Sitting in a remote part of the country with limited access to communications devices, I happened to have had a lot of free time with which to reflect on life, and ultimately, death. This has been the outcome of said reflection.
A few weeks ago myself and my family were visited by an immense tragedy when my brother in law, Kenny was hit by a car, almost 3 weeks to the day from when he got married to my sister. He passed away. The pain, anguish and misery this tragedy has left in its wake, I shall assign to your imagination.
Last year, in November, merely a week after doing my first half marathon at the Kampala Marathon, buoyed by the endorphin hangover from this successful attempt, I signed up for the Nairobi marathon. The Tagline for the Nairobi marathon was to Run For A Reason, which essentially meant that as participants went about their running, they could stand firm in the knowledge that their registration fees along with the sponsorships and so forth would be put to judicious responsible use aligned to important social causes hence the running; albeit for a reason.
When races happen, the seas of human beings are often putting their bodies to the test for highly specific reasons. Sometimes they are challenging themselves to be better versions of themselves, or perhaps they are doing it for people whom they know who are not privileged enough to do it for themselves. The fun and the pain are really just an unpaid-for bonus (I doubt this is ever factored into the registration fees). For instance, in the Ironman Triathlon, the apex of fitness challenges (which I follow religiously), it is the norm for participants to wear special writings either on their kit, their equipment or in extreme cases, on their bodies. These annotations carry special meaning to them because, as we often learn in the interviews and stories that follow, these writings are a representation of the “why”, the “reason”, the “motivation” that fuels them to thrive under these severe circumstances.
Granted, outsiders to the running and overall fitness culture have not internalized the spiritual contours of these endeavors. It might therefore very well be lost on you (dear reader) that one should attempt to, for example, memorialize an individual through a running effort (as you will see). It solves nothing by way of alleviating the grief, some may say. It might not even have sufficient traction to gain the attention of audiences and in so doing end up consigned to the garbage dump of attention deficient social media netizens, along with many things (Jubileewo). But if thought about in those limited strictures, then one would be accused of missing the point.
Let me qualify what I have said up there by explaining thus; to honour the memory of Kenny, I will run 100km. Not all at once, so you may cease the non-believers’ sneer. On 10 different days (close together), I will run 10km (on each of these days). Inevitably, I will write about each individual run on those days, and catalogue any thoughts on the runs plus any insights that might spring up along the way should they be deemed the least bit interesting. This blog will be an account of this task I have set for myself. For the coming days, this is my reason. This is why I will be running. It is specific and personal and shall carry meaning for me. My only hope is that it might cause you one day, any day, to also; Run for a reason.
End of Day 0
![ONE HUNDRED KILOMETRES FOR KENNY [10*(10K4K)] – Day One](https://kiwanukaokot.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/kiwanuka-okot.jpg)
![ONE HUNDRED KILOMETRES FOR KENNY [10*(10K4K)]- Day Two](https://kiwanukaokot.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/kiwanuka-okot_day-2-1536x1152.jpg)