Olopade unveils plans for 2021 as sponsors reiterate dedication to Lagos City Marathon

Project consultant to the yearly Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, Bukola Olopade, at the weekend listed the country’s gains from the competition, just as the headline sponsor, Access Bank, and the race partners restated their commitment to the event. The marathon, in half a decade, has become the biggest one-day event in Africa and a World Athletics Silver Label event.

Speaking to journalists on Sunday after watching the Valencia Half Marathon where Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie set a new world record of 57.32 seconds, Olopade revealed that he has held several meetings with top officials of Access Bank and partners like 7UP Bottling Company, Kia Motors, Revolution Plus, Skechers, and Eko Atlantics to ensure that 2021 is bigger and better than the previous editions.

“We have already started activities for the 2021 edition with registration online a couple of months ago. The physical form is out this month and intending runners can pick their forms at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere in Lagos.’’

Olopade said the press conference that will herald the 2021 edition will hold in the next couple of days.

“We have made some adjustments to the 2021 race and we will inform Nigerians of the new changes through the media during the press conference.

Olopade praised the media and Access Bank for making Nigeria a global marathon destination,

“Nigeria will not be a global marathon destination without the media and Access Bank. When we started in 2015, nobody believed we could do it but the media and the bank supported us heavily with finance and personnel.

“We approached many big corporations but they rejected us but Access Bank and Lagos State Government embraced us from day one. Now we have marathons and road races in all the nook and crannies of Nigeria all thank the pioneering efforts of Access Bank and our partners like 7Up, Eko Atlantics, Revolution Plus, and ultimately the media” said Olopade.

The 2021 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon is slated for February 13, 2021.