Sammy Kitula
1 November 2008
Nairobi — Now in its sixth year, the annual Tegla Loroupe Peace Race has grown from a simple desire to bring peace and stability to a major force for conflict resolution in Kenya and the neighbouring countries.
In two weeks, the race will once again be held in Kapenguria, a volatile area prone to cattle rustling an ethnic fighting.
The idea of the Peace Race originated with Tegla Loroupe, the two-time New York marathon champion from West Pokot, who ran her way to prominence on the world scene with victories in all of the big city marathons and three successive World Half Marathon victories.
Definitely one of the finest women runners in the world today, Loroupe is a heroine and role model among her peers, considering her humble beginnings, her struggles and her ultimate rise to the apex of world athletics.
While the 35 year-old athlete continues to run regularly on the international circuit, her life wasn't complete until she managed to bring together all the warring factions in her home area.
"It has always been my wish to see all the warring factions get together and stop the fighting. I'm sure that one day, this will come to pass," said Loroupe.
Athletes registration
Kenya's former Vice-President Moody Awori once said: "If we had 100 Tegla Loroupes, then we would have everlasting peace."
Plans for this year's race, to be on November 15 in Kapenguria, have been finalised and registration will be open from tomorrow.
There will be four main categories -- children's 2km, dignitaries' 2km, elites' 10km, and warriors' 10km -- all featuring men and women.
The Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation was formed with the main aim of reconciling warring communities in northern Kenya, southern Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia and other volatile areas in the region.
Apart from peace building through conflict resolution programs, the foundation also engages in gender empowerment, HIV/AIDS awareness programs and promotion of education and sports.
Kapenguria is a small town, a collection of rudimentary shacks and the occasional brick house, with a population that is almost entirely dependent on agriculture and livestock.
Signs of poverty are everywhere, with bad roads, some simple dirt tracks, and a lack of basic medical facilities.
Loroupe grew in this volatile area where neighboring pastoralist communities often engage in clashes over scarce resources like pasture and water points.
"This was the normal routine of the area. Gunfire was the order of the day," says Loroupe.
It's for this reason that she started to stage races between the fighting communities to build trust and break the stereotypes existing among them.
Interestingly, it is these athletes who have brought the limited wealth that exists in the area, by using their natural athletic abilities to make their mark in track and on road races of the world.
In a bid to use people who have been faced with war-related problems, warriors who participate in the peace races are used as ambassadors to talk to their compatriots and communities on the need to stop engaging in conflict.
Some of the athletes have used their successes to make their lives better give back to the communities that brought them up and gave them foundation for their success.
Says Loroupe: "I grew up in a pastoral environment where life was really hard because of the local conflicts between the tribes and people stealing cattle. I was lucky that I had talent and was able to make a success out of running.
"Because of the uniting attribute of sport, peace races remain an exceptional peace communication strategy for pastoral communities. The peace races remain a very reliable and relevant part of the peace making process among pastoral communities in the greater horn of Africa," she says.
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