Kabaka Run celebrates sixth year with more generosity than ever
Celebrities and ordinary people are a major sight at the annual Kabaka Birthday Run. Photo by George Katongole
KAMPALA- The Airtel Kabaka Birthday Run will continue apace this Sunday with the sixth edition starting and ending in the palace at Mengo.
Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II will lag off the 20k race at 7:00 a.m. with the 10k and 5k races following shortly. An estimated 60,000 crowd is expected to attend the run attempting to raise funds towards the eradication of sickle cell disease in Uganda.
The Kabaka Birthday Run is arguably the most attended race in Uganda and it has maintained the same course throughout its history; this in addition to how flat and relatively fast the course is has made it a unique and popular draw for the local community in Kampala and Buganda.
Sellout
On Thursday, organisers revealed that all tickets for the Run were sold out. Demand for tickets has been so high that organisers have revealed that all kits were snapped up by Wednesday evening—four days to the run.
Such an early sell-out marks a new milestone for the annual fun run and is a testament to both the continued strength of the event year on year, as well as the excitement that is building for the health initiatives as well as the Kabaka’s presence, who flags off runners.
According to Airtel Uganda Public Relations Officer Faith Bugonzi, as official partners they had ordered for 50,000 kits but were prompted to print ordinary t-shirts to cater for latecomers.
“We are overwhelmed by this turn-up. It is a tribute to our clients who are responsible for making this run great,” Bugonzi said as staff of Airtel were making their Shs4m ahead of the run.
KNOW & GO
What: Airtel Kabaka Birthday Run
When: Sunday April 7, 2019
Race starts at 7:00 a.m., today
Where: Bulange Mengo, Kampala
