Uganda’s Leonard Chemonges produced the defining performance of the fifth Tusker Lite Rwenzori Marathon, winning the men’s 42.2-kilometre race in 2:13:25 and setting a new course record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The victory came as the Kasese marathon made its debut as a World Athletics Label Road Race, giving Chemonges the distinction of becoming the first men’s champion of the internationally recognised edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
World Athletics officially recorded Chemonges’ winning time at 2:13:25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ugandan compatriot Alex Mutai finished second in 2:13:36, only 11 seconds behind the winner, while Fred Cherotwo completed the podium in 2:13:49.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The closeness of the result underlined the strength of the men’s field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chemonges did not win by a large margin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, he had to maintain his pace through a demanding route that begins around the Equator before passing through Kasese and heading towards the Rwenzori foothills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The course includes significant elevation changes, with the Kilembe section providing one of the biggest challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The official route has a maximum elevation of 1,200 metres above sea level and an overall elevation gain of approximately 410 metres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That combination of distance and elevation makes the Rwenzori Marathon different from a flat city marathon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Runners must manage their energy carefully from the opening kilometres because the most demanding section comes later in the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chemonges’ ability to maintain a winning pace through those conditions made his performance particularly notable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His victory also came with a substantial financial reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2026 edition featured a total prize purse of Shs252 million, with the men’s and women’s full marathon winners each receiving Shs40 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first prize represented a major increase from the previous edition and was part of the organisers’ strategy to attract stronger elite fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Chemonges, the victory therefore represented both sporting achievement and an important financial reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The World Athletics status of the race added another dimension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The course had undergone official measurement before the event, while race organisers reviewed infrastructure, hydration stations, marshal positions, transport and other operational requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This meant Chemonges’ performance was recorded on a course that met international requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The result also strengthened Uganda’s reputation in distance running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Uganda has produced several internationally successful long-distance runners, and the presence of a high-quality marathon on home soil provides local athletes with another platform to compete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of travelling abroad to find internationally recognised road races, Ugandan athletes can now compete in a World Athletics Label event in Kasese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chemonges was not the only Ugandan athlete to shine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mutai and Cherotwo completed an all-Ugandan men’s podium, while four of the top five men’s finishers were Ugandan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Martin Chemusto finished fourth in 2:14:42, followed by Anthony Ayeko in 2:14:45.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The result demonstrated the depth of Uganda’s marathon talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It also gave the home crowd plenty to celebrate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For spectators in Kasese, seeing a Ugandan athlete win the inaugural World Athletics-labelled edition added a strong national dimension to the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chemonges’ victory also contributed to the wider tourism story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The marathon was designed not only to identify and support athletes but also to showcase Kasese and the wider Rwenzori region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The race route passes through landscapes that include the Equator, Queen Elizabeth National Park and the Rwenzori foothills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ministry of Tourism has described the event as a platform for tourism promotion and enterprise development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That combination of elite sport and tourism is becoming increasingly important for the marathon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chemonges’ record run gave the 2026 event a headline sporting moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The international status gave it credibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Rwenzori landscape gave it a distinctive identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the thousands of runners and visitors gave it a broader social and economic impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the time Chemonges crossed the finish line, he had done more than win a race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had become the headline athlete of an edition that marked a new chapter in Ugandan road running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2:13:25 performance will now stand as the benchmark for future men’s competitors seeking to conquer the Rwenzori Marathon course.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Uganda’s Leonard Chemonges produced the defining performance of the fifth Tusker Lite Rwenzori Marathon, winning the men’s 42.2-kilometre race in 2:13:25 and setting a new course record. The victory came as the Kasese marathon made its debut as a World Athletics Label Road Race, giving Chemonges the distinction of becoming the first men’s champion of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27988,"featured_media":43619,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_paywall_metabox":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[10558,10556,10557,10534],"class_list":["post-43618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-chemonges-course-record","tag-leonard-chemonges-winner","tag-rwenzori-marathon-winner-2026","tag-uganda-marathon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27988"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43618"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43620,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43618\/revisions\/43620"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ugmirror.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}