Kilimanjaro!
At the Kilimanjaro Marathon, more than 200 runners, including an impressive field of elites, tackled the marathon distance in the shadow of Africa's tallest peak.

Mount Kilimanjaro looks down on the marathon's finish line.  E-mail this page  Printer-friendly page

By Rozanne M. Puleo, M.S.
Posted Monday, 10 March, 2003

There are few marathon destinations in the world where you are running with the elites in their own backyard. The Kilimanjaro Marathon in Moshi, Tanzania on March 2, 2003 was an exception. Out of the 200+ registered runners, 50 were elites from Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

If the large percentage of elites weren't enough to intimidate the average runner, the awesome spectacle of Mount Kilimanjaro towering over the course did the job. Throughout the course, Mount Kilimanjaro cast its shadow of prowess over the runners; expressing its might to all those who dare run a race tough enough to carry its name.

And tough it was. As one seasoned American runner, Salim Haji, puts it, " this is the toughest thing I have ever done." The course included a mid way 9-kilometer climb up to the base point of Mount Kilimanjaro and a 2-kilometer climb to the finish line. This is in addition to the entire course being staged at over 1500 meters on variable terrain. Roads in Tanzania are not what we are used to in North America, with potholes and dirt more than norm than the exception.

While many unfamiliar to the challenge of running in East Africa felt humbled by the task, some runners were comforted by the fact that they were running at home.

Many elites said that it is more reassuring to compete at home because in this environment, they know who their competition is more so than in Europe and the USA. "In this environment, I can pace myself better against others than elsewhere," says Emanuel Sawath, winner of the 1997 Finland Marathon. In addition, many elites who chose not to compete in this race came out to support their fellow runners. John Yuda, the 7th world ranked 5000-meter runner from Tanzania came out to cheer on his friends, as did Zebedayo Bayo, this year's winner of the Tokyo Marathon, also from Tanzania.

While Kenya has dominated the international marathon scene for years, Tanzania runners captured the top six spots in this inaugural marathon, proving that Tanzanian runners are right behind them in international competition. Tanzania has not enjoyed the economic security that Kenya has seen and therefore has not been able to promote its running program to the same extent as Kenya. Many of the tribes that some of the top Kenyan runners come from are situated on the Kenya/Tanzania border. With proper support and development, runners from Tanzania may enjoy the same international prominence as the Kenyans.

Lucian Hombo of Tanzania won his first ever marathon with a time of 2:16.25. Hombo is primarily an elite 5- and 10-K runner. For this marathon, he trained at the Paul Tergat camp in Kenya for two months. He agreed that running a race at home made him more comfortable than races abroad. "Here, there are many more opponents at my level. It challenges me more than racing in larger races with less challenging opponents." Favorite Francis Naali, who recently won the 2003 Commonwealth Games Marathon, came in 5th place in 2:20.13.

As the race drew to a conclusion, true to African culture, celebrations abounded. Traditional musicians and dancers flocked to the finish line to congratulate the finishers. Mount Kilimanjaro dominated the setting's backdrop, allowing finishers to have their pictures taken under the awesome sight that guided them throughout the course. And those of us humbled by the experience took our finishers medals with us as a symbol of a struggle to compete alongside some of the world's best - in their element.

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