Have we found a future Olympic Runner?

The Joshua Foundation have a school in Magugu, a town of about 14,000.  One pupil has continually caught the attention of Joshua staff and teachers for his running ability.  He was visiting the Joshua Base in Arusha so we decided it was time to give him a chance and see if something amazing may yet happen with this young man.  He again has had a very tough life, filled with a lot of abuse and mis-treatment.  We arranged for him to do a 5km time-trial on our dusty and very bumpy road to just see how good he really might be.  The results from this were relatively inconclusive – he was not as fast as Richard had hoped but considering he had never raced and had not run much for 3 months – maybe he could yet make it.

We prepared an 11 week training programme for him to increase his fitness again and see how much improvement he could make in this time.  He just completed the 5km time-trial again and improved by about 1:20 min, so this was pleasing.  We are now considering the next step for him and how we can continue to see him improve to where he starts to become very competitive. 

We also realise that he will just be one of many that just need opportunity.  Over the next few months and years, we will seek to identify and work with numbers of promising sports people – particularly in running and multi-sport, the areas Richard has a lot of experience.  We will coach them in their lives and sport – recognising the importance of training body, mind and spirit.