Visiting King Charles III and Queen Camilla yesterday officially unveiled the Wangari Maathai Marathon that is set to be held on March 3, 2024 at the expansive Karura Forest.

The monarch who arrived in the country on Tuesday, launched the race as they attended an event to celebrate the life and work of the Nobel Laureate, the late Professor Wangari Maathai, together with Wangari’s daughter, Wanjira Mathai.

Legendary athlete Eliud Kipchoge was also in attendance and hinted at taking part in the inaugural race that will be a few months before the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Wanjira is the Founder and Chair of the Wangari Maathai Foundation (WMF), which exists to amplify and advance the legacy of the late Professor Wangari Muta Maathai by catalysing purposeful and courageous leadership.

President and CEO of the Foundation Njeri Kabeberi said the main purpose of yesterday’s event was to highlight the importance of mainstreaming environment considerations into urban policy making.

“It was an opportunity to amplify messages around the crucial role of green spaces and forests in sustainable cities in addressing climate change as well as celebrating the legacy of environmental voices such as the late Prof. Wangari Maathai,” Kabeberi said.

The late environmentalist is popular for her quote: “We are called to assist the earth to heal her wounds and, in the process, heal our own.”

King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s visit in Kenya coincides with celebrations launched on September 25, by WMF to celebrate the life and work of Nobel Laureate who passed away 12 years ago.

The monarch’s visit is expected to boost a series of events lined up by WMF to mark 12 years since the global leader passed on, with the climax being a marathon on March 3, 2024 which is Africa Environment Day that has been renamed Wangari Maathai Day by the AU.

Kabeberi said: “The theme of the Marathon is the ‘The Power of One’ – Wanjira reminds us one of the many lessons from her mother is the concept of the ‘Power of One’ “that each of us, can be potent agents of change and together, we can be a powerful force.”

The visit is the King’s first visit to a Commonwealth nation as a King therefore to the country in which Queen Elizabeth II’s reign began, having acceded to the throne in Kenya in February 1952.