Leonard Chemonges could have lived his best day as an athlete in his motherland yesterday. In the western town of Kasese, the 35-year-old got his biggest pay cheque ever after he conquered the growing Tusker Lite Mt Rwenzori Marathon.
The elite long-distance runner produced a well-controlled display around the lower parts of the Mt Rwenzori ranges to win the men’s 42km race in a course record time of two hours, 13 minutes and 25 seconds.
That earned him the prize money of Shs40m from sponsors – the government through National Council of Sports (NCS). ‘I am feeling good,’ with beads of sweat littered all over his face, Chemonges spoke at the finish-line.
‘The race was good. I prepared for this race for three months,’ he said. Chemonges first competed at this event in 2024 and he came fourth as Abel Chelangat set the course record in 2:14:59.
In 2025, Chemonges was left crestfallen though. ‘I got lost on the route. I ran about 46km for two hours and 28 minutes and lost the money.’
Yesterday after the field was flagged off by sports minister Hon. Peter Ogwang at the Equator landmark in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Chemonges did it differently.
He kept his eyes on the lead car and beat Chelangat’s mark by 94 seconds. Chemonges is a 2:11:00 performer, a personal best earned at the 2025 Daegu Marathon in South Korea.
Six months after finishing 10th in Daegu, Chemonges returned to Kasese to pocket a figure that no other Ugandan athlete has won at any sporting competition this year.
‘I am going to buy land or cows,’ stated the man who trains in Kween with coach Peter Chelangat and Jacob Kiplimo in the Rosa Associati camp. He was part of the lead group of about 15 who crossed the halfway mark at 1:07:21 before Martin Chemusto controlled matters at 25km.
He endured the next steep part of the course before the lead group reduced to four. Alex Masai dropped off then Fred Cherotwo followed suite before Alex Mutai lost grip of Chemonges in the last 3km.
In the women’s 42km, Kenyan Margaret Japchumba peeled away in the last 3km before winning in a time of 2:39:15 for Shs40m too. Ugandan Vanis Chemutai arrived four minutes later in 2:43:32.
The event, engineered by Amos Wekesa, saw significant growth by over 2000 participants in the 5km, 10km, 21km and 42km races.
‘The number of elite athletes has increased, why? It is because of the prize money. And as the Ministry of Education and Sports, that is the main area where we came up with the plan of working with Amos Wekesa to attract more athletes,’ said Ogwang after he ran 10km.
‘Five years ago, this marathon started with a bold vision, and today, seeing more than 8,000 people come together is incredibly exciting,’ Tusker Lite brand manager Sandra Againe remarked.
More than 8600 individuals from 43 countries registered to compete for this year’s edition. ‘We are proud to have created an experience that brings people together while showcasing the beauty of Kasese and Uganda to the world,’ added Againe.
And for proper rubber-stamp in improvement in quality, the event was broadcast live for the first time live via the World Athletics YouTube page which holds more than 2.49 million subscribers, to over 12100 viewers globally.
2026 RWENZORI MARATHON
MEN’S 42KM RESULT
1 Leonard Chemonges (UGA) 2:13:25
2 Alex Mutai (UGA) 2:13:36
3 Fred Cherotwo (UGA) 2:13:49
WOMEN’S 42KM RESULT
1 Margaret Japchumba (KEN) 2:39:15
2 Vanis Chemutai (UGA) 2:43:32
3 Joan Chebet (UGA) 2:44:08
RWENZORI MARATHON
CAST OF MALE 42KM WINNERS
2026: Leonard Chemonges (UGA)
2025: Bernard Cheptoch (UGA)
2024: Abel Chelangat (UGA)
2023: Vitalis Kwemoi (UGA)
2022: Allan Andiema (UGA)