Reigning world mountain running champion, Philip Kiplimo of Uganda tops the cast of  elite runners who will be competing for the $50,000 top prize on offer at the 9th Obudu international mountain race which holds next month at the Obudu Ranch Resort in Obudu, Cross River state.

Philip Kiplimo

Kiplimo, who led Uganda to sweep the top four places at the 29th World Mountain Running  Championships in Krynica Zdroj in Poland last month and earned a gold team medal with a perfect score of 10 will lead an elite cast that includes his fellow countryman, Peter  Kibet who came fourth in Poland to the highly regarded Obudu international mountain race.

Obudu mountain race local organising committee member and CrossRiver state  Commissioner for Youth and Sports,Honourable Patrick Ugbe expressed delight at the  confirmation of the two top mountain runners in the world among the rich cast that will compete come November 23 at the Obudu ranch resort..

‘We are very delighted that two of the four best mountain runners in the world this  year have been confirmed for the 9th Obudu international mountain race.

This is a confirmation of the growing popularity of the race the world-over as well as the  confidence the world mountain running family has in our ability to organise a world  class event’,said Ugbe.

The Obudu international mountain race is organized by the Cross River State  Government,in conjunction with the Athletic Federation of Nigeria (AFN).

It enjoys  tremendous support from the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA),the World Mountain Running Association,(WMRA) and the International Association of Athletics Federations  (IAAF).

It has the largest total prize-money available of any mountain race and is known as ”the world’s richest mountain race”.
The men’s and women’s competition winners receive US$50,000 each, and there is a total prize pot of around $270,000.

The combination of the distance of the race and the rewards on offer means that it attracts world-class road running athletes as well as mountain running athletes. It is an associate member race of the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) and is also endorsed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).