Moses clocked 1:13:31 to win the men’s race ahead of Simon Macharia, who finished in 1:21:23, while Muniva completed the women’s race in 2:40:08.

Gabriel Moses and Dorcas Muniva won the men’s and women’s 21km races respectively as the ACK Ruai Marathon returned to the road on Saturday, raising Sh13 million towards the care and dignity of elderly people.

Aloice Gonza won the men’s 10km race in 47:42, while Jane Wanjiru led the women’s field in 41:56.2, ahead of Sheila Mbaku in 47:05.0.

Held at ACK Holy Innocent Church in Ruai, the revived event was organised under the theme “Run for Dignity. Run for Life”.

The ACK Diocese of Nairobi is using the race to raise funds for the completion of the Elderly Home, also known as the Geriatric Resource Centre Phase One.

The proposed facility will provide residential support, medical consultation, psychosocial care, spiritual nurture and dignified living conditions for elderly people.

Race head of logistics Jackson Gitonga said about 8,000 participants registered, although only about half turned up on race day.

“About 8,000 participants registered although just about half the number showed up for the races,” Gitonga said.

He said organisers had anticipated a lower turnout after rain was forecast but was encouraged by the interest from individual runners, particularly young people.

“One of the positives was the increased interest, especially from young people. Those aged between 17 and 25 formed the biggest group. That was a good surprise because this is mostly individual entry and not groups,” he said.

The organisers also encountered problems with the online registration platform, forcing them to revert to manual registration and complete much of the administrative work in the final hours before the race.

Despite the challenges, Gitonga said the races started largely on schedule and participants were satisfied with the spacing between categories.

“There was no overcrowding between the different categories. People had registered for particular races but some changed to different races, so there was some mix-up,” he said.

The route took runners from Holy Innocent Church towards the Ruai sewage plant and back. Gitonga said organisers would review the course ahead of next year’s edition, particularly sections affected by poor road conditions.

“Next time we will work on the race course, depending on the road conditions in the area. One section was dusty today,” he said.

Traffic police helped manage runners and other road users along the route. The absence of finisher medals was, however, a major disappointment for participants.

“The feedback from the people was that the race was good. They were, however, disappointed that there were no medals to issue them. We will work on that next race, which will be next year,” Gitonga said.

The ACK Ruai Marathon had previously featured three editions, with the 2018 race offering 21km, 10km and 3km categories. Wycliff Lusala won the men’s 21km race, while Paul Mwangi took the 10km title.

Gitonga said organisers will focus on improving the course, registration system and overall race-day experience when the marathon returns next year, while maintaining its focus on elderly care.