Eliud Kipchoge to open Mater Heart Run

World Marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge will on Saturday officially flag off the Mater Heart Run 2019.

The annual run, whose aim is to raise funds for their cardiology program, will begin at 7am at the Kenya International Conventional Centre (KICC).

Motorists have been advised to avoid City Hall Way, Uhuru Highway, Valley Road, Ngong' road up to City Mortuary roundabout, Mbagathi way, Lang'ata road, Aerodrome road, and Parliament Road until 11am to provide safety to the participants.

"Please avoid driving through the listed roads on the event date and time to avoid inconveniences," the event notice has cautioned.

Since the Mater Heart Run began in 2002, 3,000 heart surgeries have been performed as a result of the support from well-wishers.

"Most of these surgeries were done at Mater Misericordiae hospital by Kenyan doctors, with a few being referred overseas or done by visiting Cardiologists," reads part of the excerpt on the Mater Hospital website.

Over the years, the annual run has grown and expanded to nine towns: Nairobi, Mombasa, Machakos, Mumias, Meru, Kisumu, Nyeri, Eldoret and Nakuru.