The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, is billed to flag off the National Cross Country race on Saturday, February 18 in Jos, the capital of Plateau state.
The race Coordinator, Tony Osheku, who disclosed this Tuesday in Lagos said the choice of Dare was informed by the fact that he is the first Sports Minister in almost 40 years who has shown genuine concerns about developing distance running in Nigeria.
“There was no hesitation over the choice of Dare. He has heard the cries of Nigerian distance runners who have been craving the attention they are getting now for almost four decades. He was the first to organize a training camp for them last year in Jos and now, he is the brain behind the first National Cross Country race in about 40 years,” said Osheku.
The former international athlete also said the right step is finally being taken to ensure a proper development plan is put in place and believes Nigerian distance runners will, in no distant future, feature in international events to earn money and win medals for Nigeria.
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Meanwhile, Osheku said the choice of Saturday, February 18 date for the event is also symbolic.
“The World Cross Country Championships will be held in Bathurst, Australia the same day as the Jos race. We agreed to the date in order to draw attention to the fact that the future of distance running in Nigeria depends on Cross Country training.”
