The 2023 edition of the Lagos Women Run will be held on Saturday, 11 November, with the start point at the iconic Tafawa Balewa Square
As the countdown to the eighth edition of the annual Lagos Women Run continues, organisers have announced innovations to make the 2023 race more glamorous than previous editions.
The Coordinator of the race, Tayo Popoola, while addressing journalists at a media parley on Thursday, revealed that there will be a significant increase in the prize money to be won at this year's edition of the Lagos Women Run.
More money and empowerment drive
Apart from the increased prize money, Popoola also revealed that in line with its mission statement, the Lagos Women Run will also be empowering individuals this year through its carefully outlined programs targeted at bettering the lot of women in Lagos State and beyond.
"I want to thank the Lagos State government for increasing the prize money by 50 per cent," she said. "This is the eighth edition, and unlike the N1 million prize money for last year's edition, we are paying the winner of the Open Race N1.5 million, while the prize money for the veteran race is now N500,000, as against the N300,000 in the past.
"Also, the prize money is always for the top 10 in the two categories, but now we are paying the top 20, and we already have over 8,000 runners already registered, with more than 300 professional runners."
She added: "We also have an empowerment programme we are organising for the women during our Expo this year."
The 10km Race, according to the coordinator, is to empower more ladies, especially the girl child, with more people running the race for different reasons, ranging from fun to cancer and other causes.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Partners in progress
Also speaking to journalists at the media parley on Thursday, veteran actress Bukky Ogunnote said her NGO, Nigeria Women Development Initiatives, decided to inform the women within their organisations about the advantages of becoming part of the Lagos Women Run, and they decided to key into it.
She added: "We are in partnership with the organisers, and many women are coming from us from different parts of Lagos State. Over 2000 women would be part of the race. We have seen the Women's Run as an opportunity for women to ease tension, relax their minds, and meet with people.
"There are a lot of advantages in it, and it is not just for running sake alone. When you engage in physical exercise, it always helps you mentally, physically, emotionally, and in all wise, and we told our women the advantages, and they keyed into it."
For his part, the Technical Director of the Lagos State Athletics Association, Enefiok Udo-Obong, described the Lagos Women Run as a unique race that has engendered community participation.
Unique race
The Lagos Women Run is a 10km race that is open to women of all ages and abilities.
It is held annually in the heart of Lagos State, Nigeria. The race is designed to promote fitness and healthy living among women, as well as to raise awareness of social issues affecting women in the country.
The 2023 edition of the Lagos Women Run will be held on Saturday, 11 November, with the start point at the iconic Tafawa Balewa Square and the race ending at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena.
