UltraMARAthon 2024: A Journey Through the Mara

It’s a chilly morning on the northern side of the scenic Mara. The birds are chirping, the morning breeze brushes gently against your skin, and you can distinctly appreciate the crispness of the air. It’s not just any morning; it’s the morning of the 2024 edition of the UltraMARAthon.

It’s 6 AM, but this side of the expansive park is already bustling with activity. Around three hundred runners are gathered at the start line, ready not just to run but to do it for a worthy cause: wildlife and environmental conservation.

Today, four of us are representing Team JWS—Innocent, Amon, Lilian, and myself. We’re about to embark on a 50-kilometer relay journey, with each of us running an equal share of 12.5 kilometers. It’s definitely not going to be easy. But does that faze us? Not in the least! We’re determined to give it our best.

It’s the rainy season, and the tracks are muddy, making the run a slippery challenge. Just before the race kicks off, we’re ferried to our respective relay stations, eagerly awaiting the baton.

Lilian starts for our team, and from the look on her face, she’s ready to give it her all. I’m up next, taking the baton at the first relay station. Luckily, I had started warming up early, as Lilian arrives quickly and hands over the baton.

The second leg begins smoothly. The temperatures are perfect, and the track is crowded with runners. But about two kilometers in, the race takes a turn. Nothing could have prepared me for the puddles of water ahead. Cold water in your shoes on a slippery track—those are the perfect ingredients for fall scares, and there are plenty of those. The terrain is unforgiving, and the sun is now shining brighter with each passing minute.

What keeps me going are these words from Haruki Murakami: “I have only a few reasons to keep running, and a truckload of them to quit. All I can do is keep those few reasons nicely polished.”

After a grueling one hour and twenty minutes, I finally reach the second relay station and hand the baton to Amon, who is waiting eagerly. Despite my exhaustion, I can’t help but watch in awe as he powers through the first few hundred meters of the third leg with a burst of energy. There’s plenty of water and energy drinks to help us recover. The planning has been meticulous. Lilian and I head to the finish line to await Innocent’s triumphant arrival.

The last two legs fly by even faster than the first two. It seems we truly saved the best for last. Innocent finishes strong, ahead of a good number of runners.

And just like that, we’ve completed 50 of the toughest kilometers under the scorching Mara sun. With smiles of satisfaction, we pose for a few photos with our medals. It was a truly memorable running experience, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to participate.