Running in Africa and the Benefits of Travel
A few years ago, I was feeling a bit adventurous, so I decided to make the 8000+ mile trek from Chicago to Moshi, Tanzania to run the Mt. Kilimanjaro Marathon. At 4,900 meters, Mt. Kilimanjaro is the tallest Mountain in Africa. The marathon course brings runners through downtown Moshi and into Mt. Kilimanjaro National Park, near the base of the mountain. The race directors offer travel packages that include the race and options to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and cross the border into Kenya to go on a safari in the Serengeti. One piece of advice I would give anyone that’s interested in doing this race is to sign up for the full ten-day package that includes all the activities. It may be your only opportunity to do some of these things and the memories will be etched in your mind forever. Getting to Moshi is a little bit of a challenge because of the lack of direct flights to the Moshi airport. Getting there from the US typically involves a flight to Amsterdam (8-12 hours), fol