The Lewa Marathon started in the year 2000. It was initially a local fundraiser but has since grown into a global event.
Over 25,000 runners from 40 countries have taken part since 2000. They have run through the heart of Lewa conservancy, alongside elephants, giraffes, and zebras.
The marathon is a one of kind race, offering a raw and untamed experience.
The marathon attracts a range of participants, from professional athletes to first-time marathoners, all for different reasons.
At Lewa’s 25th anniversary participants ranged from elite athletes to recreational runners.
“I’ve been here for more than 21 years, this my 21st anniversary since I started to come to Lewa. And I feel good when I come here to Lewa because it’s a worthy cause. I feel good because this race has produced me and has enabled me, and I have used this to prepare for other big, major marathons in the world,” said Henry Wanyoike, Paralympian.
“It is my colleagues who told me that it’s good to participate in Lewa. I’ve never done it. It’s my first time, and this week, some of them came to where I was sitted and they told me it will be good for you to join and I joined,” said Felix Rop, Head of Financial Services IT at Safaricom PLC.
Running a marathon in the wild presents some unique challenges, and so the participants needed to prepare, but they also had a tech companion to help.
When the marathon started 25 years ago, runners had to ace the race on their own.
In the 25th anniversary, most runners had smart watch that helped them perform better.
“I used my Garmin watch at least, I was able to track my steps. I could check the kilometers, my heart rate. It helped me to pace, see whether I’m moving too fast. I should reduce my pace, and also getting to know the remaining kilometers,” said Felix.
“I use my Apple Watch to track my runs. I use the Nike Run app as my training program, it’s nice not think about what I have to do, and kind of be told during training and then during the race, just knowing that I was still at a comfortable pace, it made me not push myself too hard to be honest, which I can’t do right now,” said Jackie Kilbourne, participant.
For the Lewa Safari marathon race trackers, they were able to use RFID technology for athlete tracking during the race.
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology utilizes radio waves to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects.
As the Lewa marathon goes into the future, we wait to see how technology will transform the one-of-a-kind race.
Watch the video below to see how a tech companion(the smartwatch) helped participants.
