Marathon: You Can Do It

Lewa Marathon is the only marathon in the world where spectators include wild animals. The start of 2008 Lewa Marathon had to be delayed by 15 minutes because a lion was sunning itself on part of the marathon circuit. The tight security team had to use a helicopter to evacuate  the king of the jungle.

Elephants also came close to the route but the security team was swift to push them back. Sounds like a lot of fun! Just a note, since the marathon started no runner has been unfortunate victim of an hungry leopard or lion. Its a private Ranch and I bet the animals are well fed.

The winner of 2008 Lewa Safaricom marathon, Benson Kaptikou finished in a slow time of 2.21.39 to win a cash prize of US$2,000. He admitted he had sold his only goat for US$20 to raise bus fare to travel to the ranch.

“I have always believed that life is a gamble and that is why I did not have second thoughts about it” he said.

The marathon is held inside a wild life ranch located in Kenya on the slopes of Mt. Kenya.  Its run on dirt roads 5,500 feet above sea level. Lewa Ranch offers a camp site with entertainment. The money raised from the marathon goes to wildlife conservation.

Feeling like running wild! Visit Lewa marathon official site to see how you can participate. Participation is limited to 750 runners.

Once in a while I check on AP News, odd stories section for something out of the ordinary. Last week I found this interesting story of one nude runner,

“Police in Lincoln Nebraska arrested a man on Saturday night for running on a Lincoln bike trail in his thong underwear.Police say the 26-year-old man was arrested for indecent exposure. Officers said they found him running around Holmes Lake wearing his socks, shoes and, of course, the thong.” source : Ap news

Tags: Naked running, Running

The story of the runner who broke her leg and crawled to the finish is the best running story I read in 2007.

Claire Markwardt’s horrific fall in the final stretch of the Ohio state high school cross country championship was full of courage and perseverance.

Nothing heroic about falling in a race, but when you fall and crawl the final 45 feet to the finish line, you are a hero.

According to media reports, the horrific drama unfolded, as she entered the stadium at Columbus’ Scioto Downs, with about 400 meters to go, “she heard her left leg crack, she thought it was just a simple muscle pull and kept running” because, as she says “There was a runner from one of our rival schools right in front of me, and I kept staring at the back of her jersey and pushing myself to catch her.”But some 200 meters later, Markwardt heard the leg crack again and she then fell down infront of the crowds. One of Markwardt’s teammates, unaware of what had happened, encouraged her to get up. She tried, using her right leg. But as soon as she shifted weight to the left, the loudest crack yet came. She just couldnt stand on her feet. “At that point, I knew what had happened. I knew my leg was broken pretty badly. And I knew I couldn’t get up again. So I started crawling,” she said.

In today’s world where so many are uninspired or give up too easily Claire is really awesome and unique.

Tags: , Runing Injuries, Running

I love Haile Gebreselassie for many reasons.  This is one,

Like my English teacher used to tell us, Smile and the whole world will smile with you.

Tags: Ethiopian Runners, Running, Smiling

What do you do when you are short of confidence? Every time you come close but fall at the last hurdle? Running naked was the answer for one Golfer.

Stewart Cink had a long list of missed opportunities. Nine times he held a lead after three rounds only to lose at the end. On Sunday he finally managed to hold on to a lead and win PGA Travellers Championship.

When asked by reporters how he sealed the deal this time, his answer was “My wife Lisa advised me,” “sometimes you have to be willing to run naked across the green!”

On Sunday Stewart threw caution to the wind and not worried about the consequence.

Its amazing what you can achieve when you don’t think about what people are saying about you or what is gona happen. Focusing on the Process is the difference between winning and losing.

Read Stewart Cink Full Interview.

Tags: Marathon, Running, Running Naked