Day 32 – Kaloleni to Kilifi

As I arrived in Kaloleni, I was greeted by the sun rising and church music. The temperature was cool so perfect conditions to finish off the journey. One problem though was I forgot to tape up my leg, so the first few kilometres were a struggle, to say the least, however, once the painkillers took effect and a stretch I was away.

COMPLETED

So after 32 unforgettable days which involved been in Kenyan newspapers, meeting a former Vice President, mistaken for a terrorist, seeing Lions tear a Zebra apart and meeting some of the most incredible people along the way, I have finally made it to the coast and finished 1250km with the help of the generosity, warmth and friendly nature of the Kenyan people along with a ton of painkillers!!!While the running has been close to torture and sheer agony from shin

So after 32 unforgettable days which involved been in Kenyan newspapers, meeting a former Vice President, mistaken for a terrorist, seeing Lions tear a Zebra apart and meeting some of the most incredible people along the way, I have finally made it to the coast and finished 1250km with the help of the generosity, warmth and friendly nature of the Kenyan people along with a ton of painkillers!!!While the running has been close to torture and sheer agony from shin splints, I have somehow managed to find the incentive to keep getting up every day doing marathon after marathon because of Lewa Children’s Home and the amazing work they do there. I was worried that I would miss something special along the way through Kenya if I quit early which always a possibility before Nairobi when I had food poisoning to add to the shin splints. Kenya has challenged and humbled me and it’s difficult to put it into words. There was a huge sense of relief when I finished, I had lost 6kg and my legs were slowly getting worse and worse but also sadness. I guess there is something in the cliché. ‘Sometimes, the journey is more important than the destination itself’.This couldn’t have been more true with this adventure. Kenya is one of the most diverse and incredible countries in the world. I was merely a spectator on this trip showing you what I am seeing on a day to day basis. The real hero’s and characters of this story are the Kenyans and the people at Lewa Children’s Home and I hope I have shown you that there is no reason not to visit this amazing country soon.

Day 31 – Samburu to Kaloleni

We left at dark to get to the spot we left from the day before. The objective was to get to Kaloleni which was 53km away. The weather was on my side, overcast not too hot, maybe a bit of rain but I don’t mind that, however, the ankle was not good. I had become used to the pain of running with shin splints, heavy painkillers seemed to keep it mild for around 5 hours however my ankle was agony at the start. I hobbled my way through each town but was making good progress for the state I was in. We got to Marikani just after 12 and stopped to have a quick lunch and some more painkillers!!

The final 20 km to Kaloleni seemed to go by without much incident. I was now off the main road to Mombasa and heading straight to Kilifi, so there were fewer trucks and cars going past now and the scenery was changing to a lush green, with coconut trees all round. You feel you are getting close to the sea when you start seeing hotels called ‘Seabreez’. Just after 3 pm, I made it to Kaloleni. 53km done, I felt good not too tired, yet anyway, and had just under a marathon to complete the next day to the finish line. It had been quite a journey but tomorrow I will be finishing I hope. I will try and post a timeline via my Instagram account to the finish line so you can see what happens along the way. I’m sure Kenya will throw a few crazy things my way.

Thank you for all your support.

Day 30 – Maungu to Samburu

I took breakfast slowly, I knew today was going to be long so wanted to make the most of my time with Lore and the kids before sadly saying goodbye I hitchhiked to my spot and moved onto dirt road by the railway, going alongside it till I hit Mackinion Rd not much had happened until I sat down under a tree by the railway slightly tired, to have my sandwich. Sudden I heard the sound of stones moving off the railway track, as I looked up I saw two armed guards with guns pointing at me, moving at pace right in front of me. WTF…. he told me to identify myself and not to move, I was just about to tuck into my sandwich and now I had to identify myself and deal with this. After handing over my ID telling him what I was doing, I was then asked if I was in the country illegally, still with the other guy pointing his gun at my face, clearly not showing him my visa. Then I was told to unpack my bag, one item at the time. What’s that he asked, “one sock”. And that? “One pair of pants” and yet he continued to go through everything one by one, gun still pointing at my face, only after all my stuff was emptied onto the dirt road was he satisfied I wasn’t carrying a bomb!! I asked him if he had ever come across a terrorist wearing running gear and eating lunch under a tree looking like me. He tried to claim he had!!They only left when I name-dropped the vice president and my meeting with him, after that they claimed they were just doing their job and left.

I got going as soon as I had finished lunch and headed back onto the main road. It wasn’t too bad, because of the road works I had a hard dirt track all to myself for the next 15km when a car sneaked up behind me as I was listening to Harry Potter and out popped my father and Simon…. after a little break and a catch up he very kindly took my backpack and ran the final 10km of the day free of the weight of the backpack. We finished around 5.30 and now I have 91 km till I reach the finish line Simon is very kindly relieving me of my backpack for the final two days so I can run free

Day 29 – Maungu

Lore kindly dropped me in Maungu and I managed to grab a loft with the first person I asked my foot was still swollen and walking was a struggle it was really about getting the miles done and heading back. I stayed off the road and followed parallel to the railway meaning I didn’t have to worry about the lorries. I hadn’t had lunch and at 3, rather hungry I called it a day, excited about what Lore had in store for me in the late afternoon and believe me she didn’t disappoint.

As I got back Lore says, ‘we are going in 30 mins’!! So a quick lunch and shower and then we piled into the car with all the new volunteers of @wildlifeworks. We had been told that the lions had killed a zebra in the morning and that they were chilling out in a certain place. As we strolled up there, there they were in the middle of the road looking very relaxed and full!! I had never got so close to so many, one was on his own though tucking into a zebra for supper !! We saw quite a lot of game before night came in, we said goodbye to the volunteers who went home happy after their first ever safari experience. Lore made a delicious supper before calling it a night, another marathon tomorrow.

Day 28 – Wildlife Works

This is what it all about, a day of rest and safari. I was really struggling to walk throughout the day, Lore must look at me and think ‘how is that guy running a marathon’. I hobbled around the place moving at a snail’s pace, it is slightly worrying as I have had one ok leg throughout but now my right ankle was swollen and it pains me to walk. The morning was resting, in fact, the whole day was until Lore took me on a drive through the conservancy and when you see an elephant up close, it is hard not to be impressed. We caught most of what was to see in the conservancy except probably the lions but the views around were stunning. We got back and had a quick supper before watching a bit of TV then headed to bed. I start again tomorrow and hopefully, the swelling has gone down.

Day 27 – Tsavo National Park to Maungu

I flagged down one of the truckers who kindly dropped me off at the point I left. As I was riding I realised I had forgotten to take my painkillers, every swear words in the English dictionary came to mind, how had I forgotten them? I had 27km to get back to lodge to have breakfast and now I had to do it without painkillers. It seemed to take forever, I made it back but I had missed the breakfast shut off point however they very kindly made an exception for me. Now the heat had picked up and I was ready to get going again around midday.

I had done 48km before I called it a day, my right ankle had started to stiffen and swell making it almost impossible to walk let alone run. I hitchhiked with a trucker to Maungu where I was greeted by Lore and her two children. She very kindly took me into the conservancy where her house was and wow what a view over the place. I got showered and relaxed before a load of people came round for supper. We had an amazing shepherds pie and stayed up chatting till quite late, I had been used to going to bed very early over the last week but after 8 days running doing back to back marathons my body was breaking, so decided to take a day off tomorrow and relax for the evening blessed in the knowledge that I didn’t have to run tomorrow.

Day 26 – Mtito Andei to Tsavo National Park

So today was the day I was going to run through the national park after yesterday’s misunderstanding and was going to be escorted. They arrived at 9.30, 4 of them and the two in the back carrying automatic weapons.(what was I getting myself into!!). they took me to the point they had picked me up and I got running, it was already boiling hot outside but now I had an audience to watch me run!!! The painkillers were working but I knew it was going to be a long day, so I needed to pace myself. I had done 30km by lunch time on the Tsavo bridge where we stopped but the painkillers had worn off and the heat was tough going but I was determined to make it out of the park today.

I am out of the national park alive!! Thanks to @kenyawildlifeservice. I was struggling towards the end but once I hit 50km I was out of the park and meant that tomorrow I wouldn’t need to be police escorted. The views over the park were awesome although I would love to report on wild elephants marching towards me as I ran or hearing a lion roar as I went past, sadly there was limited game on the route I was taking, a few zebra and baboons, but this was to the relief of my team escorting me as no shots were fired. I am now only 210km for the finish line and tomorrow I will be staying with Wildlifeworks.

Day 25 – Mtito Andei

I was up at dark and the second a glimmer of light was there I went for it. I emptied everything in my backpack except water and food, and my poles in case my leg went. However, after 20 km a green land rover pulled up next to me and asked what I was doing. I told them and they told me that it was against park rules to run through the park alone or without a permit, sounds obvious probably but I was informed that it was ok as long as I was on the road. So I was forced to stop and taken back to where I started. They gave me a number to call to sort it out. The rest of the day was sitting by the pool and waiting. By the afternoon, I was chatting to a park ranger about it and what he could do to get me through the national park along with all sorts of topics about Tsavo, so tomorrow I am set although I have to start at 9 rather than dusk cause it is too hot for the animals then!! There was a power cut in town so I had supper in the dark practically and went to bed. Going to try and make up for lost time tomorrow. Thanks for all the support

Day 24 – Kibwezi to Mtito Andei

Again the staff cooked up a storm, eggs, bacon, fruit, porridge the works! Before kindly dropping me off at the point I left the evening before. There was little to report all day, the scenery was the same throughout. I had the Chluyu hills national park on my right but they were so far away they could have been any hills. Today was about getting through to Mtito Andei and prepare me to run through Tsavo national park!! People along the way have kindly reminded me about the ‘Man-Eaters of Tsavo’ but don’t worry I have had training in what to do if I encounter a lion……. don’t look at it. I got to Tsavo inn hotel late afternoon, dipped my legs into the pool before tucking into quite a supper. Plan for tomorrow is to run 45 – 50 km and then catch a bus back to the hotel if I am still in one piece…….

Day 23 – Kiboko to Kibwezi

I left as soon as I woke and get out of Kiboko asap, my least favourite place so far. I spent the early parts on a dusty road which was causing my foot to blister as the dust rubbed against the skin. Again I tried to run but with all the pressure being placed on my right leg, my hamstring there has tightened up meaning by the end of each day it cramps up. I got to Makindu around 9 and wondered where to have breakfast when I came across a Sikh temple, let’s check that out, I went in and was escorted to the dining room where I was told off for not wearing the right headgear but once that was sorted I sat down to breakfast of curry!! I was so hungry I didn’t care and actually, it was really good and the place was really nice too. I left feeling quite satisfied and headed toward Kibwezi taking a slightly hilly short cut.

I arrived in Kibwezi mid afternoon, it’s always the last 10 km that are a struggle, you feel so close but you have so far to go. I got a scooter to take me to where Debbie and Robin lived. They sadly were not there but they very kindly said I could have their house for the night as long as I didn’t mind sharing with the three dogs I relaxed, showered and did nothing for about 3 hours and it felt great. The house chef then cooked up a storm in the kitchen and believe me it tasted as good as it looked. It wasn’t too long after that, that I called it a night another gruelling day awaits me tomorrow only 42km though to Mtito Andei.