Foreign athletes to pay $100 for 2020 Lagos City Marathon

Organisers of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon say foreign athletes wishing to feature in the event next year will pay $100 (about N36,000), while those in Nigeria will part with the sum of N5,000.

Already, over 120 foreign athletes have registered for the 2020 edition of the marathon, according to the Chief Executive Officer, Nilayo Sports Management, organisers of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, Bukola Olopade. Olopade, who spoke with The Guardian from London at the weekend, revealed that the 2020 edition would attract the largest crowd ever witnessed in history of marathon events.

According to him, some percentage of the proceeds from the registration fees would go to a charity organisation, just as he stated that 100 Nigerians would get N100,000 prize money in both male and female categories of the 10km race. “The amount is outside the usual prize money and car gift attached to the 10km race.”

Olopade hinted that he recently received an invitation to attend a marathon event in China saying that the Chinese were thrilled with the way they conducted the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon in Nigeria.He praised Lagos State governor Akinwunmi Ambode for ‘believing’ in the course of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon saying: “Ambode has done so much for the Lagos City Marathon, and he deserves a lot of kudos. We will continue to make the event bigger.”

Shortly after the fourth edition of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon in February this year, a South African runner, Cindy Nkomo described her participation as ‘best experience.’