24th December, 2017
A community in Owan Local Government Area of Edo, Sabongida-Ora, is set to debut a seven-kilometre marathon race on Jan. 2, 2018.
The marathon, which is meant to groom talents from the council area and the state in general, have seen no fewer than 500 athletes registered for the race.
The organiser and sponsor of the race, Christopher Ojo, on Sunday, said besides using the race to get the youths off the street, it will also afford the opportunity of opening up the local economy.
Ojo specifically stressed that the Owan marathon was meant to carry out local scouting of talents.
According to him, “Our people are sports inclined but never supported to bring the talents to a global level.
In essence, after this marathon, we should identify those to promote to the global stage.
“Our plan is to sponsor the talents to be discovered to participate in global marathon events. This is basically a novelty competition that will scout for raw talents.”
Speaking further, Ojo who is a United States of America based software engineer, said sports and technology were the easiest way to empower the youth.
“It is for this reason that we want the competitors not to take the prize money as the driving force behind their participation, but see the ultimate goal of promoting people that will be successful in marathon races time to come.
He said to ensure the success of the race, relevant bodies, including the State athletes federation, have been contacted.
He also said that subsequent editions would have corporate organisations within and outside the state as active participants.