Ogbomoso Marathon Race: Participants, observers hail initiative but want improvement

Ogbomoso Marathon Race: Participants, observers hail initiative but want improvement

Yinka ADETUNJI

The 2025 Ogbomoso Marathon Race has come and gone with modest success, participants and observes however want marked improvement in organization and execution, upward review of prize money, number of winners that enjoy rewards, security and so on.

These were submissions in separate interviews granted a number of participants and observers by ogbomosoinsightonline.com

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Engr. Olalekan Olaniyan, an Ogbomoso indigene based in Lagos who donated packs of bottle water for the event, pointed out, “What I see is that next year I want to see this programme better than this, to be better organized. The athletes put in their best but the organization still needs a bit of fine-tuning. There is no perfect system, you keep fine-tuning, fine-tuning until you get a much more well-organized event. But in a little way, they have tried.

“I want to commend them for the initiative, I also want to commend them for the painstaking efforts they put in, it is not easy to organize such a thing, But I hope that next year people can register online and close registration before the event and you have good prizes for winners and consolation prizes.”

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The 10km champ (male) Olayinka Peter while he commended the organisers for ensuring fraudulent participants did not sneak in towards the finishing line, he highlighted some areas that needed improvement. “I could only see one or two water stations along the route and there was no electrolyte just ordinary water,” Peter observed. “Also, in competitions l had participated in, they didn’t wait till the morning of competition before they handed us customised vests for the race, that would have been done earlier like a day earlier. But in this one they distributed the vests at the kickoff venue, so it unnecessarily delayed the take off time and imposed some stress.

“Similarly, elsewhere, they would have familiarised us with the route maybe a day earlier but this luxury was denied us here. But l still have commendations, l didn’t see anyone barging in, there had been competitions you felt you were ahead and gbam you would just see someone in front of you and you asked how did he get there. But nothing of such happened in this one,” while attributing his victory to hardwork and his don’t-quit-spirit having participated without success in some marathon races in the past.

30-year old Kareem Rahman from Okeho who notched third position said he came first in the first edition five years ago, noted, “Things do happen. I commend the organisers though they need to raise the bar.”

Balogun Basit from Ogbomoso though a resident of Saki came 9th. He lamented the best finishers were not captured up to ten. He stated, “This is my second time in Ogbomoso marathon race. I have been running marathons, I participated in a marathon competition in Abuja, where l came second. In marathon you can take first position today and farther down tomorrow, it depends on the type of marathon, that is distance covered whether your talent is based on endurance or speed.”

He further expressed his frustration. “The only complaint I have is that talking of marathon it requires a lot of sacrifice. Like we coming all the way from Saki to come here and placing 9th and given nothing is disappointing, all the marathons I have participated in, ECOWAS Marathon etc they either picked one to ten or fifteen but in this one only first, second and third.

“When you widen it, it gives space to cover more racers so that they will know their sacrifice will be rewarded. Even those ahead of you, you may discover it is just two minutes you are behind them. At least I was seeing them in front of me. I am not even familiar with the roads.

“I hope to participate again next year hopefully though I am disappointed in this one because of the planning. In fact, when I was discussing with one of the organisers he told me positions 1 – 35 will be recognized at least with medals. If l had known it would be 1 – 6, I would not have come, and you can imagine only first to third positions were eventually rewarded. I prefer half marathon, I have participated in about 10 professional marathons and it is not like this.”

AbdulMajid Ajibade Ahmed also a participant charged the window of winners be widened, saying, he recently took part in a marathon race in Ilorin capital of Kwara state in which they rewarded the first fifteen. “l came 11th and l was given ₦15, 000, and participants were not more than 50. In this one we were up to 200 and you rewarded only 3. That is ridiculous. In that Ilorin marathon race after the event they gave us good food and all that but here nothing not even snacks, we even struggled for water.”

Participants in the trekking race similarly pointed to some inadequacies alleging this allowed for some to run intermittently instead of walking. “We were not even given our competition’s wears until after the event, it shows lack of proper organisation in terms of logistics,” a disappointed competitor who did not disclose his name told Ogbomoso Insight.

Ogbomoso Insight likewise observed that many of the athletes had reached the finishing point before they brought bottle water on Okada (commercial motorcycles) for them when this should have been on ground. There was not even marked finishing line, the few officials stationed by the entrance gate to the Ogunlola Stadium just rushed to pick winners and soon it became rowdy. The public address system used also arrived more than 30 minutes after the conclusion of the races making athletes and others at the venue wait in frustration.

But Hon Sola Kolawole assured in a chat that things would improve next edition, “We will begin preparation earlier.”