Tantalizingly close! Mestawat Tufa misses 15 km World record by just two seconds in Nijmegen (© Zevenheuvelenloop organisers)
The Obudu Ranch International Mountain Running Race in Cross River state, Nigeria, will held on Saturday 29 November, an annual event which is now well established and claims to be the world’s richest Mountain Running race.
With a prize list from first to tenth positions of US$50,000; $15,000, $9000 down to $2000, the Obudu Ranch International offers an exceptionally attractive purse, and men and women receive exactly the same rewards.
The potential prize has attracted two of the world's leading women distance runners this year, Ethiopia’s Mestawat Tufa, the 2008 World XC silver medallist and 2007 All-Africa Games 10,000m champion, and Aselefech Mergia, the silver medallist in the recent World Half Marathon Championships in Rio, Brazil.
Tufa is in fine form at present having missed the World record for 15km on the road by just two seconds in Nijmegen earlier this month.
These two Ethiopians will be tested on the 11km course, which steadily ascends 800m to the Obudu Ranch at 1600m, by 2008 World Mountain Running Champion, Andrea Mayr of Austria, and Ethiopian compatriot Kedir Rehima who won this race in 2006.
In the men’s race, New Zealander Jonathan Wyatt, six times and current World Mountain Running champion will be opposed by Kenyan, Ethiopian, Tanzanian, and Ugandan athletes.
Leading the challengers will be Geoffrey Kusuro of Uganda, 19, who was fourth over 5000m at the World Junior championships this summer, and was runner-up in Obudu last year.
Another Ugandan, Martin Toroitich, who took the silver medal in this year’s World Mountain Running Championship behind Wyatt, will be looking to reverse the tables on the new Zealander in this race.
Last year’s Obudu winner Awash Fikadu of Ethiopia returns to defend his title.
Danny Hughes for the IAAF
