Ikogosi race: Meeting of sport, tourism, commerce – Sports, apart from helping to keep the body in good condition, have become means of livelihood to practitioners, who are paid for doing well at different tournaments. Host countries or communities always showcase their economic and tourism potential, which was the major reason for conceiving the Ikogosi 10km marathon,
The excitement that greeted the news of the Ikogosi 10 kilometre race among long-distance runners in Nigeria, particularly those indigenous to Ekiti State, was encouraging. The feeling was that it would be a worthy addition to many short and long-distance races in the country and give everyone involved in the project the opportunity to be part of history.
Despite the core reason of ensuring that the athletes competed in a convivial atmosphere and be rewarded with cash prizes for their efforts, the race was carefully conceived to bring sports and tourism together, boost the local economy and promote good health, particularly in the state and the country in general.
So, on December 7, last year, the stage was set for the maiden edition of the race, which held in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital. The race, which had over 2,000 runners competing, began at Aramoko through Erijinyan and terminated at the famous Ikogosi Resort, where runners, government officials, visitors and residents were treated to the best of comedy and music.
The harsh harmattan weather did not deter runners from joining the race. They were determined to be part of the historic moment. They were cheered by fans in towns where they passed through and those, who needed water and medical attention received them.
At the end of the race, the duo of Sdjo Ismael of Cross River State and Rose Akusho of Plateau State emerged champions in the male and female categories.
Ismael finished in 30 minutes 40 seconds to confine Adamu Shehu Muazu from Plateau State, who clocked a time of 31 minutes 21.09 seconds for second place position, while Osun State’s Oyebode Dada Sunday came third in a time of 31 minutes 47.01 seconds.
Twenty-one-year-old Akusho beat David Adiye from Ondo State, who finished in a time of 36 minutes 51.04 seconds for the second position while Onan Saleh also from Plateau State finished third with a time of 37 minutes 30.09 seconds in the women’s category. The first three finishers in both categories received N1 million, N500, 000 and N300,000 respectively for their efforts.
According to the race organisers, Ikogosi Marathon Initiative (IMI) and the Ekiti State government, the race, apart from providing mouth-watering prize monies, is meant to improve the awareness of health lifestyle through running activities; inspire as many people as possible to take part in physical activity; lowering levels of illnesses caused by inactivity and improving the health of the community. It would also promote Ekiti State and Ikogosi brand worldwide by inviting international and elite athletes, which would, in turn, attract local and foreign direct investments.
Some of the goals that drove this initiative, according to Seun Labiran, the IMI boss, are youth development, making Ekiti more visible to the world through tourism and hospitality, and to attract investments to the state.
The race is also meant to be a platform for regular people and aspiring local athletes to compete with world-class (elite athletes) with the hope that budding talents would be discovered and go on to represent the state and the country at international events.
Remarkably, the number of young men and women, who trained in preparation for the race, was really encouraging. They also turned out in large numbers on the day.
Sports have been known for being all-inclusive activity, which celebrate life, health and fitness. And that was what the organisers had in mind when conceiving the idea. The hosting of events in general and sport events specifically has been revealed as means of improving the economy, especially the tourism or hospitality market.
Labiran also noted that benefits of the race included creation of infrastructure; enhancing community image; investment; marketing; tax generation; positive income; job creation; revenue generation; sport promotion; health and fitness; creating local entertainment; enhancing community pride; urban regeneration and regional development, to mention a few. It was also a deliberate move to name the race after a popular resort in the state, the Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort.
“The meeting of the warm and cold water springs at Ikogosi is a rare phenomenon that deserves more attention on the world stage than it is getting right now. By making Ikogosi the centre of the race, we hope to focus the attention of the world on this phenomenon and establish Ekiti as a major tourists centre in the country.
“This should, in turn, lead to a lot of direct and indirect investments in the state that will create jobs for the people and improve the economy of the state. We are strategic about using this initiative to promote this resort, especially as it stands to generate significant revenue for Ekiti people and Ekiti State government,” he said.
He commended Governor Kayode Fayemi for supporting the race.
“We leaned heavily on the state’s infrastructure and models in ensuring that the race became a success. The state Ministry of Youths and Sports, through the Commissioner, Michael Awopetu, as well as the Permanent Secretary, did their best in helping us to secure the needed approval.
“Although the event was completely sponsored by the Ikogosi Marathon Initiative, the state ensured an enabling environment by making sure we had access to all the necessary state apparatus such as security agencies, health agencies and workers, sports agencies and even enabled a seamless relationship with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) as we employed the services of corps members as paid volunteers for this event,” he said.
On plans to expand the race next year and attract international stars, Labiran revealed that the race would be upgraded to a half-marathon (21km) with better cash prizes.
He said: “We plan to expand both the elite athletes’ participation and the fun runner participation well beyond the shores of the country as the plan is for the Ikogosi Marathon to be the biggest race event in the country in the next five years.
“Our drive is to ensure that we beat our personal best. By this we mean, we are committed to ensuring that the next year’s edition turn out better on all fronts. No matter what standards we have set or are in the course of setting, we are firmly committed to raising the bar every edition of Ikogosi Marathon.
“We have learnt a lot of valuable lessons from the first edition in terms of organisation and logistics and in terms of understanding the terrain and these lessons are already being used to fine-tune preparations for the next event to ensure that the difficulties faced and the shortcomings of the last event are efficiently dealt with to make subsequent events more successful.”
Governor Fayemi, who commended all the participants, especially those who won cash prizes, said the race would help in projecting the state to the outside world and bring to fore the investment, tourism and sports opportunities of the state.
“The opportunity for Ekiti State to either host or be an integral component of the organisation of a major sports event is good opportunity that cannot be ignored as it serves the interest of the Ekiti people, especially the youth.
“It became readily identifiable that this initiative promises to yield a number of positive long-term benefits to Ekiti State, Ekiti people and the Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort. It is in the interest of Ekiti people, who I am elected to serve, that this government gave all the necessary support to Ikogosi Marathon Initiative. They can count on our support in the next edition of this marathon,” the governor said and presented the prizes to the winners.
