Masai Warriors To Run In London Marathon - Today!

Well, articles like this one have been making the rounds on the internet the past week or so, but today is the day. In case you haven't heard yet, 6 Masai warriors are running in the London Flora Marathon today as part of a campaign to raise enough money to build a water well in their arid home in northern Tanzania.

They will be running dressed in their traditional red robes and their spare tire sandals. They will also be carrying their shields. Back home they often run for days dressed like this so a short 4 1/2 hour marathon may seem like a just a warm up.


"If we have no milk or meat, we cut the cow's neck and let out the blood to drink. If I drink enough blood -- maybe two or three litres -- it gives me a lot of energy and I can go for days without food or water."

OK. I don't think there will be any staff handing out bottles of cow blood, but if they can make do with water and English food then they should do fine.

"And we will do the whole marathon with no water," Says Isaya, one of the warriors who will be running.

OK, scratch that too then. What's important is that they are running to raise money for a water well back home so there will be more reliable water for their family, community, and especially, their cattle. The Masai homeland in northern Tanzania is a pretty arid place under normal conditions, but recently has suffered several years of drought. Here's a photo of some Masai land as I descended the Ngorongoro Crater on my way to the Serengeti from my last trip in 2007. I can only imagine what it must look like after another year of drought.

Take a look at the Masai plans for finding and drilling the new water well. Make a small donation if you can.