In 2003 a small group of about 750 runners lined up at the gate of Keys Hotel in Moshi in the early morning sunshine to register for the inaugural Kilimanjaro Marathon.
That race was won by a Tanzanian – naturally enough, as there were no foreign runners that year – Lucian Hombo, who clocked 2:16.25 – and went into the records as the first athlete to win the first Kili Marathon ever! It was the start of something great.
It was the first Kilimanjaro Marathon. Since then the race has grown into one of Africa’s biggest and best known marathons, and will be run for the 9th time on 27 February 2011.
The consistent growth in the popularity of the Kilimanjaro Marathon since its inception was mirrored by the thousands of runners who turned up to run under the roof of Africa’s highest mountain last year.
A total of over 4,500 runners and over 10,000 spectators that lined the Moshi roadways is a strong testament to the passion and popularity of long distance running in Tanzania.
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