TheCable

A total of 100,000 athletes from 27 countries, including Nigeria, will participate in the second edition of Access Bank Lagos Marathon, billed to hold from 7am to 2pm on Saturday.

Sixty-four elite athletes from 26 countries and 102 from Nigeria, as well as 30 special athletes will also be participating in the marathon scheduled to start from National Stadium in Surulere and terminate at Eko Atlantic City in Victoria Island.

Addressing a world press conference on Friday, Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos state, said adequate preparations had been put in place to ensure a successful event.

Represented by Deji Tinubu, his special adviser on sports and chairman of Lagos State Sports Commission, Ambode said the marathon had been designed to be “bigger and better” than the previous edition.

He told the people of the state to expect the best, saying all the agencies of government participating in the event have been adequately mobilised.

Ambode said the event was meant to showcase the excellence of Lagos to the world as well as encourage sporting activities among the people.

“We want to show the world that Lagos can be and Lagos can do what it is expected of it as a mega city; we want to show to the world the tourism potentials of Lagos; we want to show to the world that Lagos is safe; we want to show to the world that Lagos can be the choice destination for sports, tourism and entertainment and that is why we are doing this,” he said.

Appreciating all the sponsors of the programme, Ambode said it was gratifying to note that many of the participating athletes have picked up their running kits, while top notch security and logistics arrangement have been put in place.

He also said that the sole administrators of the local government areas of the routes of the marathon have also been adequately mobilised, while arrangement for entertainment and fun packs have also been perfected for those not participating in the marathon.