Stories about running up against history

Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia, Kipchoge Keino of Kenya and John Steven Akhwari of Tanzania – focusing on the stories of three athletes, Ogutu Muraya navigates the phenomenon and politics of running. This sporting success of East African middle and long distances runners occured at the same time as the independence movements on the African continent and the willpower, tenacity and endurance of the runners became part of the identity being formed in the new nations. Using historical and personal narratives Muraya shifts attention from intellectual inquiry to the knowledge systems of the body: the figure of the long-distance runner as a politically charged body between anti-colonial struggles and international competitive sports; a Black body, which is both vulnerable and resilient at the same time.