Running in Afghanistan: This October Marks the Fifth Anniversary of the Marathon of Afghanistan, the Countries only Mixed Gender Sporting Event

08 October 2019, London: This October marks the fifth annual Marathon of Afghanistan, the countries only mixed gender sporting event. Organised by a small team of international and Afghan people, in collaboration with charity organisation Free to Run, the 10km and full marathon races were first set up to create a sporting event which would bring unity and normality for people in a country more associated with conflict and often divided on ethnic lines.

Free to Run uses adventure sports, including running, to create safe spaces for women and develop female leadership in post-conflict regions of the world. Operating in four provinces in Afghanistan, Free to Run has played a critical role in increasing the number of female participants that run in both the 10km and full marathon races. The total number of runners across the two races has increased from 120 in 2014 to 420 in 2018. 50% of these runners have always been women.

“This event is about bringing people from around Afghanistan and the world to share a common experience,” explains James Willcox, founder of adventure travel company Untamed Borders, who has also been involved in organising the event from the beginning. “Entry cost from the international runners covers the race entry for local runners, which, most importantly, makes this event accessible to all. In this time of a struggling Afghan economy, running and training gives athletes hopes and goals. This helps keep young women and men on the right track rather than falling into drug use or extremism.”

Each year Untamed Borders takes 20 international runners to join the event, Willcox explains that “our organised group trip where guests can take part in either the 10km or marathon race sells out immediately every year, with more runners than ever wanting to travel and compete in less visited destinations, such as Afghanistan.”

Taking place in the Bamian province in the central highlands of Afghanistan, the race starts at an altitude of 3000m. The region holds many places of interest such as the famous UNESCO Buddha niches, the “city of screams” - a fort once conquered by Genghis Khan in the 13th C, and Band-e Amir, Afghanistan’s first National Park. The Bamain provence is recognised as one of the safest areas in the country and remains almost completely untouched by violence.

Please note that due to safety reasons, we do not publish the date or exact route of the marathon. If you would like further information, images or interviews with previous runners, please contact Elise Wortley on: elise@untamedborders.com

-Untamed Borders
-12 Harnet Street Sandwich Kent CT13 9ES
-PRESS CONTACT: elise@untamedborders.com

Founded in 2007, adventure travel company Untamed Borders runs bespoke trips and small group adventures to some of the world’s most interesting and inaccessible places. Specialising in trips to Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Middle East, East Africa, former Soviet Central Asia and the Caucasus, Untamed Borders takes over 250 guests a year to unusual and largely unvisited areas of the world.
Originally formed by professional fixers supporting journalists wanting to access difficult areas of the world, Untamed Borders still also serves media professionals today. Travelling in small groups and using local guides, the Untamed Borders mission is to add positive benefit to the countries they visit.

This release was published on openPR.