I sincerely hope you all had a beautiful holiday celebration, whether you celebrate Christmas or not! Many of us were at Karura Forest on the 26th, bumping into each other on the trails and enjoying some calm nature after a lot of indulging, no doubt.

Find some photos and inspiring Strava art from WIngkei Chan and Sarah Wawa in the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/aNUF3zKD5RTCml2H?ref=Link

Next Saturday, the 2nd January, for our first run of 2021, we will be meeting at Arboretum, for a new years’ run. We will be both in the park and on the roads outside, so there will be something for everyone. Be sure to join us, and bring along any friend who might have ‘taking up running’ as a new year’s resolution!

On behalf of the Urban Swaras Running Club I wish you all a very happy, prosperous, and fun-running 2021! 

Full run info in the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/aNUF3zKD5RTCml2H?ref=Link

#TwentyTwentyRun

This past week has sure been an eventful one in the Swara calendar. Last week a number of CRE members delivered two cars full of donations to Run2gether training camp on behalf of the club; on Saturday we had a brilliant forest run in Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary, and on Monday we had the first Urban Swaras virtual AGM (needs must, as they say). Find images and highlights in the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/5JTQob1TC4Rp1XnG?ref=Link

Thank you to all who were in any way involved or attended any of the above, what a fantastic way to (almost) end the Swara running year! We’ve also had so many great achievements from Swaras this year, from personal triumphs, to recognised prizegivings, and all of you, however big or small your achievement may seem, is worthy of celebration and recognition, so I hope this holiday period you give yourselves just that!

Congratulations are in order to our new Patron, who is the same as our old Patron! James Wahome, it is an honour to have you serve us.

What better way to detox after a heavy holiday meal than a Swara run on Boxing Day? Join us on Saturday 26th December at Karura Forest for a leisurely Boxing Day run.

Full details in the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/5JTQob1TC4Rp1XnG?ref=Link

And most importantly of all, have a happy, merry, joy-filled (even if not run-filled) Holiday!

#HaveAHappySwaraHoliday

Rumour has it the breakfast at last week’s Swara run was almost as legendary as the trail! For those who missed out, it’s OK, the holiday period is here, which means you won’t be lacking in excuses to feast on fancy foods everywhere you go!

There were many success stories this weekend, with some Swaras at the Ultra Mara thon coming in top 3 (Cheruiyot, Marieke), and a whole team of sparkly sparklers finishing the 50km for a good cause at the same run (Amanda and Liz). We also had runners taking part in runs all over town; as usual Jamhuri Weekend is a highlight in the recreational runners’ calendar. Whatever you were running, however many kilometres, whoever you were running them with, I hope you had fun!

Find all the photo highlights in the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/F5qEpFizWRbGE3qY?ref=Link

As is tradition, as we close in on the holidays our runs are taking place close to home, so this week’s run is at Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary. See below for full details.

Also this week we will be delivering your donations to the team at Run2gether Training Camp, near Naivasha. If you still have items to donate, please reach out to the MC, Claire Baker on Whatsapp +336150209676 or on email clairesimonebaker@gmail.com to arrange for pick-up tomorrow Tuesday 15th December at the club’s cost.

A reminder, the Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday 21st December at 7pm, on Zoom. Save the date! Also look out for the Duka La Swara which will soon be opening its doors again!

All info on this week’s run in the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/F5qEpFizWRbGE3qY?ref=Link

#HolidayRunsAreHere

Dear Swaras, 

Any Nairobi-based runner worth their salt knows that some of the best running you can do in greater Nairobi is around Ngong. The hills! The views! the altitude! The gentle breezes! And of course, Berra Hotel, hosting Nairobi runners since…well, a long time, that’s for sure. 

Our beloved Trail Fox Benja treated us to just such a run this Saturday, and it was a great club run which we’re so glad we had perfect weather for. Thanks to all who showed up and made it such a great day!

See plenty of photo highlights in the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/GPmYPMi3TycGzgFH?ref=Link

Next week’s run is at KALRO headquarters, situated in Loresho. Full details below on the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/GPmYPMi3TycGzgFH?ref=Link

A reminder, the Annual General Meeting will be held on Monday 21st December at 7pm, on Zoom. Save the date!

See this week’s Starting Line for full details of this week’s run and to register for Forts Place, Uthiru, Jamhuri run.

#RunForJamhuri

Fact: Swaras don’t melt. Nor are they scared of slipping, falling, or taking twice as long as normal to do their chosen distance. This was proven at last week’s run at Thayu Farm Hotel, Tigoni. I’ve never seen so many smiles in a rainstorm!

Despite the downpours which continued until almost lunchtime, almost 50 Swaras showed up in Tigoni to explore the undulating hills and tea plantations. Thanks for bearing with us as we quickly re-marked, and apologies if some of the markings weren’t up to our usual standards, the rainclouds were not on our side 🙂

Get all of your photo highlights in the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/uBrRas851szV7PGF?ref=Link

This coming week we’re going back to another Swara favourite hangout, Berra Hotel, in Ngong/Kibiko. Once again, don’t expect a flat run, and plan for rain, you never know!

Once again, if you have any lightly used/new shoes or other running gear (leggings, sports bras, t-shirts, running socks) that you are happy to see go to a good home, we are taking donations for the aspiring athletes at Run2Gether camp, and will soon be arranging for handover. Kids’ gear, women’s gear, and men’s gear all welcome! Please bring along to Saturday’s run and they will go to a good home.

We will be pausing our regular online Swara sessions for the rest of the year, but look out for a very special online session coming up soon!

Find full info on next week’s run in the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/uBrRas851szV7PGF?ref=Link

#GettingBerraAndBerra

Dear Swaras, 

Did you go to Alliance? In Kenya this question carries more weight than an overloaded Probox on a rural road. Anyone who attended Alliance High School as part of their education trajectory is extremely proud of this, and the Alliance Classic Run was launched as a way to offer high quality education to low-income students that struggle with fees or other education expenses.

Last weekend we all got the opportunity to say ‘I went to Alliance’, by taking part in the Alliance Classic Virtual Run with the Swaras at Levilla Gardens. Our Trail Queen, Loice, and Trail Fox, Chikani, truly pulled out all the stops for a beautiful, almost mud-free, rolling trail through Kikuyu and its farms and homesteads. But don’t forget, the Alliance Classic Virtual Run is running through to the 15th December, and so you can sign up at any time, to take part and nab one of the best 2020 running t-shirts and medals! Big thank you to the Alliance organising team that helped to coordinate Saturday’s run, Shem Yator and Ranu Waweru, amongst others.

MANY photos and highlights to be found in the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/xS1HxSXYq93HHz6K?ref=Link

Register here for the Alliance Virtual Run between now and 15th December: https://www.ahsobc.org/events/acr2020-2/

This week we’re heading a little further afield to a favourite Swara hangout: Tigoni!

The venue will be Thayu Farm Hotel, surrounded by tea plantations and hills a-plenty, to make your legs and your heart and your eyes all go ‘aaaaahh’. See below for all the details, as you also scroll past some images of Saturday’s run, as well as photos from an excursion into elephant territory by some of our members, and the handover of a Garmin watch to one of Nairobi’s most iconic senior runners, Josephine. Thank you to all who contributed for the watch, and to Ranu for coordinating on their behalf.

Register for next week’s run here: https://forms.gle/CWXMeiH4bryGZaDp9

And find full details to get your mouth watering in the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/xS1HxSXYq93HHz6K?ref=Link#TigoOrNotTigoNiTheQuestion

We had a COVID-era record-breaking turnout this last Saturday, at Hunger’s Nest. Must have been the runner’s hunger that drove everyone to come together for a great Saturday run! Thanks to CK for taking some amazing photos of Swaras running and laughing and (socially distanced) socialising!

This week we’re delighted to bring to you the Swaras edition of the Alliance Classic Virtual Run. This annual charity run organised by the Alliance High School Old Boys’ Club raises valuable funds to provide scholarships to low-income students. The Swaras have chosen to support this cause as our second charity cause of the year, so for this Saturday’s run, organised in conjunction with the Alliance Old Boys Club, we are urging all Swaras to register for the Alliance Classic Run ahead of time, to support the cause, and in return get not only a t-shirt but also a highly coveted medal!The run will be from Levilla Resort, Kikuyu. Flagging off from 6.45am to 7.30am, cut-off time for club support or presence 12pm.We invite you all to register for the Alliance Classic Virtual Run, as this Saturday’s run will be a Swara charity run to support this initiative.Register here: www.ahsobc.org/acr2020

If you’re not able to attend the run but wish to support the ACR cause, you are free to donate any amount you wish.

All the info (and there’s a lot of it) and photos (and there’s a lot of them!!!) not to be missed in this week’s Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/xbr3zYojASAb6eGe?ref=Link

This week we’re also back to Swara Show & Tell!

You may have seen her on the trails, you may have seen her on our Zoom calls (she is one of the most faithful participants), or you may have seen her in a recent online ‘Supamamas’ campaign. Well, now you can catch her on Swara Show & Tell.

Show & Tell with Sheila Ommeh, this Wednesday 18th November at 6.15pm live on Zoom. We will kick off with Swara trivia with Ameet Shah, so scrub up on your facts and figures.

All are welcome, Swaras and non-Swaras, runners and aspiring runners!

Find everything in the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/xbr3zYojASAb6eGe?ref=Link

#LetsAllGoToAlliance

‘Hekima’ in Swahili means wisdom (so I hear), and so if mud and hills and tripping and rolling equates to wisdom, then I think we’re now as wise as the world itself after last Saturday’s Hekima Education Centre run! The rains held off and we turned out in our masses for a fantastic run. Catch the photos in the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/h213if7aT5RCwXNA?ref=Link

Once again, on behalf of the entre Swara committee and membership, thank you all for respecting the Swara COVID protocols to keep our runs safe, fun, and interesting. Also, a big thank you to all for cooperating on our new water rules. As we attempt to take every necessary precaution to prevent the spread of the virus by phasing out disposable water bottles on the trail, we’re also going a long way to reducing our environmental impact, and we appreciate everyone’s cooperation on this. Moving forward we will continue to provide water at the start and finish line, but bring your reusable bottle/hydration pack if you need water on the trail. Thank you!

This week’s run will be from Hunger’s Nest Bar and Restaurant (formerly known as Firepit) on Forest Edge Road, in Langata, just near Galleria Mall. Flagging off from 6.45am to 7.30am, cut-off time for club support or presence 12pm.

Register for the run here: https://forms.gle/R8ofgzzpc8j1aKXC8Full details and a ton of photos from last week’s run in this week’s Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/h213if7aT5RCwXNA?ref=Link
#RunnersHunger

There was much talk of ‘buying plots’ and ‘acquiring land’ (euphemisms for one of the most common mishaps when trail running) in Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary, and a lot of Swaras tried out some running clothes customisation, experimenting with mud splotches and the odd rip and tear, whether willingly or not! All this to say that the roots and muddy patches and ups and downs of Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary kept us on our toes, but it also offered beautiful, peaceful trails to the 50 or so Swaras that turned up on Saturday. Thank you to all who came and also to all of you for respecting the Swara COVID-19 protocol so that we can continue to safely and responsibly hold runs.

It’s Swara online session time again! After a week’s break we’re back with a very much in-demand session:

Understanding Running Technology.

We will hear from resident running tech experts, David Thuo and Ranu Waweru, so come with your questions about your Garmin/Strava/watch/pace and learn how to make the most of the technology at our disposal.

This session will be live on Zoom on Wednesday 4th November from 6.15pm, with an introductory brainteaser in the form of Swara and running trivia with Ameet Shah!

Link and details in the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/POCLBEKSM1l1ccJ1?ref=Link

Feel free to invite other runners or aspiring runners to join, these online sessions are open to everyone!

This week’s run will be from Hekima Education Centre on Ngong Road (between Karen and Ngong town), see the Starting Line (https://sway.office.com/POCLBEKSM1l1ccJ1?ref=Link) for full details and registration link. Flagging off from 6.45am to 7.30am, cut-off time for club support or presence 12pm. 

Full details in the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/POCLBEKSM1l1ccJ1?ref=Link

#UnderstandRunningTech

What more would you expect from Kenya Forestry Research Institute than trees, trees, and more trees? As an added bonus, this weekend amongst the fields and forests some little yellow dots could be spotted here and there, which upon closer inspection turned out to be Swaras in their luminous yellow finery! Well done to the ladies that did 42km, some of them in full tutu and sparkle regalia. Check out the photos in the Starting Line: https://sway.office.com/iLQFR683hHG8uRes?ref=Link
In other news, a special shoutout to some Swara legends who took it upon themselves to scale Mount Kilimanjaro in a little over 18 hours this weekend. Let’s wish Victor Kamau and Cheruiyot, and their fellow Kili slayers a swift recovery from their gargantuan success!

There will be no online Swara session this week, we will resume next week, as we adapt to a new pattern of coming together online every two weeks instead of every week.

This week’s run will be at Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary, a location that has gained in popularity during the course of 2020, and it’s about time the Swaras hit those trails as a club! As usual, ensure you are familiar with the Urban Swaras COVID-19 protocol. See the Starting Line for the protocol, sign-up form and full run details as well as some photo highlights from last week’s run: https://sway.office.com/iLQFR683hHG8uRes?ref=Link

#RunningIsMySanctuary