By Francis Ofori
Accra, Sept. 17, GNA – Hundreds of Ghanaian athletes and fitness enthusiasts are expected to converge in Ho for the maiden Godwin Adukpo Hill Challenge, scheduled for September 26, 2026.
The initiative is the brainchild of Godwin Atsu Adukpo, a former national athlete and four-time Milo Marathon champion, who has turned his attention to developing the next generation of runners.
The race, aimed at unearthing and nurturing grassroots talent, would begin with a seven-kilometre route through the Ho Township before culminating in a gruelling three-kilometre uphill stretch to the Kabakaba Hill.
Mr. Adukpo speaking in an interview with the GNA Sports said the challenge was designed not only to test participants’ physical and mental endurance but to provide an avenue for identifying promising long and short distance athletes.
“I am organising this challenge to inspire the next generation of athletes from the Volta Region and to help them fulfil their dreams.”
He said his experience in athletics, coupled with concern over the declining number of distance runners emerging from the Volta Region, motivated him to establish the challenge.
Madam Tilda Elinam Acorlor, Project Lead for the Godwin Adukpo Hill Challenge said the carefully designed 10-kilometre route would combine community roads with steep uphill sections to test the physical and mental resilience of participants.
“We will start with a marked seven-kilometre route through the Ho Township to give participants a feel of the community, before the final three-kilometre challenge up Kabakaba Hill,” she said.
Madam Acorlor said organisers believed that several talented athletes could be found among the many people who regularly used the route for recreational fitness.
She said the route attracted many fitness enthusiasts on weekends, some of whom she believed had untapped athletic potential, adding that the challenge was designed to identify and nurture such talents.
The Project Lead said the event would go beyond competition to include community engagement activities, health screenings and mentorship sessions for school athletes.
She urged schools, keep-fit clubs, corporate organisations, security services and individual athletes to participate in the inaugural challenge.
Adukpo began his athletics career in Dzita, a coastal fishing community in the Volta Region, and at the age of 18, won his maiden Milo Marathon title in 2005.
He later returned to dominate the competition, winning three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Beyond the marathon, the Customs Officer competed in the 5,000m, 10,000m and cross-country events, while also representing Ghana at international competitions.
He won the BOA International Marathon in Cotonou, Benin, in 2013, before finishing third in the same event in Bamako, Mali, a year after.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Odeng Adade