The famous Beau Vallon beach in Seychelles once again witnessed yet another year of excellent turn out at the 12th Edition of the Seychelles Eco-Friendly Marathon.
The event, which has now become a date marked on the international runners’ calendar, allows participants from all over the globe to compete whilst enjoying a panoramic view of beautiful Seychelles on their course.
The rain and winds did not deter the participants as a little over three thousand runners registered for the 2019 edition that regrouped various race categories that catered for runners of all ages and abilities.
It was almost natural to see the participation of children alongside their parents, couples, elderly, marathon fanatics and marathon experts rub shoulders to run on the different distances including distances specifically 5km, 10km, the 21k- half-marathon and the 42k full marathon.
The 5km race was the most popular event of this 2019 edition with over 1600 participants from various nationalities including South Korea, India, Nepal, Malaysia, UK, Finland, France, US, Kenya amongst others.
On the men’s side Matheus Kadhingula from Namibia won the race, Kenyan National Jackson Ndegwa seconded him, while Geno Belle young promising Seychellois runner made it to the third position on the podium.
On the women side, Wambui Maina from Kenya made it first in her category followed by Seychelloise Maggy Harray and Malagasy national Corine Rasaonanteniana.
The events also saw the participation of Vice President of Seychelles Mr. Vincent Meriton who ran 10km and Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Chief Executive Mrs. Sherin Francis who ran 5km. Mrs Francis was joined by a strong STB team comprising of members from Headquarters and foreign offices.