THE 23rd edition of the prestigious Kilimanjaro Premium Lager International Marathon was on Friday officially launched at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre ahead of the much-awaited February 23, 2025 event.

The Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Ambassador Dr. Pindi Chana, announced that her ministry is ready to sit down with the Kilimanjaro International Marathon organizers and explore ways through which the two sides can promote local and international tourism. 

She said the marathon has proved to be the biggest sporting event in the country, hence a good forum to promote tourism. 

“We are proud of the Kilimanjaro Premium Lager Marathon as it has proved to be the largest event in the country as it brings together over 12,000 participants and an equal number of spectators from more than 56 countries and all these are potential tourists. This is such a big milestone,” said the minister.

She said the ministry will, before and after the event, advertise tourist attractions adequately through this huge event to ensure they reach as many people as possible.

She further noted that the marathon has added an enormous contribution to sports tourism and this has greatly helped the government in implementing the tourism and sports policies respectively. 

“I congratulate all the sponsors led by Kilimanjaro Premium Lager (main sponsor) and Tigo (21km). Supporting sponsors – Simba Cement, Kilimanjaro Water, TotalEnergies, CRDB Bank and TPC Sugar Ltd. Official suppliers –GardaWorld Security, CMC Automobiles, Sal Salinero Hotel, and suppliers – Kibo Palace Hotel and Keys Hotel. Without you it would not be easy,” she emphasized.

The Minister also called on participants and spectators to use the marathon season to tour various tourism attractions, including the great Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Zanzibar and other attractions. 

On her part, the Tanzania Breweries Limited Marketing Director, Khensani Mkhombo, said they were proud to, through Kilimanjaro Premium Lager, sponsor the event for the past 23 years, making it one of the longest sponsorships in Tanzania, adding that they have all these years been inspired by the support for tourism and Tanzanian culture as a whole - which the event helps promote.  

She called on participants to register on time as registration is soon to open, both online via www.kilimanjaromarathon.com and via TigoPesa.

Once again, she promises that it will be a weekend of amazing fun activities around the marathon and that participants should plan for an extended stay in Moshi and enjoy the activations taking place in and around the town and then on Race Day too.

Speaking during the event, the Tigo Brand Manager, Woinde Shisael said: "As Tigo celebrates 30 years of transforming lives through digital innovation and marking 10 years of proudly sponsoring the Tigo Kili Half Marathon, our commitment to network investment ensures that participants and spectators alike can enjoy seamless connectivity throughout this iconic event. “

Beyond sports, she said, the current partnership reflects their dedication to nurturing talent, promoting a healthy lifestyle, and supporting communities across Tanzania. 

“We look forward to an exciting race and another decade of empowering Tanzanians through sport and technology," she said.

She added that their innovative and simplified marathon registration and payment platform is open for all race categories.  Runners can dial *150*01#, then press 5 LKS, then press 5 (Ticket) and follow instructions to finalize registration.”. 

This payment platform has revolutionized the way Tanzanian runners can register by making it a seamless and easy option to enter.  The Tigo team have worked tirelessly with the Kili marathon race management team to create this payment option as an added value initiative for the local market.

This year the ever popular and well supported 5km Fun Run will be back and runners can look forward to a breathtaking and beautiful race for friends, family and community participation, come February 23, 2025. A reminder to register early to avoid missing out on this exciting event.

Organizers of the event called on runners to take advantage of Early Bird entry fee from October 21 till December 12 midnight after which entry fees increase in all categories and all nationalities from December 13 until February 3, 2025 midnight or until they are sold out – whichever is earliest as there is limited space.  

Entries are guaranteed on a first come, first serve basis.  

They would also like to thank their headline sponsors in Kilimanjaro Premium Lager and Tigo for setting aside a total purse of Tsh53.5 million in prize money for the Full and the Half Marathon and their various prize categories.  

The organizers also said that the event will again next year be supporting the Tumaini la Maisha (TLM) charity that aims to reach every child in Tanzania who develops cancer, and treat them with high quality cancer treatment free of charge with the hope for a continued and healthy life, adding that the event will set aside 5% from every entry paid for and it will go towards the charity.

Once again, all money donated to TLM in the 2025 event will go towards The Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre [KCMC] in Moshi, to support the Children Cancer Ward. 

“KCMC is an important partner to the marathon due to its medical support at the event and the finish area each year and the support on route as the runners pass by the hospital on race day,” said the organisers.

The Kilimanjaro Premium Lager International Marathon, which will be held on Sunday February 23, 2025 at the Moshi Cooperative University (MoCU), is organized by the Kilimanjaro Marathon Company Limited and locally coordinated by Executive Solutions Limited. 

Wild Frontiers Events are responsible for all the inbound travel and international marketing of the event.