Save for Namboole there can hardly be a more suitable venue for the MTN Kampala marathon than Kololo Airstrip. So spacious is the latter, you could be tempted to think that half of the registered 19,058 participants turned up for the annual event on Sunday. Parking space was adequate, some of the 200 registered corporate teams found where to fit their hospitality tents and spectators, too, could easily catch a glimpse of the runners.

These are some noteworthy positives in the event dominated by Kenyan and Tanzanian runners. David Kipkosgei (1:18:31) and Jane Nyambura (2:46:20) led a Kenyan 1-3 finish in the men and women's major races (42.195km). Top Ugandan runners Joseph Nsubuga, Francis Musani and Jane Suuto conspired to hand their East African neighbours easy victories. Thank God the 10km race was reserved for only Ugandans, Ben Siwa and Rebecca Cheptengei wouldn't have sniffed on the gold. Siwa was however impressive in the men's 10km, recording a Personal Best (PB) time of 29:42 and defeated more experienced comrades like Benjamin Kiplagat and Simon Ayeko.

21km mess

Veteran Alex Malinga has had a tough year. Last month, he suffered food poisoning on the eve of the Nairobi Standard Chartered marathon and had hoped to make amends on Sunday. Malinga and former national half marathon record holder Wilson Kipkemei, also on a comeback mission, were among the favourites for the 21km gold at Kololo. The forgettable confusion on the starting line put paid to their dreams.

The duo were still warming up by the time the rest hit the road. "They announced the start of the race but when I reported to the line the rest had left," Malinga, the national marathon record holder (2:12:12), said. "I tried to chase but there is no way I could catch up." Uganda's hopes for gold were finally dashed when Isaac Kiprop helplessly got trapped in the 10km fun-runner's web trying to out sprint Tanzanian Musa Faustin.

Kiprop (1:03:34) looked stronger than the Tanzanian going into the final 100m but thanks to the technical committee's ineptness, he couldn't salvage that gold. Too many cooks spoil the soup, it is often said. The soup that is the marathon finishing point was messed up by the many marshals, some of them not competent enough to organize a village race.

Apparently, a barrier was to be set up in the middle of the final stretch to separate the 10km walkers from the half marathon and full marathon competitors. As the 10km leading pack approached the home stretch, an experienced member of the athletics federation lined-up bouncers to work as a barrier. Very good idea! Moments later, a clueless walkie-talkie wielding 'official' ordered the bouncers to stand on the pavement. They immediately turned into spectators and the chaos started. Very ugly!

Add that to the fact that Janet Akello missed out on the 10km women's gold after a collision with the 21km racers at Lugogo Bypass, you wouldn't fault Athletes Forum boss Dixon Okello for demanding a complete overhaul of the organizing committee. Seeing grey-haired men wrestle each other down for MTN water bottles was totally unfriendly to the eyes.

"A lot went wrong today and there is no way this can be called an international event," the outspoken Okello commented, "how can 10km runners be finishing while the rest are just starting?" Like Tanzanian coach Joseph Bayo commented, the presence or absence of top class runners determines the ability of a race to get international recognition. "The Shs5m cash prize is little for any top class runner. That's why we brought only upcoming athletes," Bayo noted. Going into the seventh edition, a lot has to change.