The programme previously had a 15 kilometres race for women, but this was extended to a half marathon in 2011.

[1] The race was established in 2001 by Paul Tergat, a former marathon world record holder, who was born in the local area.

[2] Tergat hoped that the race would unearth and nurture high quality runners in the area.

[5] Mubarak Hassan Shami became the first runner to defend the title,[3] and Agnes Kiprop became the first woman to win the competition twice consecutively.

The race received greater commercial support in 2009, attracting sponsorship deals with Safaricom and the National Social Security Fund.