By: Nyamacoro Silla
On Sunday 26th May the people of Makeni City woke up to marathon day!
Makeni is the largest city of Northern Sierra Leone and is the capital and administrative centre of Bombali district.
Nyamacoro Silla
It has a population of just over 100,000.
It is some 120 miles from Freetown and three hours drive to get to by car.
Makeni City had over the weekend received an influx of 800 to a thousand or so people all gearing up and getting ready for marathon day.
Street Child’s goal is to help create opportunities through education for some of the most vulnerable children in the world. The Makeni marathon was sponsored by African minerals and supported by Gambia bird and Africell.
I breezed into Makeni City on Sunday morning I could feel the excitement and a strong sense of things happening. The main roundabout into the city was full of police making sure cars, people, sheep and goats were directed into the right areas.
I entered into Birch School on Sylvanus Street where the marathon was being conducted from. It really was a hive of activity there were people there from all over the world and the locals mingling, talking and cheering the marathon runners who had just begun to come in after finishing their race.
The side attractions were in full sway lots of dancing, music and the acrobatic movements of the self styled newly elected minister of marathon!
The marathon was divided into three different exercises a full run which was 26 miles, a half run of 13 miles and a 5km walk.
I was fortunate to meet some people who had participated in the marathon and when I heard that the person who came first for the female race was a Sierra Leonean I looked everywhere for her.
I met her in the medical room and her name was Mamie Konnie a seasoned marathon runner of over 10 years. She had run the full marathon. What an achievement!
Another female runner was a seventeen year old Sierra Leonean school girl from Makeni City named Adama Kanu. She had come third in the in the female race. Again she also had run the full 26 miles.
Adama said that she liked running and that she is a commercial student particularly keen to go onto university. I was very proud of her and what she had succeeded in doing on marathon day!
Of course we had truckloads of expats who had come to Sierra Leone to participate in the marathon. It was hugely encouraging to see so many people from all over world who have enough interest in the marathon and the children of Sierra Leone to come and be part of the event. I was in hog heaven I went around talking to as many people as I could muster.
Particularly interesting was Andre Le Damier who strictly speaking shouldn’t be called an expat having lived on African soil for so long. He is a French national who resides in Conakry and has done so for 26 years. He runs marathons all over the world and has achieved 15 marathon runs in total!
I met also Josh Ord-Hume from London who runs with a group in Barnes, South West London. The group is aptly named the Barnes runners. Josh is a tad more than a seasoned marathon runner having run some 100 marathons. Yes that is right a 100 marathons, the man deserves a medal several medals to be precise! Josh ran the marathon last year in Makeni and is hoping to make it here for next year’s marathon!
A first timer to Sierra Leone and to the Makeni marathon was Mindaugas Grigas from Lithuania. He also runs marathons worldwide. Was a pleasure to meet him and his friends.
A group of lads and lasses from the UK formed a group known as “Fist jam and friends” or “City Hash House Harriers”. They were in Makeni with a WOW and a BANG and had all participated in the marathon. David Hellard AKA “princess” who is the leader of the group singlehandedly raised eleven thousand pounds.
The group as a whole raised over 25 thousand pounds for the work of Street Child. It really was an absolute privilege to meet all of them.
I spotted Skina AKA Ski as she came into the marathon finishing line. She looked unusual as she was wearing a head cover whilst running. I went round to talk to her when I saw she had visibly recovered.
It turned out Ski is British of Pakistani origin and again runs marathons all over the world. She was very obliging and we took lots of interesting photographs!
Marathon day was superb I was very pleased that I had gone and had the opportunity to meet everyone there.
Well done Street Child for making this happen.
We look forward to a bigger and better marathon next year. Inshallah! Particularly one with more Sierra Leonean participants and sponsors….
