First Lady Margaret Kenyatta Trains in North Rift Ahead of Marathon

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta Sunday morning kicked off her training sessions in the North Rift ahead of the second edition of her half marathon scheduled for March 8 in Nairobi.

The inaugural training session in the high altitude parts of the North Rift was held in the Kaptagat Forest area where the First Lady ran 15 km in a time of one and a half hours as she prepares for the 21 km race.

Besides Kaptagat, the First Lady is expected to hold training sessions in other areas of the North Rift including Iten.

During last year’s training sessions ahead of the inaugural First Lady’s Half Marathon in March, Mrs Margaret Kenyatta trained in the same region with elite marathon world record holders, including Wilson Kipsang, Lorna Kiplagat and Florence Kiplagat among others.

The forthcoming half marathon, like the previous two marathons held in Nairobi and London, are aimed at creating awareness and mobilising resources for the Beyond Zero campaign, an initiative aimed at reducing maternal deaths and child mortality in Kenya.

BEYOND ZERO CAMPAIGN

The country loses more than 108,000 children annually before they celebrate their fifth birthdays while over 5,500 women loose their lives while giving birth.

The campaign is driven by the principle that “no woman should die while giving life” which the First Lady has used as a mantra to mobilize awareness and resources globally.

The campaign targets to purchase 47 fully kitted mobile clinics for all the counties, with 20 mobile clinics having been purchased. So far 19 of these have been handed over to various counties.

Through the ongoing initiatives, including the forthcoming First Lady’s Half Marathon, the First Lady hopes to raise an estimated Sh600million to purchase 27 more mobile clinics for the remaining counties.

By Murigi Macharia

Tags:

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta health First Lady beyond zero Maternal Mortality childen under 5years old

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