- Safiu Kehinde
The 2026 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon has kicked off of Saturday as racers from across the world defied the early morning rain.
Ahead of the marathon which consist of a 42 kilometres and 10 kilometres races, the Lagos State government had earlier announced closure of traffic diversion plan for routes scheduled to be taken by the racers.
The 42 kilometres race which kicked off first at Orca Mall, Ahmadu Bello route around 6:30am with the racers expected to run through the entire stretch of the Coastal Road which is the end point of the race.
On the other hand, the 10 kilometres is expected to kick off by 9:30am at Grace Garden with the race billed to run through Ozumba Mbadwe, Bishop Oluwole, Akin Adesola, and Sanusi Fafunwa routes which is the end point.
Videos shared on X showed moment the racers commenced the marathon with some hitting the road with a sprint while others started with a jog.
According to reports, a total of 28,000 racers registered to participate in this year’s edition of the marathon.
The runners are expected to reach the finish line on or before 12:30pm to be eligible for the finishers’ medal.
Meanwhile, winners of the elite 42km race in the men’s and women’s categories will earn up to $50,000, with prizes extending to the eighth position.
Nigerian runners competing in the same category will vie for cash rewards ranging from N2 million for first place to N50,000 for lower finishers.
For the 10km race, the top finisher in both the male and female categories will receive N500,000, while prizes will be awarded down to the fifth position.