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The
local organising committee of the 2010 Obudu Mountain Race have
re-affirmed their determination to host another successful event come
this Saturday when the 6th edition comes up at the Obudu Ranch Resort
in Cross River State.

A total of 207
athletes have been confirmed for the event, 131 of these are Nigerians,
while 76 are foreigners. The foreign contingent consists of athletes
from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Colombia, Austria, Israel,
Egypt and others are also in for the 3-in-1 race which is the highest
paying in the world. William Archibong, the Chairman of the Local
Organising Committee (LOC) for the race, said in Calabar on Monday,
that all the logistics for a hitch-free competition have been put in
place and that the state governor, Liyel Imoke is pulling out all the
stops to make this year’s edition the best ever. “All logistics has
been taken care of by the LOC for the race,” he said. “His Excellency,
Governor Imoke is happy with the progress we have made both in the
technical organisation of the race and the travel and accommodation of
all participants. The experience we have garnered since the inaugural
edition was held six years ago has come in handy.”

Attracting the best runners

Archibong also said
he is delighted that this year’s race has attracted the best mountain
runners in the world; a proof that the organisers have scored high
marks in the technical organisation of the event. “I am happy that we
will be having a world class cast storm Obudu this Saturday to compete
for the title and cash on offer,” he said. “This is a confirmation that
the organisation of the race has been world class.” Archibong’s
sentiments was also shared by Patrick Ugbe, the Chief Press Secretary
to Cross River State governor, who believes the interest shown and
support given by the governor has been the driving force behind the
successes recorded over the years by the LOC.

“Without doubt the tremendous backing we have received from His
Excellency has galvanised us into organising what the president of
world mountain running association, Bruno Gozzelino, has called a
perfect race so far,” he said. “We can only get better and want to
assure Nigerians that we shall continue to project Nigeria in positive
light to the rest of the world through perfect organisation of the
annual Obudu International Mountain Race.”