and Airtel Money. Our guide to the best betting sites in Uganda covers licensing and withdrawal times, and there is more in Uganda athletics news from AXN Sports. 18+. Gamble responsibly.
