Most of us were in Africa for the first time. We were amazed by the landscape and the people of Africa.

It was a whole new and nice experience.

The first day of the Kenyan World Harmony Run saw us taking part in the Tegla Loroupe Peace Race.

The 10km race, which is in its fourth year, is organised by the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation.

The race brings together people from different local tribes and is a real cultural and community gathering as well as a race.

The first race, a 10km for warriors, was due to start at 7.30am but we soon realised that in Kenya things start when everyone is ready!

The warriors’ race involves warring tribes from Kenyan and Uganda, who swap their AK-47’s (Kalashnikov machinegun) for running shoes.

Many of the warriors who participate in the race then become peace ambassadors in their own communities. Next off was the children’s race and we could see from their enthusiastic start why Kenya has produced so many long distance running champions.

After that it was the turn of the Elite runners where the winner completed the hilly course in an impressive 31 minutes.

The world harmony run team was invited to take part in the VIP 2km race. We were honoured that the Vice President of Kenya ran the first part of the race with the torch. He then handed on to Keino Kipchoge, the legendary Kenyan runner who won Olympic gold in ’68 and ’72.

We ran beside him for the rest of the race and he crossed the finish line holding the torch.

Kip is now working with the Kenyan Athletic federation and is an IOC member. We could see from the reception he received that he is still an inspirational figure. Elena Meyer, the South African distance runner, who won silver in the ’92 Olympics 10,000m also held the torch and offered her support to the World Harmony Run.

After the races there were speeches by the various dignitaries, including the US ambassador to Kenya and traditional dancing by each of the tribes present.

After the races the team was invited to Tegla’s house for lunch. She has a large family and they had been hard at work to provide us with a delicious spread of food. As we ate we admired Tegla’s impressive trophy collection, including winners medals from New York Marathon and a special commemorative medal from her World Record run in Berlin. The house lies a few kilometres off the main road, down a bumpy dirt track, which can become impassable in heavy rain. November is the season of “light rains” here, and it started coming down just as we left the house. Luckily our van has 4-wheel drive, and with some skilful manoeuvring by Daniel, our local driver, we were soon back on the main road.

In the evening the events moved to the local community hall, where there was more traditional Kenyan singing and dancing.

For our time in Kenya, Tegla’s Foundation have kindly given us the services of the ever cheerful and helpful David. This evening he introduced us to the local MP, and they both took their turn up on the stage joining in the dancing with the torch.

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Kenya 19 November >