The Tegla Loroupe Peace Race is an annual 10-kilometre

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

event which takes place in November in

Kapenguria Kapenguria is a town lying north east of Kitale on the A1 road in Kenya. Kapenguria is capital of the West Pokot County. Kapenguria forms a municipality with an urban population of 13,000 and a total population of 56,000 (1999 census). Kapenguria ...

West Pokot County West Pokot County is a county of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Kapenguria. The county covers an area of approximately 9,169.4 square kilometers and stretches a distance of 132 kilometers from North to South. West Pokot County is bordere ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. First held in 2003, the race was created by Kenyan runner

Tegla Loroupe Tegla Chepkite Loroupe (born 9 December 1979) is a Kenyan long-distance track and road runner. She is also a global spokeswoman for peace, women's rights and education. Loroupe holds the world records for 25 and 30 kilometers and previously ...

to bring together warriors of rival tribes to reduce conflict in the region. The event features separate 10K races for elite

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

s and local warriors. There is also a race for children and a VIP race for politicians and dignitaries. The race raises funds for the

Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation The Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation is a peace and development organization based in Nairobi, Kenya. It is named for Tegla Loroupe, a world-champion marathon runner from Kapenguria, Kenya. Mission The foundation's mission is to promote peaceful co ...

, a charitable body focused education, sports and medical issues.

History

The event, created in 2003, was first held in conjunction with the launch of the

. The Peace Race marked an effort by

, a prominent

and

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

holder, to use

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

as a way of promoting unity between rival tribes in the area. Severe

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

s and high levels of

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

in the region brought with them increased conflict and

cattle rustling Cattle raiding is the act of stealing cattle. In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the perpetrator as a duffer.Baker, Sidney John (1945) ''The Australian language : an examination of the English language and English ...

, further compounding the population's problems. Loroupe, whose home town of Kapenguria is the race venue, had personally experienced the problems of the region. "I grew up in a pastoral environment where life was really hard because of the local conflicts between the tribes and people stealing cattle. All of this on top of conditions that were hard to start with", she said, "I was lucky. I had talent and was able to make a success out of running and I felt that I wanted to give things back to the community I grew up in."Wallace-Jones, Sean (2005-11-22)
Tegla Loroupe - bundle of energy and driving force for peace

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

. Retrieved on 2010-11-14. The first edition attracted thousands of people, mainly warriors from the Samburu,

Marakwet :''Marakwet is also a district in Kenya, see Marakwet District'' The Marakwet are one of the groups forming the ethnolinguistic Kalenjin community of Kenya, they speak the Markweta language. The Marakwet live in five territorial sections namely Al ...

and Pokot Districts of Kenya as well from the neighbouring areas of

Karamoja Karamoja sub-region, commonly known as Karamoja, is a region in Uganda. It covers an area of 27,528km and comprises Kotido District, Kaabong District, Karenga District, Nabilatuk District Abim District, Moroto District, Napak District, Amu ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

and

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. Kalie Kurwoi and Cheposera Merisia won the men's and women's 10K warrior races that year. Prizes were offered to the runners: winners earned KSh.25,000/=, runners-up received KSh.15,000/=, while third placers gained KSh.10,000/=. A shorter race was held for children under-12 and another for VIP attendees, which included the Swedish ambassador, the chairman of

Athletics Kenya Athletics Kenya (AK) is the governing body for the sport of athletics (track and field) in Kenya. It is a member of World Athletics and Confederation of African Athletics. AK organises athletics competitions held in Kenya. It also sends Kenyan team ...

, and Ibrahim Hussein (the first African winner of the

New York Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishe ...

). The race grew in size and achieved much publicity in its first few years. By the third edition it had received support from international organisations such as

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

, and

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) or charity of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. M ...

. The Peace Race had a significant impact upon the security of the region and the area's

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

instructed the

Kenyan Army The Kenya Army is the land arm of the Kenya Defence Forces. History The origin of the present day Kenya Army lie with the British Army's King's African Rifles. In the last quarter of the 19th Century the British began actively enforcing the aboli ...

that their presence in the previously hostile region was no longer necessary. The race day's events in 2005 included a shared meal between warriors from different tribes within the region, who also provided a demonstration of their traditional local dance. Building upon the success of the Peace Race, Loroupe expanded the aims of her Peace Foundation by beginning construction of the

Tegla Loroupe Peace Academy The Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation is a peace and development organization based in Nairobi, Kenya. It is named for Tegla Loroupe, a world-champion marathon runner from Kapenguria, Kenya. Mission The foundation's mission is to promote peaceful co ...

and promoting the importance of

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

and health issues (including

female circumcision Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and female circumcision, is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia. The practice is found ...

and

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

) in the region. The number and quality of competitors reached the standard of international races: the 2007

Rome City Marathon The Rome Marathon is an annual marathon competition hosted by the city of Rome, Italy. History The competition has also doubled as the Italian Marathon championships on two occasions; in 1983 and 1986. The race date was shifted from the ...

champion Elias Kemboi won the men's race in the same year (beating

Wilson Kiprop Wilson Kiprop (born 14 April 1987 in Soi, Uasin Gishu District) is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who specialises in the 10,000 metres and half marathon. He was the world champion at the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 2010 and was the ...

), while

Lineth Chepkurui Lineth Chepkurui (born 23 February 1988 in Bomet) is a Kenyan long distance runner. At the 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, 2008 World Cross Country Championships Chepkurui finished eleventh in the individual race, however this was not ...

was the women's winner.Macharia, David (2010-11-17)
US Ambassador flags-off Tegla Loroupe Peace Race - Kemboi takes second victory

. Retrieved on 2010-11-16. The event also gained support from high-level political figures; Deputy Prime Minister

Musalia Mudavadi Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi (born 21 September 1960) is a Kenyan politician and land economist who is currently serving as the Prime Cabinet Secretary of Kenya. Until October 2022, he was also the party leader of the Amani National Congress (ANC ...

flagged off the 2008 race, which was also attended by the United States Ambassador

Michael Ranneberger Michael Edward Ranneberger (born 1949) is a former United States Ambassador to Kenya. Early life Ranneberger attended Archbishop Curley High School, a Roman Catholic private school in Baltimore, Maryland. After graduating, he obtained a B.A. f ...

. That year, one of the region's well-known cattle rustlers used the event to ceremonially surrender an illegal rifle to Kenyan officials.Macharia, David (2008-11-15)
Cheruiyot and Chemwok win, as Loroupe’s peace mission gains another convert

. Retrieved on 2010-11-16.

Safaricom Safaricom PLC is a listed Kenyan mobile network operator headquartered at Safaricom House in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the largest telecommunications provider in Kenya, and one of the most profitable companies in the East and Central Africa region. Th ...

sponsored the event in 2009 for a figure of KSh.2.1 million/=.Musumba, Chris (2009-11-10)
2000 runners for Loroupe race
''

Daily Nation The ''Daily Nation'' is the highest circulation Kenyan independent newspaper with 170,000 copies. History The ''Daily Nation'' was started in the year 1958 as a Swahili language, Swahili weekly called ''Taifa'' by the Englishman Charles Hay ...

''. Retrieved on 2010-11-16.

Past elite winners

References

External links

Official website
{{Athletics in Kenya 10K runs Athletics competitions in Kenya Sport in Rift Valley Province Recurring sporting events established in 2003 Annual sporting events in Kenya 2003 establishments in Kenya West Pokot County