On running

Kenyan runners are world renowned for their prowess in distance running, so my friends had teased me about meeting up with some Kenyan runners for a morning run. Actually, although in the big hotels in Nairobi, there are plenty of Kenyans using the gyms to work out and run on treadmills, there are only some parts of Kenya (mostly the west according to one Kenyan I’ve talked to) where runners on the roads are not an odd sight. Here, running is viewed, for the most part, as a lucrative sport that could offer an individual a way out of poverty and hardship – much the way American youths might view basketball or football. Very occasionally, one might see youths running on the roads, presumeably for secondary school team practice according to my driver; and usually, they don’t have shoes on – yeah, they’re running barefoot; most in the rural areas (much of Kenya) can’t afford the appropriate shoes.

For most Kenyans outside of the few cities and even within them, running just for daily exercise is somewhat odd. Then again, many of them inadvertantly exercise every day because, especially in rural areas, automobiles and other motorized transportation can be hard to come by, and most roads are either in poor condition or lack any asphalt (i.e., are just dirt and/or stone). So, oftentimes, if you want to get somewhere, you have to walk, even if it means walking miles in the hot sun.

So, although I’m managing to get in an early morning run most days, I draw plenty of curious looks. Of course, that could be partly because, for security, I usually run within the hotel grounds, which can mean going round and round the often limited courtyard, like a hamster on a treadmill.