FIFTH TUSKER LITE RWENZORI MARATHON POSITIONS KASESE AS UGANDA’S INTERNATIONAL SPORTS TOURISM REGION

The fifth Tusker Lite Rwenzori Marathon delivered elite racing, international recognition and a powerful tourism showcase in Kasese on Saturday, August 22, 2026.

Against the dramatic backdrop of the Rwenzori Mountains, thousands of runners, spectators and visitors converged on the western Ugandan town for an edition that carried significance well beyond the finish line. For the first time, the race was organized as a World Athletics Label Road Race, formally placing Kasese on the international road-running calendar and making the event the first marathon in Uganda, and only the third in East Africa, to attain the designation.

At the sharp end of the competition, Uganda’s Leonard Chemonges won the men’s 42.2-kilometre marathon, while Kenya’s Margaret Jepchumba took the women’s crown, giving the fifth edition a distinctly East African competitive character.

World Athletics' published results record Chemonges crossing the line in 2:13:25, one second faster than compatriot Alex Mutai, who was officially timed at 2:13:36. Fred Cherotwo finished third in 2:13:49, followed by Martin Chemusto in 2:14:42 and Anthony Ayeko in 2:14:45. The RaceTec results sheet issued on race morning shows corresponding run times one second slower for the leading finishers, including 2:13:26 for Chemonges.

Jepchumba commanded the women’s marathon, winning in an official 2:39:15, ahead of Uganda’s Vanice Chemutai, who finished in 2:43:32. Uganda’s Joan Chebet completed the podium in 2:44:08, followed by Mercy Chelangat in 2:49:36. Kenya’s Emily Jepkoech was fifth in 2:58:38, while Uganda’s Joy Chepkwemio finished sixth in 2:59:45.

The half-marathon underlined Uganda’s depth. According to the RaceTec results provided after the event, Abel Chebet won the men’s 21.1km race in 1:02:01, narrowly beating Yeko Sam, who finished two seconds behind in 1:02:03. Kibet Oscar took third in 1:02:45, followed by Kirwa James in 1:03:23, Akwech Peter in 1:03:34 and Simon Kiprotich in 1:03:35.

In the women’s 21.1km category, Gloria Chebet led another strong performance, taking victory in 1:12:11. Prisca Chesang Chemweno was second in 1:12:25, Viola Chemos Munerya third in 1:12:35 and Kenya’s Mercy Jepkemoi fourth in 1:12:53. Sylvia Chelangat followed in 1:13:19, with Esther Chepkwembol Yeko sixth in 1:14:16.

From Regional Race to Global Athletics Calendar

Launched in 2022, the Tusker Lite Rwenzori Marathon has evolved in five editions from an ambitious destination-running concept into a nationally significant sports-tourism property. Its World Athletics Label Road Race status represents the clearest institutional endorsement yet of that progression.

The designation requires compliance with international standards covering areas such as certified course measurement, electronic timing, road closures, elite athlete participation, safety and race operations. World Athletics listed the Kasese event on its international Label Road Race calendar for August 22, 2026.

Preparations for 2026 included another technical review of the route. World Athletics-certified measurer Gavin Wright undertook course measurement using calibrated bicycle-counter equipment, while organisers reviewed hydration stations, marshal locations, transport, parking, congestion points and finish-area infrastructure.

The marathon route itself has become part of the event’s brand proposition. The 42km course begins around the Equator at Kikorongo, inside Queen Elizabeth National Park, before taking runners towards Kasese with Lake George and open savannah forming part of the early landscape. It later heads towards the Rwenzori foothills and Kilembe, where a demanding climb adds roughly 270 metres of elevation before runners return towards the finish in Kasese.

Government Places Shs3.7 Billion Behind Ambition

Government supported the fifth edition with Shs3.7 billion through the National Council of Sports, funding principally directed towards strengthening the competitive prize structure and supporting the marathon’s positioning as an international event.

State Minister for Sports Peter Ogwang told Parliament ahead of the race that participants from nearly 45 countries were expected in Kasese and that the event could reach an estimated global audience exceeding 10 million people.

“It is, however, more than a race. It is a platform for talent identification, a showcase for our tourism, and an opportunity for enterprise in the Rwenzori region and beyond,” Ogwang told Parliament.

That strategy was visible in the substantially enhanced prize purse. Organisers led by Amos Wekesa announced Shs252 million in total prize money for the 2026 edition, more than 2.7 times the Shs92 million awarded in 2025. Winners of the men’s and women’s full marathon each earned Shs40 million, four times the previous year’s Shs10 million top prize. Half-marathon winners were allocated Shs15 million each, with equal prize money for men and women and payments extending to sixth position.

Kasese Turns Running Into Tourism Business

The marathon is increasingly being positioned as an economic catalyst capable of converting sporting participation into hotel bookings, transport demand, restaurant spending, tourism excursions and international destination visibility.

In remarks delivered at the event, by Hon. Susan Nsambu Nakawuki, the State Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities described the fifth edition as a demonstration of how physical endurance can be combined with Uganda’s natural assets to create a globally marketable tourism experience.

She said the previous edition attracted about 18,000 visitors from 36 countries, including more than 6,000 runners, with 21 percent of participating athletes travelling from outside Uganda. For 2026, government expectations pointed towards an even broader international footprint.

The economic logic is straightforward in that a marathon participant arriving in Kasese is not simply a runner. The visitor needs accommodation, meals and transport and can extend the trip into national parks, cultural experiences and other attractions.

That spending moves the value of the marathon from the racecourse into the bigger local economy. Evidence of that potential predates the latest international designation. Organisers previously cited a Makerere University Tourism Research and Development Centre study estimating that the marathon injected Shs3.5 billion into Kasese’s economy during its 2023 race weekend, while 30 percent of runners surveyed had visited Kasese for the first time because of the event.

The model has consequently turned Kasese itself into part of the product. Once better known internationally as a gateway to Queen Elizabeth National Park and the Rwenzori ranges, the district now has an annual sporting event capable of drawing visitors specifically because they want to run through its landscape.

Tourism Strategy Meets Private Capital

That evolution also demonstrates the role of public-private partnerships in building destination brands. Uganda Breweries Limited, through its Tusker Lite flagship brand, has remained the headline sponsor, while the major partnership ecosystem has included government ministries and agencies alongside corporate organisations such as Standard Chartered Bank, Britam Insurance, Coca-Cola Beverages Uganda and East Africa Motorcenter.

Uganda Development Bank also announced Shs20 million in sponsorship ahead of the 2026 race, linking its support to the marathon’s contribution to tourism-sector development.

The Ministry of Tourism used race weekend to place that partnership model within a larger reform agenda. Hon. Susan said government is reviewing the Tourism Master Plan against ambitions to generate US$4 billion annually from tourism, while pursuing amendments to the Tourism Act intended to strengthen public-private partnerships, standards and innovation, including sports tourism.

A Race Beneath a Changing Mountain

The race takes its identity from a mountain ecosystem whose glaciers have become an increasingly visible symbol of climate vulnerability. Organisers describe environmental awareness as one of the event’s founding objectives, alongside healthy living, athlete development and tourism promotion.

Runners arrive to conquer a demanding course beneath one of Africa’s most distinctive mountain landscapes, but the same landscape provides a reminder that tourism growth must be accompanied by conservation.

The Ministry of Tourism consequently used the event to call attention to protection of the Rwenzoris’ fragile glacial ecosystem and the broader climate pressures facing communities around the mountain.

Extending the Visitor Journey Beyond Finish Line

Hon. Susan also encouraged athletes and accompanying visitors to treat the marathon as the beginning, rather than the conclusion, of their Kasese experience.

The surrounding tourism circuit gives that proposition considerable depth as Queen Elizabeth National Park, the Kazinga Channel, the Equator, the Rwenzori Mountains and cultural experiences within the Bakonzo community allow visitors to extend race weekend into a western Uganda itinerary.

That is where sports tourism can create its largest multiplier effect. A visitor who remains for several additional days distributes spending across accommodation providers, guides, restaurants, transport operators, craftspeople, entertainment businesses and tourism attractions.

It also converts an athlete into a destination ambassador. Images of competitors running against the Rwenzori landscape can travel through broadcast media, digital platforms and personal social networks to audiences that conventional tourism campaigns might struggle to reach with the same authenticity.

The event’s expanded expo and finish arena also reflected that commercial ambition. Organisers established a larger central exhibition area for 2026, creating space for businesses and corporate partners to interact directly with the thousands of people moving through Kasese during race weekend.