As August 24, approaches, the excitement for the Tusker Lite Mt. Rwenzori Marathon is reaching new heights, with running enthusiasts and adventure seekers from around the globe gearing up for the highly anticipated event.
In April, three of the Tusker Lite Mt. Rwenzori Marathon courses received certification from World Athletics.
Runners will now race on a globally certified race course that is attracting elite athletes and enthusiasts from around the world, establishing itself as a truly global event.
With participants hailing from 24 countries so far, the marathon’s reach extends far beyond the borders of Uganda.
This year, the marathon has eight ambassadors based in Qatar and UAE promoting the marathon to a Middle Eastern and global audience.
According to the marathon organisers, the influencers are brand ambassadors for Asics, Nike and Adidas, and represent the brands in the Middle East. The eight influencers will be traveling to Uganda for the marathon in August and are acting as ambassadors to open the door for more tourism from the Middle Eastern region to the Pearl of Africa.
With direct flights from both Dubai and Doha, the potential for adventure tourism from the fitness-crazed countries is expected to be big and growing.
Besides that, the Tusker Lite Mt. Rwenzori Marathon has been featured in numerous airline magazines across East Africa, including Kenya Airways, Uganda Airlines and SA Airlink inflight magazines.
Amos Wekesa, Tusker Lite Mt Rwenzori Marathon team, says these publications have provided readers with comprehensive backgrounds on the marathon, its significance, and the breathtaking routes participants will experience.
“The global reach of the Tusker Lite Mt. Rwenzori Marathon has been phenomenal. Marathons in other countries, like the Berlin or Tokyo Marathons, are big tourism boosts that bring tens of thousands of people and their travel budgets to their respective countries. From day one, it has been our ambition to do the same for Kasese and Uganda. Our marathon is already putting Uganda on the map and is inspiring a new type of tourism for the country focused on fitness, nature, and community,” Wekesa says.
“We’re proud to say that we have runners signed up from South Africa, Cameroon, Canada, France, Guatemala, India, Italy, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Namibia, Nigeria, Qatar, Rwanda, Singapore, Spain, Tanzania, Ukraine, UAE, UK, USA, Yemen, and Zimbabwe for this year’s Tusker Lite Mt Rwenzori Marathon,” he added.
Patience Aguti, the Project Manager at UBL, noted that the impact of this marathon goes beyond the race itself.
“We are more than humbled by the numbers registering to participate this year. The response has been overwhelming, and we are excited to see how this event continues to grow.”
The marathon offers four different courses to cater to various fitness levels and interests: a 5km fun run, a 10km race, a 21km half marathon, and a 42km full marathon with three out of the four being certified race routes by World Athletics.