X-Country organisers have very 'fine plans'

By James Bakama 

National cross-country 

WITH the scorching January temperatures in mind, organisers of the national cross-country are doing everything to ensure Saturday’s event ends early. 

The first leg will be flagged off at 8am in the lakeside town of Jinja. 

“We expect the final race to have ended by 12.30pm,” said UAF secretary Beatrice Ayikoru. 

Temperature has a significant impact on the performance of athletes. High temperature can cause various heat illnesses such as heat cramps and heat stroke, while very low temperatures may lead to hypothermia 

“We want registration completed by Friday so that the following day is strictly for competition,” explained Uganda Athletics Federation president Domenic Otuchet yesterday. 

As the entries pour in, UAF has also dispatched a team to Jinja to ensure completion of the course in time. 

“Our technical team has already got to the Jinja golf course to make sure everything is in place,” stressed Otuchet. 

The course, with two kilometre laps, borders the source of the Nile. Competition will be in the junior and senior events both in the men and women categories. 

There is also a 2km event for juniors under 15 years. Senior men run 12km while their juniors run 8km. Senior women compete in 8km while the female juniors go for 6km. 

The only thing that may affect the numbers in Jinja, could be the National Half Marathon Championship the following week in Mbale. 

It’s from here that Uganda’s team for the World Cross-country in Copenhagen in March will be chosen. 

By yesterday, big clubs like Elgon, Alpha, Police and Arua had finalised registration.