The winner of the 10km race at the Gold-Label 8th Access Bank Lagos City Marathon and reigning national champion over 5000m and 10,000m Paul James Pam, has been tipped to equal the nation’s record in Cross Country race set by Timmon Gumel of Plateau state.
Gumel, who still holds the record set at the National Stadium, Lagos on 19 June 1993, said, despite the Jos Cross Country race boasting a very competitive field with the likes of Ilya Pam and Gyang Boyi among other Nigerian elite marathon runners, the man to watch is Paul James Pam.
Gumel told Nilayo Sports Media yesterday afternoon in Jos, Plateau State, that, with the current form of Pam, after winning the 10,000m and the 5000m gold medals at the 2022 National Sports Festival in Asaba where he ran 14minutes 29 seconds and emerging champion of the 10km race at the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon which he did in good time two weeks ago, there is a possibility that the in-form athlete will equal and also set a new national record at Saturday’s(18 February 2023) Jos Cross Country competition.
“The boy is very young, just finished from secondary school. And he still has room to improve. Today I see him as the future of long distance races in Nigeria. So, with the good weather in Jos, he is most likely to equal my record set over 30 years ago.
“I will be at the Jos Cross Country competition on Saturday to watch the race at the Rhino Golf Club.”
The Jos Cross Country competition, organised by the Nilayo Sports Management, will flag off at 10am at the Rhino Golf Course, Rukuba Army Barracks because of the extreme cold weather in Plateau state.
“We have to adjust our flag off time from 8am to 10am, as the cold weather may affect the timing of the race, and we want everything to be perfect,” said the General Coordinator of the race Tony Osheku.
He added that the entire 10km race will be competed for inside the Rhino Golf Course, which has a very massive expance of land, running through a rough terrain – hilly, flat, slopes and obstacles – characteristics of a world class 10km Cross Country.
The finish line is in front of the Rhino Golf Club house, very close to the starting point.
Just as it is done in World Cross Country competitions, the Jos route is arranged in loops of 2km or 2.5km each to be ran in five loops, such that the public can see the athletes compete fairly.
Osheku also disclosed that a total of 150 runners with one foreign entry from Cameroon will participate in the competition, adding that this edition of the Jos Country Race will tremendously help Nigerian long distance runners in winning international full marathon races as the condition is excellent to improve their performances.
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