Those looking for the centre of the running world may find it midway through the Rwenzori Marathon course at the Equator in South-West Uganda. The 42km and 21km distances make the most of the rolling scenery of the Rwenzori Mountains and Queen Elizabeth National Park, combining a verdant backdrop with a race-ready course to attract elite and competitive runners from Eastern Africa.

The town of Kasese serves as race base at 1000m above-sea-level, 400km and a six-hour drive due west of the Ugandan capital, Kampala. Routes vary with the marathon being an out-and-back along tarmac roads. The half-marathon heads in direction of Rwenzori range to the west of Kasese along mostly tarmac roads with some dirt (below). There is also a 5km fun run within the town itself.

In the 2023 edition, 145 finishers completed the marathon distance and 390 tackled the half-marathon succesfully. Men’s marathon winner Vitalis Kwemoi completed in 2:17:21, with Chemos Viola Munerya winning the women’s in 2:49:03. A sprint finish in the men’s half-marathon saw Abel Chebet take first place in 01:02:56 followed a second later by Somikwo Ben Chelimo. In the women’s half marathon, Dorcas Ajok finished in 1:16:24 with a competitive pack.

The race takes place on the first Saturday of September. For accommodation and travel advice, see the race website mtrwenzorimarathon.com