The 7th Eldama Ravine Half Marathon happens this weekend in Kenya

The Eldama Ravine Half marathon will be the first major road race to happen in Kenya since the COVID 19 pandemic struck. The announcement came in just a few weeks before the race day probably due to the unpredictability of the situation in the country.

Signing up, photo by @EldamaRavineHM

However, measures have been taken by the race organizers to ensure that the COVID 19 protocols are observed during the event. There will be two elite race categories; the half marathon and the 10km races. Runners will be required to observe social distancing rules and to wear masks before the race. There will be no fans along the route as well as at the finish.

"Fans will not be allowed to gather at any point to cheer the runners, under the new normal, they are advised to follow the road race from home in our social media outlets." Read a statement from the half marathon's Facebook Page.

Despite the short notice, many local runners are eager to take part in the event after a very long time of training with no races to test their fitness. It is a rare opportunity to race in a year that has had scanty racing opportunities.

One of the race officials assured RunBlogRun that runners traveling to compete on the 28th will have plenty of accommodation options in Eldama Ravine town.

Most of the runners will be lining at the start line having not done the specific workouts that lead up to a race. Some runners heard about the imminent race just after doing their longest runs and will have so little time to recover before the race. Others had never been bothered to begin their speed workouts as they expected the race season to begin next year and caught the news in surprise.

But, the long wait without participating in any race combined with the uncertainty of when the next race will happen have compelled many to try their luck in this race.

After all, many other runners participating in this race got the news by surprise and no one was fully prepared for it.