Okpekpe Road Race Explained

Bgcolour:darkgreen
Date:May
Location:Okpekpe, Nigeria
Type:Road
Distance:10K run
Est:2013
Participants:428 (2019)
Record:Men's: 28:28 (2023)
Daniel Ebenyo
Women's: 32:38 (2023)
Caroline Kipkirui

Okpekpe road race is an annual event in Edo State, Nigeria. It is a 10 Kilometre road race over hills and tarred roads, starting from Apana Road and ending in Okpekpe town. The 2018 edition of the race featured participants from Kenya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda, Morocco, Israel, Bahrain, Morocco  and Nigeria.[1] Kenyan Kibet Alex won the men’s category of the 2018 edition of the race with a finishing time of 29 minutes 46 seconds. Simon Chepat was second with a finishing of 30 minutes 29 seconds and Ronoh Timothy placed third with a finishing time of 30 minutes 39 seconds. Yani Dera Dida won the female category.[2] [3]

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) silver labelled the Okpekpe international 10km road race.[4]

Past winners

Edition Year Men's winner Time Women's winner Time
1st 2013 29:39 33:01
2nd 2014 28:35 32:41
3rd 2015 29:20 33:34
4th 2016 29:48 33:30
5th 2017 29:28 33:59
6th 2018 29:46 33:00
7th 2019 29:03 33:13
2020 Did not held
2021
8th 2022 29:05 33:09
9th 2023 28:28 32:38
10th 2024 29:31 33:05

References

  1. News: Okpekpe road race: Top class athletes vie for honours - Vanguard News. 2018-05-12. Vanguard News. 2018-06-16. en-US.
  2. News: Kenyan Alex wins 2018 Okpekpe road race - Vanguard News. 2018-05-13. Vanguard News. 2018-07-06. en-US.
  3. News: Kenyans Dominate 2018 Okpekpe Road Race - THISDAYLIVE. 2018-05-13. THISDAYLIVE. 2018-07-06. en-US.
  4. News: Cheprot, Wanjiku Eye Okpekpe Road Race History - Complete Sports Nigeria. 2018-04-26. Complete Sports Nigeria. 2018-07-06. en-US.