Mount Cameroon Race of Hope: Test race kicks off in Buea

By Tata Mbunwe

The test race for the 28th edition of Cameroon’s biggest race, the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope, kicked off in Buea, Southwest Region, this Saturday morning with over 200 athletes participating.

The test race that started at the Molyko Omnisport Stadium about 7:30am, will take athletes to hut two of Mount Cameroon and back to the stadium.

The test event aims to prepare athletes for the race, which comes up on February 25, said Andrew Eteki Njoh, head of the coordination committee.

He told reporters at a press conference on January 4 that they will be very strict on the ages of athletes seeking to run in the junior category of the race.

This owes to several cases of age fraud recorded in the last edition of the race. The maximum age for athletes in the junior category is 18 years.

Mr Eteki also said medical tests will be conducted only by doctors provided by the coordination team in order to prevent athletes from falsifying medical records as it had been the case in previous editions.

Observers say the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope is regaining its steam in Buea, as it was usually characterised by poor turnout in previous years due to the armed conflict in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions.

Winners of last year’s race were Elvis Nsabinla (Senior men category), Tatah Carine (Senior women category), Sale Saibu (Junior men category) and Pamela Ndifon (Junior women category