Nation Reporter
12 June 2006
Nairobi — A huge pay day awaits the top finishers in this year's Shoe4Africa women's road race in Iten.
Shoe4africa director Joy Dushey who announced the sponsorship package for the Iten women's race.
Organisers of the annual race - to be held on Friday, December 15 in Iten town - also announced that build-up races will be held in Kisii and Nyeri. The announcement was made at the weekend during a Shoe4Africa party on Park Avenue in New York.
The race organisers said the prize money for the Kenyan race would be increased to cover the top 30 runners for the Iten race with each runner in the top 30 winning at least $100 (Sh7,200).
American celebrities have also offered to make contributions to the race's kitty, according to its founder, Toby Tanser, a well known journalist, coach and member of the board of directors of the New York Road Runners. Tanser, a former athlete, is also the author of the book Train hard, win easy - the Kenyan way. World famous fashion designer Narcisco Rodriguez, Top Gun Actor Anthony Edwards, gallery owner Glenn Gale, Radu - the celebrity trainer to actress Cindy Crawford - were some of the many celebrities at hand to hear the plans for the Shoe4Africa races in New York.
Joy Dushey, a director of the Shoe4Africa programme, addressed the star-studded party that attracted a galaxy of world class athletes and said the Iten race would remain "the jewel in the crown" for the New York based charity. "We are already working hard to make sure that Kenya will have a fabulous women's only race - now even the runner who finishes in 30th place will receive a $100!" said Dushey.
Hundreds of women competed in last year's inaugural Shoe4Africa Iten race that featured a two-kilometre health walk and the main 10km run. "The idea behind Shoe4Africa is to give young talented women a future and this can be in athletics or academically or both," Tanser said.
"Shoe4Africa doesn't only support the top talents but also young women who have the right motivation to study hard and work hard and who are determined." Shoe4Africa collects sport equipment in the USA and hands them out to athletes in Africa who need them. The charity is also setting up a fund to support girls with school fees for secondary school and for scholarships to study abroad. Shoe4Africa is based in New York.
Shoe4Africa also organises races and supports women athletes in Tanzania, Eritrea and Morocco. They also have plans to extend in other African countries.
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