Saturday, August 22, 2026, belonged to Leonard Chemonges. On the rugged, altitude-kissed roads that wind around the base of the Rwenzori Mountains in western Uganda, the Ugandan runner crossed the finish line in two hours, 13 minutes and 26 seconds, setting a new course record at the fifth edition of the Tusker Lite Mt Rwenzori Marathon in Kasese and cementing his name in the short but already rich history of this event.
A Record That Had Been Waiting Four Years
Since its launch in 2022, the Mt Rwenzori Marathon has grown from a regional curiosity into one of East Africa’s most visually compelling road races. The course, framed by the glaciated peaks the ancient Greeks called the Mountains of the Moon, demands as much of a runner’s spirit as it does of their legs. So when Chemonges hit that finish line more than a minute clear of any previous winning time recorded at this race, the significance was not lost on the crowd that had gathered in Kasese to watch.
What made the result even more striking was what happened directly behind him. Alex Mutai finished second in 2:13:37, just 11 seconds off the winner’s pace, while Fred Cherotwo claimed third in 2:13:50. Three Ugandan men, separated by a combined 24 seconds, completed a full podium sweep for the host nation. That is not a coincidence; that is depth. Uganda’s long-distance running pipeline, often overshadowed by its Kenyan and Ethiopian neighbours in global conversation, quietly keeps producing performances like these.
Kenya Answers Back on the Women’s Side
The women’s full marathon told a different story at the top. Kenya’s Margaret Japchumba crossed first in 2:39:16, a composed and controlled performance that denied Uganda a complete clean sweep of the elite categories. Uganda’s Vanis Chemutai followed in 2:43:33 to take second, with Joan Chebet rounding out the women’s podium in 2:44:11. The East African rivalry that defines so much of global distance running played out in miniature here, with Kenya edging Uganda in the 42.2km women’s race even as Uganda dominated almost everywhere else.
The full race results, along with the event’s growing significance for the region, were reported by Chimpreports, which covered the race from Kasese as thousands of runners, tourists, and spectators turned the town into a festival of sport and community.
The Half-Marathon: Abel Chebet Makes History of His Own
If Chemonges owned the full marathon conversation, Abel Chebet had an equally compelling story to tell over 21.1 kilometres. Chebet won the men’s half-marathon in 1:02:01, a result that secured his fourth victory in this category across five editions of the event. That is a level of consistency that borders on dominance. Sam Yeko finished two seconds behind him, while Oscar Kibet took third in 1:02:45.
On the women’s half-marathon side, Gloria Chebet led a tightly contested race, winning in 1:12:11. Prisca Chemweno Chesang finished second just 14 seconds later in 1:12:25, and Viola Munerya Chemos completed the top three in 1:12:35. The margins across the board spoke to the quality of the field and the competitiveness that this race now consistently attracts.
More Than a Race: A Town That Comes Alive
What separates the Rwenzori Marathon from a simple athletics fixture is what happens beyond the elite categories. Recreational runners, corporate teams, fitness groups, and first-timers all had a role to play on Saturday, with categories spanning 5km, 10km, 21.1km and the full 42.2km. The event has evolved into something that reflects Kasese’s character: welcoming, energetic, and anchored in the extraordinary natural backdrop of the Rwenzori range.
Allan Masereka, one of the many participants who ran on Saturday, described the event as both historic and a major tourist draw for the district. He is not wrong. A race staged at the foot of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of Africa’s last glaciated mountain ranges, carries an automatic appeal that no marketing budget can manufacture. Runners from across Uganda and beyond the borders are beginning to understand that.
What This Means for Ugandan Athletics
Context matters here. Uganda has produced world-class distance runners for decades, but the domestic racing calendar has sometimes struggled to provide competitive, high-profile stages that match the ambitions of local talent. Events like the Rwenzori Marathon change that equation. When Chemonges breaks a course record in front of his home crowd, on home soil, in a race that is building genuine regional prestige, the impact reaches further than a single result on a Saturday morning.
The Rwenzori Marathon is five editions old. It already has a course record holder, a four-time half-marathon champion, and an international women’s champion in its 2026 results sheet. By the time it reaches its tenth edition, the story this race is telling about Kasese, about Ugandan athletics, and about the Rwenzori region as a destination will be impossible to ignore.
As the Mountains of the Moon watch over Kasese every day, one question lingers for every runner who has ever clocked a time on this course: with Chemonges raising the bar to 2:13:26, who is brave enough to try and lower it in 2027?
