(24/06/2005)

Registration for the 6th Safaricom marathon at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy had been closed after organisers received unprecedented number of entries.

According to The Standard, event organisers of the 2005 edition of the Marathon, to be staged on July 2, had received an overwhelming response, with the entry list reaching the 600 capacity mark by last week.

More than 40 professional cross country athletes led by world marathon record holder Paul Tergat, Henry Wanyoike, Joshua Chelang'a, Martin Lel and Catherine Ndereba are expected to participate in the race.

Safaricom chief executive, Michael Joseph, said: "Following the remarkable entry list received so far, and given that Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is a sensitive ecological zone, we have been forced to close the registration to avert exerting undue stress on the environment during the race."

The race had also attracted athletes from Uganda, Zambia, South Africa, Ethiopia and Europe.

Race organisers had also reverted to the original course featuring two loops on the 21km course in the wildlife reserve.