“Look at the mood, look at the vibe. It’s exciting.” As runners streamed into Bushenyi under the morning sun and crowds lined the route in celebration, Uganda Olympic Committee vice president Moses Mwase could not hide his excitement.
The inaugural Olympic Day Tooke Run had drawn hundreds of participants from across the country, but for Mwase, the significance of the event went far beyond the finish line.
Held under the theme “Move, Learn and Discover for Nutrition-Care,” the run brought together sport, health awareness and the promotion of matooke, Uganda’s staple food. It also served as Uganda’s celebration of Olympic Day, marked worldwide around June 23.
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“For us as the Olympic Committee, we’re using it to celebrate Olympic Day,” Mwase said. “It reminds us of the purpose of the Olympic values that we hold very dear to our hearts, encouraging communities, fostering partnerships and cooperation, and encouraging people to live in harmony.”
Those values were evident throughout the day as athletes, families, students and local residents participated in the 21km, 10km and 5km races.
The highlight was the half marathon, which started in Mitooma and passed through Ishaka before ending in Bushenyi. The race was flagged off by Prof. Rev. Florence Isabirye Muranga, the Uganda Olympic and Commonwealth Games Nutrition Ambassador.
Police athlete Abel Chebet produced a commanding performance to win the men’s 21km race and take home Shs15 million. Fellow Police runner Martin Kiprotich finished second while UPDF’s Alex Kiplangat came third.
In the women’s race, Esther Chebet of Prisons claimed victory and earned the same prize money.
Beyond the competition, participants had an opportunity to try out Olympic sports including archery, rowing, badminton and shooting. Mwase himself joined the activities, testing his skills in archery.
“I tried my luck on archery and missed the bullseye by a very small margin,” he joked.
The event was organised by the Presidential Initiative on Banana Industrial Development and the Banana Industrial Research and Development Centre in partnership with the Uganda Olympic Committee.
Mwase praised the partnership, saying it demonstrated the power of sport to bring different sectors together for a common cause.
More importantly, the event will contribute to Uganda’s preparations for the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, scheduled for October.
“We’ve been encouraged to come up with initiatives that can help us raise funds, and we’re glad that the funds from here will help us support our Dakar team better,” Mwase explained.
The Dakar Games will be historic as the first Olympic event to be staged on African soil, adding extra motivation for Uganda’s athletes and administrators.
“We’re excited because Dakar is special. It’s the first time an Olympic event is being hosted in Africa,” he said.
As the celebrations continued long after the final runners had crossed the line, Mwase expressed hope that the event would grow even bigger in the years ahead.
“We’ve seen the 21km, we’ve seen the 10km and the mini marathon. I hope next year we can have a full marathon of 42 kilometres.”
For Mwase, however, the greatest victory was seeing people leave their homes and embrace an active lifestyle.
“The biggest enemy many of us face today is the chair,” he said. “We hope this event encourages people to get active.”
Judging by the turnout and energy in Bushenyi, that message was received loud and clear.
