Organisers of the annual Okpekpe 10 kilometres Marathon Road Race, Pamodzi Sports Marketing (PSM) slated to hold on May 7 in Edo State have revealed that the third edition will see the marathoners being rewarded on the basis of their performance in the competition.

 Disclosing this to CorporateSport by phone on Tuesday, the road race media man, Dare Esan stated that: “This year’s edition will be a win-win situation for the marathoners because they will get appearance fees for the elite athletes who will be screened by the elite manager appointed for the race.”

Also, there will be bonuses for the elite athletes just as their travelling tickets would be paid for on the advice of the elite manager.

But, any of the elite athletes who fails to meet the desired mark would refund all that he or she received in line with the global best practices for the bronze medal races which Okpekpe 10-kilometre race is.

“These incentives to the elite athletes have necessitated the need for a reduction of the prize money since the winners would strive to grab the lollies set aside by the organisers which would translate to cash. One of such lollies for the marathoners this year is the cash for any athlete who sets the record for the competition, aside what he or she gets for winning the race.”

Since Okpekpe Road Race is a bronze label, there was the urgent need to comply with global best practices hence the reduction in prize money which in the last three editions was the highest in the world.

The high prize money by Pamodzi Sports Marketing (PSM) was targeted at attracting top marathoners to the event as part of the basis for getting the International Amateur Athletic

 Federation (IAAF) chieftains to award the race the bronze medal tag which it presently enjoys,” Esan