Athletics Kenya will use next year’s Tinderet Barng’etuny Mountain Run to select a provisional team for the 2027 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships scheduled for Cape Town, South Africa, from October 6 to 10.
The annual race set for January 16 at Lion Hill Farm in Tinderet, Nandi County, will serve as a selection event for all categories, including senior and junior athletes.
AK Mountain Running Committee chairman, Peter Angwenyi, said the federation intends to field a full team for the global championships, which will be staged at Table Mountain. “We plan to field a full team for the championships in South Africa, and for the first time, we will also send junior men and women to the global event,” Angwenyi said.
The championships will feature five disciplines for both men and women: Uphill, Classic, Classic U20, Short Trail and Long Trail.
Angwenyi urged athletes to begin preparations for the Tinderet race after the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) World Cup and the Golden Trail World Series (GTWS), circuits that have featured strong Kenyan representation.
The Cape Town championships will be the first World Athletics event of its kind to be staged in South Africa since 1993. Angwenyi also praised the race organisers and sponsors for honouring their commitments by promptly distributing cash prizes and livestock after athletes cleared anti-doping tests.
Founded by Eric Barng’etuny, son of the late politician Ezekiel Barng’etuny, the event has grown into an important fixture on Kenya’s mountain running calendar. Tinderet MP Julius Melly is its patron.
“This is a unique race where the top 50 athletes in both the men’s and women’s categories receive cash, heifers and sheep,” Angwenyi said, reaffirming Athletics Kenya’s commitment to expanding mountain running across the country.
Meanwhile, two-time champion Janeth Chepng’etich is targeting a historic third consecutive title when the race returns in January.
Chepng’etich, who recently received the heifers she won in the 2024 and 2025 editions, believes the event offers an ideal platform to launch her 2027 campaign.
“The Barng’etuny Mountain Run is a great way to start the season. Having won it twice, my target is a third title in January to test my fitness ahead of a busy 2027,” she said. Winners of the annual race receive Sh500,000 alongside a heifer.
Beyond mountain running, the versatile track and road specialist is also targeting a place in Kenya’s team for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, China, scheduled for September 11–17. “Since the World Athletics Championships and the World Mountain Running Championships are a month apart, I plan to compete in both if I qualify,” she added.
