Congo River Marathon

Runners enjoying the inaugural Congo River Marathon in Kinshasa In this interview series, Ahotu will be speaking with the people behind some of the most unique races across the globe. We’ll be discussing the history of the event, challenges and how to overcome them, attracting sponsors, reaching new runners and more! Thanks for joining us. With the Congo River Marathon taking place just a few weeks ago, it’s great to take some time to hear how the first edition went. Could you briefly introduce yourself for those who aren’t familiar with you and your race? R; Sure. I am the Founder and Race Director of Congo River Marathon, a proud project of our company Endurance Sports Industry. Born and raised in the DR Congo, I carry a deep love for our country and care about its future. I strongly believe that running can be a positive influence on communities and that running with other people inspires and motivates you to push yourself. N; I am the Co-Founder and in charge of Marketing & Sponsoring. I’m originally from Berlin and Los Angeles with experience in publishing, travel and hospitality. I am motivated to raise our collective consciousness through purposeful experiences and promote wellbeing through the Congo River Marathon and our other events. What led to you creating the event and how did it all start? R; I’ve been a passionate runner since childhood. After living and working abroad for years, and taking part in several races in different countries, I was motivated to give Kinshasa a sports event to celebrate every year. It all started with a weekly 5k Sunday morning run back in December last year, and the idea grew from there. We hosted our first official 10k fun run at the end of March and only 5 months later the first edition of Congo River Marathon. N; I felt moved by Rolly’s idea to create and establish a marathon event from scratch in the heart of Africa, that becomes the largest annual sports event in the DR Congo where people from all over the world come together as one community, making running a collective experience and creating a more health-conscious society. Kinshasa is a huge city, what challenges did that present when organising the event in terms of the logistics and operations on race day? R; The biggest challenge for us were the Covid restrictions in Kinshasa and to get the authorization from the city in time. Originally, we planned the route through the whole city, but we had to adjust and could in the end only race in Gombe, the city centre of Kinshasa. We had a half marathon route, with those who ran the marathon doing two laps. Are there any changes you plan to make for next year’s event? R; Yes, for 2022 we changed the date to June instead of August, so the race date doesn’t interfere with summer holiday plans for our participants. N; We also want to focus more on the pre and post-race activities by offering coaching & training programs and having an expo with healthy food and an environment where participants can relax, connect and celebrate in a conscious way. Where did your runners come from for this edition? Was it a mainly national event or did you see have some international participation too? N; It was mostly a national event this year because of the travel restrictions, but we had 24 nationalities participating and some international athletes flying in from the USA, Poland and Kenya to run the first edition of Congo River Marathon. How is the mass-participation landscape in the DRC? Are there many mass-participation events across the country? R; We didn’t have really mass participation events in sports in the DR Congo before, especially not at a professional level. We are aiming to make this the flagship mass-participation event in the DR Congo and one of the leading marathons in Africa. Were you able to secure some partners / sponsors to help support the inaugural edition? N; We were lucky. Everything was last minute. We only received the authorization from the city 3 weeks prior to the race and were able to get Africell as the naming rights sponsor and Bracongo XXL and the Pullman Grand Hotel as lead sponsors. As well as traditional sponsors, Mwant Jet and Willfit who had partnered with us for our 10k fun runs as well as Los Angeles Cold Press and Moringa Star. What can runners expect from taking part in the Congo River Marathon? R; An unforgettable marathon experience in the heart of Africa, running through the tropical climate of the vibrant suburbs of Kinshasa and the beautiful scenery along the south bank of the second largest river in Africa, that was once a site of fishing and trading villages, and becoming now one of the world’s fastest growing megacities in the world. When is the next edition of the Congo River Marathon and are there any other events which runners should keep an eye out for? R; The second edition will take place on June 5th, 2022. We have a full event calendar until the end of this year and for next year with our monthly 10k fun run series, provincial fun runs in the country in Goma, Lubumbashi, Kolwezi and Matadi as well as kids & family runs, the International breakfast run in January and a Women’s only run in March. N; We are also interested in promoting health & wellness in general in the DR Congo and combining running with tourism as well as planning to publish the first edition of a new running magazine. Thanks for your time Rolly & Nancy. It’s been great to learn more about the race and story behind the event. We look forward to watching the Congo River Marathon continue to thrive and grow!‍ Interested in taking part? You can register for upcoming Trail Pursuit events on Ahotu – Congo River Marathon To feature in our interview series you can drop us an email on [email protected] Interested in promoting your race with World’s Marathons or Ahotu? Contact us on [email protected]