Running the Tusk Safaricom Marathon in Lewa, Kenya – May & June 2017

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is one of the last strongholds for the endangered East African black rhino

Having withdrawn from the Lewa Safaricom marathon (http://www.lewa.org/support-lewa/safaricom-marathon/) in 2016 due to a lingering ankle injury, I was determined to get back there in 2017. All looked good and my training was going well when a freak mountain bike accident left me with a severe groin strain. With abductor muscle and tendon damage, it became a race against the clock to see if I could rehab and recover in time to make it to the start line. The thought of missing out again was too much to bear and in the end a compromise was reached whereby the doc agreed that I could run if I downgraded to the half-marathon.

Finishers wear their medals with pride

Situated at a lung-burning 5,500 feet above sea level, Lewa (http://www.lewa.org) is not the easiest place to run. But thin air and screaming lungs are only part of the problem, the relentless sunshine and heat add to the challenge, and lest we forget the entire event takes place inside a Big Five reserve with plenty of wildlife wandering around the race track!

The Tusk Safaricom Marathon (http://www.tusk.org/safaricom-marathon-2018) allows privileged local and international participants the opportunity to compete in an internationally acclaimed event whilst running through wildlife-rich Lewa: one of Africa’s most breathtaking nature conservancies. Although regarded as one of the toughest marathons in the world, the event has grown to become one of East Africa’s most popular sporting events and is acclaimed by Runner’s World magazine as “one of the world’s top ten must do marathons”.

The race was first held at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in 2000 with a mere 150 participants, but by 2017 it had grown to attract a field of over 1,400 runners and raised more than £350,000 for needy conservation and community projects across Kenya.

The distinctive coat pattern of the reticulated giraffe

Running through a wildlife-rich Big Five reserve is not without its challenges and incidents… Two years prior to our race, the start was delayed by two hours when a pride of hungry lions killed a buffalo in a swamp between the race village and start line, causing the event organisers a few grey hairs in the process! Thankfully, this year everything went according to plan and we started on time.

Up front the race is run at a formidable pace by the top professional Kenyan athletes, but for most of us mere mortals just finishing the event in a vaguely respectable time is a major achievement given the altitude, hills, heat and wild animals. For those who enter light on training, race aspirations soon evaporate in the stifling heat to be replaced by a desire to simply survive the punishing conditions and make it across the finish line for covered race finisher’s medal.

Our Lewa marathon crew celebrate a job well done

I came to Lewa with a couple of friends who work for Conservation International and while the other guys ran the full marathon, I was – given my lack of training and injury concerns – quite content simply to finish the half marathon injury-free in a semi-ecent time of 1h45.

But regardless of whether you’re up front with the pros challenging the course record of 1h05 or taking it easy and enjoying the scenery, running through Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (http://www.lewa.org) is in itself an honour and a privilege. Whether running past a herd of endangered Grevy’s zebra, or enjoying the quizzical stare from a stretch of reticulated giraffe, the scenery and wildlife render the pain and heartache inconsequential and ensure that the Tusk Safaricom Marathon is a highly rewarding experience for every entrant.

Despite witnessing the sorry state of many of the marathon runners as they collapsed at the finish line, I was left with an unshakable sense of unfinished business… And I hope to be back in 2018 to tackle the full marathon and finally succeed in putting a big tick on my bucket list in the process.

Lewa sets the standard in terms of wildlife protection and law enforcement effectiveness in East Africa