The Lewa Safari Marathon map highlights the spots all runners expect to find in a marathon: registration point, water station, medical centre. Other thumbprint images of Black rhino, zebra and giraffe are perhaps more surprising, and are symbolic give-aways to the running terrain of this now-renowned race.
Organised by Tusk and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, the marathon is held at the wildlife sanctuary and UNESCO world heritage site in northern Kenya. The 25th edition of the marathon that takes place 5,000 feet above sea-level will be held on Saturday 29th June 2024.
The marathon was a camp-fire concept dreamed up over 25 years ago by Tusk’s Founder, Charlie Mayhew, during a visit to Lewa, and has since been voted one of the world’s top ten races. Its route takes runners from 40 countries across savannah plains, along riverbanks and through acacia woodland, and has raised over $9m in support of education and healthcare projects across Kenya, as well as funding extraordinary conservation successes with Black rhino, Grevy’s zebra, leatherback turtle and elephant, as well as investing in 45 community conservancies.
“Given that 70% of our planet’s mammals has been lost in less than 50 years, protecting the natural world has never been more critical,” says Charlie Mayhew. “Every runner can feel proud to be contributing to the long-term protection of Kenya’s extraordinary biodiversity and the upliftment of many communities.”
The Lewa Safari Marathon would not be possible without the generous support of our lead sponsors Safaricom and Huawei – thank you for your continued support.
