Athletics Uganda is set for the Source of the Nile Half Marathon as a major tool to boost Athletics talent, together with tourism and the Economy in the areas of Jinja.
Among the beautiful sceneries in Uganda, the Source of the Nile remains among the most attractive for both Ugandans and foreigners, while the people in the surroundings keep benefiting economically.
At least 200 athletes have registered, including new entrants mostly from Jinja, availing themselves to feature in the 13th edition of the Source of the Nile Half Marathon scheduled for Sunday, February 15th, 2026, in Jinja City.
In the press briefing held on Thursday, February 12th, at Athletics Uganda head offices in Kampala, conducted by Assistant General Secretary David Namaye Mawerere and Publicity Secretary at Uganda Athletics, Muhammad Abdallah.
In submission on behalf of the federation, they revealed that the top five runners would win prize money, as Muhammad noted.
“This event is not just a sporting event but also gives an opportunity to runners to earn something. There is prize money placed; the winner will take 2 million shillings, first runner-up will get 1.5 million, second runner-up will take 1 million, 800,000/- to the fourth, and 600,000/- to the fifth-placed finisher in both women’s and men’s categories.”
On the sporting side, he added,
“If you look at our calendar very well, we use this event to select our team. We have a world road running event which will take place in Denmark in September, so we use this as our data bank. We take this event with a lot of seriousness it deserves so that we can be able to allow these young runners to discover themselves.”
The event also aimed to ground preparations for international events, including the Commonwealth Games in Scotland, the London Marathon, and the World Championship slated for September this year in Denmark.
Abdallah Muhammed also tipped this Source of the Nile event to be a key helper for the federation to identify outstanding talents in road running events.
David Namaye Mawerere, a member of the organizing committee of the event, pronounced readiness to host the event, stating that previously the roads were not good, but currently they are good, and they expect to register the fastest time for the runners.
The starting and finishing point will be at First Gym in Jinja, touring Jinja City and other areas on the fringes of the city.
In the women’s category, Chebet Saibi won the marathon with a time of 1:12:25, followed by Chelangat Annet (22) and Cheptoyek Ruth, who recorded times of 1:13:19 and 1:15:38, respectively.
In the men’s category, Mark Kiptoo, a 20 year old long-distance runner from Arua, won the race with a time of 1:01:56, followed by Kibet Oscar and Kibet Mande Isaac, who recorded times of 1:02:16 and 1:02:36.
