After clinching his first victory on the road at Kololo on Sunday, Arua Athletics Club’s Phillip Kiptoo now wants to use the victory as a springboard to compete in more grueling races outside the country.

Kiptoo clocked 1:13.36 to beat Kampala Hash House Harriers’s (KH3) Brian Ategeka (1:18.03) and Aggrey Agaba (1:27:55), not only to the gold but also to a land title for a plot of land in Mpigi courtesy of the co-sponsors, Bakaima Real Estate Agents.

The 34-year-old who has been in the business for about eight years now hopes to venture into marathons outside the country where he hopes to win even bigger things.

Asked how he felt after the second edition of the Absa Kampala Hash House Harriers (Absa-KH3-7 Hills Run), Kiptoo said: “I feel okay and I’m happy,” before he promised to do some development on the plot of land.

The women's race was won by Joshua Cheptegei Development Foundation Athletic Club’s Kereen Chemusto who beat her teammates Annet Chesang and Chebet Saibi.

Chesang and Chebet as well as Agaba and Ategeka’s sweat will be rewarded with an all-expense paid trip to South Africa to participate in the 2025 ‘Absa Run Your City 10km Run’ which has a prize fund of sh51m.

The other runners who included men, women, and children, and Absa staff led by the managing director Mumba Kalifungwa participated in the 5km race in the ascending and descending route around the Kololo hill. Many could not cope with the hilly terrain but all the same, walked to the finish line.

The Chief Runner the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa and various running clubs like Matooke and Running Gutsy among others also ‘Ran for Her’ and enjoyed the 21km route over Kampala’s seven hills. All that mattered to them was making it to the finish.

Helen Basuuta Nangonzi, the bank's Marketing and Customer Experience Director said after the race that this year’s race had attracted over 5000 runners with more than 60 corporate companies taking part.

“Last year we had 2500 runners in our maiden run but this year, we have had more than double coming through. We had close to 5000 or even more because people were buying kits as we were coming,” Nangozi said.

“The numbers are commendable and I would like to thank all the corporate companies and the co-sponsors we have had. This shows supporting the girl-child is not only an Absa initiative but has attracted so many companies to come on board and help out.

“There are so many challenges that the girl-child faces especially as they finish primary and go into secondary education; the school dropouts are very high when they get to that level, so we want to be able to help them stay in school by supporting and working with different NGO’s to provide menstrual hygiene care, provide school fees to educate the girls from senior one to S.4 and then also address all the other issues that affect them like teenage pregnancy,” Nangozi stated.

After the run artists like Levixone, Karole Kasiita, and Vinca among others entertained the runners after a warm-down session led by

Proceeds from last year’s run were used to integrate teenage mothers into school, with 18 receiving financial support to return to school to pursue higher education within formal and tertiary institutions.

An additional 138 teen mothers were skilled in culinary arts, baking, tailoring, knitting, making of liquid soap, and design skills in collaboration with Makerere University Department of Adult and Community Development. The products they make would in turn enable them to support their babies.

Under the initiative to improve menstrual hygiene management among schoolgirls, 1,350 girls at Mukono High School received reusable sanitary pads to enable them to stay in school. Additionally, 1,262 girls at Awac Primary School in the Karamoja region received funding to construct a borehole and changing room for girls on the school premises.

Building on this success, the 2024 edition aims to make an even greater impact in supporting girl-child education efforts.  

Girls in Uganda face numerous challenges in accessing education, including poverty, cultural norms, early marriages, unwanted pregnancies, and menstrual hygiene management issues. Absa Bank Uganda, upholding its commitment to creating a positive impact and being a force for good, firmly believes that education is a fundamental right for every child, irrespective of gender.

This year’s run attracted several partners that included UAP Old Mutual, New Vision, Kampala Pharmaceuticals, Bakaima Real Estate Agents, Aquafina, Next Media, Hostalite, Case Medical Services, Kakira Sugar, Fenon events, DHL and the Uganda Red Cross as co-sponsors.

21km-Men

Philipp Kiptoo 1:13:36

Brian Ategeka 1:18:03

Aggrey Agaba 1:27:55

21km-Women

Kareen Chemusto

Annet Chesang

Chebet Saibi